What's new
AllBuffs | Unofficial fan site for the University of Colorado at Boulder Athletics programs

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

  • Prime Time. Prime Time. Its a new era for Colorado football. Consider signing up for a club membership! For $20/year, you can get access to all the special features at Allbuffs, including club member only forums, dark mode, avatars and best of all no ads ! But seriously, please sign up so that we can pay the bills. No one earns money here, and we can use your $20 to keep this hellhole running. You can sign up for a club membership by navigating to your account in the upper right and clicking on "Account Upgrades". Make it happen!

Should Texas go independent?

RSSBot

News Junkie
By David Ubben

It's a question worth asking after the birth of Texas' own television network, a luxury only BYU has, and Notre Dame's agreement with NBC allows them to be an independent as well.

My thoughts on the issue were made clear on Tuesday:
"The Longhorns need the Big 12 for rivalries and scheduling, but not for money. Now that the TV network is established and Texas can hang on to its media rights, the risk of the school going independent is overstated. There's not enough to gain and too much risk."​
Texas would be sacrificing its annual Big 12 paycheck, usually one of the biggest slices of the conference revenue pie, and be searching to schedule teams when quality opponents are all around it.

But Football Outsiders, writing for ESPN.com, say there's another reason why Texas could go independent:
"The numbers show that the Longhorns would have a better chance of contending for a national championship every year if they were an independent than if they remained in the Big 12. ...We determined that the departures of the Nebraska Cornhuskers and Colorado Buffaloes, along with the league's decision to play a nine-game conference schedule, would ultimately increase the likelihood of an undefeated Big 12 champ. But Texas' presence in the new Big 12 might also have a negative impact in terms of public perception. By electing to play a nine-game conference schedule instead of eight, the overall record of Big 12 teams will likely suffer. Collectively, Big 12 teams will play a total of 10 more league games -- meaning five teams will have an extra loss they might otherwise have avoided by scheduling a nonconference cupcake. Those losses ought not to make a difference, but they do for many poll voters who defer to the loss column when filling out a ballot."​
It's an interesting argument, and one with some merit, though I disagree with it. Texas is a program that, more often than not under Mack Brown, is a player in the national title race.

In my opinion, the difference between the difficulty of reaching the championship in a slimmed-down Big 12 and as an independent isn't a big one. But going independent comes with big risks that don't accompany staying in the Big 12. Even if Texas did go independent, it could be corralled by state legislatures to keep games with Texas A&M, Texas Tech and possibly Baylor, and fans would be outraged if the Red River Rivalry ceased to exist.

By that point, going independent seems like an exercise that isn't quite worth the trouble.

Originally posted by ESPN.com - Big 12 Blog
Click here to view the article.
 
I'd love to see them try. Really. I'm sure the longwhorn network would love to have weekly offerings of UTEP, North Texas, NMSU, Tulsa and Houston. They go indy, and both OU and A&M drop them from any future scheduling.

Please, please, please let the hubris of the dorks in Austin be their ultimate undoing.
 
OU will never drop Texas from their scheduling.

OU has forever hitched their wagon to UT.

I suppose you could be right. However, if UT goes independent, If I were OU, I'd drop them like a frigging rock. Same with A&M. I realize both schools have long ties to games with UT, but UT is looking out for #1, so should they.

I'm so glad we're not in that conference anymore.
 
I think you'll get your wish. Texas will go Indy in less than 3 years. I for one hope BYU fails, thereby making Texas reconsider.

I think Texas could do it. And if Texas does it, I think the other schools not in the Big 10/11/12 will also try (USC). I really really really don't want USC to be thinking about going Independent.
 
I suppose you could be right. However, if UT goes independent, If I were OU, I'd drop them like a frigging rock. Same with A&M. I realize both schools have long ties to games with UT, but UT is looking out for #1, so should they.

I'm so glad we're not in that conference anymore.


But OU is looking out for #1 if they continue to schedule UT. They probably sell out their entire season ticket pool just for the Cotton Bowl lottery.
 
I don't want to live in a world where UT gets rewarded for screwing over everybody else. I choose to believe OU would do the right thing. Perhaps I'm being too gregarious.
 
What would be so wrong about OU jumping ship to the SEC and keeping Texas on the schedule? It seems to me OU has a vested interest in keeping that rivalry alive.
 
What would be so wrong about OU jumping ship to the SEC and keeping Texas on the schedule? It seems to me OU has a vested interest in keeping that rivalry alive.

If I'm OU, I look at the SEC schedule and decide that's enough. If they are in the SEC, they won't have any problems at all selling tickets.
 
OU needs the ut game for recruiting in the state of texas

They can get that from scheduling A&M. Plus, if they're in the SEC, their schedule and national exposure will be enough to attract Texas recruits. Remember, they'd be doing UT a favor by playing them. UT, without a conference, would be left trying to piece together a schedule consisting of a bunch of nobodys.
 
They can get that from scheduling A&M. Plus, if they're in the SEC, their schedule and national exposure will be enough to attract Texas recruits. Remember, they'd be doing UT a favor by playing them. UT, without a conference, would be left trying to piece together a schedule consisting of a bunch of nobodys.

ut will always be viewed as the top dog in the state...gotta play them to recruit texas in the numbers OU wants
 
They can get that from scheduling A&M. Plus, if they're in the SEC, their schedule and national exposure will be enough to attract Texas recruits. Remember, they'd be doing UT a favor by playing them. UT, without a conference, would be left trying to piece together a schedule consisting of a bunch of nobodys.

OU cleans up in the DFW area in large part because they play there every season. They would not be playing A&M in College Station every single year. I also think your last statement is full of hyperbole. Texas would have some nobodies on their schedule to fill it out, but there are plenty of recognizable teams that would love to put them on their schedule.
 
That last part of my statement was not necessarily hyperbole, but hope.

I can't stand the thought of UT going independent and making it work. I want them to fall on their face. Once they go indy, they're at the mercy of other schools to schedule them. I'm saying nobody would, but I realize that's more hope than a statement of fact.
 
I dont think this will happen with an Aggie as our recently re-elected 3rd term dumbass governor.

+1 - Only will happen under Perry unless there is some kind of contractual agreement to play Aggie, Baylor, and Tech every year in every sport.
 
Back
Top