The Independent Expansion Groundswell

[OSUCougar]

HOt Lunch, I love your avatar. Soda Popinski is awesome.

You should also do either King Hippo or Super Macho Man (or whatever the guy was you fought before Tyson). Loved that game growing up.

[Hot Lunch]

HOt Lunch, I love your avatar. Soda Popinski is awesome.

You should also do either King Hippo or Super Macho Man (or whatever the guy was you fought before Tyson). Loved that game growing up.

Thanks, one of those will be my next avatar. I just changed to Soda from Bald Bull a couple of weeks ago.

[falafel]

Thanks, one of those will be my next avatar. I just changed to Soda from Bald Bull a couple of weeks ago.

No love for Glass Joe?

[U-Ute]

Was it common knowledge that the mtn was about to get on dish network?

You still falling for that? That's as old as the Prince Albert In A Can phone prank.

[U-Ute]

Yep, this is very true. Sure there are some traditional powerhouses that travel very well (Wisconsin filled up UNLVs stadium quite nicely) but when you are looking at mid-tier BCS programs there are none that could bring as many fans 1,200 miles as BYU brought to Arlington. BYU won't bring that many to Clemson or Florida State, but they will represent as well as any other BCS team (with some few exceptions) no matter where they play.

As a Ute fan, I readily admit that I don't think rarely has there been an away BYU game in which they did not have a good showing. BYU does travel well.

If they show up for the Motor City Bowl, they'll show up anywhere.

[U-Ute]

Just a couple of good ole boys drinking whiskey and rye?

Those two are more like "Just two good old boys, never meaning no harm"

[OrangeUte]

I do too. I think the days of equal sharing are over.

i think that larry scott is creative enough to get everyone happy, and that's not going to include equal sharing.

i wonder how a model would work where schools that want can keep rights to broadcast their own home non-conference games, which would be non-shared money. so, if USC had 3 home non-conference games, it would enter into its own agreement with espn or fox or whomever to broadcast those games and keep that money. that's perhaps one possibility.

plus, there is also the conference network that could be utilized like the big 10 does. every big 10 school is getting oodles of money from that network. pac 10 could do the same, especially with the massive television markets on the west coast. and, with hollywood right around the corner, i would hope that they could do a very professional job with it.

i'm going to hope that USC stays put, gets taken care of by larrry scott creativity, and the pac 10 flourishes. i think that more probable than not.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

Thanks, one of those will be my next avatar. I just changed to Soda from Bald Bull a couple of weeks ago.

I think I had more trouble with Macho Man than Mike Tyson.

King Hippo was the only guy with his body type. Every other boxer on the game shared a body with another boxer:

Glass Joe and Don Flamenco
Von Kaiser and Great Tiger
Piston Honda and Mike Tyson
Bald Bull and Mr. Sandman
Soda Popinski and Macho Man

I recited all of this off the top of my head.

[LA Ute]

i'm going to hope that USC stays put, gets taken care of by larrry scott creativity, and the pac 10 flourishes. i think that more probable than not.

Yes, but that outcome doesn't fire the imaginations of certain individuals who ... wish Utah ill. We must be on the constant lookout for such people. They're everywhere here.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

i think that larry scott is creative enough to get everyone happy, and that's not going to include equal sharing.

i wonder how a model would work where schools that want can keep rights to broadcast their own home non-conference games, which would be non-shared money. so, if USC had 3 home non-conference games, it would enter into its own agreement with espn or fox or whomever to broadcast those games and keep that money. that's perhaps one possibility.

plus, there is also the conference network that could be utilized like the big 10 does. every big 10 school is getting oodles of money from that network. pac 10 could do the same, especially with the massive television markets on the west coast. and, with hollywood right around the corner, i would hope that they could do a very professional job with it.

i'm going to hope that USC stays put, gets taken care of by larrry scott creativity, and the pac 10 flourishes. i think that more probable than not.

Haden is simply positioning USC. There's no effing way USC would ever go indy. The Pac 10 is too good athletically in other sports (except for basketball right now) and it's too good academically. Being aligned with the other three California schools is good for USC.

I just can't figure out why they allowed Utah and Colorado into the conference.

I think Texas is a possible indy candidate. The Big 12 doesn't offer much to them in the way of academics and Texas can fend for itself financially. Texas would have to find another home for basketball (Big East??) and its other sports. USC doesn't really have a conference it can just throw its other sports into.

Of course, a Texas defection could cause a moderate domino effect if Texas just starts making an assload of money. Ohio State could make it on its own and so could Florida. I don't think Ohio State would ever leave the Big 10 for many of the same reasons USC wouldn't leave the Pac 10. But I could see Florida taking off.

[Mormon Red Death]

As a Ute fan, I readily admit that I don't think rarely has there been an away BYU game in which they did not have a good showing. BYU does travel well.

If they show up for the Motor City Bowl, they'll show up anywhere.

They didnt show up for the Motor City Bowl anymore than any other team that play in it. Of course its the Motor City Bowl so no wonder.

[Mormon Red Death]

I think Texas is a possible indy candidate. The Big 12 doesn't offer much to them in the way of academics and Texas can fend for itself financially. Texas would have to find another home for basketball (Big East??) and its other sports. USC doesn't really have a conference it can just throw its other sports into.

The MWC

[All-American]

The MWC

Man, just think. The MWC was THIS CLOSE to picking up mizzou and kansas, THAT CLOSE to dying off completely this summer.

[myboynoah]

From ESPN Rumor Central:

How long until BYU's next move?

Independence apparently isn't the endgame for BYU. If you believe much of the talk coming out of the state (and even out of Texas), membership in the Big 12 is. As a result, Gordon Monson of the Salt Lake Tribune wonders how long BYU's marriage with the WCC will last.

Monson points out that the combined enrollments of all eight current WCC schools could fit in LaVell Edwards Stadium -- with 10,000 seats to spare. Yes, the football team gets to control its own destiny (and bank account) to a large degree, but the remaining sports get "secondary status."

That's why Monson says if the Big 12 or some other budding superconference comes calling, BYU "will be gonzo." Asked about an escape clause in the agreement with the WCC, athletic director Tom Holmoe danced around the question.

WCC commissioner Jamie Zaninovich told Jay Drew of the Tribune that he would not address how the agreement was structured (i.e., whether there is a buyout), adding, "Anytime you change or bring in someone new, certainly there is associated risk. We are very comfortable in that we think BYU fits in our conference, and we are very comfortable from what we have heard from them in terms of their commitment to being independent in football for a long time -- meaning that they are going to be a part of the West Coast Conference for a long time."

Monson isn't buying. He writes: "A lot of people believe the Big 12 will eventually look to BYU for expansion. And if and when it does, or if and when any super conference bats its eyes and turns its heel at the Cougars, everything that happened at LES on Wednesday will be washed out."

- Albert Lin

[myboynoah]

More from Rumor Central:

Suggested Big 12 pitch to Hogs

Jimmy Burch of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram says that BYU will have to find a partner if it hopes to get an invite to the Big 12 (much like everyone thought Texas A&M needed one to get into the SEC), and that Arkansas still seems like the most likely bet.

Here's Burch's plan for getting the Hogs to turn their backs on the SEC: 1) guarantee the school the same amount of money it is getting in the SEC (if the conference can promise Texas, Texas A&M and Oklahoma $20 million, certainly the remaining members shouldn't have a problem doing the same for the Razorbacks); 2) put Arkansas in the weaker North division, which will make them regular contenders for the division and a berth in the championship game (which may never happen in the SEC).

A network undoubtedly would be willing to pay even more for a Big 12 that includes BYU and Arkansas. Ultimately, that increase in revenue should be enough to get the other 10 schools to sign off, and the Big 12 will again be able to live up to its name.

- Albert Lin