Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby was the featured speaker at the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame’s Leadership Luncheon on Wednesday. After some opening remarks, he took questions from the audience on topics ranging from conference expansion to the Longhorn Network.

Have you been at all surprised with the success of TCU and Baylor, the two private schools in the Big 12?

TCU would probably tell you that in the sport of football, they had had enough recent success that they could come right in. But even they have experienced the impact of having a big game every week. ... I think TCU had a challenge with that. Playing a Big 12 schedule is very different in football than playing a Mountain West schedule, and they were quite a bit better than the rest of the Mountain West. They’ve had a couple of down years ... but they have a really good football team this year.

Baylor, of course, has had tremendous success. They’ve been good in men’s and women’s basketball. They’ve been good in football. The stadium that was built in Waco is spectacular. ... And don’t let anybody kid you — I think the Baptists do tailgate.