The Big 12 expansion groundswell

[TripletDaddy]

Agree if Iowa goes undefeated and wins the Big Ten CCG, they will have earned a playoff spot. Maybe that's the solution to the Big 12 not getting an invite - giving two playoff seeds to the Big Ten (undefeated Iowa and one-loss Ohio St.). But I have doubts about Iowa because of the Hawkeyes very favorable schedule which is comparable to Oklahoma St. and Baylor.

It's been a disappointing season for Nebraska to say the least, but if the Huskers have proved one thing, its that they are capable of beating an undefeated team in Lincoln (Michigan St.) as long as the refs allow a receiver to go out-of-bounds before coming back in to make the game-winning TD catch.

They also proved that they can allegedly rape women! That's two things right there.

[Jeff Lebowski]

They also proved that they can allegedly rape women! That's two things right there.

They also proved that they can be beaten in their home opener!

That's tree things, folks. Keep 'em coming.

[Jeff Lebowski]

They also proved that they can allegedly rape women! That's two things right there.

To be fair, that was already rather well established.

[Paperback Writer]

They also proved that they can allegedly rape women! That's two things right there.

The facts are still being sorted out about the alleged assault. Maybe a woman just got in between them - wrong place at the wrong time.

[Paperback Writer]

To be fair, that was already rather well established.

[All-American]

Oh come on. That sort of thing would never happen at the BYU.

[TripletDaddy]

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PAC expanding?

[TripletDaddy]

The fix is in

http://m.tulsaworld.com/blogs/sports....html?mode=jqm

The best way for the college football movers and shakers to gain real bargaining power over ESPN and other television networks is for the best of the Power 5 conferences to congeal into four, 16-team superconferences. The leagues and schools would hold all the cards in the board room and could name their own price for the rights to broadcast their games.The best way to make that happen is to dissolve the weakest of the Power 5 conferences — the Big 12 — and absorb the best of the Big 12 into the others.

And the best way to accomplish that is to take measures to lessen the chances of the Big 12 getting a spot in the four-team playoff. That will frustrate the Big 12’s best teams and best programs into wanting to leave, and if an OU or a Texas wants to leave, the Big 12 is doomed and it’ll be every school for itself.

[TripletDaddy]

Houston may or may not have a chance and, if presented with an invite, should either go or stay

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/spor...he-6639658.php

Many NCAA observers predict conference shifts may have come to a standstill, with most conferences tied into television agreements that continue into the mid-2020s.

"Why would the Power Five grow?" said one analyst who declined to be identified because of previous relationships with UH. "Which schools are going to add enough value so that the yield per acre (or the financial payout per school) will increase? If it doesn't increase, why do it?"

Big 12 out of reach?

The Big 12 is a target for many UH fans and administrators, including Tillman Fertitta, chairman of the school's board of regents. But consultant Chuck Neinas, the former Big 12 interim commissioner, said that is not likely in the short term.

"Although there is some discussion among presidents, it's my understanding that athletic directors are pretty unanimous about wanting to remain (Big 12 membership) at 10," Neinas said. "What we don't know is what the future holds and what may be the impact of the College Football playoff format."

A key factor driving conference expansion has been increasing television markets by adding markets inside a league's traditional geographic area. No Power Five conference has more than four members from the same state, and the only three with four are the Pac-12 (four of 12 from California), Atlantic Coast Conference (four of 14 in North Carolina) and Big 12 (four from Texas).

The SEC over the last quarter-century has limited expansion to one school per state, which seems to limit UH's chances of membership, particularly given the large number of A&M and LSU fans in the area. SEC games already draw above-average television audiences in Houston.

As for the Big 12, questions abound about whether Houston would bring in enough additional revenue, in the form of higher TV rights fees, to carve the revenue pie into 11 slices rather than 10.

"There is concern about having another (Big 12) team in Texas," Neinas said.

Some Big 12 proponents argue that if the league is to expand, it should strike into new territory - be it Memphis or Cincinnati or a Florida school - rather than adding another Texas school.

Of course, the Big 12 may be forced to expand if its champion, be it an Oklahoma State team or a one-loss Oklahoma, Baylor or TCU squad, is left out of the College Football Playoffs for a second straight year. NCAA rules require a conference to have 12 members to have a conference title game, and the current Big 12 is two schools short. Pending legislation, though, could impact that situation.

Some have mentioned the Big Ten, whose television deal expires in 2016-17, but that league has focused on schools that belong to the research-oriented Association of American Universities. UH is not an AAU member.

'Best of the rest'

UH's best hope, Neinas said, is to make itself "the best of the rest, so to speak. The next question is can they make themselves the most attractive candidate if there is expansion. No one can predict the future. Just be the best you can be."

Aresco, the American Athletic Conference commissioner, argues that UH can benefit by staying put. Strong seasons by UH, Temple, Navy and Memphis, with wins over Power Five teams and strong television performances, show the collective strength of the conference that eventually could pay off in a more lucrative TV agreement before the end of this decade.

"I fully understand the challenges that we face, but I'm excited about the progress," he said. "You punch from where you stand."

Keeping focused on the task at hand, rather than on what may or may not be in store, is particularly critical at a time when the college football landscape is more evenly matched that at any point in memory, said Fox Sports analyst Spencer Tillman, a former OU and NFL player and longtime Houston-area resident.

"If you have the right intellectual property, you can excel," Tillman said. "Tom has a great system and a great mind. He's the XBox. He has the structure, the intellectual property, and he knows how to motivate."

And so, while conference expansion may be at a standstill for the next three to four years, "It's only a matter until they (UH) ascend," Tillman said.

That is UH's intent.

"For the most part, we're making progress," Herman said. "I know it can't happen overnight. But I do think we're headed in the right direction, and the sky is the limit."

[Bo Diddley]

The fix is in

http://m.tulsaworld.com/blogs/sports....html?mode=jqm

I've wondered about this for some time now. Is Notre Dame forced into a conference in this scenario? If so, one P5 team gets left out of the mix.

[Blueintheface]

So damn depressing.

[Jeff Lebowski]

So damn depressing.

Flugaur tweets? You can't be serious.

[The_Douger]

................until what he's tweeting is exactly what happens.

[Jeff Lebowski]

................until what he's tweeting is exactly what happens.

Oh brother.

[All-American]

I liked the part where Houston strongarms the Big XII into taking it by threatening to accept an invite into the PAC.