The Big 12 expansion groundswell

[Red Legger]

That was my thought as well.

You have to wonder what Texas is doing if this is true. They have been very public about their desire to hold the Big 12 together. So is contacting the Big Ten a contingency plan, or are they putting they playing the same game as OU, trying to pressure on them to stay in the Big 12 while OU pressures Texas to come to the PAC? Maybe Texas really is the key to Oklahoma's inclusion in the PAC and they know it.

It has to suck being the rest of the Big 12 being at the mercy of what these two decide. Oh wait....we're in a similar boat.

After watching parts of the Iowa/Iowa State game last week, I say to hell w/ em. That CyHawk game is how college football is supposed to work. I simply cannot imagine KU being in the same conference as UCLA or Indiana or Syracuse. Likewise, I cannot imagine KU not being in the same conference as UNL or Iowa State. Just to be done w/ it, I say we send OU/UT out to the Pac 16 w/ their trash (OkieState/Tech) to make the Utes/Buffs miserable. Us folks in the central Great Plains will then own the Big 12 contracts, the name, the AQ status, the bowl tie ins and exit fees. We'll then rebrand and repopulate the conference as we see fit and wait out the megaconference explosion that's sure to come. Heck, we'll probably get CU back as soon as Stanford/Cal break off the original Pac8 when they tire of the Whorns/Gooner's crap.

Larry Scott is a fool for pushing this. CU obviously doesn't want it. They'll have options. You cannot put a man on a ledge and poke him w/ a stick. That's what has led to the Big 12 implosion in the first place.

Rock Chalk Jayhawk, Beat Mizzou

[All-American]

Historically, Utah's basketball program has considerably more accomplishment than Oklahoma's. Also, Utah's football has been more succcessful in the past decade. Re academics, it depends on what you're talking about. Utah's med and law schools are ranked a lot higher (med is 33 places higher).

Huh?

[Babs]

Don't you get it? Around the US, truth be told, most have no idea where BYU is.

True story: After the game one very gracious Texas fan told DDD to have a "safe trip back to Idaho."

[TripletDaddy]

In fairness, I was wearing denim shorts and an aeropostale shirt.

[WashingtonCoug]

True story: After the game one very gracious Texas fan told DDD to have a "safe trip back to Idaho."

Go Vikings!

[SteelBlue]

In fairness, I was wearing denim shorts and an aeropostale shirt.

Liar! Everyone knows shorts are illegal in the state of Idaho.

[shoganai]

Now that Oklahoma and OSU have officially become the fourth and fifth teams to firmly grasp the Big 12 escape hatch, I'd really love to hear more speculation on what the Pac-12 will do if/when they're stuck at 14, and the only interested and available candidates for No. 15 and 16 are on this side of the Rocky Mountains.

Would they really stoop so low as to invite an MWC leftover? I'm not sure any of them have solid enough medical schools...

[Uncle Ted]

Chip Brown said on the radio this morning that Texas' current options are, in order of preference:

(1) Keep the Big 12 together. This most likely implies that tier 1 and 2 money would be shared equally and getting some help (from ESPN?) to get the OU network off the ground.

(2) Join the ACC. The ACC's main TV contract is from ESPN which would make it easier to keep the LHN.

(3) Join the B1G. The LHN would most likely need to be morphed into another Big Ten network. Some revenue sharing would most likely be required.

(4) Join the Pac-whatever. Keeping the LHN network in this conference would be a problem given that the Pac-12 owns all tier 3 rights including the teams' web pages.

The SEC wasn't even mentioned as an option. Although he did mentioned that the tier 3 rights were "locked in" like the Pac-12.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Chip Brown said on the radio this morning that Texas' current options are, in order of preference:

(1) Keep the Big 12 together. This most likely implies that tier 1 and 2 money would be shared equally and getting some help (from ESPN?) to get the OU network off the ground.

(2) Join the ACC. The ACC's main TV contract is from ESPN which would make it easier to keep the LHN.

(3) Join the B1G. The LHN would most likely need to be morphed into another Big Ten network. Some revenue sharing would most likely be required.

(4) Join the Pac-whatever. Keeping the LHN network in this conference would be a problem given that the Pac-12 owns all tier 3 rights including the teams' web pages.

The SEC wasn't even mentioned as an option. Although he did mentioned that the tier 3 rights were "locked in" like the Pac-12.

The ACC? Are you kidding me?

[shoganai]

Chip Brown said on the radio this morning that Texas' current options are, in order of preference:

(1) Keep the Big 12 together. This most likely implies that tier 1 and 2 money would be shared equally and getting some help (from ESPN?) to get the OU network off the ground.

(2) Join the ACC. The ACC's main TV contract is from ESPN which would make it easier to keep the LHN.

(3) Join the B1G. The LHN would most likely need to be morphed into another Big Ten network. Some revenue sharing would most likely be required.

(4) Join the Pac-whatever. Keeping the LHN network in this conference would be a problem given that the Pac-12 owns all tier 3 rights including the teams' web pages.

The SEC wasn't even mentioned as an option. Although he did mentioned that the tier 3 rights were "locked in" like the Pac-12.

I don't think any option that requires significant changes to the LHN model will be easy to pull off. ESPN won't let that contract be torn up so easily as long as there are viable options to keep it operating profitably as originally formatted.

I still think Texas will begrudgingly go independent before it joins a conference with limited third-tier rights.

[jay santos]

Now that Oklahoma and OSU have officially become the fourth and fifth teams to firmly grasp the Big 12 escape hatch, I'd really love to hear more speculation on what the Pac-12 will do if/when they're stuck at 14, and the only interested and available candidates for No. 15 and 16 are on this side of the Rocky Mountains.

Would they really stoop so low as to invite an MWC leftover? I'm not sure any of them have solid enough medical schools...

Maybe they will do whatever they want, meanwhile laughing their asses off at BYU stuck playing home and home's with New Mexico St, Idaho, and San Jose in November.

I really don't get this thing where BYU fans mock other conferences/schools with situations 1,000 times better than ours. Kind of like the thing where we mock Utah for being required to upgrade their stadium to join the Pac. "Haha you're not going to make any money with this Pac thing cuz you have to spend it all on facilities upgrade, you'll end up with nothing!" " we're getting an extra $15M a year and our tickets are sold out and we raise prices 20% every year and the stadium upgrade has a huge ROI."

[YOhio]

Even though we're like their second best friend next to Notre Dame, I'm happy to see Texas look so stupid and narcissistic. Their hubris bothers me and it's great to see it coming back to bite them. The funny thing is that they don't have great reason to be so arrogant. Yes, they did win a Nat Championship in the last decade, but there are many other programs in CFB with better resumes.

Remember when Uncle Ted was posting that Tombstone "bye" youtube clip in regards to aTm bolting for the SEC? Well, here about a month later they're on the 2012 SEC schedule and your president is in Norman kissing Sooner ass to save your little fiefdom. LOL!

[Coach McGuirk]

http://www.statesman.com/sports/long...s_sports_86442

"There's nothing Texas could have offered Oklahoma that would have changed their mind. They were set on leaving the Big 12 before Texas got there," a well-placed source at a Big 12 school said, adding that Sunday's meeting had a very friendly and cooperative tone. "The Big 12's done. Oklahoma wasn't open to creating Big 12 stability."

[Uncle Ted]

The ACC? Are you kidding me?

This post over at OB seems to explain the thinking about the ACC:

The only way the ACC is on the table is if they've relented on their stance against our travel partners. As of 2 weeks ago, they were 100% cool w/ the LHN. But, they weren't too keen on OU, Tech, and OSU. Despite what a few uninformed posters have said, the ACC is the top academic conference in the country, with a conference leading 10 schools ranked in the top 70 by US News (compared to 9 for the Big Ten, and 5 for the Pac-12). Academics are really important to them. If they were willing to take on 3 FSU/NC State caliber academic schools, that'd make them the overwhelming leader in the club house.

I know Texas really likes the ACC for a variety of reasons. #1) The conference has a ton of depth in football, but no top-end depth. So, it's a conference Texas could walk in and be on top of from day 1. #2) The time zone is a better fit for Texas than is the Pac-12. While it is true that Texas would rarely ever have to deal with late kickoffs in football, that's not always the case for other sports in the Pac-12. From a scheduling standpoint for the LHN, it is to our benefit to be in the Big Ten or ACC. #3) Texas basketball really wants to be a leader. The ACC is the perfect fit for growing that brand. We have a basketball rich talent state. If you're from Texas, having the opportunity to play for Texas in the ACC is a gigantic leap over playing for any other local school. #4) The ACC is strong across the board in sports, especially baseball, which is important to the administration. #5) The ACC is the only conference that is completely owned by ABC/ESPN. Plugging the LHN into their framework would be easy, AND there would be some serious benefits from having ABC/ESPN control the entire package, especially as it relates to programming for the LHN. #6) Academics are important to Texas (though secondary to profitability/championship issues). The ACC, like the Big Ten, presents Texas w/ the opportunity to be partnered w/ other prestigious universities. The ACC has more schools (6) ranked higher than Texas than any other conference.

I haven't heard from anybody that the ACC is the top choice, but I know that Texas has actively negotiated w/ the ACC and Big Ten the last 3-4 weeks, w/ much less involvement w/ the Pac-12 (to my knowledge). IF the Big XII dissolves, I think you'll see our conference affiliation come down to (#1) keeping the LHN intact, and (#2) having travel partners. The ACC and Big Ten are both willing to work w/ the LHN. Travel partners are the only real sticking point from what I've heard (as far as hesitation). If either is willing to allow us to take our friends (or at least 1 friend), I think you'll see us make a move.

[Uncle Ted]

Texas options according to Chip Brown...

Everyone wants to know what's next for Texas in realignment?

With Orangebloods.com's bombshell report Monday morning that the seven-member Oklahoma board of regents is unanimous in its desire to apply for membership to the Pac-12, the next question is: What will Texas do?

I continue to be told Texas is "looking at all options." So let's look at those options.

We will work under the assumption that Texas A&M will eventually get to the Southeastern Conference and Oklahoma and Oklahoma State will be accepted into the Pac-12 - although that is not a sure thing at this point.

In fact, if OU and Oklahoma State apply for membership to the Pac-12 and Texas decides to go in a different direction, it will test Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe's theory that the Pac-12 will not accept OU and OSU without Texas.

(Beebe expressed that theory to Big 12 presidents during a conference call on Sept. 2 that did not include Texas, Oklahoma or Texas A&M. That's when Beebe told the rest of the league's presidents to "work on Texas" to stay in the Big 12, sources said.

Beebe believed if Texas would stay in the Big 12, OU would, too, sources said. Now that theory appears to be dissolving. OU's board of regents appears set on applying to the Pac-12 with or without Texas, sources say.)

So here are Texas' options as of this moment, fully knowing the options could change in a heartbeat. But these are the options on the table at this moment after talking to UT sources:

Option 1 - Hold the Big 12 together. Texas wants the Big 12 to continue for all the reasons it wanted the Big 12 to stay together last summer. Rivalries, tradition, friendly travel for the student-athletes and, now, of course, the Longhorn Network.

The Longhorns are more committed than ever to LHN. It is better than UT officials ever imagined from a content, programming and branding standpoint, and it is contributing $5 million per year to academics for the first five years of the 20-year contract with ESPN.

But Texas sources indicate the Big 12 would not be salvageable if Oklahoma and Oklahoma State were to come out of it. There does not appear to be interest by Texas in trying to bring in the likes of BYU, Pittsburgh, Louisville, TCU and Houston to keep the Big 12 going.

Option 2 - The Atlantic Coast Conference. Texas has been looking at the ACC as a potential home because ESPN holds the TV rights to the ACC and because ESPN holds the rights to LHN.

UT is hopeful an agreement can be worked out that would allow the Longhorns to hold onto their network and still share in conference TV revenue.

Texas would love it if OU, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech would consider going east with Texas to the ACC and creating a four-team pod system in which most of their competition would be against each other (to reduce travel).

But OU and Oklahoma State don't appear interested in that. So who else would the ACC attract to the league if OU and OSU were unwilling to go east? Texas Tech and a couple Big East schools (UConn/Syracuse/Rutgers)? At that point, Texas would be on an island in the ACC, which is unfavorable.


Option 3 - The Big Ten. It would take a lot of creativity for this to work and for UT to be able to hang onto LHN. And it's a longshot. But the Big Ten wanted Notre Dame and Texas in the worst way. Jim Delany is going to have to think outside the box to attract Texas and/or Notre Dame.

The Big Ten would have to do something like allow Texas to hold onto the LHN and figure out some formula for UT to share some (if any) revenue from the Big Ten Network. How would the other Big Ten members feel about that?


Option 4 - Pac-12. The Longhorn Network definitely gets re-worked in this scenario, and the Pac-12 has the most restricting "all rights in" agreements in all of the BCS.

Before Larry Scott got to the Pac-12, that conference was so bad at maximizing dollars under Tom Hansen that Scott got the schools to turn over their rights to Tier 1, 2 and 3 television as well as the school's web sites.

Scott vowed to turn it all into a windfall of cash, and he has - to the tune of $3 billion in TV contracts with Fox and ESPN. But for Texas, joining the Pac-12 would be going from a free-market economy to socialism.

But if Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are in the Pac-12 (and Texas Tech is praying for the Pac-12), Texas might bite hard and give up some of its revenue to be in a league with some of its long-time rivals.

Last summer, Texas president Bill Powers was chomping to get to the Pac-12 and had to be talked out of it by the likes of DeLoss Dodds and Chris Plonsky to hold the Big 12 together and give the Longhorn Network a chance.

Now, you can look back and question who was right. But as long as Bill Powers is the president at Texas, the Pac-12 will be an option for Texas because he likes the ideas of UT rubbing shoulders with academic powers like Stanford and Cal.

There is a lot of consternation about how the teams in the Pac-12 would be aligned if the Pac-12 grew to 14 or 16 teams. Everyone wants to be in the same division with USC and UCLA so they are guaranteed trips to southern California for recruiting purposes.

Larry Scott might have to get creative to make everyone happy - if that's possible.


Option 5 - Independence. This really is not an option in the minds of Texas officials. They will not go independent.


There are options that may not have even been thought of at this point. But those appear to be the options at the moment.

One other thing to keep in mind:

--Watch Texas Tech in this equation. Tech wants to go to the Pac-12, but if Texas doesn't end up leaning in that direction, what does Tech do?

They've always been hitched to Texas, but if they try to get into the Pac-12 without Texas, the Red Raiders might overplay their hand and get left behind.

--Texas enjoys a BIG seat at the table in the Big 12. In another conference, Texas' seat at the table may not be as big.

--Texas went out of its way to say last summer holding the Big 12 together was the most favorable scenario for student-athletes in terms of travel.

Going to the ACC and traveling from the east back to the Central Time Zone is better than traveling west and flying back in the middle of the night to Austin. But it's not much better.

In either scenario, Texas will be singing a different tune about what's best for the student-athlete.

Stay tuned.