From a Sooner

[T_O_Bull]

What will the new Big 12 be called? The Texas Ten?

The Temporary Ten. Meanwhile, we are in the Big 10 Plus. (I like that name for a conference that doesn't want the brand name to change, so I'm going to pitch it to the powers that be).

:yeah

You go GC!

T_O_B

:bonez

 

[Cob Mob]

What will the new Big 12 be called? The Texas Ten?

The Southwest Conference. Hell, that's what's in store for it - a return to the old SWC. There was a reason Arkansas bolted from the SWC when it had the chance...

:yeah

I agree completely on the SWC reference and I think that people in high places have to start noticing a trend with UT ruining conferences and running them into the ground.

Kind of a Matrix reference, but I like

*The Big 12 Unloaded*

for a new name.

 

[Cob Mob]

I don't think the Pac 10 had any interest in any Big-12 team other than Texas, including OU. It's not about football prowess or tradition, it's about TV markets. Their expansion to include teams that far east was only viable if they could have formed a 6 team southwest regional conference with the added eyeballs from the huge Texas TV markets. Pac-10 was willing to take 4 or 5 other teams to get Texas, but without the horns, they would have passed on everyone else.

So, can you explain why the Big 10 was interested in adding Nebraska when it's all about "TV markets?!?"

OU is just as big a TV draw as Texas everywhere outside of Texas. And even Texas fans will watch OU play, in hopes of watching them lose. To suggest Texas is the only team the Pac 10 was interested in is a bit naive.

I have to agree with Dusty on this one. Everyone is so focused and wound up on "TV markets" etc they're forgetting about exciting college football match-ups that people actually want to watch.

Both NU and OU have the "wow factor" when it comes to playing. People flipping through channels will pass up a lot of games to see NU or OU playing someone, anyone. Especially if it's an other competent team. While I don't think the Pac 10 had it's eyes set on OU, if OU had went to them and said "we want in" the Pac 10 would have backflipped to get them in. Even if the Pac intended on stopping at 12, and had CU and Utah, if OU went to them and said they'd move, The Pac 10 would blow things up and pull in OU and someone else (probably OSU) but they'd take OU in a heartbeat just to get those awesome match-ups. Personally I think both NU and OU have a lot more of the "Pizazz" factor nationwide than UT does.

 

[deedsker15]

I don't think the Pac 10 had any interest in any Big-12 team other than Texas, including OU. It's not about football prowess or tradition, it's about TV markets. Their expansion to include teams that far east was only viable if they could have formed a 6 team southwest regional conference with the added eyeballs from the huge Texas TV markets. Pac-10 was willing to take 4 or 5 other teams to get Texas, but without the horns, they would have passed on everyone else.

So, can you explain why the Big 10 was interested in adding Nebraska when it's all about "TV markets?!?"

OU is just as big a TV draw as Texas everywhere outside of Texas. And even Texas fans will watch OU play, in hopes of watching them lose. To suggest Texas is the only team the Pac 10 was interested in is a bit naive.

I have to agree with Dusty on this one. Everyone is so focused and wound up on "TV markets" etc they're forgetting about exciting college football match-ups that people actually want to watch.

Both NU and OU have the "wow factor" when it comes to playing. People flipping through channels will pass up a lot of games to see NU or OU playing someone, anyone. Especially if it's an other competent team. While I don't think the Pac 10 had it's eyes set on OU, if OU had went to them and said "we want in" the Pac 10 would have backflipped to get them in. Even if the Pac intended on stopping at 12, and had CU and Utah, if OU went to them and said they'd move, The Pac 10 would blow things up and pull in OU and someone else (probably OSU) but they'd take OU in a heartbeat just to get those awesome match-ups. Personally I think both NU and OU have a lot more of the "Pizazz" factor nationwide than UT does.

well said...there are many teams like that with every conference, whether you hate them or love them...

 

[bhamHusker]

I think that perhaps the point I was making has been missed. Of course there is more to football than TV markets - the contrary was never even implied. I was in no way speaking of the broad appeal of traditional teams like Nebraska or Oklahoma. I was speaking specifically about the Pac-10's motivations. It is pretty apparent that the Pac-10's interest in the Big-12 south teams dealt almost entirely with extending their media reach into the Texas TV markets. From the Pac-10's perspective, adding UT was a requirement as was adding a number of south division teams to fill out a division in which UT and the new schools would compete. Beyond UT, they were pretty flexible with regards to who those extra teams were. Simply put, no UT was a deal breaker, no OU was unfortunate, but workable.

That is said in no way to belittle OU or any of the other schools involved, but for the Pac-10, UT was the linchpin of the deal. As far as I'm concerned OU always wins over UT if I'm asked which is the better program, but that's just not what the Pac-10's expansion efforts were concerned with. When the Big-12 goes through this again in a year or three, conferences like the Big-10 or the SEC will be jumping through all kinds of hoops to get OU's attention.