On Iowa Daily Briefing 6.1.12 -- B1G/Pac-12 challenge nets first non-conference casualty

The Big Ten's upcoming all-sports challenge with the Pac-12 is designed to improve each league's non-conference football schedule and give each league the "benefits of expansion without expanding," as Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany said.

But the collaboration produced its first football casualty when Ohio State canceled a 2020-21 series with Georgia. Ohio State officials told their Georgia counterparts that with the Pac-12 collaboration, there just wasn't the scheduling flexibility necessary for that game. That's an unfortunate byproduct of the collaboration that you can bet will be addressed in the future.

This year Michigan and Alabama meet in the season opener at Cowboys Stadium, the biggest neutral site encounter between the states since either the 2000 Orange Bowl or Gettysburg (sorry couldn't resist). When the collaboration is in full effect, those highly intense Big Ten-SEC games will dwindle somewhere between none and three before bowl season.

The collaboration also could affect another high-profile non-conference series. Long-time former rivals Nebraska and Oklahoma are discussing a two-game contract in 2020-21 to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the schools' legendary 1971 match-up. Nebraska Athletics Director and former coach Tom Osborne told a radio station he wants to schedule the series but is waiting to see how the collaboration and league schedule will impact that possibility.

The collaboration has immediate benefits, but it could limit the Big Ten's future non-conference scheduling options. Schools like Iowa will continue to play a non-conference rival like Iowa State and one other major-conference opponent each year. Within the collaboration, that other opponent always comes from the Pac-12. While the Pac-12/B1G Challenge elevates the profile of both leagues, it could prevent future games like Ohio State-Georgia, Nebraska-Oklahoma or Michigan-Alabama. That would be a shame.

HLINKS

The Big 12 Conference's annual league meetings began Thursday. This has become the most-interesting league of the moment given a) it pulled a Lazarus after it dwindled to eight members and swiped TCU and West Virginia from the Big East and b) many believe it will make another move to expand at some point in the near future.

So, here are a few items from the day in Kansas City%3A

-- The league says it isn't particularly interested in adding to its 10 schools, and Kirk Bohls of the Austin American-Statesman believes it. Bohls wrote%3A

It has 10 teams that want to be together, 10 teams that will slice up about $20 million apiece over each of the next 13 years in television revenue once those contracts coalesce, 10 teams that will not require a football championship game that could knock the league's best team out of a national championship opportunity.

The Big 12 may actually be the model for the future.

Who would have ever dreamed a year ago that could be a possibility. None of us knew if the Big 12 even had a future.

"We feel we're really well-positioned right now with 10," said Iowa State's Jamie Pollard, chairman of the Big 12 athletic directors. "The first time somebody's best team gets knocked out of a four-team playoff because they lost their championship game to a 7-5 team or 8-4 team, we'll see how long they want to keep a championship game."

-- If the Big 12 should happen to have a team from South Bend, Ind., that would like to join its league, well, the conference would probably be pretty flexible.

Oklahoma State president Burns Hargis said if Notre Dame was interested in joining the league, "that's something we would have to pursue."

-- CBSSports.com has

a Q and A with new Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby. A highlight%3A

“I have worked a lot with [Big Ten commissioner] Jim Delany, I had a hand in bringing Larry Scott to the Pac-12. [SEC commissioner] Mike Slive and I worked on the basketball committee together. We have known each other for many years. Same for [ACC commissioner] John Swofford. At least I come into with the relationships necessary to have good discussions, to add lots of ideas without lines being drawn in the sand."

-- Since it's Friday, let's have some fun.

How about this lip dub video from the students of Cedar Rapids Jefferson High School? It was an end-of-the-school-year production with over 200 participating Jefferson students. It shows a lot of creativity and spirit. Nicely done, J-Hawks.