Bohls has balls:
Texas does not want to be an independent.
Texas does not want to be an independent.
Texas does not want to be an independent.
I think DeLoss Dodds is still writing that on the blackboard.
Maybe if the Longhorns say that loud enough and often enough, others will believe them. Maybe.
Dodds has said it every time I've asked the Texas athletic director for the last 10 years, and I believe him.
It's true they don't want to be an independent, even if every action they take seems as if they do. Certainly Texas acts like an independent. If it smells like an independent, talks like an independent, acts like an independent, I'm guessing deep down it's an independent.
I'm hoping I'm wrong on this, because I think going independent would be a colossal mistake as we rocket toward super conferences. Texas, though, may be painting itself into that corner without any other option, because the Big 12 appears too fractured to survive.
If so, the Pac-12 would be the Longhorns' best bet.
At this point, independence is looking like the end result. Why?
Ego and power.
Texas does not want to concede either. It doesn't want to give up its precious Longhorn Network, nor does it want its clout diminished by joining another established conference where it won't have as big a say.
By clinging to their new toy — a valuable one, at that — and flaunting it, and insisting on uneven revenue sharing, the Longhorns have alienated the rest of the conference, created unrest and acrimony, and thrown their weight around so much that schools in their own league see them as a bully.
Yes, they are the Joneses.
But if this keeps up, how long is it before Texas becomes the most hated school in America?
Does President William Powers really want that image? Does business partner ESPN want that? Has ESPN's image taken a blow because it has cozied up to one school so much and become a major factor in the breakup of an entire conference?
When I asked a Texas administrator its preference on Thursday, spokesman Nick Voinis said, "Big 12, Big 12, Big 12. The Big 12's our priority."
Of course, it is. But how can it attract any strong replacement for Texas A&M to this collection of dysfunctional misfits? I don't blame Baylor for trying to sue — because it stands to lose everything — but it can't threaten litigation against A&M and the SEC, and also endorse a raid of other conferences to serve the Big 12's needs, without being a hypocrite.
Brigham Young, in its first year as an independent, is the Big 12's biggest target, but it represents only a Band-Aid. Houston remains a strong possibility. I've even seen San Diego State's name bandied about.
This all started with Texas and could end with Texas, although the Longhorns did overplay their hand. They've lost much leverage because their two biggest rivals — A&M and Oklahoma — are considering going elsewhere without them. Reports that the ACC and Big Ten are courting Texas are unsubstantiated. That could amount to posturing, because Texas could be bluffing and trying to force the Pac-12 to accept Texas and allow the Longhorn Network as is. That won't happen.
All Texas needed to do — and should still do, although it's probably too late — was announce in the summer of 2010 after Nebraska and Colorado bolted that it had agreed to equal revenue sharing, and not flaunted its Longhorn Network, threatening to telecast high school football games. Had Texas done that, all this might have been resolved.
What now?
Going independent is fraught with peril and problems. There are risks at every turn, although BYU's eight-year deal with ESPN guarantees the broadcast of four football games every year — 10 this year — and BYUtv will show 120 live games in 21 sports. It wanted more exposure for its university and its athletes. Doesn't Texas already get that?
Without membership in a BCS conference, Texas would lose its shot at an automatic BCS berth and all that money.
Without membership in a conference, Texas forfeits its share of any league revenue. It's projected to receive at least $20 million in the Big 12 this year.
Without being in a conference, Texas' Olympic and all non-revenue sports would be severely marginalized. No conference, no built-in scheduling.
Every sport would have to scramble for competition, including football, which would have severe difficulty finding games in October and November when league play is in full swing. Should Oklahoma join the Pac-12, the Texas-OU series could be finished or be moved to September and perhaps become a home-and-home series, killing one of the best traditions in all of sports.
If Texas finally did go independent, an even bigger question looms:
Who the heck would it have to boss around?
kbohls@statesman.com; 445-3772