The Big 12 expansion groundswell

[Babs]

Can't find confirmation as of now, but I am trying....

There is none.

http://www.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/e...56338/31266466

[Uncle Ted]

It is like a bomb hit Orangebloods nation.... They are talking all kinds of crazy:

If A&M leaves, I think Texas needs to offer BYU, ND, and OU (because they will have been good sports in all of this) an equal share in the LHN until they are able to all get their own networks off the ground, in hopes of luring them away from their current standings. ESPN could then package all 4 of the networks nationally together for a small price, and would guarantee big time sells between Texas, BYU, and Notre Dame. They will have essentially increased their footprint more than any conference.

Bring in TCU to round out the Southern Division, and allow BYU and ND to play in the north and Texas and OU to play in the south. That would make for a solid investment nationally, and would be good football for the fans. That's just my thinking though.

BYU has its own network, thank you. I don't think ND wants to be in the Big 12.

What about ND, BYU, Boise St, or maybe even ACC or Big East teams?

Boise St? Really?

If I'm a betting man, I think this is what most likely happens. The Pac-12 will likely want to bring in Texas, OU, Kansas, and BYU. Texas will likely want to bring Tech, OU, and OSU. It would probably end up being some sort of compromise so that both sides can look like they have given some ground. I would think it ends up being Texas, OU, OSU, and either BYU or Kansas in place of Tech, but Texas gets to have the LHN with some revenue sharing for teams that appear on the LHN.

If the PAC-10 wanted BYU they would have taken them instead of CU.

[Uncle Ted]

Chip Brown's latest:

August 22 appears to be D-Day for the 10-member Big 12 as we know it.

Three sources close to the situation said Texas A&M’s regents board will meet on August 22 to deliberate and likely vote on an application to join the Southeastern Conference as early as 2012.

Texas A&M System spokesman Jason Cook denied reports that A&M has already agreed to join the SEC.

“There’s no agreement in principle, nothing,” Cook told Orangebloods.com.

Two sources said the SEC presidents could be gathered this weekend in an emergency meeting to address the possible addition of Texas A&M.

The sources said the Aggies’ nine-member regents board is leaning toward leaving the Big 12 and are being fueled by a lack of confidence in the current configuration of the league - i.e. the relationship between Texas and ESPN (the Longhorn Network) and how it could negatively impact the rest of the members.

There’s growing concern in the Big 12 that A&M is already well down the road toward joining the SEC.

According to multiple sources close to the situation, Aggies’ president Bowen Loftin met with SEC officials prior to an Aug. 1 meeting among Big 12 athletic directors in Dallas to discuss how to co-exist with Texas and its Longhorn Network (LHN).

Loftin apparently aired A&M’s grievances against LHN to SEC officials during the meeting. Cook said he wasn’t aware of any such meeting.
“I think this is pretty far along,” one administrator at a Big 12 school said of A&M’s courtship with the SEC.

One of A&M’s concerns - LHN airing high school games - was eliminated on Thursday when the NCAA ruled no high school games would be allowed to be shown on school or conference networks.

But it didn’t appear the NCAA’s ruling would have much bearing on A&M’s momentum toward the SEC, sources said.

The question is if anything can slow the apparent momentum. Sources across the Big 12 said lawmakers were being contacted in hopes of reaching Texas A&M officials to fully consider preserving all the history and tradition between Texas A&M and the Texas schools in the Big 12.

The SEC has been eerily quiet about all the speculation surrounding Texas A&M. But sources said SEC commissioner Mike Slive and Texas A&M president Bowen Loftin have formed a relationship since Slive visited College Station last June during the Big 12 Missile Crisis.

Loftin was impressed by Slive when it appeared half the Big 12 was headed to the Pac-10, and Slive made a pitch to Texas A&M to head east - not west.

The two have spoken intermittently since then, sources said. Bowen’s most recent visit with Slive apparently happened on SEC turf two weeks ago, according to sources.

Upon learning of Loftin’s alleged meeting with SEC officials before huddling with Big 12 ADs on Aug. 1, one official at a Big 12 school questioned the Aggies and their Code of Honor, which states, “An Aggie does not lie, cheat or steal, or tolerate those who do.”

The source said Texas A&M made a 10-year pledge to hold the Big 12 Conference together when ABC/ESPN vowed a year ago to keep paying the Big 12 as if it was still a 12-member league with a championship game. The source also questioned if A&M might be liable for breach of contract after signing a 13-year, $1.17 billion TV contract with Fox Sports for the Big 12’s second-tier rights to football in April.

An A&M source told Orangebloods.com the Aggies are having their lawyers look at everything, including the exit fees A&M would have to pay to leave the Big 12.

Under the current bylaws, Texas A&M would be required to relinquish 80 percent of revenues over a two-year period if the Aggies left with only a year’s notice.

Nebraska and Colorado were able to pay substantially less than that by settling with the Big 12.

Sources said Thursday the SEC would be interested in adding Oklahoma and Oklahoma State and Virginia Tech in addition to Texas A&M to form a 16-team super conference. Florida State has also been mentioned as a possible target of the SEC, according to Big 12 sources.

Two officials at separate Big 12 schools said Oklahoma and Oklahoma State would stay in the Big 12 as long as the other schools were willing to stay together. A third official in the Big 12 said the remaining nine schools were “solid.”

Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds said Wednesday it would be Texas’ goal to hold the Big 12 together. But if there wasn’t sentiment for that he said Texas and a school like Notre Dame should look at starting their own conference. Dodds has said he is against Texas going independent.

A high-ranking official at a Big 12 school said the Pac-12 could re-enter the picture if Texas A&M leaves for the SEC. The official said Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott has indicated he would love to set up regional networks in Oklahoma and Texas Tech to accommodate Oklahoma and Oklahoma State as well as Texas and Texas Tech.

Scott didn’t respond to an e-mail Thursday night.

Such a plan by Scott would require a complete re-working of the 20-year, $300 million Longhorn Network contract between Texas and ESPN, which is obviously a massive undertaking that would require Texas to give a little in terms of revenue sharing.

Stay tuned.

[LiveCoug]

This is very original.

It is. What do you think is in that envelope that the good mailman is putting into the mailbox?

[USUC]

Talks of a PAC super conference are starting up again.

And it's not like the door has closed. Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott said earlier this summer he remains interested in expansion. Who's more fit than the Oklahoma and Texas schools? The Pac-12 has spoken on Boise State and BYU. So who's left? Virginia Tech and West Virginia?

It's clear the Pac-12 still craves OU and, hold onto your Stetson, maybe even Texas.

The Longhorn Network seemed to end all talk of Texas ever going to another conference, since the Big 12 was the only league willing to allow UT its own cable channel.

But without the Big 12, Texas' only option to keep its network is independence. And independence is fool's gold. Let's see. Football independence and your own television network. How's that worked out for Notre Dame?

Wouldn't shock me if Texas and the Pac-12 resumed discussions. Maybe there's a television compromise to be had. The Pac-12 has started its own conference network, with regional satellite networks within that framework. I have no idea how that all will work, and I'm not sure anyone on the West Coast does, either.

But I know this. Conference affiliation is far more important than television autonomy, even if ESPN is paying Texas $15 million for marginal content and would pay much more for the prime stuff. Perhaps there's a way the Longhorn Network could be folded into the new Pac-12 system, with both sides saving face.

Independence would severely harm Texas' other sports, would do nothing for football and would serve only to fill the Longhorn vault, which already is packed with greenbacks.

So it by all means is in Texas' best interest to at least check out Pac-12 expansion, even if it gave A&M the ultimate satisfaction of damaging the Longhorn Network.

Oklahoma State is tied to the Sooners, of course, and OSU is OU's best comrade in this madness. Wherever these schools go, they need friends. Friends and neighbors.

OU is best served going West as one of four schools. Adding a quartet to the Pac-12 that would form what almost came to pass last summer; an East Division that also would include Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah.

That gives OU (and OSU) a workable regional schedule, with minimal West Coast travel, and like-minded schools around the boardroom.

Without Texas, another partner is needed out West, to join the likely trio of OU, OSU and Texas Tech. Missouri, if the Tigers don't go with A&M, or Kansas, if the Jayhawks can split from K-State.

I've even thought about TCU, since the more Texas schools the merrier. OU and OSU, particularly, need to be aligned with as many Texas schools as possible; their recruiting south of the Red River has flourished in the Big 12 era. But at least one Big 12 administrator shot down the TCU idea. Not enough TV clout.

Or heck, why not A&M? If the Aggies are going to bolt, at least try to talk them into staying away from the SEC barbarians. Go to the Pac-12 with OU, OSU and Tech. The Aggies want the last laugh on Texas? That would do it.

http://newsok.com/future-of-big-12-i...rticle/3593765

Ugh.

[Paperback Writer]

Perhaps the thread should be renamed "The Big 12 contraction groundswell". As much as I dislike Dan Beebe as a Nebraska fan; as a BYU alum, I would love to see Dan Beebe "save" the Big 12 once again by announcing BYU joining the conference after the departure of Texas A&M.

About a year ago, I was hoping that BYU would be invited into the Big 12 as I thought Colorado would be leaving for the PAC-10 and Notre Dame would be joining the Big Ten. It was a perfect world - the hated Buffalos would be leaving and the Cougars would be joining. My three favorite college teams: Nebraska, BYU, and Texas A&M would be in the same conference. Now it appears that they could all be in different conferences and never play.

[Uncle Ted]

Perhaps the thread should be renamed "The Big 12 contraction groundswell". As much as I dislike Dan Beebe as a Nebraska fan; as a BYU alum, I would love to see Dan Beebe "save" the Big 12 once again by announcing BYU joining the conference after the departure of Texas A&M.

About a year ago, I was hoping that BYU would be invited into the Big 12 as I thought Colorado would be leaving for the PAC-10 and Notre Dame would be joining the Big Ten. It was a perfect world - the hated Buffalos would be leaving and the Cougars would be joining. My three favorite college teams: Nebraska, BYU, and Texas A&M would be in the same conference. Now it appears that they could all be in different conferences and never play.

Yes, it would have been nice if Nebraska didn't mess up things. I would have liked if BYU just simply replaced Colorado (and Nebraska stayed) in the Big 12 as well.

I am not sure if TAMU can afford to leave the Big 12 given what Chip Brown reported:

The source also questioned if A&M might be liable for breach of contract after signing a 13-year, $1.17 billion TV contract with Fox Sports for the Big 12’s second-tier rights to football in April.

In addition to the potential $32M (80% * $20M/yr * 2) to buy themselves out of the Big 12 they might be liable for breach of contract and named in a lawsuit from Fox Sports. (Of course, that $32M exit fee may be reduced like it was with CU and N.) It seems TAMU would be very interested in someone to take their place in the Big 12 that would keep Fox Sports happy. Maybe they know there is a team out there that the Big 12 has talked to (when the Big 12 was thinking about adding replacement teams before), that would be happy to take their place, and brings good value so Fox Sports would be OK with. If not, they should be very worried about the potential liability they are taking on if they are really planning to go to the SEC.

[myboynoah]

Please, please, please, after all the dust settles, let BYU end up in the PAC. I want one of those T-shirts so badly.

[Uncle Ted]

Recall that DeLoss Dodds had this to say about airing high school games on the LHN...

Dodds asked how many Aggies were in the crowd. When one of the Aggies asked if airing high school games on the Longhorn Network would be an unfair advantage for Texas, Dodds asked the Aggie about the state 7-on-7 tournament featuring high school players on the College Station campus every summer.

Dodds smiled and asked, "Do you know how we feel about that tournament being in College Station?" Then he smiled and said, "You probably don't because we never talk about it."

Apparently, the SEC outlawed 7-on-7 events from being held on SEC campuses:

DESTIN, Fla. - Taking a step it hopes will help deal with a growing issue, the Southeastern Conference Friday barred non-scholastic 7-on-7 football events from being held on SEC campuses.


The concern is that coaches and organizers can have a similar influence as AAU coaches in basketball.

"There's a sense in football by the coaches and some of us that there's a bit of creep and that we think it's in our best interest to do what we can to stop it," SEC commissioner Mike Slive said.

The rule does not impact SEC coaches' summer camps.

The non-scholastic event rule takes effect on Aug. 1.

"I think we've always tried very hard to keep the recruiting process between the student-athlete, their families and their high school coaches," Georgia coach Mark Richt said.

ESPN's "Outside the Lines" reported on Sunday on a Maryland traveling team that attended a camp held at South Carolina and was photographed on a 60-foot yacht. The trip was paid for by a South Carolina graduate.
Alabama also is among other SEC schools that have hosted.

The NCAA has seven full-time investigators looking at 7-on-7 touch football, according to ESPN.

"I know the NCAA is looking into that situation, so why would we want to bring that into our respective campuses?" Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley said.

I am guessing that TAMU will lose one of their big recruiting tools even if they don't go to the SEC.

[Uncle Ted]

Dennis Dodd: Texas to the Pac-12 makes sense

The stakeholders being ESPN, Oklahoma, A&M and Texas. It's likely that ESPN CEO John Skipper is evaluating at this moment how to maximize his profits through Oklahoma, Texas A&M and Texas if there is another round of conference shuffling.

Where those schools end up is less important than how the three current Big 12 schools can be profitable for ESPN (and Fox).

Whether or not A&M ends up in the SEC, watch for the Pac-12 to sooner or later take another run at Texas. The Big 12's instability dictates it. Commissioner Larry Scott told the Austin American-Statesman last month after the formation of the Pac-12 network one could "imply" that the Longhorn Network would be a "huge impediment" to Texas joining his league.

How quickly things change -- or possibly change. In a strange way, the Pac-12 could now make it more likely that Texas make the jump if it deems the Big 12 not worth the effort.

"At this point I don't think Larry does anything," one source close to the situation said, "He's got to let it come to him. He's the one who is sitting there with all the firepower. There is no one in a better position to monetize expansion than Larry Scott is. Not the SEC, not the Big East, not the ACC, not the Big 12. He's sitting in the catbird seat."

Why? Because he can. Remember, Scott was the guy who had invited six Big 12 teams, including Texas, last year. Consider it a still-open invitation. One that Texas would have to seriously consider.

One source painted it this way: The new Pac-12 Network is made up of six regional networks. Why couldn't the Longhorn Network be folded into the Pac-12 as a seventh regional network?

The source emphasized that ESPN is desperate to make TLN profitable. It has sunk hundreds of millions into the venture and there is no certainty whether it will work. To date, only the Big Ten Network has been profitable among collegiate networks.

It didn't help Thursday that the NCAA ruled against the televising of high school games on school/conference networks.

There are a few hurdles. Texas supposedly would have to surrender its third-party rights (re: archival, historic properties). But if Texas shows interest, that's nothing more that details. The new Pac-12 shares revenue more or less equally. Again, that can be worked out because it's, well, Texas.

[...]

If Texas goes to the Pac-12 then the conference needs to be renamed to "Surf and Turf".

[Mormon Red Death]

It didn't help Thursday that the NCAA ruled against the televising of high school games on school/conference networks.

I wonder if this applies to byu since their channel is more of a church/pbs channel. As I have said before the local access channel in my neck of the woods televises all of the football games (and most other sports) from the neighboring high schools.

[LiveCoug]

Dennis Dodd: Texas to the Pac-12 makes sense



If Texas goes to the Pac-12 then the conference needs to be renamed to "Surf and Turf".

If Texas goes to the PAC, that would be a huge disaster for BYU.

[Uncle Ted]

Here is something interesting... According to Chip Brown UT tried to partner with TAMU on creating a sports network:

I've been told DeLoss actually drove to College Station to talk to A&M about partnering in a network, and the Aggies didn't go for it. This was several years ago.

As the story goes A&M didn't want to spend the money to do this. Then ESPN approach UT and they created the LHN. I am starting to think A&M is just bluffing about going to the SEC in the hopes to force their way into the LHN now. Of course, if this happens then baby brother Tech may make a stink as well.

Here is UT calling TAMU's bluff...

[YOUTUBE]ReYfu5E-hOE[/YOUTUBE]

[Clark Addison]

If Texas goes to the PAC, that would be a huge disaster for BYU.

Would it be any worse than where we are now?

[Uncle Ted]

Chip Brown: the Texas legislature may have something to say about all of this...

The House Higher Education Committee has scheduled a hearing to take up the issue of Texas A&M's possible move to the SEC at 2 p.m. on Aug. 16.

I think I know their answer to TAMU already....



I think they know that if they let TAMU go then they won't be able to keep Texas from leaving Tech and Baylor.

Edit: Additional information from Chip Brown:

Committee chairman Dan Branch, R-Dallas, also called a hearing last year when it appeared the Big 12 could break up with Texas and Texas Tech headed to the Pac-10 and Texas A&M headed to the SEC. But the Big 12 came together before the scheduled hearing. Just got off the phone with Branch about what he wants to get out of the hearing with Texas A&M officials. "We want to be in position to have a discussion about a potential move to a new athletic conference for one of our major universities - that it’s in the best interest of the state of Texas," Branch said. "There’s a lot of resources in play. These athletic programs have a lot of dollars involved with the TV contracts and the funding that comes from a particular conference. So we want to make sure if there was a decision to go a different direction at Texas A&M, it’s the regents’ job to make sure this is in the best interest of Texas A&M as one university in that system. And it’s the Legislature’s job to make sure it’s in the best interest in the state of Texas." I asked Branch if the committee found that such a move wasn't in the best interest of Texas, what could the Legislature do about it? "Ultimately, these are public institutions," Branch said. "The Legislature is responsible for funding and directing the ultimate policy of our public institutions. "So I think it’s important that the Legislature be advised. And so I want to create an opportunity on a timely basis to give the members of the House of Representatives the opportunity to ask questions and make sure they felt like this was in the best interest of the state of Texas. "There’s an argument that going to the SEC would be a good thing so that Texas’ biggest schools would have a footprint in two major conferences, so I’m going into this with an open mind. But it seems to me it’s the regents’ responsibility to do what’s in the best interest of Texas A&M as the flagship of that system. And it’s the Legislature’s responsibility to make sure it’s in the best interest of the state of Texas." Branch said there are really two points of interest that are critical to the state's view of a possible move by Texas A&M to the SEC. "Part of that goes to you don’t want another major conference coming undone by the action of one," Branch said. "So there’s two parts to this. One, is this a good move for Texas A&M? "And, more importantly, from our vantage point would there be a negative consequence to the University of Texas or Texas Tech University and even our private schools like Baylor ? what effect it could have on them?" Stay tuned.