Is the B1G done expanding?

[kchusker_chris]

I'm not saying its a given, but it's a lot more likely then I think people around Nebraska are willing to let themselves acknowledge. I don't want it either, but there is no way a conference turns down Texas if they get rid of it. Texas can very much pick their spot. They are sitting on mountains of money in one of the biggest states in the country. Hell they can pick the spot of a friend or two (or 3 in the pac's case) depending on the friends.

Texas is a cancer. Is the money worth the risk that your 110 year old conference will emplode in 10-20 years? No chance it is. Definately not with ND still out there. The B1G is far from hard up. It's not like the Big12 we just left, and Texas isn't the only fish in the seas. The ONLY thing Texas has going for it will be their money - which we have plenty of as-is. As this plays out, and after A&M leaves and airs out some dirty laundry, Texas will have to beg one of the Pac12/B1G/SEC conferences to let them in. Heck, A&M probably will have a clause in their SEC agreement that prevents Texas from joining. Why leave a conference because of an entity only to see that entity follow you. They'll be guarding against that.

 

[VectorVictor]

Possible teams for Big 10 expansion: Missouri, Pitt, Notre Dame (I REALLY hope we get this one if the SEC picks up OU and aTm, not to mention probably Clemson), and possibly VT or WVU. I'd prefer all these teams over Syracuse, Rutgers, etc.

I'd add Texas and Texas A&M (although the latter is more unlikely), and OU (with of course Texas's new BFF ND). If you really think that the B1G would pick up Mizzou, Pitt, Rutgers, or Maryland over Texas+OU you are fooling yourself.

B1G won't take Texas as long as they have the Longhorn Network. There is no way they will allow that and Texas isn't giving it up. Oklahoma just doesn't fit as well either geographically or academically. I don't see either of those in the B1G.

Oklahoma isn't a member of the AAU, Oklahoma is tethered to Okie Lite, and the Big 10 doesn't want Okie Lite.

Oklahoma won't be joining the Big 10 anytime soon unless we go to 16 and the AAU requirement is shelved by the Big 10. :|

Texas won't join because of their network...and considering their track record with conferences, they'll be treated like lepers from the BCS conferences going forward unless Texas agrees to serious concessions, political and otherwise.

And TheCheshireCat--I sincerely doubt VT is in the mix, as they're joined at the hip with Virgina, not unlike OU and Okie Lite, and VT is not a member of the AAU either.

 

[kchusker_chris]

^ I thought Delany debunked the "AAU requirement" myth - or at least stated it wasn't at the top of the list by any means. Notre Dame isn't an AAU member, think they'd get in?

 

[huskersrule95]

^ I thought Delany debunked the "AAU requirement" myth - or at least stated it wasn't at the top of the list by any means. Notre Dame isn't an AAU member, think they'd get in?

Yes. If Notre Dame wanted to get in then they would even if they aren't AAU either. I think Notre Dame fits academically and geographically and just a great football history that they would get in.

 

[wildman]

I agree Notre Dame will get in regardless just because of their prestige. But as stated before it'd take some major peer pressure to do it. When/If that happens could you imagine the melt down they will have just cause their football team would no longer be independent.

 

[redblooded]

Yeah the AAU thing, it doesn't really drive this at all. ND would have been in the big ten any point they wanted without it.

I'm not saying its a given, but it's a lot more likely then I think people around Nebraska are willing to let themselves acknowledge. I don't want it either, but there is no way a conference turns down Texas if they get rid of it. Texas can very much pick their spot. They are sitting on mountains of money in one of the biggest states in the country. Hell they can pick the spot of a friend or two (or 3 in the pac's case) depending on the friends.

Texas is a cancer. Is the money worth the risk that your 110 year old conference will emplode in 10-20 years? No chance it is. Definately not with ND still out there. The B1G is far from hard up. It's not like the Big12 we just left, and Texas isn't the only fish in the seas. The ONLY thing Texas has going for it will be their money - which we have plenty of as-is. As this plays out, and after A&M leaves and airs out some dirty laundry, Texas will have to beg one of the Pac12/B1G/SEC conferences to let them in. Heck, A&M probably will have a clause in their SEC agreement that prevents Texas from joining. Why leave a conference because of an entity only to see that entity follow you. They'll be guarding against that.

We all know what Texas is, but that didn't stop the big 8 members from turning into Disney cartoons with dollar signs spinning in their eyes as they caved to Texas's demands on the conference's formation. It won't stop that from happening with other conferences either.

Texas is more of a prize then ND, it's positioned between the conferences that will definitely still exist when the dust settles in one of the biggest states with huge TV markets and they make more money then any athletic department. They can pick where they end up if they are willing to give up/make concessions on the LHN and anyone who believes otherwise is being silly. The only issue they have with other conferences is the fact that they have to shed 2 gigantic blood sucking leaches first. Hence why they are running big 12 members up to the edge of a cliff and then poking them. Conference breaks, they say "aww shucks Mr. State politician, we tried our best but we couldn't hold it together, best of luck to your school, hope bu/tech can find a good place to land."

As far as a "clause that prevents texas from joining" LOL, uhh no, no conference is going to allow someone to join and day one dictate who they might add as other members. The SEC would tell them to get bent, same as the big ten would with us if Nebraska had started naming terms to them on who they could or could not add if they expanded.

 

[RedDenver]

The LHN can be worked around or dropped entirely, and no conference is going to really think UT will break them up just because of the SWC and B12 (although they're probably wrong). Here's the reasons UT won't be joining the B1G: geography and culture. Think about all the talk about fitting into the B1G and how well the Huskers fit the league, etc. The B1G is composed of midwestern schools where UT's uniquely Texan culture and attitude fit very, VERY poorly. And look at a map to see how ridiculous the geography would be - especially for UT who would travel long distances all the time.

I think UT will either keep the B12 together as 9 teams or add a couple members within Texas like TCU, Houston, SMU, etc. They might try to snag a western team from the BEast or even Southern Miss or similar. UT can maintain dominance over the conference and keep the all important BCS bid. Plus they can keep the LHN if they want.

 

[kchusker_chris]

Yeah the AAU thing, it doesn't really drive this at all. ND would have been in the big ten any point they wanted without it.

I'm not saying its a given, but it's a lot more likely then I think people around Nebraska are willing to let themselves acknowledge. I don't want it either, but there is no way a conference turns down Texas if they get rid of it. Texas can very much pick their spot. They are sitting on mountains of money in one of the biggest states in the country. Hell they can pick the spot of a friend or two (or 3 in the pac's case) depending on the friends.

Texas is a cancer. Is the money worth the risk that your 110 year old conference will emplode in 10-20 years? No chance it is. Definately not with ND still out there. The B1G is far from hard up. It's not like the Big12 we just left, and Texas isn't the only fish in the seas. The ONLY thing Texas has going for it will be their money - which we have plenty of as-is. As this plays out, and after A&M leaves and airs out some dirty laundry, Texas will have to beg one of the Pac12/B1G/SEC conferences to let them in. Heck, A&M probably will have a clause in their SEC agreement that prevents Texas from joining. Why leave a conference because of an entity only to see that entity follow you. They'll be guarding against that.

We all know what Texas is, but that didn't stop the big 8 members from turning into Disney cartoons with dollar signs spinning in their eyes as they caved to Texas's demands on the conference's formation. It won't stop that from happening with other conferences either.

Texas is more of a prize then ND, it's positioned between the conferences that will definitely still exist when the dust settles in one of the biggest states with huge TV markets they make more money then any athletic department. They can pick where they end up if they are willing to give up/make concessions on the LHN and anyone who believes otherwise is being silly.

As far as a "clause that prevents texas from joining" LOL, uhh no, no conference is going to allow someone to join and day one dictate who they might add as other members. The SEC would tell them to get bent, same as the big ten would with us if Nebraska had started naming terms to them on who they could or could not add if they expanded.

You assume no one learned anything from the debacle that was the Big12. That was the first time in modern football something like that had been done. People will be damn sure not to let it happen again. The biggest issue w/ the Big12 (i think we can all agree) was Texas. Why introduce that to your conference? It's no different than business. We've turned away clients that would have increased our revenues by double or triple by themselves, because we knew they weren't the right fit. You can torpedo a company by bringing in and trying to serve the wrong clients - same goes for a conference. Texas just isn't a good fit, no matter how much money they make.

And frankly it doesn't really matter how much they make. Texas could generate a billion dollars in athletic revenue - did we ever see any of Texas's money? It matters little how much revenue they generate for themselves, what matters is how much revenue they are going to generate for the conference. They certainly aren't going to drag the numbers down, but they aren't going to imedially boost them by 20 million a school either. Texas's athletic revenue belongs to Texas, not the conference.

And A&M would have a HUGE amount of sway in allowing Texas to join. Just as Nebraska would have a huge amount of sway on the B1G. You don't think Perlman and Osborne could provide a VERY compelling argument to the rest of the B1G regarding the denial of their membership? Hell yeah they could. And (just like in business) you're going to listen to your internal staff long before some salesman (which is what Texas would be at that point). Just like we sold ourselves to B1G, so would Texas to the B1G and SEC. They aren't just going to write a check and gain admittance as you say.

 

[redblooded]

Yeah the AAU thing, it doesn't really drive this at all. ND would have been in the big ten any point they wanted without it.

I'm not saying its a given, but it's a lot more likely then I think people around Nebraska are willing to let themselves acknowledge. I don't want it either, but there is no way a conference turns down Texas if they get rid of it. Texas can very much pick their spot. They are sitting on mountains of money in one of the biggest states in the country. Hell they can pick the spot of a friend or two (or 3 in the pac's case) depending on the friends.

Texas is a cancer. Is the money worth the risk that your 110 year old conference will emplode in 10-20 years? No chance it is. Definately not with ND still out there. The B1G is far from hard up. It's not like the Big12 we just left, and Texas isn't the only fish in the seas. The ONLY thing Texas has going for it will be their money - which we have plenty of as-is. As this plays out, and after A&M leaves and airs out some dirty laundry, Texas will have to beg one of the Pac12/B1G/SEC conferences to let them in. Heck, A&M probably will have a clause in their SEC agreement that prevents Texas from joining. Why leave a conference because of an entity only to see that entity follow you. They'll be guarding against that.

We all know what Texas is, but that didn't stop the big 8 members from turning into Disney cartoons with dollar signs spinning in their eyes as they caved to Texas's demands on the conference's formation. It won't stop that from happening with other conferences either.

Texas is more of a prize then ND, it's positioned between the conferences that will definitely still exist when the dust settles in one of the biggest states with huge TV markets they make more money then any athletic department. They can pick where they end up if they are willing to give up/make concessions on the LHN and anyone who believes otherwise is being silly.

As far as a "clause that prevents texas from joining" LOL, uhh no, no conference is going to allow someone to join and day one dictate who they might add as other members. The SEC would tell them to get bent, same as the big ten would with us if Nebraska had started naming terms to them on who they could or could not add if they expanded.

You assume no one learned anything from the debacle that was the Big12. That was the first time in modern football something like that had been done. People will be damn sure not to let it happen again. The biggest issue w/ the Big12 (i think we can all agree) was Texas. Why introduce that to your conference? It's no different than business. We've turned away clients that would have increased our revenues by double or triple by themselves, because we knew they weren't the right fit. You can torpedo a company by bringing in and trying to serve the wrong clients - same goes for a conference. Texas just isn't a good fit, no matter how much money they make.

And frankly it doesn't really matter how much they make. Texas could generate a billion dollars in athletic revenue - did we ever see any of Texas's money? It matters little how much revenue they generate for themselves, what matters is how much revenue they are going to generate for the conference. They certainly aren't going to drag the numbers down, but they aren't going to imedially boost them by 20 million a school either. Texas's athletic revenue belongs to Texas, not the conference.

And A&M would have a HUGE amount of sway in allowing Texas to join. Just as Nebraska would have a huge amount of sway on the B1G. You don't think Perlman and Osborne could provide a VERY compelling argument to the rest of the B1G regarding the denial of their membership? Hell yeah they could. And (just like in business) you're going to listen to your internal staff long before some salesman (which is what Texas would be at that point). Just like we sold ourselves to B1G, so would Texas to the B1G and SEC. They aren't just going to write a check and gain admittance as you say.

Nebraska could argue against it, so could aTm. At the end of the day neither could block it, they aren't in (or joining) the PAC where a single vote can torpedo an application. I think you are greatly overestimating how much power either school would have initially in a new conference. Hell we had way more power in the big 8 and still didn't have that ability.

"They aren't just going to write a check and gain admittance as you say."

That's not what I said at all. I said if Texas can get rid of the 2 leeches on them (bu and tech) and is willing to make concessions on their network they can choose their conference.

 

[gratefullred]

Does the Big10 expand? I don't think so. Maryland, Rutgers, Kansas, or anyone else mentioned does not bring enough value to justify splitting the money pie into more slices. ND is the only exception.

 

[huskersrule95]

Yeah the AAU thing, it doesn't really drive this at all. ND would have been in the big ten any point they wanted without it.

I'm not saying its a given, but it's a lot more likely then I think people around Nebraska are willing to let themselves acknowledge. I don't want it either, but there is no way a conference turns down Texas if they get rid of it. Texas can very much pick their spot. They are sitting on mountains of money in one of the biggest states in the country. Hell they can pick the spot of a friend or two (or 3 in the pac's case) depending on the friends.

Texas is a cancer. Is the money worth the risk that your 110 year old conference will emplode in 10-20 years? No chance it is. Definately not with ND still out there. The B1G is far from hard up. It's not like the Big12 we just left, and Texas isn't the only fish in the seas. The ONLY thing Texas has going for it will be their money - which we have plenty of as-is. As this plays out, and after A&M leaves and airs out some dirty laundry, Texas will have to beg one of the Pac12/B1G/SEC conferences to let them in. Heck, A&M probably will have a clause in their SEC agreement that prevents Texas from joining. Why leave a conference because of an entity only to see that entity follow you. They'll be guarding against that.

We all know what Texas is, but that didn't stop the big 8 members from turning into Disney cartoons with dollar signs spinning in their eyes as they caved to Texas's demands on the conference's formation. It won't stop that from happening with other conferences either.

Texas is more of a prize then ND, it's positioned between the conferences that will definitely still exist when the dust settles in one of the biggest states with huge TV markets they make more money then any athletic department. They can pick where they end up if they are willing to give up/make concessions on the LHN and anyone who believes otherwise is being silly.

As far as a "clause that prevents texas from joining" LOL, uhh no, no conference is going to allow someone to join and day one dictate who they might add as other members. The SEC would tell them to get bent, same as the big ten would with us if Nebraska had started naming terms to them on who they could or could not add if they expanded.

You assume no one learned anything from the debacle that was the Big12. That was the first time in modern football something like that had been done. People will be damn sure not to let it happen again. The biggest issue w/ the Big12 (i think we can all agree) was Texas. Why introduce that to your conference? It's no different than business. We've turned away clients that would have increased our revenues by double or triple by themselves, because we knew they weren't the right fit. You can torpedo a company by bringing in and trying to serve the wrong clients - same goes for a conference. Texas just isn't a good fit, no matter how much money they make.

And frankly it doesn't really matter how much they make. Texas could generate a billion dollars in athletic revenue - did we ever see any of Texas's money? It matters little how much revenue they generate for themselves, what matters is how much revenue they are going to generate for the conference. They certainly aren't going to drag the numbers down, but they aren't going to imedially boost them by 20 million a school either. Texas's athletic revenue belongs to Texas, not the conference.

And A&M would have a HUGE amount of sway in allowing Texas to join. Just as Nebraska would have a huge amount of sway on the B1G. You don't think Perlman and Osborne could provide a VERY compelling argument to the rest of the B1G regarding the denial of their membership? Hell yeah they could. And (just like in business) you're going to listen to your internal staff long before some salesman (which is what Texas would be at that point). Just like we sold ourselves to B1G, so would Texas to the B1G and SEC. They aren't just going to write a check and gain admittance as you say.

Nebraska could argue against it, so could aTm. At the end of the day neither could block it, they aren't in (or joining) the PAC where a single vote can torpedo an application. I think you are greatly overestimating how much power either school would have initially in a new conference. Hell we had way more power in the big 8 and still didn't have that ability.

"They aren't just going to write a check and gain admittance as you say."

That's not what I said at all. I said if Texas can get rid of the 2 leeches on them (bu and tech) and is willing to make concessions on their network they can choose their conference.

I don't know about them being able to just choose the conferect of theri choice. First of all they would have to get rid of their Longhorn Network which is a whopping $300 million. I just don't seem them walking away from that. They are too arrogant and just only care about themselves to do that. Although they could bring in a lot of money I dont' think a lot of conferences would want to deal the baggage Texas carries with them. They are gonna want to just push their weight around like they did in the Big12. Pac10 didnt want a deal with them last summer because they had the Longhorn Network and that would go against any ofthe other major conferece league networks. As it was said by someone else, they are a cancer, simple as that. Sometimes the money isnt worth it to deal with them.

 

[redblooded]

Yeah the AAU thing, it doesn't really drive this at all. ND would have been in the big ten any point they wanted without it.

I'm not saying its a given, but it's a lot more likely then I think people around Nebraska are willing to let themselves acknowledge. I don't want it either, but there is no way a conference turns down Texas if they get rid of it. Texas can very much pick their spot. They are sitting on mountains of money in one of the biggest states in the country. Hell they can pick the spot of a friend or two (or 3 in the pac's case) depending on the friends.

Texas is a cancer. Is the money worth the risk that your 110 year old conference will emplode in 10-20 years? No chance it is. Definately not with ND still out there. The B1G is far from hard up. It's not like the Big12 we just left, and Texas isn't the only fish in the seas. The ONLY thing Texas has going for it will be their money - which we have plenty of as-is. As this plays out, and after A&M leaves and airs out some dirty laundry, Texas will have to beg one of the Pac12/B1G/SEC conferences to let them in. Heck, A&M probably will have a clause in their SEC agreement that prevents Texas from joining. Why leave a conference because of an entity only to see that entity follow you. They'll be guarding against that.

We all know what Texas is, but that didn't stop the big 8 members from turning into Disney cartoons with dollar signs spinning in their eyes as they caved to Texas's demands on the conference's formation. It won't stop that from happening with other conferences either.

Texas is more of a prize then ND, it's positioned between the conferences that will definitely still exist when the dust settles in one of the biggest states with huge TV markets they make more money then any athletic department. They can pick where they end up if they are willing to give up/make concessions on the LHN and anyone who believes otherwise is being silly.

As far as a "clause that prevents texas from joining" LOL, uhh no, no conference is going to allow someone to join and day one dictate who they might add as other members. The SEC would tell them to get bent, same as the big ten would with us if Nebraska had started naming terms to them on who they could or could not add if they expanded.

You assume no one learned anything from the debacle that was the Big12. That was the first time in modern football something like that had been done. People will be damn sure not to let it happen again. The biggest issue w/ the Big12 (i think we can all agree) was Texas. Why introduce that to your conference? It's no different than business. We've turned away clients that would have increased our revenues by double or triple by themselves, because we knew they weren't the right fit. You can torpedo a company by bringing in and trying to serve the wrong clients - same goes for a conference. Texas just isn't a good fit, no matter how much money they make.

And frankly it doesn't really matter how much they make. Texas could generate a billion dollars in athletic revenue - did we ever see any of Texas's money? It matters little how much revenue they generate for themselves, what matters is how much revenue they are going to generate for the conference. They certainly aren't going to drag the numbers down, but they aren't going to imedially boost them by 20 million a school either. Texas's athletic revenue belongs to Texas, not the conference.

And A&M would have a HUGE amount of sway in allowing Texas to join. Just as Nebraska would have a huge amount of sway on the B1G. You don't think Perlman and Osborne could provide a VERY compelling argument to the rest of the B1G regarding the denial of their membership? Hell yeah they could. And (just like in business) you're going to listen to your internal staff long before some salesman (which is what Texas would be at that point). Just like we sold ourselves to B1G, so would Texas to the B1G and SEC. They aren't just going to write a check and gain admittance as you say.

Nebraska could argue against it, so could aTm. At the end of the day neither could block it, they aren't in (or joining) the PAC where a single vote can torpedo an application. I think you are greatly overestimating how much power either school would have initially in a new conference. Hell we had way more power in the big 8 and still didn't have that ability.

"They aren't just going to write a check and gain admittance as you say."

That's not what I said at all. I said if Texas can get rid of the 2 leeches on them (bu and tech) and is willing to make concessions on their network they can choose their conference.

I don't know about them being able to just choose the conferect of theri choice. First of all they would have to get rid of their Longhorn Network which is a whopping $300 million. I just don't seem them walking away from that. They are too arrogant and just only care about themselves to do that. Although they could bring in a lot of money I dont' think a lot of conferences would want to deal the baggage Texas carries with them. They are gonna want to just push their weight around like they did in the Big12. Pac10 didnt want a deal with them last summer because they had the Longhorn Network and that would go against any ofthe other major conferece league networks. As it was said by someone else, they are a cancer, simple as that. Sometimes the money isnt worth it to deal with them.

There's a lot that would have to happen between now and then. Including at the very least a complete restructuring of their LHN contract, but Texas wasn't lying about one thing, they ultimately need a conference. Not even ND can be indy for all sports, and it would be even harder with 4 big 12-14-16 team conferences. Think their Texas sized ego could deal with their baseball/basketball/golf/olympic sports teams playing in the sunbelt or conference USA?

You don't have to sell me on the absolute cluster of a Athletic Department Texas has due to their entirely greed based moral system. I'm just saying that when that institution gets near all conferences seem to see is dollar signs flashing before their eyes. If they eliminate their other Texas school baggage and rework their network there isn't a conference in the country that wouldn't add them. The problem with Texas really lies in what Texas does behind the scenes/under the table and people always think "that won't happen here." Until they get a puppet commissioner like Dan Beebe (who I swear probably powers down like an automaton at Disneyland when Dodds isn't telling him what to do).

 

[huskersrule95]

Yeah the AAU thing, it doesn't really drive this at all. ND would have been in the big ten any point they wanted without it.

I'm not saying its a given, but it's a lot more likely then I think people around Nebraska are willing to let themselves acknowledge. I don't want it either, but there is no way a conference turns down Texas if they get rid of it. Texas can very much pick their spot. They are sitting on mountains of money in one of the biggest states in the country. Hell they can pick the spot of a friend or two (or 3 in the pac's case) depending on the friends.

Texas is a cancer. Is the money worth the risk that your 110 year old conference will emplode in 10-20 years? No chance it is. Definately not with ND still out there. The B1G is far from hard up. It's not like the Big12 we just left, and Texas isn't the only fish in the seas. The ONLY thing Texas has going for it will be their money - which we have plenty of as-is. As this plays out, and after A&M leaves and airs out some dirty laundry, Texas will have to beg one of the Pac12/B1G/SEC conferences to let them in. Heck, A&M probably will have a clause in their SEC agreement that prevents Texas from joining. Why leave a conference because of an entity only to see that entity follow you. They'll be guarding against that.

We all know what Texas is, but that didn't stop the big 8 members from turning into Disney cartoons with dollar signs spinning in their eyes as they caved to Texas's demands on the conference's formation. It won't stop that from happening with other conferences either.

Texas is more of a prize then ND, it's positioned between the conferences that will definitely still exist when the dust settles in one of the biggest states with huge TV markets they make more money then any athletic department. They can pick where they end up if they are willing to give up/make concessions on the LHN and anyone who believes otherwise is being silly.

As far as a "clause that prevents texas from joining" LOL, uhh no, no conference is going to allow someone to join and day one dictate who they might add as other members. The SEC would tell them to get bent, same as the big ten would with us if Nebraska had started naming terms to them on who they could or could not add if they expanded.

You assume no one learned anything from the debacle that was the Big12. That was the first time in modern football something like that had been done. People will be damn sure not to let it happen again. The biggest issue w/ the Big12 (i think we can all agree) was Texas. Why introduce that to your conference? It's no different than business. We've turned away clients that would have increased our revenues by double or triple by themselves, because we knew they weren't the right fit. You can torpedo a company by bringing in and trying to serve the wrong clients - same goes for a conference. Texas just isn't a good fit, no matter how much money they make.

And frankly it doesn't really matter how much they make. Texas could generate a billion dollars in athletic revenue - did we ever see any of Texas's money? It matters little how much revenue they generate for themselves, what matters is how much revenue they are going to generate for the conference. They certainly aren't going to drag the numbers down, but they aren't going to imedially boost them by 20 million a school either. Texas's athletic revenue belongs to Texas, not the conference.

And A&M would have a HUGE amount of sway in allowing Texas to join. Just as Nebraska would have a huge amount of sway on the B1G. You don't think Perlman and Osborne could provide a VERY compelling argument to the rest of the B1G regarding the denial of their membership? Hell yeah they could. And (just like in business) you're going to listen to your internal staff long before some salesman (which is what Texas would be at that point). Just like we sold ourselves to B1G, so would Texas to the B1G and SEC. They aren't just going to write a check and gain admittance as you say.

Nebraska could argue against it, so could aTm. At the end of the day neither could block it, they aren't in (or joining) the PAC where a single vote can torpedo an application. I think you are greatly overestimating how much power either school would have initially in a new conference. Hell we had way more power in the big 8 and still didn't have that ability.

"They aren't just going to write a check and gain admittance as you say."

That's not what I said at all. I said if Texas can get rid of the 2 leeches on them (bu and tech) and is willing to make concessions on their network they can choose their conference.

I don't know about them being able to just choose the conferect of theri choice. First of all they would have to get rid of their Longhorn Network which is a whopping $300 million. I just don't seem them walking away from that. They are too arrogant and just only care about themselves to do that. Although they could bring in a lot of money I dont' think a lot of conferences would want to deal the baggage Texas carries with them. They are gonna want to just push their weight around like they did in the Big12. Pac10 didnt want a deal with them last summer because they had the Longhorn Network and that would go against any ofthe other major conferece league networks. As it was said by someone else, they are a cancer, simple as that. Sometimes the money isnt worth it to deal with them.

There's a lot that would have to happen between now and then. Including at the very least a complete restructuring of their LHN contract, but Texas wasn't lying about one thing, they ultimately need a conference. Not even ND can be indy for all sports, and it would be even harder with 4 big 12-14-16 team conferences. Think their Texas sized ego could deal with their baseball/basketball/golf/olympic sports teams playing in the sunbelt or conference USA?

You don't have to sell me on the absolute cluster of a Athletic Department Texas has due to their entirely greed based moral system. I'm just saying that when that institution gets near all conferences seem to see is dollar signs flashing before their eyes. If they eliminate their other Texas school baggage and rework their network there isn't a conference in the country that wouldn't add them. The problem with Texas really lies in what Texas does behind the scenes/under the table and people always think "that won't happen here." Until they get a puppet commissioner like Dan Beebe (who I swear probably powers down like an automaton at Disneyland when Dodds isn't telling him what to do).

Yea you are right, a lot would have to happen. I think Texas best bet is hope that the Big12-2 can someone stick together because I am not sure who would really want Texas. Texas would have to prob get rid of their Longhorn Network to join the Pac10 and Big10 and probably the SEC too.

 

[Scarlet Overkill]

The LHN can be worked around or dropped entirely, and no conference is going to really think UT will break them up just because of the SWC and B12 (although they're probably wrong). Here's the reasons UT won't be joining the B1G: geography and culture. Think about all the talk about fitting into the B1G and how well the Huskers fit the league, etc. The B1G is composed of midwestern schools where UT's uniquely Texan culture and attitude fit very, VERY poorly. And look at a map to see how ridiculous the geography would be - especially for UT who would travel long distances all the time.

I think UT will either keep the B12 together as 9 teams or add a couple members within Texas like TCU, Houston, SMU, etc. They might try to snag a western team from the BEast or even Southern Miss or similar. UT can maintain dominance over the conference and keep the all important BCS bid. Plus they can keep the LHN if they want.

"Cultural differences" was one reason I wondered why they were seeking to get into the Pac-? last year. I don't think they fit in well with that brand name either. Outside of the Arizona schools, travel time would be ridiculous on top of that.

 

[Hercules]

I think Texas's short term plan is to stay with the Big 9, with an 8 game conference schedule. However, as we speak I guarantee that every other school in the Big 12 is looking for a new conference. Nobody is dumb enough to think that the Big 12 is going to last, and the next school that gets an offer from the PAC 12, the SEC or the BIG is going to make the jump. Oklahoma is the only school besides Texas with the clout to wait things out because they know they'll have a soft landing somewhere, even if all hell breaks loose.

Now, for Texas to join the PAC 12, or the BIG, they would have to not only lose Baylor and TT, they'd probably have to drop the Longhorn Network entirely - not just make concessions. The PAC 12 already showed they can turn Texas down last year, when they took Utah and Colorado instead of the entire Big 12 south division, which would have been more lucrative. The PAC 12 is starting their own network which will be very similar to the BTN, so there's no way they let Texas in with the Longhorn Network. I don't believe the SEC has its own network, so they might actually allow Texas to keep the Longhorn Network, but they wouldn't broadcast any games on it.

There's no doubt that conference commissioners and presidents see flashing dollar signs when they think of Texas joining their league, but none of them are stupid either. All three of those conferences are perfectly aware of what a cancer Texas was to the Big 12, even before the Longhorn Network came along. Delany is especially aware of the importance of "fit," and I don't see him pursuing Texas. There are other programs out there which are less risky, would have better fit, and would still add prestige to the Big Ten.

Furthermore, I think Texas is a long ways off from having the kind of humility needed for them to go to the PAC 12 or the BIG.