Dean Straka has arrived, and Big 12 Media Days are coming - and with them a #Mailbag

When one door closes, a new one always seems to open. That said, I’m beyond thrilled and thankful to call Frogs O’ War my new home.

If my name has popped up on your Facebook or Twitter newsfeed at some point since 2015, well, allow me to re-introduce myself: My name is Dean Straka, and it’s privilege to be writing about TCU and the Big 12 for what will soon be a fourth consecutive season.

I could write an entire longform piece about my journey to the SB Nation family, but I’ll do my best to keep it short and sweet. I graduated from Texas Christian University in May 2017 and have covered TCU athletics regularly since July 2015. I had the honor of being the Sports Editor at TCU 360 during the fall semester that year before jumping over to Scout.com in 2016. Shortly after graduation in 2017, I was brought onto the team at DieHards.com for what was truly an unforgettable year with some incredible writers from across the Big 12 landscape. Once that venture came to an end, the invitation from Melissa and Jamie to join Frogs O’ War was a no-brainer.

Ever since I was sent on my first TCU football assignment, which just happened to be Big 12 Media Days back at the Omni Dallas Hotel in 2015, I’ve been blessed to witness some incredible moments along the TCU athletics trail. I was there in Lubbock with TCU 360 for “Catch 22” in 2015 and in San Antonio for the unforgettable Alamo Bowl comeback later that season. A car breakdown didn’t stop me making it to Houston to cover TCU baseball’s sweep of three SEC teams (including one of many absurd finishes vs. Texas A&M) for Scout.com in March 2017, and little did I know that I’d be on my way to Madison Square Garden in New York City to cover TCU Basketball’s NIT run several weeks later. More recently, I had to privilege to cover the first Big 12 Championship Game since 2010 with DieHards.com when the Horned Frogs and Sooners took center-stage at AT&T Stadium last December.

But enough about me....for now at least. It’s best that we shift the focus to the football frenzy that is now less than a week away — the 2018 edition of Big 12 Football Media Days.

Yours truly will be on location in Frisco on Monday and Tuesday next week as 42 different players and all 10 head coaches from across the Big 12 descend upon North Texas to unofficially kick-off the 2018 college football season. The Horned Frogs will take the stage on Monday, and once again, Gary Patterson will be the first coach to hit the podium.

If you have questions before then (football related or not), fire away, because I’m here to answer them. Just don’t wait too long, or you may miss the party.

For those who want to stay even more up to date and/or want to put up with my bad Twitter jokes, you’re more than welcome to follow along at @dwstraka49. I’ll be here for plenty of breaking news and I’m always open to new story ideas, if you’ve got requests.

And with that, here’s to what I adamantly believe will be the best football season yet at this fantastic website. I’m lucky to be along for the ride, and I cannot wait to see what we accomplish.