Do you honestly think Nebraska would be in a better position if they stayed in the Big 12? In what ways has the B1G hurt Nebraska?
Every once in a while I have to pull out an old post containing interviews from ADs and college presidents discussing how the Big XII was formed and why so many of the rules/policies were unfavorable toward Nebraska. It had everything to do with the fact that we were dominating for the decade prior to the Big XII's formation, Oklahoma had gone bust, and the little guys in the conference were afraid Nebraska would be the sole superpower. So they went out and hired a new bully (Texas) and sat mumchance while vote after vote went 11-1, with Nebraska being the sole objector.
People tend to forget about those days. They tend to wax nostalgic for teams that hated us, stabbed us in the back, and actively conspired against us. Why? I have no idea. There was no charm in the Big XII - it was and always will be about money. The Big 8 was destroyed by the bottom-feeders whom most people want to go back and play with again.
It's baffling. People simply don't know their history.
My letter to the Tulsa World after the World's sports editor, David Sittler and former Omaha writer, said NU was a baby for leaving:
[SIZE=10pt]To:[/SIZE][SIZE=10pt] 'letters@tulsaworld.com'[/SIZE]
Cc: 'dave.sittler@tulsaworld.com'
Subject: Sittler's 8/14/11 "Big 12 may be doomed by bullies and babies"
Importance: High
Dear Editor,
I appreciate it if you would publish the below as a refutation of Dave Sittler’s article referenced above.
For over a year now, Dave Sittler has groundlessly accuse Nebraska of being cowards, babies, etc because Nebraska has had the good foresight to leave the Big 12 conference for the Big 10 Conference. But Sunday’s article was beyond
my tolerance for not responding. Sittler’s article is both childish and without support (as most of his articles are concerning Nebraska football.) As a member of the Oklahoma Cornhusker Club, I could not allow this poorly written article to go without a response. Sittler, as he has done all year, blamed the potential breakup of the Big 12 on Nebraska. He has often claimed that NU was leaving because we couldn’t beat Texas or because we lost 2 conf championship games in a row or in this case, we think of Texas as a bully. Nothing could be further from the truth and a good reporter would know better and not show his blatant biases so openly. It is obvious that Sittler has not done his homework by interviewing NU officials – he is probably reading only what Conf Chairman Bebe tells him. I noticed that last year, Sittler showed so much bitterness towards NU that he always predicted that NU would lose to their conference opponents in his weekly predictions. And I understand he is from Nebraska (or worked in Omaha) and even attended the Oklahoma Cornhusker Club a few times – years ago.
The conference had the seeds of its own breakup when it was formed – as warned by Tom Osborne. The Big 8 allowed a camel (Texas) into its tent and before long the camel would occupy the whole tent.
NU did not start the process of conference breakup. Before UN made a move to change conferences, 6 other Big 12 schools, including Tx and OU were threatening to move to the Pac 10. Missouri already voiced interest in the Big 10. Other schools were willing to jump (Texas flirted wt Big 10, Pac 10 and SEC) prior to NU making a move. Then Colorado did jump to the Pac 10 to start the ball rolling.
Fortunately for NU, the Big 10 saw NU as a very favorable addition to their conference. NU also saw that they would be in a conference of equals. A conference that gave them advantages academically as well as financially. NU saw the hand writing on the wall and was the only conference member that had the foresight to not tie their future to that of Texas. The move to the Big 10 was a great business decision and great academic decision by Nebraska. Nebraska fans are thrilled to be a part of the conference. We feel sorry for our Big 8 brothers who tied their future to Texas. Texas just cares for Texas. A&M has seen the light. I am thankful to Osborne and Chancellor Perlman for having the foresight to cut the cord from a conference dominated by Texas – the same Texas that broke up the old SW Conf (see Aug 1, 1990 below.)
I see the only baby in this situation, are those schools unwilling to let go of the sow’s (Texas) nipple and sports writers who cannot separate bias and fantasy from facts – see the list of historical facts below.