Texas has more people than Australia, Saudi Arabia, Greece, the Netherlands, and Taiwan. All of those places have a multitude of channels just for their country. Why, again, isn't a Longhorn independence viable?

It will take a bit to get off the ground but ESPN has made a 300 million dollar investment in it. They are going to get the whole thing warmed up and bolt.

You're missing the point, Scott covets the central time zone not because he wants to bring central fans to the west coast time zones, but because he wants more exposure in the central time zones. There will only be a handful of games that actually have a late start time involving the Inland Division. Most of the west coast trips will be afternoon games that become prime time in the central to eastern time zones.

I used to think the Big XII was going to be fine as well. I don't hold that opinion any longer. Just look at the timeline:

Texas and ESPN want to do things with LHN that pisses other Big XII members off

A&M starts clamoring again about SEC if Texas doesn't temper its plans

OU voices the same concern as A&M but doesn't mention a new conference partner

Larry Scott makes public statements that Texas, because of their network, is no longer a candidate for possible expansion AND that they are still actively seeking to expand.

Texas and ESPN disregard the Big XII and start inking high schools to LHN productions

To me, this says the PAC and OU are already in discussions which is probably centering around OSU. The PAC wants a wider audience in the midwest, so taking two Oklahoma schools doesn't make any sense to them. They can get the same bang for their buck with one Texas school, one Oklahoma school, Missouri with its media centers and close proximity to the other conferences and Kansas as a connector state with a basketball upside.

The first time around, Texas had the weight to dictate who could go to the PAC because most of the prime national interest games involved them: Red River; Texas-A&M. But with them out of the picture and A&M wanting to head east, tag-alongs won't be tolerated by the PAC. They need market shares and central time zone states. OSU loses out, unless OU decides to go SEC and the PAC feels they can get enough with OSU.

Missouri isn't going to the PAC.

If the Big 12 breaks apart then that will open up the need for other conferences to keep up with the super conference threat. The Tigers will go B10 or SEC.

I think you're wrong and here's why:

The PAC is the aggressor here, they'll make the first pitch before the conference officially goes belly up. He'll try to secure a deal before the actual movement starts so he doesn't have to compete against the SEC and Big 10. He'll do it by making this sales pitch:

He'll point out the fact that if the Big XII breaks up before 2012, it will dissolve the FOX/ESPN contract for second tier rights that amounted to 1.1 billion dollars, plus the unspecified prediction of the first tier contract due in 2016. If A&M goes SEC, that an exclusively ESPN contract. If Texas goes independent, that's an exclusively ESPN contract. The PAC contract was set up as a FOX/ESPN deal and it will be easier to negotiate new terms within that framework with that available money. Money that in all likelyhood will no longer go towards KSU, ISU or Baylor and only a small portion towards SEC re-negotiations, if any at all. This could give the PAC the richest contract in conference sports, between 25 and 30 million per school, most likely.

In addition, the PAC will provide you with a regional network that you don't have to front all the money on that you can show regional high school games on among other things. This in addition to the exposure on the national PAC Network.

Your competition won't be as severe as it is in either the Big 10 or SEC which means you will position yourself better for bowls/playoffs.

Unlike the Big 10 which snubbed you, we really want and value you. In fact, we think your location is so important to our increased exposure towards the east, we want to put our Inland Division headquarters in St. Louis.

As a member of the PAC you will now have a presence in the two states that produce the most high school talent in the country: Texas and California

You don't have to try and establish new recruiting territory already dominated by the SEC and Big 10 and you get to preserve a great number of your traditional rivals in KU, CU, OU and Tech.

You will be part of a conference that will dominate the market west of the Mississippi across three time zones with one of the most innovative thinkers in marketing at your lead. We look at you as a founding partner, so you will get a full share of the new contract as opposed to the graduated entry Nebraska must do in the Big 10.

My guess is Mizzou will jump at the chance to be a big fish in a rich new pond rather than a small fish in an rich but old one. OU will agree to go to the PAC as well because they will retain their position as the do now as the traditional football power, unlike in the SEC where they be "one of" the great powers. Tech already wants to go, and as much as I hate to say it, Kansas will just be thrilled to be included. Last time Texas was the prize, but this time Missouri is. Sure, they want OU, but they could probably get by with OSU. Mizzou is the deal breaker. If they can't convince them, everyone will probably stand pat until the Big XII attempts to negotiate their first tier for 2016.

In the end,which is just weeks if not days away. Texas gets voted out. Texas lawyers try to sue the remaining schools. Its the Texas way.
NO WAY IN HELL TEXAS MAKES IT AS AN INDEPENDENT bundle of sticks

Nebraskafan is obsessed with Texas.

Which are you Saul? The pot or the kettle

Well, he sure isn't the one who said Texas is going to be "voted out" within a month.

lol.

How could you not want this guy as your conference leader.


Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201...#ixzz1TkJ9mWdz

Because the West Coast is shitty.

It is the college equivalent of playing in a dome.

What am I obsessed with?

Stories I have heard recently lead me to beleive this kind of talk is going on behind close doors. Just 1 of many stories floating around right now.
Of all the stories ,it makes the most sense to me.

Hating the Huskers What else

Texas being voted out of the Big 12 in days at the beginning of August makes the most sense to you?

LMAOLMAO

I don't even know how that procedure would take place.

As evidenced by.....

Once again, you're short sighted bias is getting in the way of the much better deal. You won't be playing the majority of your games against the west coast. Probably two games at most per year, one of those being a home game.

My post had nothing to do with the Huskers.

Actually, he said weeks or days. In other news, the Alabama debate team is about to vote the football team out of existence.

This is great read. Top 10 hot head coaches

http://www.lostlettermen.com/5-27-11...thead-coaches/

This is Awesome! Top 10 hot head coaches
http://www.lostlettermen.com/5-27-11...thead-coaches/

Yep.

If there exists an opportunity to split from Texas and Oklahoma; do it.

Thats a big negative for Missouri.

How so?

Sorry DCS. I should have worded that different. Missouri has nowhere to go at the moment. I think thats going to change. But I think you will have to wait till next year.The LHN is going to wait a year,let things calm down,then air top UT high school recruits. I still think & hope the Tigers end up in the Big10.

Then we agree. There's nothing to be done this year, but we should always be on the lookout to better our position and get out from under the heel of Texas.

bobfescoe Bob Fescoe
SMU pushing to join the big 12 per the dallas morning news. Is that like a hostile take over?
45 minutes ago

Southwest Conference 2: Electric Boogaloo

SMU always has had a good relationship with the Big 12 North schools especially Mizzou and Kansas.

Did TAMU leave yet?

I'd laugh when A&M leaves to get their asses kicked in the SEC and make less money doing it(in a few years after the Big12 signs that new TV deal). But which is also funny and most likely going to happen, the SEC will get enough votes to keep A&M out.

You will only laugh if UT tells you it's ok to laugh.

I think we have the rights after beating them last year.

Notre Dame to the Big 12 is the most ridiculous thing I've heard since realignment discussion began.

Get ready for it.

I heard they're leaving tomorrow.

Notre Dame and BYU to the Big 12 FTW!!!!!

Fever Dreams: Will A&M Leaving Transform UT into the Best Conference Mate Ever?

By Tobi Writes
(Correspondent) on August 20, 2011

I was listening to a radio interview on a Dallas/Fort Worth station with a University of Texas beat reporter for the Austin American Statesman about 5 days ago and the question was posed, "Who does UT invite if Texas A&M leaves the Big 12?"

The reporter very matter of factly answered that UT had 3 main targets:
Notre Dame
Arkansas
Brigham Young University

(The University of Houston was mentioned as UT's likely fallback plan.)
It seemed surreal. I was overwhelmed by incredulity.

UT is going to settle for replacing A&M in the Longhorn's puppet conference that could implode at any moment with Notre Dame --- the object of the desire of the Big 10, the most secure and prestigious conference in the nation? And then they are going to top it off with raiding the SEC?!?! Does UT AD DeLoss Dodds and Co. deserve what's coming to them for being so insufferably arrogant, or what?
For most of this week I have scratched my head and tried to understand how Dodds could believe that such a move was plausable enough for UT personnel to throw it out to the media.

After much pondering, I think I understand the strategy behind the idea now, and the odds could be quite a bit better than any of us ever imagined because of a very simple idea:

A&M leaving puts the Big 12 at risk and forces UT to work for the conference's interest and not just UT's...

If A&M leaves in another 15 days or so as has been reported, the SEC will likely consider adding another western school to balance their divisions as they push to 16. The name brought up most often to be that school is Missouri. Last year Missouri was publicly left at the alter by the Big 10 in one of the most embarrassing last minute jilts in recent memory.
It is not difficult to imagine Missouri has had enough of the Big 12 too.
If they should join A&M in moving to the SEC --- arguably the academic and research ghetto of the BCS conferences --- the Big 12 would be left with 8 members who would blame UT.

Those schools might be quite skittish about the future of the conference. The northern schools (Iowa State, Kansas, and Kansas State) could worry that the four strong southern schools (UT,OU, OSU, and Tech) might reopen talks with the PAC-12, leaving the northern trio again looking at being abandoned with Baylor.

Currently the 17 member Big East is closing in on a new TV deal at the new, much higher going rates. If the new Big East deal could allow that conference to add Kansas, Kansas State, and Iowa State and pay the three schools in the ballpark of what they make as junior partners in the Big 12, why would the northern trio not consider jumping to the best basketball conference in America in favor of the uncertainty of the Big 12?

UT has said they do not want to be independent. It is easy to take that statement at face value as so much of their brand value is tied into playing the top schools in the Texas region.

This path leaves UT with two choices. They could try to dump Texas Tech and Baylor and jump to the Big 10. In a gutted Big 12, this could be quite difficult to spin politically in Texas. Plus A&M boosters' may help Tech and Baylor boosters bring in-state political heat on UT to either stay with Tech and Baylor in the Big 12 or carry them along to a new conference.

The other option is to eat whatever crow the PAC-12 may require and jump with OU, OSU, and Tech to the PAC-12.

For UT to control their own destiny and protect their options (and not eat any crow), they probably need to fight like heck for the Big 12 to expand. Calming the nerves of their conference mates may require the big 12 landing multiple schools, including a bigger fish than BYU.

Dodds appears to get that. In a recent quote to the Austin America Statesman's Kirk Bohls, Dodds said, “I think nine are solid. I think 10’s a good number. I’ve always liked 10. In my mind, we’d try to stay at 10. If we had to, we’d go to 12.”

That last sentence seems to imply that despite UT's preference being to just add a BYU and move on with control of an equally unstable conference that UT can continue to manipulate, circumstances in the conference may demand larger expansion.

A willing and motivated UT fighting for the Big 12 changes the equation.

With that in mind The UT plan may not be as nearly as far-fetched as it appears

BYU is the low hanging fruit of the trio. BYU has been mentioned repeatedly in almost every article as A&M's likely replacement and the logic there is fairly obvious.

BYU desperately wants to be in a BCS Automatic Qualifier conference. Their pride has been stung to no end by the PAC-10 actually taking BYU's little brother Utah over the Cougars. That choice sent a very clear message to BYU that the PAC-12 is likely never going to invite them. The Pac-12 requires unanimous votes for expansion. It is beleived that at least 2 members (Stanford University and the University of California at Berkely) have issues with the rules and limitations BYU puts on academic subject matter and research for religious reasons. The concept is seen as contrary to the PAC-12's academic culture.

Just about everything else about BYU is a rubberstamp "yes" in terms of being BCS AQ caliber. The Big 12 and the Big East don't care about BYU's religious stance on research. With those conferences it is simply a questions of the number of slots available and at what point the value of BYU outweighs all of the perceived costs of travel (not just the costs of the plan tickets).

Like UT, BYU has a TV deal with ESPN. There is synergy there. It doesn't seem difficult for the Big 12 and BYU to come up with a TV deal that makes sense for all three parties.

For most, the idea of the Big 12 having a shot to land Notre Dame is the toughest to grasp. Notre Dame is the biggest fish in the BCS sea.
On the surface, Notre Dame appears to be a firm "no" due to their stated desire not to join a conference in order to protect their preferred nation-wide football scheduling, but there is surprisingly a lot of wiggle room and surrounding factors there that most fans may be overlooking.
First, remember that despite all of Notre Dame's anti-conference rhetoric, they are already in a conference. They are a member of the Big East; They just don't play football there.

Notre Dame's affiliation with the Big East non-football schools is based on a shared Catholic influence. Notre Dame is the rockstar university of the Catholic world. Those schools value the affiliation, so they have Notre Dame's back on conference issues.

The affiliation has worked well for Notre Dame in the BCS world of the recent past, allowing the Irish to keep their olympic sports in a BCS home while playing football as the nation's most prominent independent.
It may not work that well in the future. How well does this association protect Notre Dame in a BCS world with 16 team mega conferences where the Big East may be picked apart...?

Despite the Big East's basketball excellence, there are good reasons to believe that the Big 12 could write a bigger check for Notre Dame's olympic sports ...if it came with some minor football component.
All that might be required from a football perspective could be to prop up the Big 12 headliners with an affiliation that delivers as little as a single TV showcase game per year. Perhaps ND dropping the least entertaining and least valuable game on their schedule (I am speculating it would be Purdue but I am sure Notre Dame fans will weigh in.) and replacing that game with a high profile made for TV matchup against either UT or OU each year at a neutral site (Chicago, Dallas? NYC?)?

Notre Dame's leadership has good relations with both Big 12 South powers.

Notre Dame's AD Jack Swarbrick has a history with DeLoss Dodds. Both men are, by all reports, friendly and based on that it seems likely that Notre Dame would at least listen to a pitch from Dodds.

In fact, UT may be the only school in the Big 12 that may have that kind of access to Notre Dame.

Can UT make a compelling argument to Notre Dame that there is greater long term value in the coming era of the mega conferences to be the 3rd co-owner of the Big 12 --- with powers that might include helping set conference direction and perhaps having sole control over the selection of future additions in the north --- instead of keeping the Irish's affiliation with the seven non-football playing dwarves that keeps them in the unstable bottom dweller conference of the BCS Automatic Qualifier Conference ranks?

I think there is enough there that a good salesman could pull it off. Dodds is a heck of a salesman.

If UT can add Notre Dame --- even as essentially a non-football member --- the Big 12 is immediately media relevant in Notre Dame's native Designated Market Area, the Chicago DMA (the third largest TV market in the nation). Notre Dame is the most media relevant college team in that DMA.

Plus the conference becomes much more interesting to viewers across the midwest and northeast. (There is a compelling argument that despite being located in the southeastern tip of the Chicago DMA, that Notre Dame is also the #1 team in the New York City DMA --- the nation's #1 DMA.)

The big problem that most see with the Big 12 long term is that there are not enough large population bases around Texas for the conference to become a top tier mega conference. The idea is that the Big 12 will not be able to keep up with the Big 10 and SEC and maybe not even the PAC-12 as those conferences evolve into 14-16 or more member megaconferences.

If Notre Dame were to buy in as a "co-owner", agreeing to make the Big 12 conference at least a two hub conference --- UT or UT/OU being the other hub --- it changes the long term potential of a middle of the country BCS AQ conference.

It is for example suddenly reasonable to see a strategy emerge that creates a Big 16 down the road with expansive (but manageable) divisions that stretch from Utah to the Longhorn alliance territory and from Iowa (Iowa State) to New York City. Schools like Louisville, Rutgers, Pitt, and Army could emerge as potential choices of Notre Dame to complete the northern division.

Conferences are paid by networks for what they bring to the table collectively. Adding relevant support levels in the Chicago and New York City DMAs to Texas with it's large DMAs amounts to huge broadcast potential that should deliver competitive TV payouts to any conference out there.

Rather than seeing the Big 10 take Rutgers to gain a NYC presence and the network value of that move, Notre Dame could beat the Big 10 to the punch --- effectively sealing them off from the northeastern markets--- all while Notre Dame maintains their football independence. (Remember the Big 10 derives their payouts from HALF ownership of their network. The PAC-12 TV model is quite a bit different and may be the future of conference TV models. Future conference networks are likely to be owned more fully by the conferences, so in the future you could see the Big 10 lose much of the leverage they have today as the supplemental conference network model is employed and expanded upon.)

UT's has dreamed up some pretty big grand slam, pie-in-the-sky, plans along those lines that AD DeLoss Dodds has mentioned in passing on video and reporters have expanded on the specifics in print.
With Notre Dame buying in, there would be enough star power involved and enough future potential in the Big 12 that selling Arkansas could be possible. (For the record, from the articles the last few days I think UT may have thought Arkansas was an easier sell than Notre Dame and tried to land them first --- and failed. I think Arkansas is likely the harder sale. While it is true that Arkansas joined the SEC thinking UT was right behind them, that was 19 years ago. While the older --- and richer --- half of Arkansas's fan base may covet a return to a conference with UT, younger Arkansas fans are SEC true believers and may make the Big 12 have to do something to prove long term stability for them to not make such talk toxic.)

Arkansas is the only team in the country that would likely make a more money in the Big 12 than the SEC. The Razorbacks are somewhat isolated in the SEC. In the Big 12, the former SWC schools are long time rivals and the Hogs have good proximity to the remaining former Big 8 schools ---- so much so that it seems easy to imagine the Hogs could fairly regularly fill an expanded Reynolds Stadium to 100,000. That is not something likely in today's SEC (but to be fair, Missouri's decision could make this point far less decisive).

Additionally, and much more importantly IMO, such a move is almost guaranteed to restore the Dallas/Fort Worth recruiting pipeline that made Arkansas a national contender in football and basketball in the last days of the Southwest Conference.

Being a national contender brings in the booster money. Arkansas has only won 10 football games twice in their 19 years in the SEC and that is a big reason why their athletic budget is just a middle of the pack athletic budget in the SEC --- lower even than several Big 12 schools even with the SEC's fat TV checks.

In the SEC, Arkansas is usually a bowl team and a bubble team for the NCAA tourney. In the Big 12, their athletic program's success could easily rival UT's in the revenue sports.

There are all the reasons in the world to make the jump ...if the Big 12 can show Hog fans a promising future. Securing Notre Dame and those big TV markets could easily push down on the scale for the Big 12.
It still seems unlikely, but after reflection, not ridiculously so. It doesn't just seem like hot air from a delusional and spoiled kingpin of college athletics. UT could actually be putting together a real plan to approach these schools.

And the Big 12 may have A&M to thank...

UT works for their own self interest. Most of the time, that hurts the Big 12 overall. If A&M leaving brings UT's self interest in line with those of their conference members, it may be the best thing to ever happen to the Big 12...and the worst thing to ever happen to A&M.

If UT should happen to work their alleged master plan, A&M will look foolish for leaving.

As I wrote in an earlier Bleacher Report editorial, A&M is handing over their richest recruiting territory (East Texas/Houston) to the SEC. They will be playing in a division where they will likely finish fifth most years behind annual national contenders Alabama & Louisiana State as well as Arkansas (who should be able to steal a little more help from Texas --- and Houston and East Texas in particular --- with the Aggies in the conference) and Auburn (which is fresh off buying a national title). This move could leave A&M isolated ---their recruiting compromised --- and just like the Razorbacks, The Aggies could see their program take a similar 20 year trip down the road of irrelevance.

A&M should be wary of the Law of Unintended Consequences. There is the potential that almost every gripe Aggies have about life in UT's shadow in the Big 12 could be exacerbated by this move to the SEC.
Tune in for my next Bleacher Report Editorial where I dig deeper into the more likely and recent Big 12 expansion plans coming out of DeLoss Dodds and how the Law of Unintended Consequences could come into play for A&M as the Big 12 plans to takes action in response to the Aggies' likely move to the SEC.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/8...ence-mate-ever

Notre Dame is the one school that is not going to let Texas push them around. I would be beyond stunned if that ever happened. I also think the Big 10 would literally do whatever it took to keep that from happening. Lot of arrogance there.
Posted via Mobile Device

Not really. "Legends and Leaders", "We're not afraid of Texas" and "BUTTHURT!!!1" is quite a bit more ridiculous.

Please tell me you're joking.

BYU is amazing... they have a massive market share... they even have their own Sirius station...

I would welcome them to the big 12 with arms wide open...

I think they have a bigger market than UT... those crazy mormons...

I actually think that Notre Dame to the Big XII makes a lot of sense because the Irish want to maintain their own TV deal, and the Big XII would allow this, unlike the Big X.

So why do they need to join a conference at all?

And ND's scheduling would get completely f'd up by joining a conference. Could they continue to play USC, Michigan, Navy, etc. every year in addition to their conference games?

Notre Dame and BYU would be a decent fit for the Big 12 north.

They both would the competitive level for football and basketball. They aren't a terrible fit geographically either.

Arkansas could step in a replace Texas A&M in the south as well. They would actually broaden the market for the Big 12 south since A&M and UT overlaps a little.

Sure, and we could add the LA Lakers and Green Bay Packers, who could just trade off during basketball and football season. We could probably restructure our TV contract too.

They get 3 non-conference games each year in football.

If the four 16-team conference thing starts to get halfway serious, they will need to jump into a conference.

They would get 4.

Right, but they have more traditional rivalries than only the three I listed.

I keep asking this and no one has an answer - Why?

They have a perfect set-up now. How does that change if there are 12 team conferences, 16 team conferences, or 100 team conferences?

because we are having fun speculating and nobody wants to hear your shit.

Ah okay, carry on then. STFU

Obviously there would have to be a financial incentive. If they could double-down on their own TV contract plus Big XII revenue, that would be a benefit. Alternatively, they might have to make a move if they're squeezed by the BCS to join a conference to be an automatic qualifier.

Otherwise, you're right; it would be pointless for ND to change anything.

Heh thats why Texas A&M is leaving, Colorado left, and about 4 other schools looked into leaving last year.

The only schools that left were ones that got routinely embarrassed on the football field and the bball court, lets be real.

That being said Colorado won the skiing national title in 2011 and Nebraska won the Bowling national title in 2009 so I guess it wasn't all that bad for those two schools.

ATM informed B12 that they're exploring options. They're peacing out for real.

Whats that you say? I liked you better when you had tits

1. wrong
2. quit mentioning bball as if it has anything to do with a school's conference decision making process

That Bevo cock doesn't taste good to them. Good for them.

OK,

The only schools that left were ones that got routinely embarrassed on the football field, lets be real.

There is simply no chance ND joins the B12 the way its structured.

Negative chance.

There is a better chance Blue Springs High School joins the Big 12.

http://www.hudl.com/images/uploads/b...team-photo.jpg

CU and NU both hold national championships in football. NU is a storied program. Next time you are 'making some calls' to get yourself back in the green you can ask somebody.

I have "inside info".

I'd say you are...not accurate, with your statement.

sure in the mid-90's during the birth of the conference.

I appreciate you defending your new conference companion. Enjoy them, they are the country's best fans. They clap for the other team.

After Rockhurst whips their asses tomorrow, BS might as well disband their football team.

Heh, BS will just have to keep playing great football with the players available to them in their district.

If B10 would have allowed KU to join they'd have accepted in a heartbeat. Now you are down to being bitterman about those schools that have moved to greener pastures and it makes you look even dumber than you already are.

We drink your milkshake.

Haha. Not to be Uncle Rico or anything but Rockhurst has drank a lot of milkshake's but it certainly was not mine. I dispatched of them twice on the way to an undefeated state title run.

I'm done with my academic phase of my life. I couldn't care less about how the Big10 are "better schools".

They are worse in sports I care about than the Big12 (football and basketball) so I really have no opinion on what Kansas would have done if offered the by the Big 10.

If that were the case then I'd be jumping at KU to get into the Ivy League. That ain't happenin either.

If the pastures were so much greener then why do Nebraska fans keep posting here? This is Kansas City. Big 12 country through and through. That's what I don't understand

LMAO No wonder they changed your name. You have absoluteyly no idea what you are talking about.

Why dont you suck my BIG10 for awhile bundle of sticks

So wait we left because we can't beat Texas and they embarrass in basketball but yet we beat them 2 of the last 3 times?

We all have one thing in common: We're all Chiefs fans.

Oh wow.

I guess you're a professional athlete because you still care about sports. I mean, you don't care about academics because you're done with your academic part of life.

I'm wondering if his balding before 30 was a sign of dementia? He certain talks like it.