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I recall allegations that Ann Richards, a Baylor grad and then TX Governor, pressured UT, aTm, and Tech to have her alma mater included in the move to the Big 8, leaving the other privates and Houston behind.

max the wonder dog wrote:I recall allegations that Ann Richards, a Baylor grad and then TX Governor, pressured UT, aTm, and Tech to have her alma mater included in the move to the Big 8, leaving the other privates and Houston behind.

Not untrue (not just her; Bob Bullock too) but that was jockeying for the last seat on the lifeboat. It was UT that determined there would be so few seats on the lifeboat.

Dukie wrote:

max the wonder dog wrote:I recall allegations that Ann Richards, a Baylor grad and then TX Governor, pressured UT, aTm, and Tech to have her alma mater included in the move to the Big 8, leaving the other privates and Houston behind.

Not untrue (not just her; Bob Bullock too) but that was jockeying for the last seat on the lifeboat. It was UT that determined there would be so few seats on the lifeboat.

UT and A&M were going alone until politics forced Tech and Baylor in. Bob Bullock was the major player along with a bunch of rural politicians who had more invested in the schools than the urban campus reps/senators did. Richards gets named a lot but mostly stayed out of it ironically. Bullock however was all over it as a Tech undergrad and BU law grad.

Per Tech's AD at the time it was to be ten teams. We were fortunate to have help. Hoping SMU benefits from this round of realignment.

One thing was clear. UT wanted nothing to do with SMU at that time. Pye's restrictions made us uncompetitive and UT wanted to improve its SOS. Temporarily it did until Nebraska left, Colorado left, A&M left, and Missouri left. Suddenly, they couldn't win that reconfigured conference. Given that we had no juice at that time politically, we were cast adrift.

WordUpBU wrote:

Dukie wrote:

max the wonder dog wrote:I recall allegations that Ann Richards, a Baylor grad and then TX Governor, pressured UT, aTm, and Tech to have her alma mater included in the move to the Big 8, leaving the other privates and Houston behind.

Not untrue (not just her; Bob Bullock too) but that was jockeying for the last seat on the lifeboat. It was UT that determined there would be so few seats on the lifeboat.

UT and A&M were going alone until politics forced Tech and Baylor in. Bob Bullock was the major player along with a bunch of rural politicians who had more invested in the schools than the urban campus reps/senators did. Richards gets named a lot but mostly stayed out of it ironically. Bullock however was all over it as a Tech undergrad and BU law grad.

Per Tech's AD at the time it was to be ten teams. We were fortunate to have help. Hoping SMU benefits from this round of realignment.

Texas Monthly articles about all the politics behind the split. Ofcourse all were written with an agenda. LOL



https://www.texasmonthly.com/arts-entertainment/the-decline-and-fall-of-the-southwest-conference/

https://www.texasmonthly.com/arts-entertainment/seasons-to-remember/

Colorado chatter heats up

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/colorado-holds-substantive-talks-with-big-12-as-buffaloes-consider-leaving-pac-12/

EastStang wrote:One thing was clear. UT wanted nothing to do with SMU at that time. Pye's restrictions made us uncompetitive and UT wanted to improve its SOS. Temporarily it did until Nebraska left, Colorado left, A&M left, and Missouri left. Suddenly, they couldn't win that reconfigured conference. Given that we had no juice at that time politically, we were cast adrift.

Texas improved its SOS by dropping us and adding Rice, UTEP, NMSU, Tulsa, etc to their home schedule.

Five Dominos That Could Initiate the Next Conference Realignment Moves

1) Pac-12 Media Falls Flat
2) Pac-12 Paranoia
3) Pac-12 Gets Back to 12
4) Big-12 Reaches to Expand at the Group of 5 Level
5) ACC Crumbles

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/ncaafb ... r-AA1bWzaa

Not sure of the probability of each of these dominos, but it captures much of the recent reporting and associated anxiety.

I'll take Door # 3

How much is the big 12 spending on propaganda?

Everyday a new nothing burger.

But this is normal for these times.
Go Mustangs. by

AZ State and USF join AAU.

"While AAU membership isn’t often the first thing that comes to mind in discussions surrounding conference realignment, both the Big Ten and Pac-12 have valued membership in the association in the past when adding to their respective conferences, per Sports Illustrated."

https://www.deseret.com/2023/6/1/23745629/conference-realignment-aau-adds-six-schools-miami-notre-dame-asu-usf-george-washington-uc-riverside

BUS wrote:How much is the big 12 spending on propaganda?

Everyday a new nothing burger.

But this is normal for these times.
Go Mustangs. by

I feel like the PAC-12 commissioner is sitting in a dunk tank and the Big12 commissioner is just standing there throwing balls at the target...and has been for the past year or so.

But the Big 12 has "a plan"!

https://www.espn.com/college-sports/sto ... touts-plan

Hoofprint wrote:But the Big 12 has "a plan"!

https://www.espn.com/college-sports/sto ... touts-plan

Hilarious that the guy from Tech was touting their academics.

AZ Joining CO in move to BIG 12 Discussed in AZ Media

https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/college/pac-12/2023/06/05/big-12-expansion-speculation-swirls-around-pac-12s-arizona-wildcats/70290593007/

max the wonder dog wrote:AZ Joining CO in move to BIG 12 Discussed in AZ Media

https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/college/pac-12/2023/06/05/big-12-expansion-speculation-swirls-around-pac-12s-arizona-wildcats/70290593007/

Colorado board of regents meets tomorrow afternoon. Agenda includes discussion of legal matter related to athletics per public posting.