President of the Board of Regents David Miles:

What do you think will happen to the Big 12?

“Well, I’m not going to speculate. It certainly is a difficult period for the Big 12, and therefore for Iowa State, which is my primary focus. Having two members of the Big 12 depart in as many days is a real threat to the Big 12 conference. I know that President (Gregory) Geoffroy and Athletic Director (Jamie) Pollard are working very, very hard to make sure that they produce the very best outcome for Iowa State, and they have our full support in doing that.”

What would you hope for the Big 12?

“Well, the Big 12 has been a conference with a great history, and one that I believe has played a very positive role in athletics and for Iowa State. If the Big 12 could continue – and at this point we have still have ten schools still a part of the Big 12 –  I think it’s a conference that offers a lot for Iowa State University. Clearly there are lots of things in motion at this point, and who knows what’s going to happen from here.

“I am quite confident that Iowa State can navigate its way through these changes. Athletic conferences have changed in the past; they’ll change in the future. We’re in a period where they are changing now. Iowa State is a strong institution, and we’ll work our way through this.”

Noelle Lichty, senior in marketing and management and ticket operation intern for ISU athletics.

What do you think is going to happen to the Big 12 now that Nebraska is gone?

“Ideally, what I would like to see happen is the Big 12 stay together and we get two different teams like Syracuse, or TCU, or Boise State join and keep the conference together.”

What do you think will happen?

“We’re all going to get divided up with Pac-10. Hopefully we don’t end up in the Mountain West, because our funding will go way down. And I just don’t think it would be a good spot for Iowa State competing against teams like Wyoming. People from Iowa aren’t going to travel to watch Iowa State play Wyoming as they would to go and watch Iowa State play Kansas, Kansas State or Nebraska, because they are closer, and the tradition of playing them for so many years.”