Texas

[holvy83]

Read a story on SI.com about all this expansion talk, and 1 point that stuck out was that if NU,MU and CU bolted from the Big 12, Texas could be the only school to pull of being an independent if no other conference could attract them. Makes sense to me, they would have the resources to do that, but with all the speculation out there, you just get this feeling that the days of the Big 12 may be numbered.

[knapplc]

I think the days of football independents are numbered. With the kind of money we're talking about with college football alone, there's not much chance of any single school, whether that be Texas or Notre Dame, of making a go of it alone. Even a few down years could kill a TV contract, which would kill a program faster than you can say "put one second back on the clock."

[Husker_x]

Whatever happens to Texas, I hope it's terrible.

 

Texas ought to thank themselves if the Big XII falls apart. They had a big hand in it with their me-first ways.

[holvy83]

I think the days of football independents are numbered. With the kind of money we're talking about with college football alone, there's not much chance of any single school, whether that be Texas or Notre Dame, of making a go of it alone. Even a few down years could kill a TV contract, which would kill a program faster than you can say "put one second back on the clock."

 

right, but unless some miracle, i still see ND fighting to the end to be independent in football, and as history has shown, as smart as NBC is, will probably renew another multi-year multi-million dollar TV deal with them again. It was brought up in the article as a possibility for Texas, which as big a cash cow that they are, could probably do it, but if it all breaks down to "super-conferences" it would make no sense whatsoever for them to stay on the outside.

[Nexus]

I've said recently that they probably could get by independently, but I also have some doubts if it would work for them after further reading. Here's why. I'll use Notre Dame as an example.

 

The Big Ten would love to have Notre Dame and their way of going about trying to lure them is by starting a domino effect by ushering in a super conference. What they're hoping happens is once they've made it official as to who they're bringing onboard, the ACC, SEC and Pac-10 will follow suit. In the midst of all of this development, the Big East and Big 12 will likely be the ones getting raided through all of this. The fate of those two conferences will either be relegated to a 2nd tier conference a la Conference USA, Sun Belt, WAC, etc. or they'll cease to exist altogether with the remaining teams seeking solace in a non-AQ conference.

 

What this means for Notre Dame is that if the above scenario does indeed play out that way, and since they compete in the Big East in all other sports (minus football) then they'll be forced to either join the Big Ten in the end, or be left without a conference for all their other sports. I can't imagine how much $ it'd cost and how much time it'd take trying to schedule independent games in all those other sports. It'd be an administrative nightmare to say the least.

 

This is why I've said that if the rise of the super conference does indeed come to pass in the next 5-10 years, then Notre Dame will probably be the last team to join the Big Ten when it's all said and done. They can't afford to be without a conference for those other sports, which would force them to join in the end.

 

So in Texas's case, this Notre Dame scenario would also apply.

[irieboy8]

texas can lick rim......

 

but i dont see them being an independent....... while it would be supremely easy for them to set up scheduals for football.. it becomes more of a choir for other sports and a major drain on resources.... i mean its totally doable... but is it worth it??

[HuskerInLostWages]

texas can lick rim......

 

but i dont see them being an independent....... while it would be supremely easy for them to set up schedules for football.. it becomes more of a choir for other sports and a major drain on resources.... i mean its totally doable... but is it worth it??

 

I say let them try it, and that I hope they fall flat on their faces. I'm tired of Texas thinking that they are the epitome of the Big XII and they should have the most say in how it's ran and how money is distributed. They want to go it on their own, let them, that would be by far the best thing to happen to the Big XII conference, after the firing of Beebee of course. He is the coward that allows this to go on, so he will be the scape goat when the Big XII fades away.

 

Just as a side note, I do not want to leave the big XII but I also would prefer Texas having the same say as everyone else, rather than them trying to force everyone to do things their way. Texas makes money, and a lot of it, but if it weren't for OU and NU Texas could very well be playing in a much crappier conference.

[sd'sker]

i just do not see how independents would be feasible in a football world full of superconferences. who would play them? why? you have 15 other teams to worry about and a championship, not to mention that all the good football teams, sans texas in this scenario, are part of a superconference. if in each superconference there are 4-5 solid teams to worry about, why add Texas to your schedule, your schedule will be strong enough. i don't know what OOC schedules will look like, but i imagine they won't be competitive.

[wags]

let texas go independent.....while everybody else is tied up in conference games from the end of sept through the first weekend of dec they will

have fun trying to scheduling somebody inside the top 64 to 70 teams.

[Caven]

i just do not see how independents would be feasible in a football world full of superconferences. who would play them? why? you have 15 other teams to worry about and a championship, not to mention that all the good football teams, sans texas in this scenario, are part of a superconference. if in each superconference there are 4-5 solid teams to worry about, why add Texas to your schedule, your schedule will be strong enough. i don't know what OOC schedules will look like, but i imagine they won't be competitive.

 

Well it depends. If the era of the super conferences is to lead to a win your division and the 4 conference championship games are the first round of an 8 team tournament then it no longer matters what your out of conference W/L record looks like. You might end up with top teams scheduling other top teams as a true warm up for the conference title run. You won't get an insane amount of them because W/L will still matter for other bowl slotting to some extent but the big boys who's goal is a NC every year will be more interested in the competitive preparation than the possibility of the extra L.

[sd'sker]

i just do not see how independents would be feasible in a football world full of superconferences. who would play them? why? you have 15 other teams to worry about and a championship, not to mention that all the good football teams, sans texas in this scenario, are part of a superconference. if in each superconference there are 4-5 solid teams to worry about, why add Texas to your schedule, your schedule will be strong enough. i don't know what OOC schedules will look like, but i imagine they won't be competitive.

 

Well it depends. If the era of the super conferences is to lead to a win your division and the 4 conference championship games are the first round of an 8 team tournament then it no longer matters what your out of conference W/L record looks like. You might end up with top teams scheduling other top teams as a true warm up for the conference title run. You won't get an insane amount of them because W/L will still matter for other bowl slotting to some extent but the big boys who's goal is a NC every year will be more interested in the competitive preparation than the possibility of the extra L.

that's true. it just seems risky to me. it seems that 4 or so superconferences would create a complete paradigmatic shift and fundamental change the makeup of div. I football. only what happens in your conference will matter, and there may not even be ooc games for those in the superconference because you may be in a 4 team division and you would have an out of division/in conference schedule before the divisional play begins.

[colosilverado]

...eventually the BCS or whomever is in charge will require a team to have played a conference championship. These super conferences that appear to be looming are going to be "it" and the "it" will be driven by money. I doubt it will be feasible to be an independent in the very near future. It will be sickening to watch in some ways but we've all been clamoring for it lately.... CFB playoffs and true national champs.

I guess we all knew what the path would probably have to look like to get there. You'll have the other conferences create their own championship potentially and that might be worth some money, like the NIT.

 

We're on the cusp of major changes....

[Huskertone14]

If Nebraska, Missouri, Colorado all leave I think the Big 12 easily survives.

 

- Colorado State is an easy replacement for Colorado.

- Move Oklahoma and Oklahoma State into the North Division

- Invite TCU (which has been a top 25 team for a few years now, and a rising program, that plays great Defense)

- Invite Houston (beat 2 Big 12 Programs last year) and bring in a very explosive Offense.

 

If that happens the Big 12 not only survives, but becomes a little more balanced between the North and South. I still think that the South would still be a little more powerful and the additions of TCU and Houston could prove to be very formidable foes to Texas, and they would only get better, their recruiting and talent level would increase immensely as BCS schools.

 

Then they would decide if they want to expand to 14-16 teams. If they do, they have to target Arkansas. A lot of people say they wouldn't leave the SEC, but they would love to be playing in Texas, and get into the Texas recruiting base. If the Big 12 improved their media contracts I think Arkansas would at the very least seriously consider the move.

 

Other potentials are Utah, BYU, Boise State.

 

*If Texas, Oklahoma leave as well whether it's the Pac 10/SEC/or Independent then yeah the Big 12 is done, they look more like the Mountain West Conference than a BCS conference.

[Foppa]

Read a story on SI.com about all this expansion talk, and 1 point that stuck out was that if NU,MU and CU bolted from the Big 12, Texas could be the only school to pull of being an independent if no other conference could attract them. Makes sense to me, they would have the resources to do that, but with all the speculation out there, you just get this feeling that the days of the Big 12 may be numbered.

 

I know, I know!

 

Who cares what happens to Texass!

[Judoka]

If Nebraska, Missouri, Colorado all leave I think the Big 12 easily survives.

 

- Colorado State is an easy replacement for Colorado.

- Move Oklahoma and Oklahoma State into the North Division

- Invite TCU (which has been a top 25 team for a few years now, and a rising program, that plays great Defense)

- Invite Houston (beat 2 Big 12 Programs last year) and bring in a very explosive Offense.

 

If that happens the Big 12 not only survives, but becomes a little more balanced between the North and South. I still think that the South would still be a little more powerful and the additions of TCU and Houston could prove to be very formidable foes to Texas, and they would only get better, their recruiting and talent level would increase immensely as BCS schools.

 

Then they would decide if they want to expand to 14-16 teams. If they do, they have to target Arkansas. A lot of people say they wouldn't leave the SEC, but they would love to be playing in Texas, and get into the Texas recruiting base. If the Big 12 improved their media contracts I think Arkansas would at the very least seriously consider the move.

 

Other potentials are Utah, BYU, Boise State.

 

*If Texas, Oklahoma leave as well whether it's the Pac 10/SEC/or Independent then yeah the Big 12 is done, they look more like the Mountain West Conference than a BCS conference.

BYU would likely get the invite over Colorado State, they bring more fans (and better football) to the table.