Notre Dame, Texas, Nebraska

[VA Husker Fan]

Agree. You don't shoot yourself in the foot on principle.

[Notre Dame Joe]

I don't see why Texas would leave the Big12 without getting a special deal, at least for their own tv station. What are they lacking?

 

I'm also quite sure the Big East is not issuing ultimatums [ultimata?] to anyone.

[SaturnDrew]

If Texas and Notre Dame get sweetheart deals to join the Big 10 conference, Nebraska needs to avoid it like the plague. Simply on principle. I'm tired of seeing Texas get catered to in the Big 12, and likewise Notre Dame in the BCS. If Texas joins, Nebraska should stay in the Big 12, let TCU replace Texas, and lobby for realigning the conference so that we can get our rivalry with Oklahoma back.

I understand your reasoning, and while I might agree in principle, the reality is that should Texas leave, the Big 12 dies. They represent the single biggest TV market in the conference. There are only three national draws in the conference - Texas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska. Remove Texas, and it will be difficult to maintain any kind of TV contract that even comes near the dollars that the Big 10 or the SEC commands.

 

If there is even a hint that Texas is leaving, we need to move as well. And the Big 10 represents the best option for a number of reasons.

 

 

You bring up a good point, but I think the Big 12 would survive. It would take a hit, undoubtedly at first, but I would rather see Nebraska as a big fish in a small pond than visa-versa. Best case scenario is Texas just staying put and Nebraska joining Big 10, IMO.

[Nexus]

Didn't feel it was worth a new thread, but College Football News editor Pete Fiutak and that Frank the Tank dude have been on twitter today hinting that the Big Ten is still trying to woo Texas to make the jump, without Texas Tech and Baylor of course.

 

FWIW, UT and A&M are having a meeting this afternoon to further discuss their options. Several tweets from Baylor-related news media has suggested that Baylor won't be tagging along to the Pac-10 but they're still holding out hope.

 

Needless to say, here is the latest tweet from Pete Fiutak and another from Frank the Tank:

 

Gut feeling ... Mizzou is twisting because the Big 10 is making a push for Texas and has to leave a spot open in case A&M has to piggyback

 

 

LINK

 

 

 

 

Big Ten not giving up on Texas. Maybe it won't happen, but it won't be for a lack of trying. There's a reason why UT and A&M are meeting.

 

LINK

[Nexus]

One of the reasons a journalist on twitter said that A&M and UT are meeting is because supposedly A&M isn't crazy about the Pac-10 idea. The SEC seems to be a possibility and they seem to like that idea better but UT won't jump to the SEC, so apparently they're both in agreement that the Big Ten is the best fit where both schools would go if invited.

[Nexus]

Another twitter rumor from Frank the Tank just posted:

 

Latest chatter: Texas A&M has unconditional SEC invite. Virginia Tech, too?

 

 

LINK

[Nexus]

Tim Brando's twitter:

 

A&M and Horns in conversations as we speak.Texas has decision to make regarding their own Network. No problem w/SEC.Potential problem wPAC10

LINK

 

 

 

I remember reading Andy Staples column last week about the SEC and he did get a quote from SEC commish saying that if Texas wanted to run their own network while being members of the SEC, they could do it without any problems. He further went on to say that Florida just started doing it and pocketed an additional $10 million on top of the $17 million the SEC TV contracts with CBS and ESPN give them.

However, the Pac-10 is not willing to allow Texas to have their own network. They've already told teams that if they join the Pac-10 then they'd have to sign media rights over to Pac-10. In the SEC, they wouldn't have to do that.

[knapplc]

Staples has a column out now saying that the SEC has been in talks with A&M for months:

 

In a hotel meeting room in Scottsdale, Ariz., in April, SEC commissioner Mike Slive essentially promised that if the tectonic plates beneath the college sports' landscape began to shift, Slive's league would not sit on the sidelines.

 

It won't.

 

A source confirmed to SI.com late Wednesday that emissaries from the SEC initiated discussions with Texas A&M athletic director Bill Byrne months ago, and while the SEC is just one of several potential options for the Aggies, it remains an option heading into Thursday's meeting between Texas A&M and Texas officials. At the meeting, power brokers from both schools will discuss a last-ditch effort to save the Big 12, even if Nebraska's Board of Regents votes Friday to leave for the Big Ten. "It's on life support," the source said of the Big 12. "But people have come off life support before."

 

Officials also will discuss a potential invitation from the Pac-10 that also would include four other Big 12 schools. Presumably, they also will discuss the SEC's talks with Texas A&M.

 

What is unclear, however, is which other school or schools the SEC might also be interested in to keep an even number should it decide to expand. Last week, the league split a record $209 million among its 12 member schools. Slive has been tight-lipped in public concerning expansion, and he drew giggles last week during a press briefing following the league's spring meetings when he said this: "We have maximum flexibility in how we approach this issue ranging anywhere from nothing to something."

 

That narrows it down.

 

An SEC spokesman didn't return a phone call, an e-mail or a text message Wednesday night, and Slive declined last Friday to answer whether he or a representative of the league had contacted any schools about potential expansion. Late Wednesday, Texas A&M athletic department spokesman Alan Cannon said President Bowen Loftin is the only Texas A&M official authorized to speak about expansion. Still, it seems the SEC has been up to more something than nothing.

 

Slive didn't take the SEC to the top of the college sports world by doing nothing. It was his league's two 15-year contracts with ESPN and CBS (totaling more than $3 billion) that convinced the other leagues they needed to ramp up their revenue. Those contracts give the SEC security. It can still thrive as a 12-team league even if the Big Ten and Pac-10 supersize to 16, but a component of Slive's success is his ability to read the tea leaves. After years in the new landscape, would the SEC be positioned to command a plum deal when next it sits at the negotiating table?

 

Another executive we may have underestimated in this shuffle is Texas A&M's Byrne. Byrne said last week that the best move for Texas A&M is staying in the Big 12. His Texas counterpart, DeLoss Dodds, has said the same goes for the Longhorns. But even if Byrne joins the Austin contingent in saving the Big 12 or departing for the Pac-10, by making the Aggies an attractive candidate for the SEC, Byrne has altered the power dynamic in the Lone Star State. Texas, the nation's most lucrative athletic department, still holds most of the cards, but it isn't Dodds and the five dwarves. Texas A&M is a player in this.

 

It should be. According to data from the U.S. Department of Education, in the 2008-09 school year, Texas A&M ranked third in the Big 12 and 22nd in the nation in athletic revenue with $73.4 million. That figure would have placed the Aggies third in the Pac-10, fifth in the proposed Pac-16 and eighth in the big-money SEC.

 

That number will rise whether the Aggies stick with their Big 12 south brethren in the Pac-16 or strike out on their own in the SEC. Schools such as Miami, Florida State, Georgia Tech and Clemson have been tossed out as possible SEC targets. Those schools don't make sense, because the SEC already has a stranglehold on the markets they would deliver.

 

Texas is an untapped television market for the league, which already enjoys national distribution, but could make more money by guaranteeing more viewers. Though the Aggies wouldn't bring as many eyeballs as the Longhorns, significant chunks of viewers in Dallas (the nation's fifth largest television market), Houston (No. 10) and San Antonio (No. 37) would tune in to watch them. How many top-37 markets are currently in the SEC footprint? Just six. If the SEC does decide to expand, the change in membership number would trigger a clause that would allow the league to renegotiate its TV deals. Adding those markets, plus the markets of any other new member, would allow the league to command a higher price.

 

Texas A&M also is a member of the Association of American Universities. Only two SEC schools (Florida and Vanderbilt) are members. Plus, Texas A&M has grown from about 25,000 students in 1976 to about 47,000 now. That means more alumni than ever are about to enter their prime giving years.

 

Whether a move to the SEC would benefit Texas A&M's football team is questionable. The Aggies almost certainly would wind up in the SEC west with former Southwest Conference rival Arkansas. They'd probably have to play Alabama, Auburn and LSU every season. That's tough for any program. Still, the league would allow the Aggies to offer an interesting alternative to Lone Star State recruits enthralled by the SEC schools they grew up watching on television.

 

Such practical discussions are probably better left for another day. Byrne and Texas A&M president Loftin have options to examine. Do they help save the Big 12 by bringing new blood into the fold? Do they split from the Big 12 but stay with their in-state rivals? Do they split from their fellow Texas schools and put in jeopardy rivalries that date back decades?

 

If they choose the SEC -- and the SEC subsequently agreed to choose them -- entry would be simple. Texas A&M would need approval from nine of the 12 SEC presidents. It also would have to pay $50 in annual membership dues.

 

Judging by its recent revenue figures, A&M can handle the fee. But does it need to bolt or remain with its Lone Star brethren? The answer isn't clear.

 

Still, in uncertain times, it's nice to have options.

 

 

LINK

[Nexus]

Staples has a column out now saying that the SEC has been in talks with A&M for months:

 

In a hotel meeting room in Scottsdale, Ariz., in April, SEC commissioner Mike Slive essentially promised that if the tectonic plates beneath the college sports' landscape began to shift, Slive's league would not sit on the sidelines.

 

It won't.

 

A source confirmed to SI.com late Wednesday that emissaries from the SEC initiated discussions with Texas A&M athletic director Bill Byrne months ago, and while the SEC is just one of several potential options for the Aggies, it remains an option heading into Thursday's meeting between Texas A&M and Texas officials. At the meeting, power brokers from both schools will discuss a last-ditch effort to save the Big 12, even if Nebraska's Board of Regents votes Friday to leave for the Big Ten. "It's on life support," the source said of the Big 12. "But people have come off life support before."

 

Officials also will discuss a potential invitation from the Pac-10 that also would include four other Big 12 schools. Presumably, they also will discuss the SEC's talks with Texas A&M.

 

What is unclear, however, is which other school or schools the SEC might also be interested in to keep an even number should it decide to expand. Last week, the league split a record $209 million among its 12 member schools. Slive has been tight-lipped in public concerning expansion, and he drew giggles last week during a press briefing following the league's spring meetings when he said this: "We have maximum flexibility in how we approach this issue ranging anywhere from nothing to something."

 

That narrows it down.

 

An SEC spokesman didn't return a phone call, an e-mail or a text message Wednesday night, and Slive declined last Friday to answer whether he or a representative of the league had contacted any schools about potential expansion. Late Wednesday, Texas A&M athletic department spokesman Alan Cannon said President Bowen Loftin is the only Texas A&M official authorized to speak about expansion. Still, it seems the SEC has been up to more something than nothing.

 

Slive didn't take the SEC to the top of the college sports world by doing nothing. It was his league's two 15-year contracts with ESPN and CBS (totaling more than $3 billion) that convinced the other leagues they needed to ramp up their revenue. Those contracts give the SEC security. It can still thrive as a 12-team league even if the Big Ten and Pac-10 supersize to 16, but a component of Slive's success is his ability to read the tea leaves. After years in the new landscape, would the SEC be positioned to command a plum deal when next it sits at the negotiating table?

 

Another executive we may have underestimated in this shuffle is Texas A&M's Byrne. Byrne said last week that the best move for Texas A&M is staying in the Big 12. His Texas counterpart, DeLoss Dodds, has said the same goes for the Longhorns. But even if Byrne joins the Austin contingent in saving the Big 12 or departing for the Pac-10, by making the Aggies an attractive candidate for the SEC, Byrne has altered the power dynamic in the Lone Star State. Texas, the nation's most lucrative athletic department, still holds most of the cards, but it isn't Dodds and the five dwarves. Texas A&M is a player in this.

 

It should be. According to data from the U.S. Department of Education, in the 2008-09 school year, Texas A&M ranked third in the Big 12 and 22nd in the nation in athletic revenue with $73.4 million. That figure would have placed the Aggies third in the Pac-10, fifth in the proposed Pac-16 and eighth in the big-money SEC.

 

That number will rise whether the Aggies stick with their Big 12 south brethren in the Pac-16 or strike out on their own in the SEC. Schools such as Miami, Florida State, Georgia Tech and Clemson have been tossed out as possible SEC targets. Those schools don't make sense, because the SEC already has a stranglehold on the markets they would deliver.

 

Texas is an untapped television market for the league, which already enjoys national distribution, but could make more money by guaranteeing more viewers. Though the Aggies wouldn't bring as many eyeballs as the Longhorns, significant chunks of viewers in Dallas (the nation's fifth largest television market), Houston (No. 10) and San Antonio (No. 37) would tune in to watch them. How many top-37 markets are currently in the SEC footprint? Just six. If the SEC does decide to expand, the change in membership number would trigger a clause that would allow the league to renegotiate its TV deals. Adding those markets, plus the markets of any other new member, would allow the league to command a higher price.

 

Texas A&M also is a member of the Association of American Universities. Only two SEC schools (Florida and Vanderbilt) are members. Plus, Texas A&M has grown from about 25,000 students in 1976 to about 47,000 now. That means more alumni than ever are about to enter their prime giving years.

 

Whether a move to the SEC would benefit Texas A&M's football team is questionable. The Aggies almost certainly would wind up in the SEC west with former Southwest Conference rival Arkansas. They'd probably have to play Alabama, Auburn and LSU every season. That's tough for any program. Still, the league would allow the Aggies to offer an interesting alternative to Lone Star State recruits enthralled by the SEC schools they grew up watching on television.

 

Such practical discussions are probably better left for another day. Byrne and Texas A&M president Loftin have options to examine. Do they help save the Big 12 by bringing new blood into the fold? Do they split from the Big 12 but stay with their in-state rivals? Do they split from their fellow Texas schools and put in jeopardy rivalries that date back decades?

 

If they choose the SEC -- and the SEC subsequently agreed to choose them -- entry would be simple. Texas A&M would need approval from nine of the 12 SEC presidents. It also would have to pay $50 in annual membership dues.

 

Judging by its recent revenue figures, A&M can handle the fee. But does it need to bolt or remain with its Lone Star brethren? The answer isn't clear.

 

Still, in uncertain times, it's nice to have options.

 

 

LINK

 

Yeah I read that yesterday. I think UT and A&M are trying to see if they can go separate ways without getting hitched by Tech and Baylor because it sounds like UT would like to bounce to either the Pac-10 or Big Ten while A&M would prefer the SEC.

[junior4949]

I guess I don't understand why Texas wouldn't rather go to the SEC than the Pac-10. Both of them look like a win/win to me for Texas, but going to the SEC appears to be the biggest win.

[Nexus]

I guess I don't understand why Texas wouldn't rather go to the SEC than the Pac-10. Both of them look like a win/win to me for Texas, but going to the SEC appears to be the biggest win.

 

One of the big reasons according to a journalist on twitter (can't remember which one? Staples or Wetzel?) is because they don't want to get raided by the SEC for Texas recruits.

 

And the other big reason is because of the poor academics in the SEC.

[muffler dragon]

I guess I don't understand why Texas wouldn't rather go to the SEC than the Pac-10. Both of them look like a win/win to me for Texas, but going to the SEC appears to be the biggest win.

 

Because Texas' administration actually cares about academics. The SEC does not.

[knapplc]

I guess I don't understand why Texas wouldn't rather go to the SEC than the Pac-10. Both of them look like a win/win to me for Texas, but going to the SEC appears to be the biggest win.

 

I think Texas realizes they would be a little fish in that big pond, and that's not palatable to them. They would certainly make a lot of money in the SEC, but they will NOT be able to bully around the rest of the league. Florida, Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Georgia - these are not schools that will be intimidated by Texas like Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Colorado and Oklahoma State were. They'll put Texas in their place fast if the Horns try to install a puppet Commissioner like they did with Beebe.

 

Texas has a lot more opportunity to call shots in a laid-back Pac-10, and when you combine the Seattle, Portland, San Francisco/Oakland, Los Angeles, San Diego, Pheonix and all the Texas markets together, you've got one heck of a footprint to use as a tool to negotiate your TV contracts. I think the Pac-Whatever conference with Texas would make a network as valuable as the Big Ten Network, and Texas still gets to call a lot of shots.

 

I think Texas to the Big 10, which will NOT let Texas run the show at all, is the least likely scenario.

 

I still think it's possible that the Big 12 adds a couple of replacement teams to cover for Nebraska and Colorado, and moves forward. But that's the least likely scenario, IMO.

[junior4949]

I see going to the SEC or the Pac-10 as being a huge win/win for Texas especially when looking at it from the Big 12. Either way, it opens up recruiting doors for them plus bigger TV markets which quite frankly the Big 12 hasn't for them. While the West Coast definitely is alluring, I'd rather go to the SEC if I were Texas. In the long term, the Pac-10 probably opens the most doors for Texas. However, in the near term (decade) the most doors open to Texas would be joining the SEC.

 

IMO, the Big 12 is dead. I don't think there's any salvaging it at all, and I don't know why the Texas schools would want to anyway. It's not like they get great recruits from any of the states involved in the Big 12, and the only big TV market they may lose is Kansas City because for the most part the Denver market couldn't give two squirts about CU.

 

Pandora's box has officially been opened. Time will tell whether this is what kills college football as we know it or whether it was beneficial to college football.

[Caven]

I guess I don't understand why Texas wouldn't rather go to the SEC than the Pac-10. Both of them look like a win/win to me for Texas, but going to the SEC appears to be the biggest win.

 

Because Texas' administration actually cares about academics. The SEC does not.

 

This is the one and only reason that Texas won't consider the SEC. If it weren't for the academics, the SEC would be a perfect fit for Texas including the fact that one of their oldest rivals is now in that conference.