The Big 12 expansion groundswell

[LA Ute]

Agree with everything you say except the "have to win" part, for obvious reasons.

Lol. I meant they have to win to get people watching them on TV.

[Omaha 680]

What a great group of weekends it would be if you went to Salt Lake for a Utah/USC game, then drove back to Provo for a BYU/Oklahoma game. I hate to even imagine it though... so far this has felt like the excitement of Christmas Eve... followed by the house burning down. That would just about ruin the holiday forever, which is how good news is taken right now.

I'm excited about possible roadies to Ames, Manhattan, and Lawrence. Not glamourous PAC12 venues, to be sure, but they're all within 3 hours of me so I don't care.

[LA Ute]

I still want the annual Big 12/PAC 12 rivalry game matchup right there in the State of Utah, swinging between RES and LES. But DDD is right, that'd be jumping the gun.

[KillerDog]

I'm excited about possible roadies to Ames, Manhattan, and Lawrence. Not glamourous PAC12 venues, to be sure, but they're all within 3 hours of me so I don't care.

I'd rather go to a killer college town than to LA, Berkley, or Palo Alto. I hope I have a shot at being the guy who can do the Big XII road trips next year but I still doubt it. I will see what I can find.

[DU Ute]

I remember the roller coaster of emotions that came with the expansion talk last summer. Every rumor had me convinced we either were or weren't going to get into the promised land. I know it is rough, so I'm going to tell my BYU buddies the same thing they told us last year.

Don't get discouraged, you cheer for a great school with a rich tradition of excellence, both athletically and academically. You'll bring a lot of value to a BCS conference, they aren't going to let you slip through the cracks. When the dust settles and the rumors stop flying you are going to wind up in a great AQ conference where you belong. Hang in there and be optimistic, you deserve this.

I know all the positive affirmations like this from Cougar fans on this board last year kept me going when things looked bleakest. It was great to know you recognized the good in our school, our teams and, most importantly, in us as individuals. Just know we are here for you, myself and all my fellow Utes, just like you were there for us

[TripletDaddy]

Ok war chiefs, into the war room to strategize:

The PAC is no longer an option for Texas and OU.
The Big East is not an option for Texas and OU.
Based on what I perceive to be a surplus of bad will towards Texas, football independence seems highly unlikely. Which conference would take the Longhorns non football sports...and the LHN would still be an issue for those sports, as well.

Does it strike anyone else as strange that the SEC expresses zero interest in Texas? How lousy is the perception of Texas in the eyes of college football power brokers? The money is there, without question, but Texas is anathema to conference harmony. As much as we all love to hate the SEC, their model works...share and share alike, and when under attack, the entire conference circles the wagons together. It is good to see the PAC adopt that model with today's decision. And I say that as an SC fan. bringing in OU and Texas would have been great, but only under the proper conditions, definitely not at all costs. If the PAC wants to challenge the SEC for supremacy, it needs to invest heavily in all its members. The stronger the individual schools, the better the conference and everyone winds up making mad cash.

So where does this leave us? OU had the rug swept out from under them tonight. No more bluffing about the PAC. Texas cannot bluff either. And given the SECs denials right now, I would not be shocked if Mizzou floated the SEv rumor itself simply to force Texas and OU to knock it off, restructure the deal, and stabilize the conference.

My prediction is that tonights announcement will now force things to resolve themselves sooner rather than later. The writing is on the wall... The LHN as currently constituted will not work under any scenario in any conference. Even in the B12 there will be some concessions of some sort wrt the LHN. When the dust settles...

PAC stands pat.
B1G stands pat.
ACC adds Pitt and Syracuse.
Big East football dies
B12 calls a truce and expands its way to stability, inviting BYU, Louisville, and West Virginia, ending with 12 once again.
SEC adds aTm. The big mystery...which team will be the 14th?

[BoylenOver]

This is definitely jumping the gun, but if this somehow works out for the B.Y., Utah becomes a unique anomaly in college football, being the only contiguous metro area that is affiliated with two BCS conferences.

While other states can make such a claim (Clemson/south Carolina, Pitt/Penn state, Florida/Miami/Florida state, iowa state/iowa, for example) I don't believe any of those schools are anywhere near the geographic proximity as BYU and Utah...40 or so miles would separate the two schools and the two conferences.

Athens, GA to Atlanta, GA is 70 miles. Louisville to Lexington is 75. There are a few at 100 miles apart. But yeah, assuming no other changes, BYU and Utah would be the two closest schools that don't share a conference.

[LA Ute]

I remember the roller coaster of emotions that came with the expansion talk last summer. Every rumor had me convinced we either were or weren't going to get into the promised land. I know it is rough, so I'm going to tell my BYU buddies the same thing they told us last year.

Don't get discouraged, you cheer for a great school with a rich tradition of excellence, both athletically and academically. You'll bring a lot of value to a BCS conference, they aren't going to let you slip through the cracks. When the dust settles and the rumors stop flying you are going to wind up in a great AQ conference where you belong. Hang in there and be optimistic, you deserve this.

I know all the positive affirmations like this from Cougar fans on this board last year kept me going when things looked bleakest. It was great to know you recognized the good in our school, our teams and, most importantly, in us as individuals. Just know we are here for you, myself and all my fellow Utes, just like you were there for us

[Jarid in Cedar]

3D, I think mizzu still moves to the sec. I think the sec's statement is still covering for possible litigation. The big 12 can add Louisville, wvu or Cincy from the east and BYU and tcu/smu from the Midwest to fill the league back to 12.

[USUC]

Geeze. It looks like the content in here might finally be back on track with the title of the thread. My neuroticism now switches from BYU being left out because of an expanding anti-BYU PAC to BYU being left out with the BIG-12 expansion because they bring in the best of the Big East.

PolyCougar, I think I have an appetite for cottage cheese and a corner as well.

[Omaha 680]

Ok war chiefs, into the war room to strategize:

Does it strike anyone else as strange that the SEC expresses zero interest in Texas?

So where does this leave us? OU had the rug swept out from under them tonight. No more bluffing about the PAC. Texas cannot bluff either. And given the SECs denials right now, I would not be shocked if Mizzou floated the SEv rumor itself simply to force Texas and OU to knock it off, restructure the deal, and stabilize the conference.

My prediction is that tonights announcement will now force things to resolve themselves sooner rather than later. The writing is on the wall... The LHN as currently constituted will not work under any scenario in any conference. Even in the B12 there will be some concessions of some sort wrt the LHN. When the dust settles...

PAC stands pat.
B1G stands pat.
ACC adds Pitt and Syracuse.
Big East football dies
B12 calls a truce and expands its way to stability, inviting BYU, Louisville, and West Virginia, ending with 12 once again.
SEC adds aTm. The big mystery...which team will be the 14th?

I agree with your summary for the most part. The only place that would take Oklahoma now is the SEC but they aren't interested. I think the lack of interest from the SEC toward Texas is they know they don't have a shot at them. Texas has been clear their preferences were Big 12, ACC, Big Ten, then PAC. Nothing else.

Who knows who the SEC will add as their 14th. They may be forced to take West Virginia. I don't know if Big East football dies either. The only way it dies is if The ACC takes two more teams and they might not want to if the Big 12 survives.

[CardiacCoug]

I'm too traumatized from this couple of weeks to get my hopes up.

Poor TCU with the Big East getting blown up. If I could be in charge of the Big 12, I would add TCU, Houston, and BYU. Or if not TCU, maybe even invite Boise State as a travel partner for BYU.

Houston can try to fill the south Texas Big 12 vacuum left by A&M. They would need to expand (and could afford to expand) Houston's stadium with BCS money and Texas and OU coming to town every other year.

Texas would probably like that because then they would have a cadre of lapdogs who would just be grateful enough to be included that they would capitulate to any and all of Texas's demands (mainly LHN). Of course, maybe that would be the reason OU and others would oppose bringing in those schools and would want to bring in schools purely from the Big East who have a little more self-respect.

[whoneedscorners?]

I think it's awesome that the PAC has officially told Texas and Oklahoma "no thanks. We aren't buying what you're selling."

For all we know this could just be the Pac's way of saving face before getting turned down by Texas for the 2nd time in as many years.

Either way, this is excellent news for the state of college football.

*Edit

After reading Boren's moronic statement it is apparent that this isn't the case.

[CardiacCoug]

My neuroticism now switches from BYU being left out because of an expanding anti-BYU PAC to BYU being left out with the BIG-12 expansion because they bring in the best of the Big East.

Ditto. I'm now paranoid that the Big 12 adds Cincy, WVU, and Louisville (or even USF?) to clean out the Big East and leaves BYU out.

That would suck.

[FMCoug]

I'm too traumatized from this couple of weeks to get my hopes up.

Poor TCU with the Big East getting blown up. If I could be in charge of the Big 12, I would add TCU, Houston, and BYU. Or if not TCU, maybe even invite Boise State as a travel partner for BYU.

Houston can try to fill the south Texas Big 12 vacuum left by A&M. They would need to expand (and could afford to expand) Houston's stadium with BCS money and Texas and OU coming to town every other year.

Texas would probably like that because then they would have a cadre of lapdogs who would just be grateful enough to be included that they would capitulate to any and all of Texas's demands (mainly LHN). Of course, maybe that would be the reason OU and others would oppose bringing in those schools and would want to bring in schools purely from the Big East who have a little more self-respect.

From a super-conference strategic standpoint, the Big-12 would be smart to grab both BYU and BSU, if only to ensure nobody viable is left for the Pac-12.