With the 2024-25 Big 12 season across all sports set to begin soon, the creation of the inaugural Big 12 Alumni Council has shaped up with 32 representatives and two from each of the 16 colleges in the conference as ASU legends Lawrence Guy (Football) and Briann January (Women’s Basketball) will be the Sun Devils’.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!According to a press release, this council will feature some of the best athletes to ever play at each university while also being ambassadors in trying to promote the newly expanded conference.
“The Big 12 Alumni Council is comprised of 32 former student-athletes from men’s and women’s programs across each Big 12 institution,” the release said. “The Council was created to leverage the experience and expertise of some of the Big 12’s most notable student-athlete alumni as the Conference enters a new era. These alumni will provide guidance and insights surrounding a variety of topics, including brand building, athlete relations, storytelling, digital content and much more.”
Making a name for herself as arguably one of the best players in Sun Devil Women’s Basketball history, January will once again be able to represent her alma mater.
For Arizona State, she played four seasons (2005-09) where she was a two-time Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year and made the 2009 First-Team All-Pac-10. January’s historic career at ASU still sees her on the leaderboards in different statistical categories like second in assists (538), steals (265), and free throws (401).
In the 2009 WNBA Draft, the 5-foot-8 guard was the sixth overall pick by the Indiana Fever. January spent nine seasons (2009-17) with the Fever before they traded her to the Phoenix Mercury in exchange for a top-10 pick in March 2018. She also played for the Seattle Storm and the Connecticut Sun before she turned into an assistant coach for the Sun in 2023.
The five-time WNBA All-Defensive First-Team honoree averaged 7.8 points, 3.6 assists and 1.8 rebounds in 393 career games (293 starts).
As a Sun Devil, Guy played three seasons at Arizona State where he was an integral pass rusher on the defensive line. During his time in Tempe, the Las Vegas native accumulated 122 tackles, eight sacks, two fumble recoveries and one forced fumble in 35 games (31 starts).
Guy was eventually selected as a seventh-round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers. He ended up playing 12 seasons in the league with the Packers, San Diego Chargers (now Los Angeles Chargers), Indianapolis Colts, New England Patriots and the Baltimore Ravens. Before his last season in the NFL in 2023, Guy collected 507 tackles, 17 sacks and one interception. He was a Super Bowl LIII champion in 2019 when the Patriots defeated the Los Angeles Rams, 13-3.
Other notable council members from different Big 12 schools include NBA champion Richard Jefferson and softball star Jennie Finch (Arizona), Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Tyler Lockett (Kansas State), Cleveland Cavaliers forward Georges Niang (Iowa State), and former NFL quarterbacks Steve Young (BYU) and Robert Griffin III (Baylor) among others.
Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark and VP of Communications & Strategy Clark Williams will oversee the council when it starts in August once the 16-team conference is official.
“The Big 12 Conference is home to thousands of student-athlete alumni who have had great success on and off the field following their time on campus,” Yormark said in the release. “As we enter into a new chapter as a 16-team league, the insights and perspectives of the Big 12 Alumni Council will be an incredible resource.”
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Reporter Alec Cipollini covers ASU Athletics, Phoenix Mercury and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @AlecCipollini
