The Big 12 expansion groundswell

[Jarid in Cedar]

Well guess what, turns out the BIG12 is better than the PAC after all. Media partners showed each what their value was. And the BIG12 was valued well above the PAC. Clearly even Utah’s admin agreed - as did the admin of Colorado, AZ, and ASU.

Where the B-12 was better than the P-12 was leadership. The reality was, outside of the SEC and B-10, there is only a finite amount of media dollars to be had. Yomark outflanked the P-12 by moving up his negotiations well ahead of schedule. This locked up a healthy chunk of that $$, leaving the everyone else to scramble. By doing that he financially stabilized his conference in a way that the P-12 commissioner did not. The reality is that, once Texas/OU and USC/UCLA left, the value of the remaining teams was on par with each other. Yomark recognized that value and moved quickly to be the conference to secure his share of that ahead of the other two conferences (ACC, P-12). If the Pac-12 had taken the lead and secured their media contract first, they would have survived and been the group taking in schools instead of the other way around.

Honestly, the 4 corner schools come out of this in far better shape than the rest of the P-12. OSU and WSU are in a world of hurt. Stanford and Cal are on an island, struggling to find a direction. Oregon and Washington are locked into a diminished share (roughly the same that Utah, ASU, UofA, and CU will get) for an unstated length of time. They will be competing against schools with double the resources, and will be wasting a healthy chunk of that money on travel expenses. Of the teams, on the move, they are the big losers.

[Commando]

Ugh. I can’t stand Utah. I was hoping they would have to cancel sports so I never had to hear from them again.

[Jarid in Cedar]

[Commando]

BYU fans' misery at Utah's seamless transition is funny. JL: "Utah faces extinction." Haha.

Two good things. Utah is in the best basketball conference in the country. And Basketball is the best sport. The Big 12 looks a lot better in every way with the Four Corner schools.

BYU fans hard wired to believe what they want to believe.

Too bad Utah sucks at basketball. Ouch. The Big XII is going to smudge them out like a cigarette.

[BigPiney]

Oh good all the pompous ass ute fans are back.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

But that isn’t what they were saying. They were saying the BIG12 was beneath them. Utah was too good to consider the BIG12 conference.

Well guess what, turns out the BIG12 is better than the PAC after all. Media partners showed each what their value was. And the BIG12 was valued well above the PAC. Clearly even Utah’s admin agreed - as did the admin of Colorado, AZ, and ASU.

It’s funny you mention the value of the rivalry game, since Utah’s AD and fans have been doing their best to downplay and undervalue it for the last 12 years. I appreciate your honesty.

The reality is the Big 12 became the better conference once the meal ticket, the two LA teams, left. It's insane that they didn't understand this. That's the recruiting base and it's what would get them TV deals.

Yormark understood this which is why he discussed poaching Pac 10 teams early on. The Big 12 still has a foothold in Texas similar to how the ACC still has a foothold in Florida. This year Texas has 64 4-5 star recruits compared to 35 in California. After you get past around the top 25 Texas recruits, who seem just as likely to go to Georgia or Florida as they are to Texas or OU, then you start seeing many of them sign with Big 12 teams.

Colorado, and I suspect Deion Sanders, probably understood this earlier than the rest of the Pac 12.

[MartyFunkhouser]

But that isn’t what they were saying. They were saying the BIG12 was beneath them. Utah was too good to consider the BIG12 conference.

Well guess what, turns out the BIG12 is better than the PAC after all. Media partners showed each what their value was. And the BIG12 was valued well above the PAC. Clearly even Utah’s admin agreed - as did the admin of Colorado, AZ, and ASU.

It’s funny you mention the value of the rivalry game, since Utah’s AD and fans have been doing their best to downplay and undervalue it for the last 12 years. I appreciate your honesty.

With the rivalry, I have never been in the camp. I've always wanted it played and hated when it wasn't. It was stupid to not play it.

[Uncle Ted]

I wonder if WV would like to change their vote...

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[Omaha 680]

Remember how indignant KW was at the awful awful treatment his family has received at games in Provo? If he actually decides not to retire after this year, I strongly advise him not to bring his family to Lubbock.

[Non Sequitur]

I'm new to this thread, and it's taken me a couple of days to catch up. I'm still a BYU fan, but I have to admit I chuckle at the angst around Utah joining the B12. Before it was announced, no one seemed to want it, and I can only think it's because we're not anxious to be in a position where we are once again Utah's little brother. We need to enjoy 2023, because 2024 will bring back the pain of being in the same conference as Utah.

[Omaha 680]

I'm new to this thread, and it's taken me a couple of days to catch up. I'm still a BYU fan, but I have to admit I chuckle at the angst around Utah joining the B12. Before it was announced, no one seemed to want it, and I can only think it's because we're not anxious to be in a position where we are once again Utah's little brother. We need to enjoy 2023, because 2024 will bring back the pain of being in the same conference as Utah.

Yeah you don't get it. It's not about fear. Remember ours is the side of the rivalry that never wanted to take a break from playing the game even in the midst of the losing streak.

It is about wanting utah to suffer because they have been huge dicks (both fans in general and admin) ever since their invite to the PAC. As far as the direct competition, I love that part of it and bring it on. I give it a 50/50 shot KW retires after this season anyway and utah is due for a huge dip when that happens.

[Non Sequitur]

Yeah you don't get it. It's not about fear. Remember ours is the side of the rivalry that never wanted to take a break from playing the game even in the midst of the losing streak.

It is about wanting utah to suffer because they have been huge dicks (both fans in general and admin) ever since their invite to the PAC. As far as the direct competition, I love that part of it and bring it on. I give it a 50/50 shot KW retires after this season anyway and utah is due for a huge dip when that happens.

A one-sided rivalry is not much of a rivalry. Utah took a break from playing us because we were no longer useful to them. They moved on. We didn't.

[LiveCoug]

I'm new to this thread, and it's taken me a couple of days to catch up. I'm still a BYU fan, but I have to admit I chuckle at the angst around Utah joining the B12. Before it was announced, no one seemed to want it, and I can only think it's because we're not anxious to be in a position where we are once again Utah's little brother. We need to enjoy 2023, because 2024 will bring back the pain of being in the same conference as Utah.

Lol. Yeah, that's not it. Ute fans are comforting themselves thinking that's it, but that's not it.

[MartyFunkhouser]

Too bad Utah sucks at basketball. Ouch. The Big XII is going to smudge them out like a cigarette.

Utah has a basketball team?

[Jeff Lebowski]

A one-sided rivalry is not much of a rivalry. Utah took a break from playing us because we were no longer useful to them. They moved on. We didn't.

Man alive, you are the king of self-loathing.