FRISCO - Big 12 Football Media Days is coming back to Ford Center at The Star on Tuesday, July 7, and Wednesday, July 8, giving North Texas a two-day preseason stage packed with coaches, quarterbacks and national television coverage.
Media Days is not a game. It is the Big 12's annual football kickoff event, where each program sends its head coach and selected players to meet reporters, record television and radio interviews, and set the storylines that will follow the league into training camp.
The conference said eight programs will be highlighted each day at The Star, the Dallas Cowboys' headquarters in Frisco. Both days are scheduled to air live on ESPNU from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. CT, with coverage also simulcast on Big 12 Studios and part of the first day carried on ESPN2.
For Frisco, this is more than a media event borrowing a local address. Ford Center at The Star is a 12,000-seat indoor stadium connected to the Dallas Cowboys' world headquarters, and the Big 12's return reinforces the city's place in the sports-business calendar. The Star hosted Big 12 Football Media Days in 2017, 2018 and 2025, and the conference has already announced Frisco will host again in 2027.
Coach Prime, Yormark and the quarterback room
The biggest national draw is Colorado coach Deion "Coach Prime" Sanders, whose program is scheduled for the Tuesday session. Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark's media-day remarks and a deep quarterback group will also help frame the league's preseason conversation from Frisco.
Quarterbacks to watch
The Big 12 attendee list is heavy on quarterbacks, and the stat lines give reporters plenty to ask about. DJ Lagway is listed by the Big 12 with Baylor after a 2025 season at Florida in which ESPN credited him with 2,264 passing yards, 16 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. Colorado's Julian Lewis threw for 589 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions in 2025, according to ESPN.
Houston's Conner Weigman brings one of the stronger 2025 production profiles to Frisco after ESPN listed him at 2,705 passing yards, 25 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Arizona's Noah Fifita, one of the league's more established names, threw for 3,228 yards, 29 touchdowns and six interceptions in 2025.
Kansas State's Avery Johnson adds a dual-threat angle after a 2025 season with 2,385 passing yards, 18 touchdowns, six interceptions and 477 rushing yards. Utah's Devon Dampier is another run-pass name to watch after ESPN listed him with 2,490 passing yards, 24 touchdowns, five interceptions and 835 rushing yards in 2025. Jaylen Raynor, listed by the Big 12 with Iowa State, comes in after a 2025 Arkansas State season that included 3,361 passing yards, 19 touchdowns, 11 interceptions and 423 rushing yards.
Why Frisco is the right stage
The Big 12 announced in December that Football Media Days would return to Ford Center at The Star for 2026 and 2027. The venue is part of the 91-acre Dallas Cowboys World Headquarters and practice campus, and The Star has already hosted Big 12 Football Media Days in 2017, 2018 and 2025.
For the conference, the Frisco setting offers a polished indoor football venue, television-ready infrastructure and a North Texas market that treats football as both sport and business. For Frisco readers, it means one of college football's loudest preseason conversations is happening in Frisco.
