The Big 12 expansion groundswell

[USUC]

I hope the rumors of the Big-12's demise is being orchestrated by OU to force expansion. If the Big-12 does indeed die, it is not good news for BYU. Assuming this leads to 4 conferences made up of 16 teams, the spots will likely be filled by current Big-12 members.

[wapiti]

I hope the rumors of the Big-12's demise is being orchestrated by OU to force expansion. If the Big-12 does indeed die, it is not good news for BYU. Assuming this leads to 4 conferences made up of 16 teams, the spots will likely be filled by current Big-12 members.

I'm not sure what it would mean for BYU if the Big 12's demise happens in the next few years. The only way the Big 12 goes down is if Texas refuses to allow expansion AND refuses to let go of LHN. So if Texas destroys the conference for the sake of its network I would assume that Texas won't go to another P5 when the Big 12 dies as no other conference will allow LHN. So Texas would go indy. No Texas leaves the the Texas Big 12 schools up a creek. The other P5's won't take TT, TCU, or Baylor without Texas.

To get around the GOR, Oklahoma needs 5 schools to leave the conference simultaneously. Oklahoma can assuredly get a bid from the SEC. They also have a punchers shot at a bid from the Pac or BIG. I could even see the ACC going that far to go after the KU/OU package. For the hoops-loving ACC that would be incredible.

Oklahoma, Kansas, West Virginia, and Oklahoma State can probably find a P5 home. Who will be the 5th school OU can use to form the coalition to bust the Big 12 grant of rights? Probably TCU because they are the only Texas school (other than UT) in a decent location.

The question for BYU is what would the PAC do to get to 16 if they can't have Texas. BYU may have a decent shot at selection to the PAC in that scenario. And even if we don't land in the PAC, we have a new indy buddy in Texas. :rockon2:

[TripletDaddy]

In case anyone was wondering, Berry Tramel explains yet again why Nebraska, Mizzou, and aTM are not coming back to the B12; compares BYU to Puerto Rico

http://newsok.com/article/5438498

I don’t buy it. I think everyone goes through an adjustment to new environments, so why would our old pals the Cornhuskers, the Aggies, the Tigers and Buffaloes be any different? Having to play at Rutgers is nothing to be excited about. Having to navigate in a 14-team conference is a mess. But that doesn’t mean you want to go back to sharing a boardroom with Texas. That doesn’t mean you trade stability for instability. That doesn’t mean you’ll trade increased status for decreased status.

That’s the fundamental Big 12 problem. In almost every way, the Big 12 has an inferior status from its salad days of a few years ago.
Competitively, which we’ve short-circuited the world wide web writing about. That’s actually the quickest fix for the Big 12. Make the playoff. Win once you get there. A national title would solve a lot of ills.
Academically. The Big 12 lost some of its more distinguished academic members in NU, MU, A&M and CU. That isn’t lost amid the ivory towers, though we never think about that when debating TCU or Baylor for the national semifinals. And that isn’t at all an easy fix.
Collegially. Maybe the most important. These are not the 10 musketeers. In the Big 12, it’s not all for one and one for all. It’s everybody out for himself. Go back to the government landscape. The other power conferences are united states. The Big 12 is a loose collection of colonies.
Does anyone really think Nebraska or Missouri or A&M is coming back to the land of The Longhorn Network? The land where Baylor’s scheduling philosophy is dragging down the league’s reputation. The conference that has gone from leader to follower?

But two more schools are needed for the Big 12 to get back to its namesake, which might be necessary for the conference’s long-term health. Stay at 10, and forces outside the Big 12’s control could turn it into the Poison Ivy League. David Boren himself seems to believe so.

If necessary, then who? It’s sort of like U.S. expansion. If we had to add two states, there wouldn’t be any quick resolution. Same with the Big 12. Brigham Young is like Puerto Rico, clearly the next in line but arriving with some issues, not the least of which is tempered excitement. We’re not sure the Puerto Ricans even want to be a state, and we’re not sure BYU even wants to give up its independence.

Is it really a good development that Georgia and Alabama are scheduled only once between 2008 and 2020?How can it be that Duke and Clemson, two original ACC members that share a state line and are separated by only 272 miles, play only twice between 2008 and 2023?
But those are minor irritants. Those pale in comparison to the Big 12, which in five years stunningly has fallen in status. The lack of quality leadership — or better yet, the lack of listening to quality leadership — on everything from a conference network to the admission of Louisville to the embracement of those goofy slogans has dropped Big 12 prestige below even that of the Big Eight in its last days.
The Big 12 remains firmly a Power 5 Conference. But the Big 12 has little to offer a university already in the Power 5.
I know Nebraska misses the Oklahoma series. I know Missouri misses the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City. I know A&M misses the Thanksgiving tradition against Texas. But those are wistful events that can’t counter the current Big 12 malaise.
Nebraska’s academic status is secured in the Big Ten. Missouri has won the SEC East twice in three years in the league. A&M isn’t asking what it’s doing in the SEC, it’s asking what took so long to get there.
You can’t turn back the clock. Those schools aren’t coming back. If the Big 12 must expand, it’s going to have to look outside the Power 5.

[Paperback Writer]

I hope the rumors of the Big-12's demise is being orchestrated by OU to force expansion. If the Big-12 does indeed die, it is not good news for BYU. Assuming this leads to 4 conferences made up of 16 teams, the spots will likely be filled by current Big-12 members.

I think you might be correct; I think OU might be playing a game of Russian roulette with UT.

I'm not sure what it would mean for BYU if the Big 12's demise happens in the next few years. The only way the Big 12 goes down is if Texas refuses to allow expansion AND refuses to let go of LHN. So if Texas destroys the conference for the sake of its network I would assume that Texas won't go to another P5 when the Big 12 dies as no other conference will allow LHN. So Texas would go indy. No Texas leaves the the Texas Big 12 schools up a creek. The other P5's won't take TT, TCU, or Baylor without Texas.

To get around the GOR, Oklahoma needs 5 schools to leave the conference simultaneously. Oklahoma can assuredly get a bid from the SEC. They also have a punchers shot at a bid from the Pac or BIG. I could even see the ACC going that far to go after the KU/OU package. For the hoops-loving ACC that would be incredible.

Oklahoma, Kansas, West Virginia, and Oklahoma State can probably find a P5 home. Who will be the 5th school OU can use to form the coalition to bust the Big 12 grant of rights? Probably TCU because they are the only Texas school (other than UT) in a decent location.

The question for BYU is what would the PAC do to get to 16 if they can't have Texas. BYU may have a decent shot at selection to the PAC in that scenario. And even if we don't land in the PAC, we have a new indy buddy in Texas. :rockon2:

The game of Big 12 Russian Roulette works like this:
There's no way OU is going to convince five other Big 12 schools to defect. At best, the Sooners can take Okie St. with them to the SEC and hope the B1G invites KU. None of the P5 will take WV or TCU or anyone else (and KU to the B1G is very iffy).

The Big 12 GOR has no exit fee; that is by design. No one can really quantify potential damages. It is an unknown and would be up to a court to determine. So the damages could be accessed at nothing since no network has ever reduced TV revenue payouts to a conference when one or more of its members defects. But that's highly unlikely. On the other hand, a court could rule for massive payouts for breaking the GOR. Consequently, OU and Okie St. cannot quantify the cost/benefit with leaving the Big 12 to join the SEC.

And that's where the Russian Roulette comes in. It's almost like an all-or-nothing scenario. OU says to UT, we're going to join the SEC unless the Big 12 expands. Click. UT could reply: "Go ahead; see you in court". Click. Or the Longhorns can put down the gun and reply: "Who else besides BYU do we add?"

The Longhorns didn't budge with the Aggies during a similar game and the Aggies are now happy in the SEC. Has UT learned anything?

[TripletDaddy]

BYU pissing on the Dude's rug

Christopher Lambert @theDudeofWV 4h4 hours ago
UCONN has supplied data... only BYU hasn't replied and Memphis has declined.

[TripletDaddy]

More Dudespeak

Christopher Lambert @theDudeofWV 3h3 hours ago
By the way folks after talking to the UCONN AD's office I can tell you they have not been talking to the B1G.

Christopher Lambert @theDudeofWV 3h3 hours ago
That's not a slam at UCONN. It's a slam at the guy who tried to fan the B1G flames for UCONN fans late last winter.

Christopher Lambert @theDudeofWV 2h2 hours ago
I hate to say I told you so about those B1G contract dreams...but ESPN lost nearly 4 million subscribers last year alone.

[Commando]

Lol @ Berry Trammel. Wasn't it news that Bronco looked all thirsty in some article last year, openly jocking the Big XII for a spot?

[San Juan Sun]

The Dude and GSwaim can both S a D. Maybe Barry Tramel too. And whichever of OU/Texas that doesn't want to invite us. And Gary Patterson, just because.

[TripletDaddy]

Chip Brown getting back into the mix

OU's BOREN LOOKING AROUND?

Speaking of the state of Oklahoma, multiple sources told me this week Oklahoma president David Boren is one of three presidents in the Big 12 who have been put on a committee by the league to see if there are two schools worthy of adding to make the Big 12 - 12.

What I've also heard is that Boren is shaking the trees a little bit when it comes to looking at other conference options for the Sooners, including the Pac-12, Big Ten and SEC "as possible alternatives in the next two years," one source close to the situation told HD.

Why in the next two years?

The Big 12 has a look-in window in its Tier 1 and Tier 2 television agreements with ESPN and FOX

So basically what Boren has indicated to some is if the Big 12 doesn't make moves in the next two years that - in his mind - improve the league, the Sooners could be looking for a new conference home at that point.

(Chip Brown)

[TripletDaddy]

Berry Tramel has BYU on the brain lately

http://newsok.com/article/5438494

Don’t laugh about the 10-game schedule. I believe that more and more, pressure will build for programs to play quality schedules. It’s getting more difficult each year to get fans to buy tickets and to get fans to use those tickets. In-stadium attendance is a constant source of concern for administrators. That’s why you see stadium renovations, amenities addressed, etc. Kickoff times are a major area of contention, but schools have sold their soul on that issue. They play when the television networks demand they play.One of the best ways to help pack the stadium is to replace a rumdum game with a meaningful game. Take OU, for example. If the Sooners were playing a 10th conference game, how much better would that potential home game be? For comparison sake, let’s use Brigham Young. If BYU was on the schedule instead of Akron, how much better does that make the Owen Field slate? Much better. OSU? BYU instead of Central Arkansas? Much better.
The 14-team conferences have a connection problem, which I addressed in my column for the Thursday Oklahoman and which you can read here. They don’t play each other enough. A 10-game conference schedule helps to alleviate that. It wouldn’t surprise me if the leagues went to 10-game conference schedules in the next few years.

[YOhio]

Chip Brown getting back into the mix

Chip used to tell us to "stay tuned." I loved and miss that.

[TripletDaddy]

Boren was right: LHN is a failure

http://www.foxsports.com/college-foo...-cattle-051115

Why has the Longhorn Network been the farthest thing from must-see television in cable sports history? It's the programming, stupid. ESPN and Texas gambled that a couple of football games, a bevy of other less popular sporting events and rabid coverage of their local team would be as popular as oil in the Lone Star State. The problem was this: Even the most diehard Texas fan can watch only so many softball games and swim meets. Football's the life blood of televised college sports. And the Longhorn Network never had enough football to get fan demand stoked to a high level. This was a dry oil well priced as a gusher.

This means the Longhorn Network, launched to strengthen Texas' competitive stature for a generation to come, actually strengthened its rivals more than it did Texas. The launch of the Longhorn Network was such a disaster that ESPN used it as a road map for what not to do when they launched the SEC Network. The result? The SEC Network was the most successful channel launch in cable history; the Longhorn Network remains the least successful cable launch in ESPN history. (If you want to give ESPN credit for playing grandmaster-level chess, did the network encourage Texas to start the Longhorn Network knowing that it would lead to the SEC Network, which will make hundreds of millions for ESPN? If so, that would be true genius level.)Toss in the fact that TCU is now a member of the Big 12 -- slicing into the recruiting base of Texas -- and you're talking about the Longhorn Network undercutting the Texas brand on all fronts. At least coaches aren't complaining about all the obligations the network foists upon them and the competitive advantage it gives the rival coaches who watch it to glean scouting news.
Wait, they're doing that?
Ouch.

Want a final kicker? George Bodenheimer, the president of ESPN at the time of the Longhorn Network's launch,just wrote a great book about his tenure at ESPN, which I'd encouage you to read. He covers just about every major decision that was made by the network over the past 35 years. He praises countless channel and product launches, from ESPN2 to ESPN Classic, ESPNNews to the SEC Network. He even devotes ample time to the launch of ESPN.com and to the disastrous ESPN phone launch.He doesn't mention the Longhorn Network in the entire book.
Not once.
That's because it's the worst television programming decision in ESPN history. The Longhorn Network has already cost ESPN tens of millions of dollars, and that cable money pit appears to have no end in sight. Sure, no one is watching. But even worse, no one is complaining because they aren't able to watch. The Longhorn Network proves that in today's sports marketplace, there's no room for single-team channels.
Despite all the pronouncements about how it was going to change college sports forever, in the end the Longhorn Network was all hat, no cattle.

[Lost Student]

Boren was right: LHN is a failure

http://www.foxsports.com/college-foo...-cattle-051115

The Longhorn Network proves that in today's sports marketplace, there's no room for single-team channels.

Not so fast, Boren. There's room for at least one certain single-team channel.

[TripletDaddy]

Baylor AD sez: 8 team playoff

http://espn.go.com/college-football/...yoff-expansion

Baylor athletic director Ian McCaw, one season after seeing his Bears left on the doorstep of the inaugural College Football Playoff, believes the national championship tournament will expand from four teams to eight within the next five years."I think we'll get there," McCaw said Wednesday. "Once we get there, we'll say, 'Why didn't we do this from day one?' I would think within five years would be my hope."
The Bears, co-champions of the Big 12, finished the 2014 regular season 11-1 and No. 5 in the final CFP ranking. Ohio State, which edged out Baylor and Big 12 co-champion TCU for the fourth spot, went on to win the national title.
"If you're [No.] 9 or 10, it's hard to argue you should be national champion," McCaw said. "But right now, if you're No. 5, and you're a conference champion, and you get left out, you can make a pretty good argument that you could have done what Ohio State did last year and win a national championship."

[TripletDaddy]

Berry Tramel makes the case for BYU

http://newsok.com/tramel-the-big-12-...438621/?page=2

probably the most favorable article written about BYU and conference expansion basically since all of this started years ago. He tackles most of the main tropes and stereotypes and does so more effectively than anything BYu has ever released (to the extent BYU has released anything).

None of the info is news to BYU fans but it is finally being said by local B12 media. And no coincidence that this is from an Oklahoma writer. Boren is forcing the issue now using all his available assets.