"We've voted unanimously to keep the Big 12 at 10 schools." is the most Big 12 thing ever. I knew that not expanding could happen. I couldn't fathom a scenario where this conference would take applications from 19 or so schools, then create "finalists", then come out and say that no individual schools were discussed but thanks for playing. For a conference that survived realignment by the skin of its teeth and still checks on Nebraskas Facebook status on a daily basis they have some nerve.
Except for the Big12, all the other conferences value geographic continuity as of now. And they really have no need to expand. The one that would make sense is the SEC, and they already have A&M to give them a bridge into Texas. None of the Pac12, ACC, or Big10 schools want to deal with the logistics of one conference member that's nowhere close to the rest of them. It's fine for football but hell for every other sport.
I tend to agree here. This was expansion for the sake of it. The B12 messed up years ago when they didn't try to poach other Big6 conference members when they were available. But at this point, outside of BYU, there wasn't really any brand that made a lot of sense or added a lot of value to the conference.
Football is king by an incredibly large amount. The ACC and PAC want exposure to the Texas (especially Houston) market of recruits. That doesn't have to be through UH, but they are the most approachable/compatible option.
I think this is true in theory, but practical considerations do come into play. A few years back when the B12 was on the verge of collapse and ripe for poaching, no one was interested in Baylor or Tech, and they were more appealing than UH. Other conferences only wanted those schools if they came in a package with Texas, both because Texas was the big fish and because it gave the conference a regional presence rather than an outlier school. I think UH is in the same boat - they are interesting, but not as a standalone school far away from everyone else. Even the B12, which is the most desperate of conferences, had concerns with BYU being isolated and wanting Cinci so West Virginia would not as isolated.
As long as they have a worthy team they likely won't get locked out. OU was just in the playoff last year.
An undefeated OU or Texas will always be in esp after the championship game starts. Texas moved up to 11 from unranked after one win.
This process should have had the presidents and chancellors more involved from the start to prevent this from stretching out (or maybe it was done this way to limit attention on the Baylor scandal). Vetting and interviewing could of easily been concluded within a month. There were no (two) perfect/ideal candidates and the interested schools were known from the start as no Power 5 institution was going to join the conference. As a UH fan, it's unfortunate to not have been invited but addition to the Big 12 would of helped finance the athletic department's spending. Our time will come but let's be glad the Big 12 expansion circus is over. Go Coogs!
I ran into an old buddy this past weekend who is a very heavy donor and attends many meetings. His life is pretty much anything and everything UT. From his mouth "Texas is looking to and will jump ship from the Big 12 much sooner than later, the damn Longhorn Network is hurting things though. The Big 10 has made it known very well that they would absolutely welcome them in, and quickly (They want Texas badly and would need to add another school, duh, but he has no idea who it would be and no Texas Tech is not tied to the Longhorns hip. There would also be the issue with Nebraska, but the Big 10 commish would shut them down quickly) OU seems bound for the SEC as well if Texas jumps and the OU/ Texas game will go on if and when they do indeed both leave, so no worries there. There have also been many talks lately about renewing the UT/ A&M game, and both parties seem very interested but this likely wouldn't happen this decade." So, I just believe he's just been reading the internet.
The Big 10 would be a blast with UT in it. A bunch of prestigious, Nike powerhouse schools than can recruit playing each other every week. That's FUN. The Big 12 is just throwing the ball every play and no defense, YAWN. Do NOT want OU in the SEC, but whatever.
Texas schools probably snatch more/better recruits from the north (Big10) than vice versa. Would be great for UT whether Coogs are packaged or Coogs go Big12 (or whatever major conference).
UT is an AAU member which is a requirement for B1G schools but not sure how close UH is to reaching that distinction as there's only 59 members in the nation.
The one thing that stood out to me after leaving was how would Texas still play OU and maybe A&M while still having to play the BIG 10 schedule? One tough annual out of conference schedule, doesn't seem likely to me at all.
Rough = fun. Even if you drop the rivalry games it's just FUN to play elite programs every week and complet. Ohio State in Austin was insanity a few years back. Give us Texans 3-4 of those games a year in Austin, that's awesome. Michigan Air Jordan Football vs UT KD Brand Football. Where do I buy the tickets.
Texas playing Wisconsin, Notre Dame, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State year in and year out. Lol. Texas and OU have the easiest path to the playoff staying in the Big 12. OU was just in the playoff FFS. People like to speculate and make up things but some things are pretty obvious. Texas and OU get to call the shots and play in a softer p5 conference compared to the SEC and Big 10. Nothing is going to happen for a long while.
UH met a lot of AAU metrics but still a long way to go before they get AAU accreditation. UH would need the state to invest a lot more money into the school and with the way oil is lately I doubt that there is a chance of that happening.
Texas and OU are back to recruiting really well. OU's 17 class may shape into Stoops' best class ever. They have like 17 4 star commits already. Why? Because they made the playoff and established themselves again OU is married to OSU. Texas is married to OU. There would be a lot of pressure on Texas to keep things together even past 2025 from within the state as well. This is dejavu again...pre-mature pee pee games 2.0. Fortunately, nothing will happen for years. Wake me up then.
I agree. AND, UT has a network. But man, it'd be FUN. UT has a ponzi scheme going, fooling everyone into thinking they're part of something great while they pocket everything and pray it all stays together.
Notre Dame is in the ACC for all intents and purposes but man that would be some damn fun football none the less. One thing that is being overlooked is the role the TV partners played in this whole thing. Fox basically gave the Big 12 an ultimatum, expand now and see what happens when it's time to re-up. Or scratch our back now, and we can either sweeten the pot now, later, or both. Funny how everyone thinks this was the final nail in the coffin when it's possible this move was made for the Big 12's ultimate survival.
