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Not even a decade ago, the Big 12 had reached its apex.In 2008, the Big 12 South had emerged as the best division in college football, headlined by heavyweights Oklahoma and Texas trading blows for conference supremacy and the chance to play for national championships. The Big 12 had just signed one TV deal with ESPN, and was primed to ink another with Fox.The conference appeared harmonious. And seemed stable.Since that time, the Big 12 has been in a free fall, culminating with a new low point this year.I dont know if the conference has hit rock bottom yet, said one source familiar with Big 12 matters. But we can see the bottom.A Title IX scandal has come to define one of its members. Baylor, even several months after removing the school president, athletic director and head football coach, continues to be in the news almost weekly.Nonconference foes collectively wiped out the Big 12, leaving it with a real chance to miss the College Football Playoff for the second time in the three years of the system.In the boardroom, the Big 12 has never looked so indecisive about its expansion going into Mondays critical gathering of league presidents and chancellors.This bottoming out has also manifested itself on the field.Last month, the Big 12 went just 3-6 against Power 5 opponents. Oklahoma State and Kansas lost to MAC schools. Iowa State was defeated by an FCS team. And with Notre Dame cratering since losing at Texas, the conferences most appealing nonconference victory just might be the Cowboys win over Pitt, which appears to be -- at best -- a middle-tier squad in the ACC Coastal Division.Baylor and West Virginia, meanwhile, are the Big 12s last two remaining unbeatens. While still alive in the playoff hunt, they are still the lowest-ranked undefeated Power 5 conference teams in the AP poll. Despite playing another cupcake out-of-conference slate, and one team ranked in the FPI top 90, the Bears have struggled. Their last time out, the Bears needed a furious fourth quarter rally to topple 1-5 Iowa State. As a result, the Bears might have to go undefeated to reach the playoff.West Virginia is better positioned, on paper, with the conferences only decent showing during nonconference play, but the Mountaineers have yet to play a true road game (they will stage their first this weekend at Texas Tech). Since joining the Big 12, theyve never won more than five conference games.Given where the Big 12 stands for the moment relative to other Power 5 leagues, the chances of the Big 12s 11-year title drought being snapped this season are slim.Yet as poorly as the Big 12 has fared on the field this season, it doesnt compare to the hits the conference has taken off the field.Last summer, Big 12 board chair David Boren termed the league psychologically disadvantaged, and that perception has turned to reality.At the insistence of commissioner Bob Bowlsby, the Big 12 has tried to be aggressive in recent months in an attempt to remain competitive with the other Power 5 conference, all of which have -- or will have -- their own networks. The Big 12 swiftly added a championship game in the spring, then unanimously -- and surprisingly -- voted in July to explore expansion.Since that moment, Big 12 leaders have sent mixed signals. From Texas president Greg Fenves unexpectedly tweeting his support of Houston to Bowlsby interviewing 11 expansion candidates in Dallas to Boren seemingly cooling on the whole premise, nobody, including the presidents themselves, knows what to expect will come from Mondays meeting, when the conference originally was supposed to vote on expansion.Its been embarrassing, one industry insider said. (Big 12 member athletic department officials) are embarrassed by the way this has been handled.One way or the other, if the league fails to take any action or conduct a vote on Monday after devoting so much time, money and talk to the issue, it will reinforce the narrative of Big 12 instability.Said the source familiar with Big 12 matters, The conference champion (Baylor) two of the last three years is going through a scandal the regents still cant get the school out of. Texas still cannot get its footing. Oklahoma loses twice in the nonconference. And the complete indecisiveness in the board room -- all of that has really taken the league to a low point.Can the Big 12 finally begin to reverse this downward trend that has encompassed the league since 2008?We have a strong leader in Bowlsby, one Big 12 official pointed out, noting that Bowlsby has the confidence of the leagues coaches, athletic directors and even presidents. That makes a huge difference.Others within the league havent lost faith and still think the Big 12 can thrive again.I still believe in the Big 12, said another Big 12 official. I dont think its rock bottom. We had a team (Oklahoma) in the playoff last year. We have teams in contention this year.I believe in the leadership of this league.That leadership will be tested Monday, when big decisions will be on the table. And the future of the league is once again on the line.They need to get to a clear point on expansion -- either do it, or dont and cut it off, an official said. 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PETERSBURG, Fla.Anyone watching Isaac Heeney take down Mark Blicavs last Friday wouldnt be surprised he learnt to tackle deep in the heart of rugby league country.The young, comparatively pocket-sized Sydney star outpaced and outmuscled Blicavs, at one point jamming the Geelong big mans arm in an unplanned wrestling move he admitted felt a bit weird.It was one of seven tackles laid by Heeney during the 37-point preliminary final thumping, in a 28-possession performance that was close to best on ground.The 20-year-olds ability to hold his own against larger, older bodies was fostered on the family farm in the tiny NSW town of Stockrington, between Newcastle and Cessnock.It was an upbringing tested by hardship but also one fondly remembered for backyard smackdowns with big brother Beau and father Adam, a former first-grade rugby league player.We would play rugby league, throw the footy to each other and it was biggest hit wins, Heeney said.Wed start with touch and end up pretty competitive trying to put a shot on each other.I think Beau made me cry more than I made him.Heeney, whose mother Rochelle is a former elite swimmer, started his sporting love affair with soccer, scoring 68 goals in 12 games at an early age.He then played up an age level in cricket with a batting average of 216 before the Swans academy snapped him up as a 12-year-old.Heeney also scored five tries in the grand final of a school rugby league tournament, but that he only dabbled in the code was against the grain for a Novocastrian.ddddddddddddRugby league, being at schools in Newcastle, was massive, he said.If you didnt play it you got bullied a little bit - not that I got bullied much.No one would have dared, given that by 15 the laid-back blonde-haired surfer had already made his senior debut for Cardiff in the hard-as-nails Black Diamond League.It was pretty physical and I was able to play that top level - the Premier League - at a young age.Growing up with bigger bodies helped with that as well.Heeney made his AFL debut last year in the Swans forward line alongside the likes of Lance Franklin and Kurt Tippett, where his impact earned him the 2015 AFL Players Association rookie award.In Saturdays grand final against the Western Bulldogs hell likely be deployed further up the field, where hes been thriving on the added physicality in recent weeks.Im moving into the midfield and playing that wing role, said Heeney, this years recipient of the AFL Coaches Associations award for best young player.With that Im able to run defensively pretty hard.Our game is based a lot on defence so if I can get back and outnumber and support in defence its a massive contribution. 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