Big XII Expansion

[JasonB]

Keep in the back of your mind with all of this that OU and UT forced Missou, A&M, Nebraska and Colorado out because of the unbalanced revenue sharing. In order to keep the conference together and pull WVU and TCU in, the big 2 agreed to revenue sharing for 6 years. At the end of those 6 years it all has to be renegotiated again. The only reason UT agreed to revenue sharing was because it had the longhorn network in the back pocket.

The little 8 are trying to get expansion because they want to reset the clock and not get screwed financially.

The money the expanded big 12 will get from TV is going to be significantly less than the other conferences. Which means that OU will be poached. And UT will be poached once Longhorn Network disappears.

Any scenario where UT and OU bail means some leftover big 12 go to the big 10, and the rest get together with the best of the AAC and MWC to form the fifth conference. At that point, the question is do you limit to 4 and 64 or grow to 5 and 80.

Again the only thing in our favor is decreasing ESPN viewership. At some point, limiting the top flight of football has a negative impact on viewership and will also detract from basketball.

[Digetydog]

Any scenario where UT and OU bail means some leftover big 12 go to the big 10, and the rest get together with the best of the AAC and MWC to form the fifth conference.

Again the only thing in our favor is decreasing ESPN viewership. At some point, limiting the top flight of football has a negative impact on viewership and will also detract from basketball.

Texas and OU are agreeing to this move for one reason - they like being the Big Dogs in the B12 and want it to succeed. If either school really wanted to move, they could make a phone call.

[TidePony]

Quicksand, the Big 12 is on a foundation of quicksand. Only Texas and Oklahoma are respected by the SEC and B1G, the rest are mostly viewed in the same vein as any other bottom feeder P 5 teams. Kansas is the exception, and it has nothing to do with football, they are like UK in the SEC.

[Charleston Pony]

I think we can all agree that only Texas and OU are in a position to call their shot from a football standpoint. I just don't see any G5 school adding significant value...at least not enough to make the Big XII a viable long term player. I tend to agree with this writer:

http://www.cbssports.com/college-footba ... -12-again/

Would make for an interesting scramble for the rest of the Big XII.

[JasonB]

UT longs for the old days, where they ran a smaller conference.

UT and OU are all for staying in a conference with smaller schools... as long as they control the revenue flow. UT knows that they control enough market that if they go 12-0 or 11-1, even if they play the sisters of the poor every game, they are still getting an invite to the playoffs. So competition really doesn't matter for them. The super conferences make no sense unless they have to. BYU shares that mentality, that is why they are a good fit. OU is gone if they can't get their own lucrative network.

UT will agree to expansion as long as the TV revenue is shifted in their favor or, more likely, they are allowed to control their own alternative tv revenue (longhorn network). This agreement will devalue the TV contract for the league, making the other league members easy pickings for other conferences who are looking to grow. It will be a constant rotation of new teams into the league until it is finally comprised of teams nobody else wants.

OR the league will force them into revenue sharing, in which case both OU and UT are out.

I also would not rule out the possibility of UT going the BYU or ND route. Why do they need a conference? Play independent, they will always have people begging to schedule them. And they can stick their non Football teams in the AAC if they want to.

[mustangxc]

In that case, the Big XII should become the Big 16 and add: Houston, SMU, Cincinnati, Memphis, UCF, USF.
This would be good for all parties as you get the 6 new members to accept minimal TV revenue ($5 million/year vs $20-30 million/year for the other 10). It would help maintain or boost revenue for the current 10 members and move the 6 new additions to a higher profile conference. Texas keeps its status as the big dog and all parties are happy. For SMU and the other 6 we are in a power conference that will boost attendance help improve recruiting, engage alumni, etc. For the current members you get stability and fun regional rivalries.

Oklahoma
Oklahoma State
Texas
Texas Tech
Baylor
TCU
SMU
Houston

Kansas
Kansas State
Iowa State
West Virginia
Cincinnati
Memphis
UCF
USF

[Water Pony]

Fun scenario for us, but the other division looks very weak from a FB perspective.

[SMUBig12Bound]

Switch the florida schools with the oklahoma schools and it will strengthen the north and make it more regionally sound (north vs. south).

SOUTH
UCF
USF
Texas
Texas Tech
Baylor
TCU
SMU
Houston

NORTH
Kansas
Kansas State
Iowa State
West Virginia
Cincinnati
Memphis
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State

[03Mustang]

I wish it wasn't the case, but we aren't even remotely on the radar. Things are about to get worse...I have started to give up hope that we'll ever really have any relevancy again.

June Jones being hired in 2008 might have literally created more overall damage to this program than the death penalty.

[smupony94]

@GregAbbott_TX
Big 12 expansion is a non-starter unless it includes University of Houston.

[Charleston Pony]

sports talk radio here in Charleston reporting that in a poll of Big XII coaches, they favor adding 2 to return the conference to it's namesake by adding Houston and BYU. While I'm sure Houston would agree to a smaller piece of the pie, BYU might be more of a challenge when it comes to revenue sharing. Hey...at least the Big XII is being talked about in the pre-season. That may have been the goal in all of this?

[smupony94]

@BillNicholsDMN 1h1 hour ago Dallas, TX
SMU AD Rick Hart and president Turner have expressed interest to Big 12: 'We feel that we belong and have assets no one else can offer'

[FIVE-O-FAN]

http://sportsday.dallasnews.com/college ... conference

The Big 12's announcement on exploring expansion candidates has sparked a flurry of activity from colleges and media outlets nationwide.
But as the list of candidates grows, one big-market candidate with numerous ties to the league has been largely overlooked.
SMU, former Southwest Conference member, has expressed interest in joining the Big 12, athletic director Rick Hart said Wednesday. Hart and school president R. Gerald Turner have made presentations to Big 12 officials, stating SMU's case as a potential member.

"President Turner and I have communicated to the Big 12 our interest in pursuing membership along with the reasons why we would be an excellent long-term partner," Hart said. "We feel that we belong and have assets that no one else can offer."
The Big 12 is exploring the possibility of adding either two or four members to its current 10-school roster.
SMU is one of at least seven programs to have publicly expressed interest in pursuing Big 12 membership.
Five of those programs, including SMU, hail from the American Athletic Conference. The other American candidates: Houston, Memphis, Cincinnati and UCF.
Hart and Turner have provided materials they hope will sway Big 12 officials.
"It does seem natural," Hart said. "We have competed at that level before and done very well. We're on a level playing field with those institutions. We solidify the Dallas market."
Oklahoma president David Boren, the Big 12's board chairman, said Tuesday that the league's checklist for new members are athletic department strength, fan base size, media market size, academic strength and "reputation."

[One Trick Pony]

We are In Yes!

[StallionsModelT]

We will get a meeting. No question. Too much money and too many influential people associated with SMU not to be granted a meeting.