I never thought this was that strong of a possibility because UT is so focused on its academic reputation. They didn't see the SEC as a good fit last time around and, afaik, the SEC has not increased admission standards to UT levels.
However, ESPN rumors had this to say this morning:
Paul Finebaum of the Mobile Press-Register recounts how Texas nearly joined the SEC back in 1990, when the league wanted to expand so it could hold a championship game.
"The one that made the most sense was Texas," former SEC commissioner Harvey Schiller told Finebaum. "I spent some time with DeLoss Dodds (the Texas athletic director) and he really wanted to join the conference."
But the Texas legislature found out about the plans and told the SEC that it couldn't take Texas without also taking Texas A&M, which is why the two are now always paired in realignment scenarios.
Well, Dodds is still the Longhorns athletic director, and while the school has a pretty good arrangement with the Big 12 (getting the largest share of revenue), it's not a huge leap to suggest that if the Big 12 appears to be on its way toward extinction (which would happen if the Pac-10 took Colorado and the Big Ten took Missouri and Nebraska), then Dodds would have no problem guiding his school to the SEC again.
******************
Here's what I'm wondering:
What if the Pac 10 would agree to go to 16 instead of 12?
Imagine if they took CU and Utah as has been discussed, but then further expanded by taking Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma and Kansas. Then, put all the new teams plus Arizona and Arizona State into one side with the Pacific Coast schools on the other side. That would give the conference the Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, Denver, Salt Lake City, Kansas City and Oklahoma City markets without compromising academic integrity.
The key to that happening, imo, is the Big 10 raiding the midwest for both Missouri and Nebraska while expanding to 16 teams.
What would you guys think of a Pac-West conference that laid out like this:
Pacific Division
USC
UCLA
Cal
Stanford
Oregon
Oregon State
Washington
Washington State
Western Division
Texas
Texas A&M
Oklahoma
Kansas
Colorado
Utah
Arizona
Arizona State
I actually think that would be awesome and I'd put our conference up against anyone.
However, ESPN rumors had this to say this morning:
Paul Finebaum of the Mobile Press-Register recounts how Texas nearly joined the SEC back in 1990, when the league wanted to expand so it could hold a championship game.
"The one that made the most sense was Texas," former SEC commissioner Harvey Schiller told Finebaum. "I spent some time with DeLoss Dodds (the Texas athletic director) and he really wanted to join the conference."
But the Texas legislature found out about the plans and told the SEC that it couldn't take Texas without also taking Texas A&M, which is why the two are now always paired in realignment scenarios.
Well, Dodds is still the Longhorns athletic director, and while the school has a pretty good arrangement with the Big 12 (getting the largest share of revenue), it's not a huge leap to suggest that if the Big 12 appears to be on its way toward extinction (which would happen if the Pac-10 took Colorado and the Big Ten took Missouri and Nebraska), then Dodds would have no problem guiding his school to the SEC again.
******************
Here's what I'm wondering:
What if the Pac 10 would agree to go to 16 instead of 12?
Imagine if they took CU and Utah as has been discussed, but then further expanded by taking Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma and Kansas. Then, put all the new teams plus Arizona and Arizona State into one side with the Pacific Coast schools on the other side. That would give the conference the Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, Denver, Salt Lake City, Kansas City and Oklahoma City markets without compromising academic integrity.
The key to that happening, imo, is the Big 10 raiding the midwest for both Missouri and Nebraska while expanding to 16 teams.
What would you guys think of a Pac-West conference that laid out like this:
Pacific Division
USC
UCLA
Cal
Stanford
Oregon
Oregon State
Washington
Washington State
Western Division
Texas
Texas A&M
Oklahoma
Kansas
Colorado
Utah
Arizona
Arizona State
I actually think that would be awesome and I'd put our conference up against anyone.