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http://www.statesman.com/sports/nine-th ... 05259.html

2. Texas' announcement that it will be the first in the country to show live rowing and cross country — oh, and one football game, a million football practices and a kajillion football interviews before and after practice — will have a number of domino-falls. Among them, I'm guessing, is a spike in Texas A&M's interest in joining the SEC.

Said one prominent Aggie, "I certainly think it's going to create some reaction from some Aggies who will say, ‘(The heck with) Texas. Let's do our own deal.' I don't think Texas is winning friends and influencing people among their Big 12 brethren. As for the SEC, it may be a lot of noise, but I don't sense a lot of groundswell from the president or athletic director's office."

Maybe so, but who could blame A&M and Oklahoma if they didn't unite at some point to shift to the SEC, which I think would scoop them up in a second. I am told A&M AD Bill Byrne may rally the other eight non-Longhorn schools to try to pool their third-tier rights together and package them under the Big 12 name. You know, the We're Not Texas channel.

We knew it was coming and its just now a matter of time before the chips fall......BIG 12 be damned.

So, one can pay the big bucks to watch this

sweating behind an oar?

Are the Aggies thinking of leaving cause they are jealous?

Texas certainly isn't making any friends lately. Better be careful what you wish for Texas. For as much of their "We're Texas" bullsh*t they will still need to maintain rivalries with the likes of OU/A&M. It would be justice if the other programs actually showed some balls and gave Texas the middle finger.

It would not surprise me if Texas ultimately ended up as an indy. In conference after conference, it always seems to end up with Texas making all the money and every other school in the conf. hating Texas. They just don't play well with others. In the end, UT going indy may be best for both Texas and the unfortunate schools that have to play second fiddle to Texas in any conference alignment.

1983,

I agree. Texas would make more money and ruffle fewer feathers by going independent. Every conference has to know that an invitation to Texas is really an invitation of submission by its fellow members. They are the most "my way or the highway" program in America not named Notre Dame. I yearn for their lean years in the late 80's and early 90's where they'd win six games a year and DKR Memorial Stadium as about half-full.

Curious for the sake of game planning, why would you want to broadcast your football practices, scrimmages and interviews?

ponyscott wrote:We knew it was coming and its just now a matter of time before the chips fall......BIG 12 be damned.

Its funny. Texas resists every effort at Big 12 expansion, and then acts like an independent by inking its own TV deal. Its obviously bringing the conference to its knees while at the same time making the appearance of being loyal to its conference mates. What a smart way to get rid of your political entanglement with Baylor, Tech, etal by forcing them to leave the cancer down in austin. Well played DeLoss Dodds. The only thing holding the whorns down right now is their under achieving football team.

NickSMU17 wrote:
Maybe so, but who could blame A&M and Oklahoma if they didn't unite at some point to shift to the SEC, which I think would scoop them up in a second.

Oklahoma is NOT going to join A&M in some negative reaction to UT getting their TV network. Let us look at the facts:

1. Oklahoma openly discussed starting their own TV network last June. They even got help from UT since UT was further along with their TV network plans:

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/ ... work_N.htm

2. Oklahoma announced that they would have their TV network operating THIS YEAR:

http://www.tulsaworld.com/sportsextra/O ... TeUies6333

3. Oklahoma already gets $7.5 mil/year from their local TV deal, so if their TV network provides them with $5 mil/year more than that, they will get match UT's TV money. There is *no* way that OU will start their own TV channel and get less than their $7.5 mil TV deal they already have guaranteed.

http://www.crimsonandcreammachine.com/2 ... a-contract

So, it is strictly a fantasy that UT's TV network is driving OU away. OU actually has been helped by UT in getting their own TV network, and OU will have their network running this year.

Garret wrote:

NickSMU17 wrote:
Maybe so, but who could blame A&M and Oklahoma if they didn't unite at some point to shift to the SEC, which I think would scoop them up in a second.

Oklahoma is NOT going to join A&M in some negative reaction to UT getting their TV network. Let us look at the facts:

Perhaps so, but you failed to mention the most important fact; Oklahoma is hopelessly jointed to the hip to T. Boone Picken's Juco in Stoolwater. Oklahoma State is like a ball and chain around OU's ankle.

ponyscott wrote:We knew it was coming and its just now a matter of time before the chips fall......BIG 12 be damned.

No doubt...I would assume no one is surprised. But Ags are generally a little slow.

Help me understand:

When the realignment talk broke out last summer, Texas' own network was being discussed. If memory serves, UT was going to examine the PAC 10 further provided it could do it's own network. When the PAC 10 bosses balked at that, Texas came back to the Big 12 and said "We're staying.'' I thought the Big 12 pretty much gave its blessing for that.

I was under the impression that everybody knew this was coming -- sooner or later.

So I don't think anybody in Maroon and White, Crimson and Creme, Black and Orange and Black and Red should be surprised about this or even upset about this.

I would suggest that the outrage is a little manufactured. But we do live in an instant-this, instant-that world where people forget what they were doing 10 minutes ago.

austinponie wrote:Curious for the sake of game planning, why would you want to broadcast your football practices, scrimmages and interviews?

300 million reasons.

austinponie wrote:Curious for the sake of game planning, why would you want to broadcast your football practices, scrimmages and interviews?

Because they are more interesting than LECTURES...
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/michael_rosenberg/01/20/texas.tv/index.html#ixzz1BgauvlYE

The better point that the SI article references is all the high school football games they will be broadcasting and how that will be viewed by the NCAA.

docabel wrote:

austinponie wrote:Curious for the sake of game planning, why would you want to broadcast your football practices, scrimmages and interviews?

Because they are more interesting than LECTURES...
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/michael_rosenberg/01/20/texas.tv/index.html#ixzz1BgauvlYE

The better point that the SI article references is all the high school football games they will be broadcasting and how that will be viewed by the NCAA.

I am *quite* alarmed that Texas will have a say in what high school football games the Longhorn Network will broadcast--I'm sure that it will be a "coincidence" that games with Texas commits or players that Texas is recruiting will show up quite often. The network will probably say something like those are the games of most interest to the viewed of their network.

I am also quite alarmed that the Texas Athletic Department will have the power to have a say in the hiring and firing of the reporters on their network...and that those reporters will be interviewing high school recruits. Spotlighting commits and highlighting interviews with them would be like running a recruiting infomercial.

However, since technically ESPN will be paying the reporters and running the network, no NCAA rules will be broken...