Houston’s Kelvin Sampson on why KC is the perfect place for Big 12 Tournament
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Sampson urges Big 12 to keep tournament in Kansas City, citing fan support.
- Debate flared after a writer suggested rotating sites; coaches weighed in.
- Big 12 record crowd of 19,450 at T‑Mobile Center showed KC’s strong fans.
A debate has been raging for days on social media about whether Kansas City should host the Big 12 Tournament.
Some fans in Utah and Arizona have longed for the good ol’ days when the Pac-12 played its conference tournament in front of sparse crowds in Las Vegas. You may recall things were so great for the Pac-12 that all but two of the schools in 2024 left the conference for greener pastures.
The Big 12 has schools in 10 states spread across the nation, but a writer who found it difficult to travel to Kansas City argued that the tourney location should rotate. That ignited the war of words as those who love the Kansas City atmosphere fired back
A day after the skirmish began, Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said he’d prefer the tournament was in Las Vegas, thrilling some Utah fans.
“Would I want this in Vegas? Yeah, 100% I would,” Lloyd said. “But like, you know what? I didn’t ask to be in the Big 12. We got put in the Big 12. I didn’t have any input on it. But I love being in the Big 12, so if they tell me we’re playing in Kansas City, we’re loading up the plane and going to Kansas City.
“We’re not going to sit there and overthink it. And you guys can do all that stuff, or you can have another coach give you opinions on what he would want. I just want to get on the floor and try to kick ass and play 40 minutes. That’s it.“
Fans chimed in all over social media with thoughts on those comments.
While Lloyd would prefer Las Vegas, Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said it would be a mistake to leave Kansas City. Sampson made the comment Friday after a Big 12 Tournament record crowd of 19,450 packed T-Mobile Center.
“Kansas City, you know, a lot of people say, why don’t we move it? I hope they never move it,” Sampson said. “They should always keep it here. And sometimes it’s bigger than the school. Kansas City owns this tournament. And I’ve talked to commissioner (Brett) Yormark about it. Would I like it in Houston? Yeah. But just stay in Kansas City. I hope it does.”
Praise for KU and Norm Stewart
That was the end of Sampson’s answer when he was asked about how Houston fans and the school’s band supported his team at T-Mobile Center.
Here is the entire comment from Sampson, who waxed poetically about Kansas and Missouri, and talked about what makes the tournament special because it’s in KC:
“This is my 15th year coaching in the Big 12 Tournament, 12 years at Oklahoma and three years at Houston,” Sampson said. “Every year it wasn’t in Kansas City. There were a couple of those years, like 2003, 2004 ... 2003 it was in the American Airlines Arena in Dallas. I remember the Big 12 Tournament there.
“But one of the things that makes this tournament so special is this part of the country. Iowa State fans, if this was a state fair, they would get a blue ribbon. They’re special. Kansas fans. I mean, I think it’s the best basketball program top to bottom in the history of college basketball. And I say that because that’s the way I feel personally. Kansas has always been the bell cow of the Big 12. It was when I was in it from ‘94 to 2006, 12 years, it was Kansas.
“And when your best programs are great, it’s important that they be great. When I was at Washington State, it was important that Arizona and UCLA be good because those were the programs. Now, you know, because of this era, things change a little bit. But Kansas is never not going to be Kansas. But our program has just gotten better and better and better and our fans have too. It’s never going to be like Iowa State.
“But I remember we played Arizona in San Antonio a few years ago, I think 2022. They were a (No.) 1 seed. I think we might have been a 5 seed. We just had beat Illinois, beat Arizona, then we lost to Villanova to go to back-to-back Final Fours. And we had 18,000 Cougar fans. Our fans are great in our area. This area is all about Iowa State and Kansas. Of course, when Norm Stewart — some of you guys probably never heard of him, but I love Norm Stewart. Norm Stewart’s a legend, just a legend. I was so lucky to get to coach against Norm for a few years.
“But those Missouri fans were awesome too. They showed up and they showed out. Kansas State — when Kansas State’s good, they have great fans. Kansas City, you know, a lot of people say, why don’t we move it? I hope they never move it. They should always keep it here. And sometimes it’s bigger than the school. Kansas City owns this tournament. And I’ve talked to Commissioner Yormark about it. Would I like it in Houston? Yeah. But just stay in Kansas City. I hope it does.”
This story was originally published March 14, 2026 at 9:54 AM.
