Texas bitter towards big 10?

[austind]

Minnesota-Texas series canceled

July, 29, 2010

 

By Adam Rittenberg

The jury is still out on Tim Brewster at Minnesota, but the fourth-year coach already has made an extremely positive impact in one area: scheduling.

 

Minnesota has significantly upgraded its nonconference schedule during Brewster's tenure, adding the likes of California, USC, North Carolina and Oregon State. The Gophers no longer live in Cupcake City in September like they did under Glen Mason.

 

That's why it was disappointing to see Minnesota's two-game series against Texas canceled Wednesday. The Gophers had been scheduled to host Texas on Sept. 19, 2015, and visit Austin on Sept. 17, 2016. Minnesota attributed the cancellation to "a contract impasse concerning video rights," which relates in part to Minnesota's commitment to the Big Ten Network.

 

School officials didn't hide where they think the blame lies.

 

Minnesota athletic director Joel Maturi told the Associated Press, "It’s extremely disappointing. The kind of agreement we could not come to is the same agreement every other school on our schedule agreed to. Every other school in the Big 12 agreed to this."

 

Maturi added: "We have a signed agreement. If we wanted to go to court, we’d win. But that’s not our style."

"I'm extremely disappointed that Texas has chosen not to play us," Brewster, a former Texas assistant who cut his teeth under Longhorns head coach Mack Brown, said in a prepared statement. "This was very unexpected, considering we had an agreement in principal. Our fans and our team were excited to play Texas. Obviously, they weren't as excited about playing us. We plan to fill that slot in our upcoming schedule with a quality BCS opponent."

 

 

 

Minnesota has a bit of a cushion to fill the vacancies, and here's hoping Maturi and Brewster add a solid team from a major conference. I doubt the replacement will carry the prestige of Texas, but Minnesota should continue its aggressive approach to scheduling as it tries to enhance its national profile.

 

 

 

 

it seems like texas did not want to help the big 10 network gain any extra revenue.

[GrueneHorn]

We'll probably never know for sure but the talk has been that the Big 10 Network would have owned the rights to the game in Minneapolis, and they were a bit stingey in giving Texas permission to air clips, on the coaches shows and highlight shows.

 

Personally, I'm pissed they couldn't work it out. I've got family in Minnesota and was really looking forward to this series.

[austind]

that would make sense, but why wouldnt they set up a deal where the home team for each game of the series would get primary rights?

[GrueneHorn]

that would make sense, but why wouldnt they set up a deal where the home team for each game of the series would get primary rights?

 

Thats what I'm wondering too. There should have been a way to work this out. I'm afraid with the proliferation of TV deals and networks for each confernce and individual schools, we're going to see more of this in the future.

[mmmtodd]

we know all too well how texas operates...i cant help but believe they wanted more than what would be considered fair-not minnesota/big ten.

[knapplc]

This sounds like what happened when Nebraska backed out on their deal to play Houston. It was "in the best interest" of Nebraska at the time, and no other explanation was ever offered.

 

Who knows why Texas backed out. I'm sure they're not scared of playing the Gophers, even if Minnesota does have more national championships than Texas.

[In the Deed the Glory]

We'll probably never know for sure but the talk has been that the Big 10 Network would have owned the rights to the game in Minneapolis, and they were a bit stingey in giving Texas permission to air clips, on the coaches shows and highlight shows.

 

Personally, I'm pissed they couldn't work it out. I've got family in Minnesota and was really looking forward to this series.

 

I think this is probably true, unless it would have gotten one of the national spots, which I highly doubt.

[badger79]

There is no doubt Texas/Minnesota would have been an ABC or ESPN game. But I think the Big Ten retains some rights (for rebroadcast purposes and so on) to home games even if they air on other channels. Either that or they buy the rights back -- this summer they've been airing a bunch of games that were on other channels last fall.

 

Anyway, this might have been where the deal fell apart. Texas may have wanted too many highlights, or may have wanted the full game for streaming or airing on their network or whatever, and the Big Ten said no.

 

And then Texas huffed off because the mean old Big Ten hurt their widdle feelings by not giving in to their temper tantrum again.

[kansas husker]

I'm completely on the outside looking in, but this does not seem out of the Texas charicter to me. To agree to a deal in principle to Texas simply means making a comimtment, waiting a while, then asking for more. If you don't agree Texas tries to make it look like the other party backed out.

[HuskersGJ]

It may also be a factor that starting 2011 or '12, Texas and the rest of the Big 12(-2) will have more conference games on the schedule. Maybe the re-alignment means they would be overscheduled for 2015.

 

It sucks for Minnesota but its also likely two fewer losses for the Gophers.