| HolyHandgernade |
07-27-2011 08:26 PM |
http://espn.go.com/college-football/...joining-pac-12
Quote:
The Pac-12's desire to make its own network -- and in the process prevent the creation of the Longhorn Network -- was a factor that kept Texas in the Big 12.
And now, with the Pac-12 set to make an official announcement later Wednesday about its network, Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott told the Austin American-Statesman that it all but eliminates the possibility of future membership for the Longhorns.
"I think you could certainly imply that, with the news that we're going to announce tonight," Scott told the newspaper. "The Longhorn Network would be certainly a huge impediment."
Scott reiterated his recent comments that future expansion was coming, but it's unlikely now that Texas would be a part of it.
"It's not something we are looking at now," he told the paper. "We did our deal. We're very happy with it. We're not thinking or looking at expanding at the moment, but we are trying to create the strongest conference possible. I do feel there will be further expansion, and I want to be an attractive place to come."
Scott also said he's watching the Longhorn Network's progress with the prospect of televising high school games, saying that if it's officially given permission by the NCAA, the Pac-12 Network will broadcast high school games as soon as the network goes live.
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If Texas keeps pushing towards independence and OU/A&M keep flirting with the SEC, I say Scott will try to move first again to a 16 team conference by adding Texas Tech, OSU, KU and MU. He'll have to move quickly because the Big 10 will also target MU-KU to round out its conference assuming Notre Dame will also stay independent.
It would make the most sense. If he lets the Big 10 grab KU-MU, he's stuck with KSU-ISU which isn't as attractive. If he gets the KU-MU-OSU-TTech quad, he adds a four state footprint in the coveted central time zone. From a marketing perspective, if you air the Tech and OSU start times AFTER their Texas-A&M-OU counterparts, you can pick up enough transient fans of those fan bases who will watch "their other state school" play those "hippies out west". While they may not buy said school's merchandise, they will turn their TVs on to watch and root for them.
That would give them the transient Texas markets, the transient Oklahoma City and Tulsa markets, the Wichita, KC and St. Louis markets. That's a huge market share to add to Denver, Salt Lake City, Phoenix, California, Portland and Seattle markets. He would basically own just about everything west of the Mississippi. It would also give the PAC points of contact with the other two big conferences. The state of Missouri alone borders three Big 10 states and two SEC states.
It might not be regarded as the strongest football conference, but it would command a huge market. With the new national/regional structure of their TV network, it flows nicely into midwest/mountain/California/northwest regional four school bundles. KSU, ISU and Baylor will probably have to find smaller conferences (unless the Big 10 needs a school to round out to 16, in which case they might take ISU, if the Big 10 didn't get MU-KU).
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