B1G to Target Texas, Oklahoma when Big XII GOR Expires

[Scarlet Overkill]

10 hours ago, Redux said:

I just want Kansas and Oklahoma.  I don't care how it happens, it's just the best thing that could happen for us and the rest of the Big Ten honestly.  As far as Texas goes, I don't really care where the end up I just don't want to share anything with them ever again unless it's a game that we absolutely smoke their conceited asses in.

 

I like your style.

[VectorVictor]

On 12/14/2018 at 9:14 AM, passranch said:

I don't think the Big 12 is going to let their Grant of Rights expire.  I fully expect to see them extend them sometime in the next couple of offseasons.  If they don't, then you know for almost absolute certainty that the league is breaking up and schools not named Texas, Oklahoma, and probably Kansas would do anything in their power to prevent that from happening.

 

They can't extend the Grant of Rights if they don't have a super-majority (seven of ten teams). They also can't expand without a super-majority, either. 

 

But when schools leave the conference, those remaining that want to extend the GOR and add teams will then have a super-majority to do both.

 

On 12/14/2018 at 9:20 PM, HuskerInLostWages said:

Didnt the B1G buy their 3rd tier rights or something like that as well, Oklahoma's I mean.

 

The B1G (via Fox Sports) offered to house Oklahoma's Tier 3 rights (currently on Fox Sports Oklahoma). Problem is, Amazon is currently eyeballing those Fox Sports Regional networks to roll into their Amazon Prime streaming service, but if Amazon doesn't pick them up, the channels and their content will likely be orphaned as part of the Disney/Fox deal. 

 

On the bright side, we'll finally get good X-Men movies again. 

 

[slice1900]

A few thoughts about this.

 

The Big 12 GOR can't be renewed/extended unless all teams agree. If it is true that Oklahoma wants to go to the Big Ten then they will continue to not agree and will be free to leave without penalty for the 2025 season. If they go, I think Texas goes too. WHERE they go is the question, so they might end up in the Big Ten but might end up elsewhere. If they end up in the Big Ten I wouldn't worry about them throwing their weight around though. The Big 12 had an unequal power structure due to the unequal revenue sharing and the concentration of teams in Texas that voted as a bloc, that's not the case in the Big Ten. They won't have any more say in how things are done than OSU does now - and if anyone thinks they have more say than Iowa or Northwestern just look at how revenue splits for away game gates are done which is clearly to the disadvantage of teams like OSU/PSU/Michigan with monster stadiums.

 

The Longhorn Network isn't the issue some people think it is. ESPN is losing $5-$10 million a year on it, they would likely PAY to get out of the contract early. Texas would be totally happy with a lump sum payment and an immediate full share of Big Ten revenue (they'd get that concession for joining due to what they bring...not a slight on Nebraska but like Iowa your team is in a state with a small population that's nowhere near as attractive for TV as Texas) Texas is getting $15 million a year for Longhorn, and BTN's payouts including profit sharing are close enough to that now they'll probably exceed that number by 2025. So Texas wouldn't lose anything even if they walked away from Longhorn with no payout from ESPN.

 

As for pods, also not a concern. We'll almost certainly have an 8 team playoff by then, and the only way I see that as being workable is if they force conferences to drop the conference championship game (otherwise they'll be meaningless for a top 3 team who might choose to sit their best players since they know they are in either way) Let the Big Ten winner be decided the old fashioned way, by the best record (plus tiebreakers which could include the playoff committee's ranking) Then you don't have to figure out a pod system to work around the rivalries and stuff, instead you give each team 2 or 3 protected rivalries and round robin the rest.

 

Yes, the schedules won't be equal since you don't all play the same teams but that's already the case in the divisions, and across the divisions, so what else is new? If a really great Iowa or Nebraska team went undefeated in the Big Ten and so did Ohio State because they didn't play that year (like what happened to Iowa in 2002) and the playoff committee ranks Ohio State higher, like they probably would, it is no problem because you have the two at large bids to fall back on. The third bid would be to the top G5 team, aka the "shut up Boise State and UCF fans, we'll give you Alabama and watch you get destroyed" bid.

[Nebhawk]

This discussion often leads me to look at things more realistically than wishfully.

 

First off, no one knows with any certainty what lies ahead in this conference realignment game.  

 

Secondly, with OU going to the college football playoffs for the second year in a row, why would they choose to leave that cash cow?

 

With the current format set up in the Big 12, Texas/OU is the main game, with rematch in title game almost guaranteeing them a shot at playoff push.  

 

As a Nebraska fan, why would I want OU in this conference?  Why would I want to have that added competition for a place at the dinner table?  I know that this is 6 years away, and in those 6 years things can change dramatically, but right now I don't see OU wanting to leave what they own and control on the field of play.

[Nebhawk]

I should add that it was mentioned that if OU was looking to leave, they would be hit hard by SEC to join their conference.  Let the bidding begin!

[slice1900]

The administration of OU is very interested in gaining access to the Big Ten's academic alliance (the former CIC) to expand their research footprint, and are in the midst of a long term plan with the goal of gaining AAU accreditation. In any university they are the ones who make this type of decision, not the athletic department, and OU's administration has no interest in the SEC. While the football program might prefer staying put because they have an easier path to the playoff, they don't get to call the shots. This might be a good reason for Texas to stay put and try to hold together the rest of the conference though...they'd have to deal with teams like WVU and ISU that have some good years but none of them are capable of being consistently good the way OU is.

 

If the SEC were looking to expand, the only viable candidates are in the Big 12 due to the long GOR lockup for ACC teams - probably OSU and WVU.

 

As for why a Nebraska fan would want OU in the conference, why wouldn't you want a true traditional rival instead of the forced rivalry with Iowa? If you truly believe you can return to your glory days then you shouldn't be afraid of anything short of maybe Alabama joining the Big Ten

[BigRedBuster]

Interesting.