[College Football] Big Ten, Texas have initial talks

circular reasoning.

big 12 is done if a&m leaves...otherwise, A&M's making $20 million/year per school in TV revenues, alone. nothing to sneeze at.

 

Yeah, like TAMU is worried about national title appearances.... We're obviously realists. Administration-wise at least.

 

one upset this year, and you may very well be playing for a national title. at the very least, it will be a BCS appearance.

good luck in the SEC pulling that off.

 

They'll get more in the SEC and if UT goes independent, which it wants to, the Big 12 is done. TAMU is just positioning itself as best it can. UT wants to do all kinds of seedy things with its network. TAMU doesn't even want to hear it. Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice... ain't gonna happen.

 

You'd think so, but it's not.

All things are cyclical. A&M won't suck forever. In fact, they may finally be out of the doghouse this year.

Getting your ass kicked in the SEC for a while is not nearly as damaging to your school and athletic program as staying in a dying conference, being underpaid, and waiting for UT to decide your fate yet again is.

Haters gonna hate. Doubters gonna doubt.

 

UT has made it abundantly clear that it is going to do what is best for itself, and that is inevitably going to end up with them going independent.

A&M has a chance to join a premier conference and land a more lucrative deal in the process.

No brainer.

 

They've known the Network was coming for a while. It's no surprise. They've disagreed over content...this may very well be a smokescreen for more limits on Texas in that discussion.

How do you know UT WANTS to go independent. It has a pretty sweet deal right now.

 

True, but how often is TAMU in that position? It would be foolish to hinge this decision on that.

 

It'll certainly be easier for them to do it in the SEC than it would be to do it after the Big 12 disbands and they're left without a conference.

 

No duh it has a pretty sweet deal right now.

A sweet deal at the expense of every other Big 12 school.

Whether UT wants to go independent is irrelevant, as every move they've made has distanced themselves from the conference. So, perception is reality here. If UT wanted to keep the conference together, they wouldn't have done so much to piss everyone off. So, either way, they'll get their independence. Whether desired or not. And either way, they'll benefit from it. Because they can.

Everybody wins. So, what's to complain about?

 

What's with the hater/doubter label? I just think it's a mistake. If I disagree with you I'm a hater? I'm sitting here talking about how good A&M is this season, and the advantages they're afforded by being in the Big XII.

I disagree with the premise that continuing to extend a "down" period is a good idea. I think they're making real progress that can move significantly faster in the Big XII than the SEC.

As for media dollars, the SEC is locked into two 15-year terms with CBS and ESPN. The Big XII's primary TV deal comes up again in 2015:

http://mrsec.com/2011/05/what-the-pac-12-tv-deal-means-for-the-sec/

The Big 12 figures to be the next league to get a huge revenue boost. Now with only 10 teams, that league’s per-school dollars should really boom when their primary media rights go on the market in four years. With Fox planning to put football on its main Fox network channel, you can bet a league that brings in all the Texas markets plus Kansas City, Oklahoma City, St. Louis, etc, will get an enormous bounce.

Already the Big 12 was able to negotiate a $90 million annual deal with Fox over 13 years. That’s thanks in part to ESPN’s desire to keep that league together last summer. Network executives promised the league that it would not cut the money it was paying the Big 12 if it could hold together as a 10-team league. For ESPN, the worst case scenario would have been for the Big 12 to crumble. If the SEC, Big Ten and ACC had been impacted by a wave of expansion set off by the Big 12′s demise, ESPN would have faced renegotiations with everyone at once.

 

Yes, very professional article.

 

completely disagree. TAMU SHOULD be in that position more often. as solomon said, when they're not in that position that's on them...not anyone else.

 

A&M is not going to be left without a conference. They'll be fine if UT bolts.

 

That wasn't a comment directed at you, that was moreso for Solomon and his merry band of idiots.

 

This is where you lost me.

If UT leaves the Big 12, A&M is f***ed six ways from sunday. Vice versa, not so much.

It is in their best interest to make a deal while they have options, and not to wait until they are the last one at the table when the check comes.

 

It isn't about being mad at UT (lol) or being jealous of their network like that article implies. TAMU is simply doing what's best for them. Why can no one see that? They're looking out for them, meanwhile schools like OU seem to be waiting on UT to seal their fate. TAMU athletics has serious clout, that's completely lost in the article.

 

If the Big XII goes up for grabs, all of the conferences are going to 16 teams, anyway. A&M and OU will have no problem finding a new home. These are great athletic programs.

 

OU is waiting to have their fate sealed? Really?

They're freaking OU!!! They will have a home...they'll be just fine. My guess is their phone would be ringing quite steadily if they gave the slightest indication they were shopping for a new conference. They're a powerhouse.

Schools like BU will be hoping to find a home in the new 16-team conferences.....they'll be the ones with the most to lose. A&M and OU aren't in that discussion.

 

I think you're underestimating just how worried people are over the Network and it's effects down the road.

If A&M leaves, the Big XII is done. It may hang on for a few years, but I can't imagine it's viable long-term. And it comes down to money. Why should UT share it if it doesn't have to? Notre Dame doesn't seem too upset with their football TV deal.

I also have no idea the effects of being not affiliated with a conference have on the institution as a whole, as far as research partnerships, JV's etc.... Maybe major can help me out here.