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I bet there's more than a few people in the Red River Valley muttering to themselves "the Pac-12 accepts Colorado and Utah into their conference, but rejects Texas and Oklahoma? Has the world gone mad?"
Nope, it hasn't.
I feel it all comes down to the balance of power. The 8-team west coast core of the conference, that has been together since the 50's, has a understanding of each other's role, a sense of who holds the power within the conference. The fact is, with the '11 inclusion of CU and Utah, it expanded with partners who are not in any way threatening to the status quo. There's no threat to the old balance of power.
This would not have been the case with Texas and Oklahoma. The power balance would've shifted, rather drastically, away from San Francisco and LA. While the money probably would've been gargantuan, to accept in a new set of rivals, and make concessions in the process, would be to lessen the power and influence of the old guard, and that's just not how the world works.
I bet, in the end, there were a lot more schools from the old Pac-8 crew who objected to the potential expansion scenarios than had been expected. That, more than any howling from Bruce Benson and the CU fanbase, kept the Pac-12 from super-conference status.
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Nope, it hasn't.
I feel it all comes down to the balance of power. The 8-team west coast core of the conference, that has been together since the 50's, has a understanding of each other's role, a sense of who holds the power within the conference. The fact is, with the '11 inclusion of CU and Utah, it expanded with partners who are not in any way threatening to the status quo. There's no threat to the old balance of power.
This would not have been the case with Texas and Oklahoma. The power balance would've shifted, rather drastically, away from San Francisco and LA. While the money probably would've been gargantuan, to accept in a new set of rivals, and make concessions in the process, would be to lessen the power and influence of the old guard, and that's just not how the world works.
I bet, in the end, there were a lot more schools from the old Pac-8 crew who objected to the potential expansion scenarios than had been expected. That, more than any howling from Bruce Benson and the CU fanbase, kept the Pac-12 from super-conference status.
More...