NORMAN — Oklahoma will enter the 2010-2011 Big 12 Conference season like many other seasons over the past decade. It will start as the prohibitive favorite to win the conference’s south division.
The Sooners were selected as a preseason favorite by a panel of media members who follow the conference. OU received 16 of a possible 26 votes. The other 10 went to Texas.
Nebraska, who will leave the Big 12 for the Big Ten Conference after this season, received all first-place votes to repeat as the north division champion. Missouri placed second, followed by Kansas State, Kansas, Colorado and Iowa State.
Texas trailed OU in the south division voting. Texas A&M was third ahead of Texas Tech, Oklahoma State and Baylor.
The Sooners lead the Big 12 with six conference championships (2000, ’02, ’04, ’06, ’07, ’08) and seven appearances in the title game. They have been picked to win the south division eight times in the media preseason poll and finished the season at the top in five of those years.
Nebraska will be trying to win the north division for the fifth time this season. It hasn’t won the conference title since 1999.
The conference will announce the preseason all-Big 12 team today.
The preseason accolades come in anticipation of Big 12 Football Media Days, which begin Monday in Irving, Texas.
John Shinn 366-3536 jshinn@normantranscript.com
