Legislature Backing Baylor?

[Texafornian]

Does anyone really believe that the whorns will let Baylor screw up this deal if the Pac-10 says no to Baylor? I suspect that the whorns and their college station brethern have too much pull to let that happen.

GO PONIES!!!

I'm betting that Perry + the A&M bloc + the UT bloc will do whatever it takes to prevent Baylor from being tagged on. The only reason why there's any speculation as to whether Baylor will replace Colorado is because the main news sites are jumping on ANY new rumors in an attempt to get more page views.

[Dooby]

Part of the thinking here is the 15 year old misconception that Baylor was dragged into the Big XII by the clout of Ann Richards (nonsense) and Bob Bullock (somewhat plausible). What is never mentioned and always forgotten is that in the 1994 and 1995 seasons, Baylor went 7-4 both years. In 1994, Baylor went to the Bluebonnett Bowl. Baylor was one of the 4 best teams in the SWC at the time of the creation of the Big XII (dating back to 1990).

SWC order of Finish in 1994 and 1995:

1994
Texas A&M (10-0-1)
Texas (8-4)
Baylor (7-5)
Texas Christian (7-5)
Texas Tech (6-6)
Rice (5-6)
Houston (1-10)
Southern Methodist (1-9-1)

1995
Texas (10-2-1)
Texas A&M (9-3)
Texas Tech (9-3)
Baylor (7-4)
TCU (6-5)
Rice (2-8-1)
Houston (2-9)
Southern Methodist (1-10)

So, there you go. Baylor was one of the top 4 teams in the SWC during the relevant timeframe. Arguably, it was TCU that got screwed and Tech that was unfairly recognized, but TCU is smaller than Baylor or Texas Tech and TCU was also on the way downhill before bottoming out at 1-10 in 1997.

[Cardinal Puff]

The lege doesn't come together till January. Perry ain't going to call them in before. Ann Richards and Bob Bullock are no longer with us. Believe that leaves Deloss Dodds in charge.

If at the end of the game of musical chairs we find ourselves in the same group of leftovers as Baylor-by the time we meet up again, we will have the team to avenge the fake punt.

[mr. pony]

Baylor is actually very unique. I am sure the Pac 10 and many other conferences look at Baylor and its location in Waco and think, wow, Waco! Surely Waco is on everyone's list of places to see before one dies!

The Branch Davidians worked it in.

[EastStang]

I suspect that Stanford and USC would be a lot more comfortable with SMU than Baylor (because of academics, and the fact that USC is also a "Methodist" institution). And all the PAC-10 schools would prefer to have Colorado over Baylor or SMU. Given that, Baylor may very well be a candidate for the new Southwest Conference of SMU, Rice, UH, Tulsa, Baylor,TCU, UTEP, Tulane, Louisville, Kansas, Kansas State and Memphis. The other option is for a refreshed MWC with KSU, KU, and Boise going there. But how many of those teams are going to salivate over trips to Laramie, Ft. Collins, and Boise which would make them want the conference to be 16 teams in the MWC. But the Airport Al crew won't want 16 teams and they won't dump CSU, or Wyoming. This is definitely going to be interesting. I would not be surprised to see the SMU speaker, pushing Baylor if for no other reason than to screw up the deal with the PAC-10.

[1983 Cotton Bowl]

I heard at some point (years ago) that SMU and USC are "sister schools" or something like that, whatever that means. Is that true?

[mr. pony]

How does Baylor have more movers-and-shakers, in state government and otherwise, than SMU?

[RGV Pony]

How does Baylor have more movers-and-shakers, in state government and otherwise, than SMU?

if you mean by members of the legislature, my guess would be that the SMU folk are busy earning $ to pay lobbyists to have the "movers and shakers" not screw things up

[Cardinal Puff]

USC was once a Methodist institution; cut those ties several generations back.

[Longtime]

You bet your sweet bippy Bob Bullock had a lot to do with Baylor and Tech getting into the Big 12. And he kept Texas A&M from bolting to the SEC by threatening to block the funding needed to build Reed Arena, otherwise the Aggies would still be playing basketball in a barn.

This article isn't credited, but I remember reading it or something similar to it elsewhere:

http://forums.5atexasfootball.com/showt ... hp?t=58458

I don't think Baylor has enough political pull to ride UT's coattails again. If having Baylor in the mix kills the Pac-10 deal, you can bet UT will use its political pull to quash Baylor's efforts to piggyback.

[Stallion]

The point still holds that Baylor was unquestionably-not even close-the best choice at the time based on performance and institutional support. Baylor at the time was the only SWC school other than Texas who had invested in its BB program and built a new arena. Baylor had appeared in numerous bowls and was routinely beating Texas. TCU would like to make a case but Baylor had the better overall program. SMU was lost in outer space. Houston is well Houston where they only have their own alumni to blame.

[Longtime]

Good question about why Baylor has so much influence in the state government while SMU does not.

I'm probably stereotyping and generalizing here, but Baylor, and to a lesser degree TCU, are much more regionally-focused "Texas" schools while SMU draws from pockets of influence all over the country.

In short, SMU doesn't attract as many small-town Texas kids who return home after graduating and get involved in local and state politics. At least not like it used to.

SMU graduates, especially law school grads who are more likely to go into politics, tend to stay in Dallas or move to other urban areas across the country. They don't tend to move to rural areas and small towns.

It's also a regional thing. Waco-area politicians are going to protect Baylor whether they are grads or not (same for West Texas politicians and Tech) because the university is a major economic engine for the region. Dallas-area legislators have a lot more on their plate than SMU.

Again, just generalizing here. But it is funny that SMU has had more influence in the White House than the state legislature.

[PonyKai]

Baylor also thought they could beat us out for the Presidential Library. Not that that's an apples to oranges comparison or anything.