Big 10 Report: Conference Realignment

[Mr. Laz]

A source in St. Louis familiar with the situation told NewsCenter 16 Thursday afternoon that Missouri will leave the Big XII and soon join the Big 10. Other schools expected to follow the Tigers are Syracuse, Pitt, Rutgers and Nebraska.

Many have speculated that such an expansion would include Notre Dame but ND athletic director Jack Swarbrick told me today that the Irish prefer to stay independent in football and in the Big East for other sports. Swarbrick said maintaining football Independence is such a part of what Notre Dame is.

He went on to say the Big East is a great partner for the University in other sports.

"We do have to monitor what is going on," Swarbrick said. "There will be significant shifts. "Hopefully we can navigate them by keeping our football independent and keeping our Big East affiliation because that is what we care about."

The move of Syracuse, Pitt and Rutgers to the Big Ten from the Big East could categorically change the landscape of the Big East itself. Thus, what Swarbrick is referring to when stating the University must continue to monitor what is going on.

The interview with Swarbrick was done before the late afternoon announcement.

http://www.wndu.com/sports/headlines/92447574.html

[Reaper16]

Big 10 is the better choice for MU.

[HolyHandgernade]

Originally Posted by Stewie

It's a fledgling network. You don't think UT fans won't clamor to have that added to their cable/satellite system? Verizon is the lone carrier, but either they get a shitload of new subscribers or others step up to the plate.

You're talking what, 50,000 hardcore fans? I really don't think you are understanding the numbers difference here. Texas is putting on an act, they are trying to claim OU is tying their hands by bolting first and much of their value is tied to the OU rivalry. They could make in ten years with the PAC that they could in the Big XII with their LHN in 20. Its a no-brainer.

"Would you like to make 14 million extra a year?"

"No. No, I don't think I would."

Who has that conversation with a strait face?

The really sad and ironic thing in all this is that the Big XII could have done something very similar in raiding the Big East. They could have set up a smaller network opportunity with those big east coast markets and made a killing for everyone. But, this is where hubris and ego are going to kill a conference and all the truly guilty parties are the ones that are going to get rewarded for it.

[Mosbonian]

Originally Posted by Reaper16

Big 10 is the better choice for MU.

I would agree. But what bugs me is that we have been scorned by them once before and somehow I'm concerned that the present administration will respond like a wounded ex-girlfriend.

[HolyHandgernade]

I know all you MU fans think you are sitting fine, but your dinner isn't served just yet. All this "we'll have a home in the SEC or B!G" conversation is based on two assumptions:

1. That both conferences really want to expand

2. That A&M is assured of a place in the SEC

Neither of those things have happened and there's been no real talk they are going to. There is a rumor that there is a voting bloc against A&M being included and the B!G has not said word one about expanding this time around. Everyone assumes it will happen because they think its a conference ego thing. If the TV networks aren't convinced it adds real value, those conferences will not be "eager" to split their takes any further. They already have signed deals, the networks are under NO obligation to restructure them. They have what they call "looks", but those are not legally binding.

[teedubya]

I haven't said **** TEXAS yet today...

[Stewie]

Originally Posted by HolyHandgernade

You're talking what, 50,000 hardcore fans? I really don't think you are understanding the numbers difference here. Texas is putting on an act, they are trying to claim OU is tying their hands by bolting first and much of their value is tied to the OU rivalry. They could make in ten years with the PAC that they could in the Big XII with their LHN in 20. Its a no-brainer.

"Would you like to make 14 million extra a year?"

"No. No, I don't think I would."

Who has that conversation with a strait face?

The really sad and ironic thing in all this is that the Big XII could have done something very similar in raiding the Big East. They could have set up a smaller network opportunity with those big east coast markets and made a killing for everyone. But, this is where hubris and ego are going to kill a conference and all the truly guilty parties are the ones that are going to get rewarded for it.

You really don't understand Texas (which I hate BTW). They have 50,000 students. Where'd you come up with 50,000 fans? Texas buries any school in the PAC by a long way. In fact, they bury all universities in sports money and fanbase except maybe ND.

[Stewie]

Originally Posted by teedubya

I haven't said **** TEXAS yet today...

Golden!

[Imon Yourside]

Originally Posted by teedubya

I haven't said **** TEXAS yet today...

I'm selling Tuck Fexas! T-shirts.

[HolyHandgernade]

Originally Posted by Stewie

You really don't understand Texas (which I hate BTW). They have 50,000 students. Where'd you come up with 50,000 fans? Texas buries any school in the PAC by a long way. In fact, they bury all universities except maybe ND.

Don't count "fans", count subscriptions. Just about every Longhorn football game will be on a channel the average Longhorn fan can get without an increased subscription. One, maybe two games a year will be on the LHN,which I'm sure most sports bars will subscribe to. The rest of the programming is non football sports.

Don't think in terms of state populations, or TV market shares, or the general Longhorn fan. The only people that are going to add another 5-10 dollars to their cable bill are hardcore fans that don't have much better to do. Not only that, but the deal they made was with a much smaller cable company, Verizon (which I have and really like, by the way). This means you not only have to want to have a higher cable bill, you also have to go to the trouble of switching your cable provider (something Verizon, I'm sure, is hoping for). They went with the smaller company because none of the larger ones were interested in airing it.

So, yes, about 50,000 is a more accurate number. And just about any cable exec outside of Verizon will tell you that.

[Mosbonian]

Originally Posted by HolyHandgernade

I know all you MU fans think you are sitting fine, but your dinner isn't served just yet. All this "we'll have a home in the SEC or B!G" conversation is based on two assumptions:

1. That both conferences really want to expand

2. That A&M is assured of a place in the SEC

Neither of those things have happened and there's been no real talk they are going to. There is a rumor that there is a voting bloc against A&M being included and the B!G has not said word one about expanding this time around. Everyone assumes it will happen because they think its a conference ego thing. If the TV networks aren't convinced it adds real value, those conferences will not be "eager" to split their takes any further. They already have signed deals, the networks are under NO obligation to restructure them. They have what they call "looks", but those are not legally binding.

Any particular reason you posted this, other than to try and rationalize that KU has a spot at the table somewhere long before MU?

In fact, if there really is a split of the conference, Kansas has nothing to offer a conference beyond Basketball dominance.

My worry isn't that someone wouldn't want MU whether it would be the Big 10 or SEC...it's that somehow our Administration could find a way to really screw up the whole thing.

[KChiefs1]

The Tejas mouthpiece has spoken:

Chip Brown
Orangebloods.com Columnist



A source close to Texas said Saturday the Longhorn Network can be reworked to allow the Longhorns to join the Pac-12, if that's the course Texas officials choose to take.

No schools are allowed to have their own network in the Pac-12, where commissioner Larry Scott has set up a series of regional networks in which two schools pool their third-tier rights and share revenue.

Scott, who attended the Oregon-LSU game at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, told reporters Texas would not be allowed to keep the current incarnation of the Longhorn Network in the Pac-12.

Scott went out of his way to tell reporters the Pac-12 has been contacted by schools and has not reached out to any schools or been predatory in any way.

But the source close to Texas told Orangebloods.com the Pac-12 has given the Longhorns an indication LHN could be reworked if Texas wanted to become part of what would be the Pac-16 - along with OU, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech.

The source said if Oklahoma leaves the Big 12 for the Pac-12, Texas would likely follow.

"Leaning that way," the source said.

Last summer, it was Oklahoma saying it would stick with Texas no matter what. This time around, it appears Texas is going to stick with Oklahoma.

Texas lawmakers will have some serious questions for the Longhorns, sources said. Lawmakers said they didn't take an aggressive approach with Texas A&M withdrawing from the Big 12 because they were reassured - in part by Texas - that the Big 12 would survive without A&M.

But the Texas source said OU president David Boren appears to be ready to bolt the Big 12 for the Pac-12, and if that happens, Texas would consider the Big 12 dead and have little choice but to go with OU, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech to the Pac-12.


Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds told The Associated Press Saturday the Longhorns love the Big 12 and want to stay in it, but Dodds added he'll be watching to see what happens to the conference in the next few days.

Oklahoma president David Boren indicated on Friday the Sooners are actively looking at their options in terms of a conference home.

Reports out of Oklahoma on Saturday indicate the Sooners are now focused solely on a possible future in the Pac-12.

Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe held a conference call on Friday without Texas, Oklahoma and Texas A&M's presidents and told the remaining presidents of the Big 12 to "work on Texas."

Beebe said on the call he believes Oklahoma will not get a bid to the Pac-12 unless Texas is part of the deal, sources said. But a source close to the situation told Orangebloods.com Oklahoma and Oklahoma State would be accepted into the Pac-12 if they wanted in.

An industry source with direct knowledge of the Longhorn Network said Texas has not indicated to ESPN, which owns and operates LHN, that it has any plans to go west.

That industry source said reworking the Longhorn Network to accommodate the Pac-12 would be "very difficult" but not impossible.

Meanwhile, there was acrimony all over the Big 12 on Saturday.

Oklahoma State, which has a seat on the five-member, Big 12 expansion committee, appears to be losing faith in the future of the league.

At least that's the opinion of Oklahoma State billionaire booster Boone Pickens, who said Saturday he thinks the Cowboys will end up in the Pac-12 and that the Big 12 won't be around in five years.

Pickens' comments follow those of OU president David Boren, who on Friday referenced an unstable Big 12 and said no one has been more active than the Sooners in exploring their options.

Missouri athletic director Mike Alden told The Associated Press Boren's comments did major damage to any attempt to stabilize the Big 12 after Texas A&M's withdrawal from the conference.

"It's somewhat surprising that comment came out because I know everybody's been working together," Alden told The Associated Press Saturday. "You put something like that out there and it just reinforces that image of being unstable."

Missouri's chancellor Brady Deaton is chairing the Big 12's expansion committee, which also includes Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds, Oklahoma AD Joe Castiglione and Kansas State's John Currie.

Currie told the AP Saturday his school remains committed to the Big 12.

The only question at the moment appears to be for how long?

Stay tuned.

Chip Brown
Orangebloods.com Columnist



Legislators and statewide office holders have swung into high-pressure mode to get Texas president Bill Powers and athletic director DeLoss Dodds to slow down any decision that might involve the Longhorns joining the Pac-12, multiple sources said Sunday.

With reports surfacing that Oklahoma is all but ready to commit to the Pac-12, Texas lawmakers are so concerned about the Longhorns possibly following suit that a full-court press is being made to slow things down by elected officials and corporate CEOs with influence, sources said.

"We don't want any hasty decision being made that hasn't been well thought out," one lawmaker told Orangebloods.com on Sunday.

Sources said the reason lawmakers are hot is that they received assurances from the Big 12, including Powers, that the Big 12 would survive without Texas A&M.

And because of those assurances, lawmakers did not take an aggressive stand against Texas A&M withdrawing from the Big 12. But that may be changing.

Sources said members of the Legislature are or will be reaching out to Texas A&M president R. Bowen Loftin to tell him the Aggies may no longer have the blessing of lawmakers to leave the Big 12, especially if it looks like the Big 12 will collapse.

According to sources close to Texas A&M, there is expected to be more movement involving the Aggies and the Southeastern Conference Tuesday or Wednesday of this week.

Sources say statewide office holders such as lieutenant governor David Dewhurst and Texas House Speaker Joe Straus haven't been active on realignment up to this point but now are getting involved.

A source in the Big 12 says there is also an increasing likelihood of litigation against the Southeastern Conference as well as the Pac-12 if the Big 12 comes apart.

In other words, it's about to get messy.

Orangebloods.com reported Friday night that Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe held an emergency conference call Friday afternoon with Big 12 presidents - excluding OU's David Boren, UT's Bill Powers and A&M's Bowen Loftin. The purpose of the call, sources said, was to get the rest of the Big 12 to "work on Texas" and keep the Longhorns in the league.

It's Beebe's belief that Oklahoma wouldn't be accepted into the Pac-12 without Texas, sources said. But sources have told Orangebloods.com Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott would take OU and Oklahoma State with or without Texas.

The question then becomes would OU go to the Pac-12 without Texas?

There is wide belief among those involved in this situation that OU needs the Texas rivalry and the ability to keep playing games in the state of Texas for recruiting purposes so much that it would forego the Pac-12 if Texas decided to stay in the Big 12.

But reports out of Oklahoma the past two days have said OU is totally focused on the Pac-12 and may be ready to commit.

A source close to Texas told Orangebloods.com Friday night that Texas is "leaning" toward the Pac-12 if Oklahoma would make such a move.

That source said Sunday the percentages of Texas joining OU in a move to the Pac-12 "are increasing. But a lot can change in seven or eight days."

Those things that could influence Texas' thought process are the pressure from lawmakers to hold the Big 12 together; ESPN's influence on the situation as the Tier 1 rights holder in the Big 12 and as the owner/operator of the Longhorn Network; and perhaps the appeal of another conference, the Texas source said.

A Texas source and an industry source say the Longhorn Network can be reworked to accommodate the Pac-12 and is not an obstacle for Texas to join that league. But sources say Texas has not indicated to ESPN that it plans to change conferences.

Legislative sources say Texas is telling them if Oklahoma leaves for the Pac-12, the Big 12 is dead and the Longhorns' best option would be to go with OU and join the Pac-12. Those legislative forces, however, are telling Texas to tell Oklahoma to slow down.

The pressure is mounting everywhere in this latest round of college realignment.

Stay tuned.

[LiveSteam]

I think MU will end up in the SEC. I would like to see them in the BIG10.
IMO they can compete in either conference. Razor Backs compete in the SEC. So can the Tigers.

[Stewie]

Originally Posted by HolyHandgernade

Don't count "fans", count subscriptions. Just about every Longhorn football game will be on a channel the average Longhorn fan can get without an increased subscription. One, maybe two games a year will be on the LHN,which I'm sure most sports bars will subscribe to. The rest of the programming is non football sports.

Don't think in terms of state populations, or TV market shares, or the general Longhorn fan. The only people that are going to add another 5-10 dollars to their cable bill are hardcore fans that don't have much better to do. Not only that, but the deal they made was with a much smaller cable company, Verizon (which I have and really like, by the way). This means you not only have to want to have a higher cable bill, you also have to go to the trouble of switching your cable provider (something Verizon, I'm sure, is hoping for). They went with the smaller company because none of the larger ones were interested in airing it.

So, yes, about 50,000 is a more accurate number. And just about any cable exec outside of Verizon will tell you that.

Again, you don't understand Texas. We've dealt with them for 15 years in our conference. If they move to the PAC, good riddance. They will dominate (and benefit) every discussion concerning sports ad nauseum in your league. The money in Texas buries anything on the west coast and they know it.

[HolyHandgernade]

Originally Posted by Mosbonian

Any particular reason you posted this, other than to try and rationalize that KU has a spot at the table somewhere long before MU?

In fact, if there really is a split of the conference, Kansas has nothing to offer a conference beyond Basketball dominance.

My worry isn't that someone wouldn't want MU whether it would be the Big 10 or SEC...it's that somehow our Administration could find a way to really screw up the whole thing.

Yeah, the reason I posted it is because of the "polls" regarding which conference Missouri fans "choose" to go to. You may not have a choice and you're only real option may not be with either of them. I know the local media has you thinking you're in some catbird seat right now with "options". I'm not saying this to incite MU fans. You show me one thing that I posted that isn't correct, and I'll retract it. I'm not saying KU is in a good position, and I'm not saying MU isn't in a slightly better position. I'm just saying that neither of our positions have any validity right now and everything is based on media assumptions about what the SEC and B!G are "going to do". They may very well do nothing. There is no obligation by them to pick up "stray" teams.

Let me put it this way. MU, A&M, OSU are all fine programs. But their real worth was tied to Texas-OU. There's no doubt the programs could be added, but does any network think, on your own, you are a $17 million dollar a year program? Is there a conference who's members are prepared to add your program if it means taking a financial hit to their own bottom line?

[HolyHandgernade]

Originally Posted by Stewie

Again, you don't understand Texas. We've dealt with them for 15 years in our conference. If they move to the PAC, good riddance. They will dominate (and benefit) every discussion concerning sports ad nauseum in your league. The money in Texas buries anything on the west coast and they know it.

Why do you think I'm a PAC person?