big 12 looks to crown a champion in north texas

By Stephen Evans

Fresh off of the city of Dallas hosting one of the most talked-about NCAA Women’s Final Four events in women’s basketball history and a dramatic gymnastics national championship meet also held in North Texas, the region is set to host yet another college sports championship event in May when the 2023 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship returns to Globe Life Field in Arlington.

The prestigious championship tournament takes place May 24-28, and will mark the second consecutive year Arlington has played host to the event. Last season the

Oklahoma Sooners knocked off the Texas Longhorns 8-1 to win the conference tournament championship, and the Big 12 could not have been happier with the results of their return to Arlington.

“The Big 12 was extremely pleased with the 2022 championship at Globe Life Field,” said Jenny McGhee, Senior Director - Competition for the Big 12. “Both sides, however, recognize there is even more untapped potential, and that an opportunity exists to elevate the event into something much more than a traditional baseball tournament.”

Making championship events “much more” has been a long-running theme for the Big 12, as both the 2017 and 2023 Women’s Final Four events in Dallas can attest. As a host of those championships, the Big 12 helped to expand the reach of those events beyond the court and made fan experience a top priority. The same is now being done with the conference’s baseball championship.

“There is intentional effort this year to provide additional entertainment and activations to elevate the fan experience,” McGhee continued. “The new offerings include the Premium Club which features unlimited snacks and soda in a private field level club, the Party Plaza which is a premier entertainment area that includes food and drink discounts, yard games, music, and more, Big 12 Eats which has custom food offerings that represent each Big 12 school, and other special in-game features.”

Fans are taking notice and have already responded to the enhancements being offered, as ticket sales are 50% ahead of last year at this time. And that follows a trend for the baseball championship. Each of the past four baseball championships has seen an increase in attendance, and last season’s event had the highest combined attendance in 18 years.

It doesn’t hurt that baseball has been one of the conference’s strongest sports over the years. This season all nine baseball-playing Big 12 programs rank inside the nation’s top 75 for attendance and the conference is one of just two leagues averaging over 3,000 fans per game, an impressive feat considering some of the early-season challenges with cold weather that some of the Big 12 schools face.

Earlier this season, three Big 12 programs helped set the mark for the largest attendance for a regular season college baseball event since 2017 when participating in the College Baseball Showdown at Globe Life Field. That event, along with the championship tournament, has enhanced an already strong relationship between the Big 12 and the Texas Rangers.

“Our relationship with the Rangers goes back more than 20 years as we hosted the 2002 and 2004 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championships at The Ballpark in Arlington, which included record-setting attendance marks,” said McGhee. “Even before Globe Life Field started construction, we kept in touch with the Rangers as a community partner and preeminent baseball presence in North Texas. The bid process for the 2022 Championship actually began in 2018 – not long after Globe Life Field broke ground – so discussions ramped up as we saw the mutual benefit of partnering to host the Big 12 Baseball Championship at the premier ballpark in Major League Baseball.” play competing in a double-elimination, two bracket tournament. In addition to the 2022 and 2023 events, the championship will return to Arlington at least one more year in 2024, with the future of the partnership between the Big 12 and the Texas Rangers continuing to be very bright.

“The Big 12 is incredibly proud of our partnership with REV Entertainment and the Texas Rangers and are thrilled to deepen our relationship through the addition of future events held in and around Globe Life Field,” said McGhee. “We are thrilled to call the Dallas metroplex home, and are committed to serving our community that is home to the Big 12 headquarters and its staff.”

MARCH 2023 EDITION

The 2023 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship features the top eight teams from regular season

All-tournament tickets for the 2023 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship at Globe Life Field are on sale at www.GlobeLifeField.com/Big12