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Texas realignment options are withering

Good summary article from Tulsa, which outlines the dilemma UT helped create and what options the Longhors probably have. The implications for the Big 12 and beyond can not be understated.

Do they need to rethink everthing?

http://www.tulsaworld.com/sportsextra/a ... DFAS164035

Interesting article and some of the comments are really loco. i.e. - TT brings the Dallas-FW tv market.

GO PONIES!!!

Interesting article, but come on this is a guy writing for the Oklahoma audience.

The ACC is a completely viable option. First, east coast audience means a lot. The media, like it or not, plays to those on the east much more than the west.

Second, who cares how deep the league is in football. Texas will sell out every home game. In the ACC they would own one of the easiest routes to the national championship game or a BCS game or a spot in the playoffs, however you want to look at it. Seriously how many times have we seen a team in the SEC with 2 losses that is a better team than an undefeated B10 school. Or what about back in the day when USC ran wild over very average conference foes. Plus, it wasn't all that long ago that the ACC was seen as the football powerhouse with FSU, Miami, VT, GT, etc.

Third, if they can keep the LHN network in the ACC then viola a better conference fit for UT.

I'm just amazed at those that signed the B12 contract not too long ago knowing what would happen are now complaining. They should never have let UT have the LHN in the first place. It's their fault for agreeing to it. Should have never trusted UT as much as they did.

In about a decade we are all going to be wondering what the big deal was about the LHN. That is the future. Think about how much following your favorite college football team has changed in the last decade just from Rivals/Scout which are really just precursors to more specialized types and intensity of media platforms covering College Sports. 10 years ago you got 98% of your information from the DMN or newspapers/magazines. Now 98% comes from Rivals/Scout or other websites like Ponyfans focusing directly to a specific audience like SMU football. The amount of information delivered has increased 100x. The LHN is just a different in-house platform for delivering media to specialialized, unique audience. SMU may not have access to such a cable/satellite TV network but I wouldn't be surprised if we have access to an in-house platform that delivers a staggering increase in content similiar to what will be seen on the LHN. Note too that the LHN is attempting to gain access the large amount of money now being spent on outside platform-including Rivals/Scout. One of the cash-cows the NCAA blew by its 20th Century rules in a 21st Century world is it allowed these outside platforms to get the cash that could have gone to the University athletic programs themselves-ie we are paying Rivals/Scout to deliver us information about SMU's own program rather than paying SMU directly. That capsulizes where schools will want to go in the future.

Will regional conferences and media drive the future or not?

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/w ... alignment/