Host Adam Lefkoe and analysts Champ Bailey, Victor Cruz and Takeo Spikes will make up the Big XII Football Studio team for broadcasts beginning this fall. Lefkoe is a Syracuse alum. Bailey played at Georgia, Cruz, Massachusetts and Spikes for Auburn.
The makeup of an alum from an ACC school who was not in the conference when he attended, two SEC programs and a school that was then in the Football Championship Subdivision is unusual for a conference. The ACC and Big 10 Networks are primarily made up of analysis and hosts from conference alums.
Lekfoe is a longtime TNT studio host who previously worked for The Bleacher Report. Lefkoe also worked for WHAS-11 TV in Louisville and is known for his pop culture references. It does not appear that Lefkoe has any connections to Big XII schools or cities.
Bailey had a 15-year NFL career with Washington and the Denver Broncos. The final 10 seasons of Bailey's NFL career were spent with Denver. The first offer Bailey's son Brayden received is from Colorado. Braden Bailey is in the class of 2028.
TNT announces its Big 12 Studio Crew, featuring four guys who didn’t go to Big 12 schools. The network will host Big 12 games throughout the season. pic.twitter.com/TW2mrVhUW0
— McClain (@McclainBaxley) August 13, 2025
Cruz spent his entire seven-year NFL career with the New York Giants. After his playing career ended, Cruz worked as an analyst for ESPN and a host on MTV. Bailey, Cruz, Lefkoe and Spikes were the Mountain West Studio Show for TNT during the 2024 season.
Spikes played 15 years in the NFL with the Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills, Philadelphia Eagles, San Francisco 49ers and San Diego Chargers. Spikes has been an analyst for the SEC Network, NBC Sports, SiriusXM and Sky Sports.
TNT also announced J.B. Long will call play-by-play and Mike Golic, Jr., is the analyst on their Big XII coverage. Long has been the Los Angeles Rams play-by-play announcer since 2016. Arizona fans should be familiar with Long from his time at the Pac-12 Network from 2012-24.
Allie LaForce, who worked for TNT on NBA broadcasts and previously for the SEC on CBS and former Stanford linebacker and running back Coy Wire will be the TNT Big XII sideline reporters. TNT will broadcast its first Big XII game with Hawaii at Arizona in the 2025 season opener on August 30 with a 7:30 PM Mountain Standard Time kickoff.