A Longhorn Network graphic for Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy.
ESPNLeague NetworksNCAATwitterBy Andrew Bucholtz on

There are plenty of college conference media days this week, including both the Big 12 and SEC kicking theirs off Monday with numerous coaches’ press conferences. And the Longhorn Network (the University of Texas-centered network run by ESPN) had particular fun on social media around Monday’s Big 12 press conferences at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. First, last week, the Longhorn Network Twitter account announced the lineup with a series of photos showing Big 12 coaches in similar dress and poses to singer Lizzo. The full thread can be seen here. Some highlights:

That thread even got the attention of Lizzo herself Monday:

https://twitter.com/lizzo/status/1150876541120741376

Meanwhile, the network had further fun with some text for the various coaches. Here are some of the images LHN senior managing producer Ande Wall tweeted out:

https://twitter.com/AndeWall/status/1150816509352001537

https://twitter.com/AndeWall/status/1150904436618944514

You can see all of those in Wall’s thread here. And the network’s official account tweeted the Gundy one:

They also had fun with a video of the conference mascots, dropping a Big & Rich reference:

Conference media days are generally pretty silly (the all-time highlight may still be Robbie Caldwell, then the interim head coach at Vanderbilt, talking turkey insemination at 2010’s SEC Media Days), and it’s cool to see some outlets having fun with them. And these comparisons and graphics might be one of the most notable things to happen at Media Days this week. So far, at least.

[Longhorn Network on Twitter]

About Andrew Bucholtz

Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.

View all posts by Andrew Bucholtz