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Nebraska to 12 Pac? Husker fans invited to reply

Sportsfan101

Well-Known Member
A couple of thoughts to frame my question:

1. I think the Pac 10 would like to take CU if there was another logical candidate to come with CU. As everyone knows, it needs to make economic sense for the Pac 10 to split its revenue 12 ways (up from 10). CCG will boost revenue, but it appears unlikely that revenue from CCG only justifies expansion. TV market and national perception also play a large role here. CU is desirable because Denver is the 16th largest TV market in the country, and would give the Pac 10 a one hour earier time slot for TV purposes. I'm not yet sold on Utah -- 32nd largest TV market, and it splits collegiate fanswith BYU (most people I know say SLC is 60-40 BYU to Utah fans). No way Pac 10 will consider BYU given Sunday issues (among others), and I'm not sure Utah brings enough to the table for the Pac 10 to expand with Colorado. In fact, Pac 10 is now inquiring about holding a CCG with only 10 teams despite current NCAA regulations. This makes me worried as a CU fan.

So CU needs an expansion partner....and Utah might not be enough to get us into the Pac 10.

2. Big 12 is in trouble. Commissioner hasn't shown any foresight here (I'd think about extending offer to BYU and Utah to fend off Pac 10 poaching, but that's another post), and TV deals are poor and locked in for next 5 years, which means things aren't going to be getting better in the intermediate term. Texas is a problem: it leaves and Big 12 exposure goes way down, or Texas continues to rule the roost and dominate conference affairs. Possible that Mizzou leaves, which would further strengthen Texas as the population hub of the Big 12.

So it's possible that a Big 12 team in addition to CU would look outside the conference since no Texas and probably more $$$$....

3. I think the school that may fit best is...Nebraska. In addition to maintaining the Pac 10's rivalry setup (CU and Nebraska come into the 12-Pac with great rivalry), it brings a lot of national exposure and a name brand that will help strengthen the national perception and, I believe, the TV dollars. TV games can be broadcast nationwide one hour earlier. Nebraska is an AAU school, which is important to Pac 10 presidents. I know some out there are pre-disposed to hating kNU, but they do have a large national following that expands beyond a relatively weak population base. I'd also like to see the CU/Nebraska rivalry to continue.

So my question is this -- would Nebraska consider moving to the Pac 10 with CU? And woiuld CU fans want this?

My take: if Nebraska helps clear the way for Pac 10 expansion, I'm all for it. I think Nebraska has stronger ties to the prairie schools in the B12 than CU does, but money talks and Tom Osborne is NOT a fan of the Big 12 being hijacked by Texas. And lastly, I'm concerned that if CU doesn't come with a travel partner that brings a lot to the table, there won't be Pac 10 expansion.
 
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Kansas would make more sense to come with us. Denver and Kansas City are both good markets and there is some precedent from the AFC West in the NFL that our cities can not only have a great rivalry, but that scheduling can be made to work with west coast teams and KC (even though it is in the central time zone).
 
Kansas would make more sense to come with us. Denver and Kansas City are both good markets and there is some precedent from the AFC West in the NFL that our cities can not only have a great rivalry, but that scheduling can be made to work with west coast teams and KC (even though it is in the central time zone).

I agree that KU might be an option, but I still think football is the straw that stirs the drink and will drive expansion, and I think NU's tradition of winning and national prestige make them a more valuable addition given fanbase across the nation (although KU bball is quite a draw as well).

I'm also interested in whether people share my concern that a CU/Utah pairing might not be enough to get the Pac 10 to expand.
 
I'm also interested in whether people share my concern that a CU/Utah pairing might not be enough to get the Pac 10 to expand.

CU is the key. Utah isn't all that exciting to the Pac 10. They're in a state with about 2.8 million people. And they play 2nd fiddle by a large margin to a different university in the same state (BYU). But BYU isn't a viable option.

There is no perfect 2nd option to get to 12.

Utah and BYU I mentioned above and we've discussed to death. I think everyone's pretty well versed.

The University of New Mexico is in a growing market (Albuquerque) that's in a state with about 2 million people. Dominates it, has old rivalries with the Arizona schools, Mountain time zone, and meets the academic standards. But it's meh.

NU is in a weak media market, isn't much of a graduate research institution, is in the Central time zone, and doesn't have much culturally in common with the rest of the conference.

KU beats NU on all measures except it doesn't have the football prestige and football is the big financial driver for an athletic conference.

Then there are a bunch of programs that people may bring up but simply do not make sense for expansion for a number of reasons (SDSU, FSU, Nevada, UNLV, Boise, Idaho, Hawaii, CSU, etc.).

What might be interesting would be if the NCAA does say that a conference could hold a championship game without having 12 teams as currently required. Would it become a Pac-11, only adding CU? Would the conference schedule 10 in-conference games for football so everyone played everyone, leaving CU with a non-conference schedule consisting of CSU at Mile High and 1 other opponent that's sometimes at Folsom and sometimes on the road?
 
I'm afraid if NCAA permits conference to hold a championship game without 12 teams, Pac 10 wouldn't expand to 11. Expansion to 11 would presumably mean one less home game every other year for current Pac 10 teams if the teams do play round robin, and if they don't play round robin then you've got a screwy situation like the Big 11, err Big 10 currently has.
 
I'm afraid if NCAA permits conference to hold a championship game without 12 teams, Pac 10 wouldn't expand to 11. Expansion to 11 would presumably mean one less home game every other year for current Pac 10 teams if the teams do play round robin, and if they don't play round robin then you've got a screwy situation like the Big 11, err Big 10 currently has.

Yeah. There's not a perfect solution for them. Colorado's a perfect 11th team, but they need 12. And there's not a 12th team that fits with the conference and also would be incrementally profitable for the original 10. Possibly Utah, but they're borderline. Possibly New Mexico, but that's a loss in the near-term with a bet on the future that may not pay off.

Honestly, if I'm the Pac I strongly consider trying for Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska and Oklahoma. Put us with the Arizona schools and split USC/UCLA so the LA market is split between divisions. Pac 14 would be the strongest way to go if they could pull it off. Failing that, pick one of the group of KU, NU, OU to pair with CU in the event that the Utah legislature causes a problem for the UofU splitting away from BYU.
 
It's hard to say what the Pac 10 will do if the NCAA allows it to have a CCG with only 10 teams. Remember, the main driving force behind all this talk was a new television contract. The Denver market still looks pretty appetizing, I would think.

I'd be interested to know what, if anything, is holding up the process at this point.
 
We're doing no such ****ing thing. If we turn down a 12-pack invitation because the ****ers were also invited, THEN we'd be cutting off our nose to spite our face. In the meantime, I stand by my sentiments: **** ****braska.
 
We're doing no such ****ing thing. If we turn down a 12-pack invitation because the ****ers were also invited, THEN we'd be cutting off our nose to spite our face. In the meantime, I stand by my sentiments: **** ****braska.

But I don't think we get in WITHOUT Nebraksa, or at least a school that is more prominent than Utah. That's my point.
 
But I don't think we get in WITHOUT Nebraksa, or at least a school that is more prominent than Utah. That's my point.

I disagree. The fuskers don't bring as much as Oklahoma would. Not as much as Utah would, either. If the Pac 10 needs another Big 12 team, I'd prefer it be Oklahoma.
 
But I don't think we get in WITHOUT Nebraksa, or at least a school that is more prominent than Utah. That's my point.

Then it's not about Nebraska, is it? It's about what works for CU. If that means Nebraska, I don't think anyone is really against that. It's a great football rivalry. No one from CU is going to tell the Pac 10 directors: "We won't join if the other team is Nebraska." So I really don't know what your point is. No one is biting off his nose. Most of us just don't care that much if Nebraska's involved or if it's some other school.
 
I disagree. The fuskers don't bring as much as Oklahoma would. Not as much as Utah would, either. If the Pac 10 needs another Big 12 team, I'd prefer it be Oklahoma.

You really believe Utah would bring more than Nebraska? IF you admit that football is the straw that stirs the expansion drink, you can't be serious here. NU is much more prominent on a national scale than Utah and would bring more eyeballs to a TV deal. While OU isn't a bad option, I'd think the Pac 10 would like to bring in a rivalry and CU/Nebraska fits right in with Washington/WSU, Oregon/OSU, Stanford/Cal, UCLA/USC and Arizona/ASU.
 
Then it's not about Nebraska, is it? It's about what works for CU. If that means Nebraska, I don't think anyone is really against that. It's a great football rivalry. No one from CU is going to tell the Pac 10 directors: "We won't join if the other team is Nebraska." So I really don't know what your point is. No one is biting off his nose. Most of us just don't care that much if Nebraska's involved or if it's some other school.

I think we're in agreement here. I guess I'm saying that CU needs to understand that Pac 10 expansion may not happen if Utah is the 12th team, and that CU should actively be looking for expansion partner that would be attractice to Pac 10. And I think the most attractive partner (other than Texas/A&M, which I don't think will look west) is Nebraska.
 
You really believe Utah would bring more than Nebraska? IF you admit that football is the straw that stirs the expansion drink, you can't be serious here. NU is much more prominent on a national scale than Utah and would bring more eyeballs to a TV deal. While OU isn't a bad option, I'd think the Pac 10 would like to bring in a rivalry and CU/Nebraska fits right in with Washington/WSU, Oregon/OSU, Stanford/Cal, UCLA/USC and Arizona/ASU.

Utah has a better football program than Nebraska. It is in a bigger city that brings more TV sets. Remember, all this is supposedly about cable subscriptions. The nubs will undoubtedly bring a lot of TV sets in Omaha and Lincoln and... nowhere else. Their fanbase, while huge, is spread out and doesn't dominate any one particular area save for the state of Nebraska. Big whoop.
 
Utah has a better football program than Nebraska. It is in a bigger city that brings more TV sets. Remember, all this is supposedly about cable subscriptions. The nubs will undoubtedly bring a lot of TV sets in Omaha and Lincoln and... nowhere else. Their fanbase, while huge, is spread out and doesn't dominate any one particular area save for the state of Nebraska. Big whoop.

Wow -- I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on this.
 
Utah has a better football program than Nebraska. It is in a bigger city that brings more TV sets. Remember, all this is supposedly about cable subscriptions. The nubs will undoubtedly bring a lot of TV sets in Omaha and Lincoln and... nowhere else. Their fanbase, while huge, is spread out and doesn't dominate any one particular area save for the state of Nebraska. Big whoop.
say what?
 
Utah has a better football program than Nebraska. It is in a bigger city that brings more TV sets. Remember, all this is supposedly about cable subscriptions. The nubs will undoubtedly bring a lot of TV sets in Omaha and Lincoln and... nowhere else. Their fanbase, while huge, is spread out and doesn't dominate any one particular area save for the state of Nebraska. Big whoop.

Don't make me support nebraska. Just don't. Those ****ers have a great program, despite their recent mediocrity.
 
So winning doesn't make one program better than another one? Utah is a better program than CU, too.
 
So winning doesn't make one program better than another one? Utah is a better program than CU, too.

I don't believe you believe what you're writing. :rolling_eyes:

Winning does matter. The problem is that you're taking a very small sample size for determinig whether a program is "winning." According to your methods, TCU and Hawaii are better programs than, say, Notre Dame and Michigan.
 
The University of New Mexico is in a growing market (Albuquerque) that's in a state with about 2 million people. Dominates it, has old rivalries with the Arizona schools, Mountain time zone, and meets the academic standards. But it's meh.

LOL. The state is divided among NMSU and UNM fans. While UNM has a stronghold on the Albuquerque market, the rest of the state could not care less about them. Their academics are not up to snuff, except for the Med school program. They would not be a good fit for the Pac10. You only see Lobo gear when it's BB season and the Lobos are doing well. They do not support the team as much as they'd like to believe (and for NMSU it's way worse). It's a commuter school that no one gives 2 ****s about. Horrible fit. They are a second tier team in a second tier market. The team doesn't travel well to away games for BB/FB and even then wouldn't be considered a draw. They think of themselves as KU, but the coach they have now will leave for greener pastures soon, imo. They have made a commitment to athletics, so that's at least something they have that CU doesn't.

IMO, if they take anyone from the Big 12 besides us it's either Nebraksa or Kansas (for FB, BB). FB is the cash cow so I think NU would be pushed outside of Utah. Yeah, it'd be a real stretch, but having a team with their tradition would drive up the $$$$. Even with as many wins as they have had over the past 5 years, Utah isn't seen as a "big boy." It'd take them a history of winning IN the pac10 to be seen as a contender. As of right now, they wouldn't be able to compete day in and day out of the Pac10. Again, neither could CU though as well.
 
LOL. The state is divided among NMSU and UNM fans. While UNM has a stronghold on the Albuquerque market, the rest of the state could not care less about them. Their academics are not up to snuff, except for the Med school program. They would not be a good fit for the Pac10. You only see Lobo gear when it's BB season and the Lobos are doing well. They do not support the team as much as they'd like to believe (and for NMSU it's way worse). It's a commuter school that no one gives 2 ****s about. Horrible fit. They are a second tier team in a second tier market. The team doesn't travel well to away games for BB/FB and even then wouldn't be considered a draw. They think of themselves as KU, but the coach they have now will leave for greener pastures soon, imo. They have made a commitment to athletics, so that's at least something they have that CU doesn't.

IMO, if they take anyone from the Big 12 besides us it's either Nebraksa or Kansas (for FB, BB). FB is the cash cow so I think NU would be pushed outside of Utah. Yeah, it'd be a real stretch, but having a team with their tradition would drive up the $$$$. Even with as many wins as they have had over the past 5 years, Utah isn't seen as a "big boy." It'd take them a history of winning IN the pac10 to be seen as a contender. As of right now, they wouldn't be able to compete day in and day out of the Pac10. Again, neither could CU though as well.

Obviously you're going to know your state better than I am. But Albuquerque is nearly half the state's population, so if you dominate that you dominate the state if it's pretty much even everywhere else. The med school thing is big for the Pac, too. But your post really points out how slim the pickings are after CU. Utah has to be the team to go with us. And I can't imagine that Utah politics would prevent it. It's too big of a deal for the state.
 
If somehow Kansas ends up with a Pac 10 invite (especially over Nebraska), then Jayhawk fans everywhere should kiss Mangino's fat ass for making their football program relevant. I don't think Kansas is even mentioned if they were still just a basketball school.
 
Utah has a better football program than Nebraska. It is in a bigger city that brings more TV sets. Remember, all this is supposedly about cable subscriptions. The nubs will undoubtedly bring a lot of TV sets in Omaha and Lincoln and... nowhere else. Their fanbase, while huge, is spread out and doesn't dominate any one particular area save for the state of Nebraska. Big whoop.

Certainly one of the funnier things I have read lately, and I am reading some of the Onion collections. Anyway, NU and the P10 is not a very good fit.
 
Utah makes more sense than Nebraska in almost every way, although traditionally they aren't the football program Nebraska is. Better at basketball historically though, easily. Location, time zone, population, TV, etc all favor Utah. Would anyone miss anything about the association with Nebraska, seriously?
 
Utah makes more sense than Nebraska in almost every way, although traditionally they aren't the football program Nebraska is. Better at basketball historically though, easily. Location, time zone, population, TV, etc all favor Utah. Would anyone miss anything about the association with Nebraska, seriously?

Not at all....move on.
 
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