Texas talking to Big 10? & Tim Griffin leaving espn?

[HotRack]

In just my short year here in Austin, I've already come to realize what a self-licking ice cream cone the UT sports machine is.

The talking heads down here were discussing the whole Big 10 thing down here this morning with the basic attitude of "man, those would be some great games!" but "the road trips would stink. Who wants to drive in all that snow?" Apparently the Pac 10 may be talking to UT too (who wouldn't.) But in the long run, it all came down to (from Dan Neil, former Denver OL and UT alum) "Do you really think Mack would accept a schedule with Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, AND Oklahoma on it? And let's not forget the occasional Wisconsin. No way."

Long and short, while an additional $10M in their coffers is probably enticing, with the TX gov being an Aggy alum UT does not go anywhere without aggy. And UT likes their status of king of the Big 12 and doesn't want to have to compete with Mich, OSU, and PSU for recognition.

My dream: CU goes to the Pac 10 ASAP (like yesterday). Mizzou heads to the Big 10. Big 12 adds TCU and Houston getting closer to the the old SWC reincarnated. The Texas schools start running roughshod over everyone else and the B12 disintegrates in much the same way as the SWC due to the Texas' schools greed and UT goes right down the shi*t*er with all of them....

 

[leftybuff]

In just my short year here in Austin, I've already come to realize what a self-licking ice cream cone the UT sports machine is.

The talking heads down here were discussing the whole Big 10 thing down here this morning with the basic attitude of "man, those would be some great games!" but "the road trips would stink. Who wants to drive in all that snow?" Apparently the Pac 10 may be talking to UT too (who wouldn't.) But in the long run, it all came down to (from Dan Neil, former Denver OL and UT alum) "Do you really think Mack would accept a schedule with Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, AND Oklahoma on it? And let's not forget the occasional Wisconsin. No way."

Long and short, while an additional $10M in their coffers is probably enticing, with the TX gov being an Aggy alum UT does not go anywhere without aggy. And UT likes their status of king of the Big 12 and doesn't want to have to compete with Mich, OSU, and PSU for recognition.

My dream: CU goes to the Pac 10 ASAP (like yesterday). Mizzou heads to the Big 10. Big 12 adds TCU and Houston getting closer to the the old SWC reincarnated. The Texas schools start running roughshod over everyone else and the B12 disintegrates in much the same way as the SWC due to the Texas' schools greed and UT goes right down the shi*t*er with all of them....

May your dreams come true, my friend...may they come true soon.:smile2:

 

[rodrigo]

The take from Griffin's replacement.... http://espn.go.com/blog/big12/post/...ac-10-would-entice-better-coaching-candidates

 

[leftybuff]

Excellent article.

 

[dply]

Wow an actually interesting article. I might start reading espn again.

 

[fatbuff]

Excellent article.

I thought the article was missing a lot of history. Things cylce, and we have had a lot of success in TX prior to DH. Remember when the Big12 started the North ran the show in football.

 

[sackman]

yup. Big XII schools are gonna be ****ed. What will become of Oklahoma?

I went over to Soonerfans.com just to see what their take on all this was. They don't seem too fazed by these events at all. They're spending most of their time figuring out who will replace CU and UT as opposed to being upset at the prospect of those two schools leaving.

Nobody seems to be all that conerned about what the defection of CU will do to the rest of the conference, either.

 

[92Buff]

I thought the article was missing a lot of history. Things cylce, and we have had a lot of success in TX prior to DH. Remember when the Big12 started the North ran the show in football.

Absolutely true. Texass needed the Big XII to become a national power again and it has run its course. Now they are back on top and they get the pick of any Texas kid they want. I don't blame them for looking around now that they own Texas again. Of course, they do have a nice situation now - they compete in a conference with the bulk of the teams living off of the Texas table scraps. Just look - NU got a 4 star from Texas this year that is all the rage - except nobody in Texas but Baylor offered the kid a scholarship.

When the Big XII was formed, you knew it was only a matter of time until they and A&M would be real strong again. A&M couldn't avoid stepping on their dork, but Texas has executed beautifully and taken advantage of the situation.

 

[Hugegroove]

The take from Griffin's replacement.... http://espn.go.com/blog/big12/post/...ac-10-would-entice-better-coaching-candidates

I wonder what B12 town it is that Griffins replacement lives in? Anyway, at least he didn't open up his blog with a "All things Texas" article. And after reading some of the comments, I don't think Texass is going anywhere near the B10.

Now I'm going to have another beer to celebrate Griffins departure from es-pee-in!!!

 

[White_Rabbit]

Well according to "huskerpowerkevykev33" in the comments, Graham Watson is a woman.

 

[Hugegroove]

Well according to "huskerpowerkevykev33" in the comments, Graham Watson is a woman.

Well he may be a cross dresser, but his pic says he's one of us. Unless of course she had a sex change to become a man? Then again "huskerpower" might be gay?

 

[White_Rabbit]

He seems to have some inside information.

 

[ScottyBuff]

I wonder what B12 town it is that Griffins replacement lives in? Anyway, at least he didn't open up his blog with a "All things Texas" article. And after reading some of the comments, I don't think Texass is going anywhere near the B10.

Now I'm going to have another beer to celebrate Griffins departure from es-pee-in!!!

Graham Watson is a woman, who is the MWC blogger for ESPN. She is not his replacement just taking her turn to help "Since this is my day to man the Big 12 blog". Adam Rittenberg took his turn the day before.

She is a Mizzery grad.

 

[MiamiBuffs]

Texas certainly could go a number of places. The Pac 10 and Big Ten wouldn’t kick the Longhorns out of bed. But the Big 12’s been quite good to UT, which has enjoyed a renaissance of several kinds - baseball, basketball and football - in its brief history with the league. Texas makes more money than any collegiate athletic department. Its teams have to drive, at most, five hours to any of its Big 12 South opponents. UT is profitable - and home for dinner at six. Does anyone honestly believe UT would throw that away for a little more money?

Well sure, says the average fan and cynical journalist. But they’re not rich. Texas is. And UT is funded by rich people, too, who happen to like the state of Texas. Its politics. Its way of life. Its geography. Its idea of football - Friday Night Lights, Saturday with the Horns, Sunday supper with the Cowboys. You screw with that little Pigskin Trinity by asking 10,000 UT fans to hump it to Madison or Corvallis in mid-November and you’re breaking the cardinal rule of the Lone Star State: Don’t mess with Texas.

 

[OKCBuff]

Great post, Miami. I just can't see them leaving their quasi-Southwest Conference setup. (Note: Oklahoma and then-Oklahoma A&M were both charter members of the SWC, so it really IS a quasi-SWC.) The money of the Big Ten would be amazing, but trips to Madison and E. Lansing would suck.

The ONLY place UT would go is the SEC, because the Big 12 South and SEC schools are pretty much alike in culture, football-is-king views and the like. That's the real WC IMO... the SEC won't be shown up by the yankees in the Big Ten or limp-wrists along the left coast. If forced to place a bet, I'd put money on UT/A&M going to the SEC before anywhere else.

 

[Mick Ronson]

Great post, Miami. I just can't see them leaving their quasi-Southwest Conference setup. (Note: Oklahoma and then-Oklahoma A&M were both charter members of the SWC, so it really IS a quasi-SWC.) The money of the Big Ten would be amazing, but trips to Madison and E. Lansing would suck.

The ONLY place UT would go is the SEC, because the Big 12 South and SEC schools are pretty much alike in culture, football-is-king views and the like. That's the real WC IMO... the SEC won't be shown up by the yankees in the Big Ten or limp-wrists along the left coast. If forced to place a bet, I'd put money on UT/A&M going to the SEC before anywhere else.

according to my step-Dad (OU donor, lives in Norman) OU was in the SWC for 5 years from 1915-1919. not sure that's a charter school qualification. the Oklahoma schools will get what they deserve by sucking up to Texas but not sure that's accurate.

 

[Razorbuff]

Great post, Miami. I just can't see them leaving their quasi-Southwest Conference setup. (Note: Oklahoma and then-Oklahoma A&M were both charter members of the SWC, so it really IS a quasi-SWC.) The money of the Big Ten would be amazing, but trips to Madison and E. Lansing would suck.

The ONLY place UT would go is the SEC, because the Big 12 South and SEC schools are pretty much alike in culture, football-is-king views and the like. That's the real WC IMO... the SEC won't be shown up by the yankees in the Big Ten or limp-wrists along the left coast. If forced to place a bet, I'd put money on UT/A&M going to the SEC before anywhere else.

I don't see the SEC as taking UT or OU. First, I don't think UT would go to a conference where they couldn't be king. Wouldn't happen in the SEC. The conference is already difficult enough, and I don't think Bama, UGA, Florida, or LSU... or any SEC school for that matter, will react well to TX trying to throw its weight around. Honestly if the SEC expands, the talk is of adding possibly Houston in the west, or adding a Louisville and West VA in the east and transferring a current SEC-E team to the western division.

 

[Darth Snow]

I went over to Soonerfans.com just to see what their take on all this was. They don't seem too fazed by these events at all. They're spending most of their time figuring out who will replace CU and UT as opposed to being upset at the prospect of those two schools leaving.

Nobody seems to be all that conerned about what the defection of CU will do to the rest of the conference, either.

Probably cause they are thinking of the last 5 years and ignoring TV markets and their effect on TV contracts. Losing both mizzou and CU would be a very big long term blow to the B12, which they would find out about come contract time.

 

[ScottyBuff]

Probably cause they are thinking of the last 5 years and ignoring TV markets and their effect on TV contracts. Losing both mizzou and CU would be a very big long term blow to the B12, which they would find out about come contract time.

The Okie State and Kansas State boards are all rightfully very worried about what happens to the league if CU and/or Missouri leaves.

 

[CarolinaBuff]

I don't see the SEC as taking UT or OU. First, I don't think UT would go to a conference where they couldn't be king. Wouldn't happen in the SEC. The conference is already difficult enough, and I don't think Bama, UGA, Florida, or LSU... or any SEC school for that matter, will react well to TX trying to throw its weight around. Honestly if the SEC expands, the talk is of adding possibly Houston in the west, or adding a Louisville and West VA in the east and transferring a current SEC-E team to the western division.

If the SEC was to expand or needed to replace a school that left I always thought that Clemson would be a good candidate because they're a much better fit with the SEC than the ACC.

 

[Buffnik]

I don't think Texas and Texas A&M will leave the Big 12. More likely that CU and MU leave and the Big 12 adds Houston and TCU (with OU and OSU moving to the North).

 

[Buffnik]

If the SEC was to expand or needed to replace a school that left I always thought that Clemson would be a good candidate because they're a much better fit with the SEC than the ACC.

ESPN Rumors today had the SEC exploring whether the addition of Clemson and Florida State would be worth more money for the conference.

The follow-up Rumor, was that if that happened it may cause dominos to fall and see some form of Big East / ACC merger.

Outside of that, there was even talk of the Big East and MWC becoming a national Super Conference with cross-scheduling and the winners of each playing in a championship game to decide who gets an automatic BCS bowl bid.

Crazy stuff. Most of it won't even get close to happening, but it sure will make for an interesting offseason.

 

[CarolinaBuff]

Outside of that, there was even talk of the Big East and MWC becoming a national Super Conference with cross-scheduling and the winners of each playing in a championship game to decide who gets an automatic BCS bowl bid.

Crazy stuff. Most of it won't even get close to happening, but it sure will make for an interesting offseason.

Wow, that Big East/MWC sure is some crazy stuff. :wow:

 

[ScottyBuff]

ESPN Rumors today had the SEC exploring whether the addition of Clemson and Florida State would be worth more money for the conference.

The follow-up Rumor, was that if that happened it may cause dominos to fall and see some form of Big East / ACC merger.

Outside of that, there was even talk of the Big East and MWC becoming a national Super Conference with cross-scheduling and the winners of each playing in a championship game to decide who gets an automatic BCS bowl bid.

Crazy stuff. Most of it won't even get close to happening, but it sure will make for an interesting offseason.

If the ACC lost Clemson and the Noles then you would think that some of their original members could be in play for the BigTen expansion: Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina specifically. Those candidates must look a LOT more appealing to the BigTen than Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas or Pittsburgh, Syracuse, and Rutgers.

 

[SpacemanSpiff]

The Okie State and Kansas State boards are all rightfully very worried about what happens to the league if CU and/or Missouri leaves.

They should be. A Big 12 implosion would not end well for them, Texas Tech, Baylor or Iowa State.

 

[CarolinaBuff]

If the ACC lost Clemson and the Noles then you would think that some of their original members could be in play for the BigTen expansion: Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina specifically. Those candidates must look a LOT more appealing to the BigTen than Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas or Pittsburgh, Syracuse, and Rutgers.

Academically yes, but as for the other factors - TV markets, all-around sports programs, name recognition - I'm not seeing it. :huh:

 

[ScottyBuff]

Academically yes, but as for the other factors - TV markets, all-around sports programs, name recognition - I'm not seeing it. :huh:

The Baltimore TV market (#27) for Maryland is a pretty big market.

UNC is obviously located in the direct Raleigh market which is #26, but they would draw from the other metro North Carolina areas, as well as having the "most valuable" basketball program in the country.

Virginia brings a decent-sized market in its direct market, and at least a portion of #9 Washington DC (along with Maryland).

As far as all-around sports, Maryland finished 28th in the NACDA Director's Cup, Virginia 8th, and North Carolina 2nd; not sure how much better an all-around program they would need? (all are higher than Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas, Rutgers, Pittsburgh, and Syracuse).

Name recognition is certainly a strange argument, if you are looking at all-around programs. In football they aren't "sexy" teams, but they have large alumni bases and would at least be similar to Illinois in overall make-up within the Big Ten.

 

[CarolinaBuff]

The Baltimore TV market (#27) for Maryland is a pretty big market.

UNC is obviously located in the direct Raleigh market which is #26, but they would draw from the other metro North Carolina areas, as well as having the "most valuable" basketball program in the country.

Virginia brings a decent-sized market in its direct market, and at least a portion of #9 Washington DC (along with Maryland).

As far as all-around sports, Maryland finished 28th in the NACDA Director's Cup, Virginia 8th, and North Carolina 2nd; not sure how much better an all-around program they would need? (all are higher than Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas, Rutgers, Pittsburgh, and Syracuse).

Name recognition is certainly a strange argument, if you are looking at all-around programs. In football they aren't "sexy" teams, but they have large alumni bases and would at least be similar to Illinois in overall make-up within the Big Ten.

Sure those 3 ACC schools you mention would being in some pretty decent markets, but I highly doubt the Raleigh market would be part of that as you suggest. NC State is in Raleigh so I can't imagine that is a dominant UNC market. They may bring in Charlotte though because there are quite a few Big 10 alums/fans in the Charlotte area, which is a slightly larger market than Raleigh. But Pitt/Cuse/Rutgers would bring in Pittsburgh and the entire state of NY. That would give the Big 10 3 of the top 4 TV markets in the country.

UNC is no more the "most valuable" basketball program in the country than Kentucky, Kansas, or Duke. And UNC, UVA, and Maryland don't stack up too well in football compared to the other 2 trio's in question.

Plus you have another hurdle to overcome with 2 of the 3 ACC schools in that would UNC leave without NC State, and would UVA leave without VT? The 3 Big East schools don't have that issue because Cuse and Rutgers are the only BCS schools in their respective states, and Pitt would be joining PSU. Mizzou and Nebraska don't have the issue, and KU probably doesn't give a **** about what they consider to be their little brother school.

 

[ScottyBuff]

Sure those 3 ACC schools you mention would being in some pretty decent markets, but I highly doubt the Raleigh market would be part of that as you suggest. NC State is in Raleigh so I can't imagine that is a dominant UNC market. They may bring in Charlotte though because there are quite a few Big 10 alums/fans in the Charlotte area, which is a slightly larger market than Raleigh. But Pitt/Cuse/Rutgers would bring in Pittsburgh and the entire state of NY. That would give the Big 10 3 of the top 4 TV markets in the country.

UNC is no more the "most valuable" basketball program in the country than Kentucky, Kansas, or Duke. And UNC, UVA, and Maryland don't stack up too well in football compared to the other 2 trio's in question.

Plus you have another hurdle to overcome with 2 of the 3 ACC schools in that would UNC leave without NC State, and would UVA leave without VT? The 3 Big East schools don't have that issue because Cuse and Rutgers are the only BCS schools in their respective states, and Pitt would be joining PSU. Mizzou and Nebraska don't have the issue, and KU probably doesn't give a **** about what they consider to be their little brother school.

I'm not of the opinion there is much stock in the scenario, just as a "domino" if other ACC teams left (as suggested with Clemson & Florida State).

To say that Rutgers and Syracuse "bring" the entire state of New York is nowhere near accurate. Pitt might bring a greater penetration of the Pittsburgh market, but not incrementally significant than what Penn State already brings the Big Ten.

Remember the Big Ten expansion goal is adding cable/satellite customers that pay for whatever package/tier the Big Ten Network is on. If 60% of Pittsburgh already subscribes due to having Penn State, then Pitt isn't financially as beneficial to the Big Ten. The championship game revenue is just icing on the cake, not the reason for expansion.

I'm not going to assume the Big Ten wants "elite" football programs, as long as they are popular enough to draw 50k or 60k at least and they have great academics, basketball, and lots of alumni/fans and TV ratings.

As you say, the politics could be the factor that dictates what actually happens.

 

[CarolinaBuff]

I'm not of the opinion there is much stock in the scenario, just as a "domino" if other ACC teams left (as suggested with Clemson & Florida State).

True, this is undoubtedly all conjecture. If anyone left the ACC I would think it would be 1 or more of the 3 outlying schools - Miami, FSU, or BC. I also think Clemson would jump to the SEC if the opportunity presented itself. Based on what you're saying about the Big 10 wanting cable/satellite customers looking for Big 10 games, they may very well end up looking to Florida or somewhere in the South since quite a few Big 10 fans move down that way. If you look at the ABC regional maps each week, a good portion of Florida gets a Big 10 game when it goes up against an ACC game even though there's 2 Florida schools in the ACC.

Why do you say that the Syracuse/Rutgers pair wouldn't bring the entire state of NY? Syracuse would bring in all of the upstate and western NY TV sets and maybe even NYC, but bringing Rutgers along would guarantee that NYC would be a Big 10 market. And when I say they bring in those TV sets, what I mean is they get fed a Big 10 game when it comes to regional telecasts. Now that's not to say the state of NY and NYC is a mecca for college football viewership, which I'm guessing may be what you meant. NYC is definitely pro-sports dominated, no doubt about that.