AgMarauder04
Starter
I'm hearing things from Mizzou...
OU is oddly quiet...
Then my sister, who works for Tech, sent me this email:
"I’ll start by saying if you’re expecting anything “groundbreaking” or extremely specific on this post you’ll be sorely disappointed. However, I did have a conversation w/ an old friend last night whose very much in the know (not my cousin-different situation) w/our situation. What was shared w/ me did provide me a great deal of comfort based upon the driving uncertainty of our conference future w/ the aggies formally announcing & I wanted to try & share this “comfort” w/ some of my Tech peeps.
A good friend called me last night to discuss some personal business we’re working jointly together on. This person just happens to be connected at the highest levels of our university. During our conversation I broached the subject of Tech & conference realignment expecting nothing more than what I’d always gotten from this person in the past, basically nothing but politically correct, non-committal answers. I was extremely surprised from the beginning how forthcoming this person ended up being w/ me. I’m not sure if the reason was b/c the die is cast & everything’s already been set in motion so the fear of things getting out has diminished, or not. Regardless, here is a paraphrase of the answers given to me around the questions like, “Big 12 going to survive?”, “will we (Tech) end up w/ a seat at the big boy table?”, “are we really UT’s biatches?” & “why are we never brought up as an option (for conference additions)?”:
In no certain order & paraphrased:
- "Sure doesn't look that way at this point (responding to whether the Big 12 will survive). Were hearing some rumblings from folks we trust & who’ve maintained the company line to this point (committed to the Big 12 bullsh), that it's DOA (b12)"
- When I asked about ending up w/ a seat in a top AQ Conference, they chuckled & responded w/ : "actually, we're sitting in a significantly better position right now as far as the future of our conference affiliation is concerned. You won't hear or read that in the paper or on-line, but trust me, our guys (Tech admin) have worked tirelessly on it since last June when the decision was made we wont get caught flat footed again & have recently secured our future. You’ll be very, very excited & happy w/ where we end up (when the b12 finally comes apart)."
- I then asked if it was all tied to being UT’s biatch & they responded: w/ "no, we aren’t. Now I’m not saying we won’t end up w/ them (laughing….sounded like we might). We went through this a similar exercise just over a year ago & the press & most others continue to assume we've done nothing sit on our hands (relying on ut) since last summer. Simply isn’t the case. There’s been a very intentional radio silence from our Admin & it doesn’t hurt at all for them (press/bloggers) to think anything different. Do you really think after last summer the admin would do nothing to better our situation knowing we’re 1 UT/A&M pissing contest away from the same situation? Bottom line is radio silence & lack of press at this point is our friend. (Deflection I'm guessing. Never was able to follow up)
- So I then asked, “I still don’t understand why were never mentioned as a viable candidate anywhere at all. We’re treated no better than Baylor publicly? “. The response - "We intentionally want our name out of the press as much as possible.”
- They then went on to explain that schools like Mizzou & Kansas have their names thrown around in the press b/c they have “plants” who intentionally do so. Wanting it to “take on a life of it’s own”. They said the reason is to “fish & figure out where their fan/alumni/public interest is”. They apparently then use that info to apply pressure where they fell they need it. The reasoning behind doing it they said was; “you only do that when you trying to leverage your position (meaning the big12) & you’re place at the table hasn’t been secured yet. Once your place is set, press can only potentially hurt your plans, never help. Good example, think back to Nebraska’s exit. Their deal was negotiated, decided & done behind closed doors before anyone, press included, ever had a sniff of a story. Just remember, our guys (Admin) are very smart & know what they're doing."
- This last statement on the topic stuck with me: "a decision was made early on that it made sense for us to maintain complete radio silence. I tell you what, just know you can sleep well tonight knowing when big12 implodes, tomorrow or in 6 months, we've already negotiated & secured our seat at the big boy table, as you put it.".
Tried poking & prodding around for more specifics but could tell quickly that was all that was going to be shared last night.
No, this is NOT a “troll” & is intended for the few who really are interested. I don’t have the time or effort to spend trying to trick other adults. Believe what you want, makes no difference. Simply trying to share some comforting news with those who want & appreciate it."
Sounds like things are going down...
OU is oddly quiet...
Then my sister, who works for Tech, sent me this email:
"I’ll start by saying if you’re expecting anything “groundbreaking” or extremely specific on this post you’ll be sorely disappointed. However, I did have a conversation w/ an old friend last night whose very much in the know (not my cousin-different situation) w/our situation. What was shared w/ me did provide me a great deal of comfort based upon the driving uncertainty of our conference future w/ the aggies formally announcing & I wanted to try & share this “comfort” w/ some of my Tech peeps.
A good friend called me last night to discuss some personal business we’re working jointly together on. This person just happens to be connected at the highest levels of our university. During our conversation I broached the subject of Tech & conference realignment expecting nothing more than what I’d always gotten from this person in the past, basically nothing but politically correct, non-committal answers. I was extremely surprised from the beginning how forthcoming this person ended up being w/ me. I’m not sure if the reason was b/c the die is cast & everything’s already been set in motion so the fear of things getting out has diminished, or not. Regardless, here is a paraphrase of the answers given to me around the questions like, “Big 12 going to survive?”, “will we (Tech) end up w/ a seat at the big boy table?”, “are we really UT’s biatches?” & “why are we never brought up as an option (for conference additions)?”:
In no certain order & paraphrased:
- "Sure doesn't look that way at this point (responding to whether the Big 12 will survive). Were hearing some rumblings from folks we trust & who’ve maintained the company line to this point (committed to the Big 12 bullsh), that it's DOA (b12)"
- When I asked about ending up w/ a seat in a top AQ Conference, they chuckled & responded w/ : "actually, we're sitting in a significantly better position right now as far as the future of our conference affiliation is concerned. You won't hear or read that in the paper or on-line, but trust me, our guys (Tech admin) have worked tirelessly on it since last June when the decision was made we wont get caught flat footed again & have recently secured our future. You’ll be very, very excited & happy w/ where we end up (when the b12 finally comes apart)."
- I then asked if it was all tied to being UT’s biatch & they responded: w/ "no, we aren’t. Now I’m not saying we won’t end up w/ them (laughing….sounded like we might). We went through this a similar exercise just over a year ago & the press & most others continue to assume we've done nothing sit on our hands (relying on ut) since last summer. Simply isn’t the case. There’s been a very intentional radio silence from our Admin & it doesn’t hurt at all for them (press/bloggers) to think anything different. Do you really think after last summer the admin would do nothing to better our situation knowing we’re 1 UT/A&M pissing contest away from the same situation? Bottom line is radio silence & lack of press at this point is our friend. (Deflection I'm guessing. Never was able to follow up)
- So I then asked, “I still don’t understand why were never mentioned as a viable candidate anywhere at all. We’re treated no better than Baylor publicly? “. The response - "We intentionally want our name out of the press as much as possible.”
- They then went on to explain that schools like Mizzou & Kansas have their names thrown around in the press b/c they have “plants” who intentionally do so. Wanting it to “take on a life of it’s own”. They said the reason is to “fish & figure out where their fan/alumni/public interest is”. They apparently then use that info to apply pressure where they fell they need it. The reasoning behind doing it they said was; “you only do that when you trying to leverage your position (meaning the big12) & you’re place at the table hasn’t been secured yet. Once your place is set, press can only potentially hurt your plans, never help. Good example, think back to Nebraska’s exit. Their deal was negotiated, decided & done behind closed doors before anyone, press included, ever had a sniff of a story. Just remember, our guys (Admin) are very smart & know what they're doing."
- This last statement on the topic stuck with me: "a decision was made early on that it made sense for us to maintain complete radio silence. I tell you what, just know you can sleep well tonight knowing when big12 implodes, tomorrow or in 6 months, we've already negotiated & secured our seat at the big boy table, as you put it.".
Tried poking & prodding around for more specifics but could tell quickly that was all that was going to be shared last night.
No, this is NOT a “troll” & is intended for the few who really are interested. I don’t have the time or effort to spend trying to trick other adults. Believe what you want, makes no difference. Simply trying to share some comforting news with those who want & appreciate it."
Sounds like things are going down...
