Lets take a look back on the SWC Mediocre football, cheating scandals, Arkansas leaving & bad business led to the demise of the SWC. A&M's hands PLENTY dirty. Wow, the more things change the more things stay the same. UT to Pac-10 / A&M to SEC talk in 1992? A&M has had SEC sights for 20 years? The point is A&M did the SAME EXACT "arrogance" THEN along WITH UT. They were ripping off their conference neighbors probably worse THEN as UT is doing NOW. Back then it used to be "Texas AND Texas A&M". Which means they BOTH were together doing good AND BAD stuff TOGETHER.
Depending on when the acts giving rise to a potential claim for interference occurred, I don't know when lawyers would have reviewed that, if at all. I'm certain they're looking at it now, though. Are you sure you understand what tortious interference is? I don't mean that to be rude...it's part of what I do in commercial litigation and but for that I wouldn't be exposed to it unless I or my business were sued.
I don't know if the lawsuit will come or not....but consider the amount of money lost to a school like Iowa State in this deal, assuming they get left in the cold somewhere. They will never see that kind of money again (the kind in the deal with Fox). If that's the case, that's the measure of their damages, and it will be steep. Groups don't typically walk away from claims like that. And that won't be dragging Fox through the mud at all....if Fox rescinds the deal, which seems perfectly reasonable if all this goes down, that fact will be established with or without Fox being involved at all.
Josh - You have made this statement more than once so Im wondering if you can provide a source. I have yet to read anything that states that UT is trying to stop this from happening. Please cite anything that specifically says this as I'm very interested in reading it, I'm not trying to be facetious at all by the way.
Wouldn't the defense depose FOX to determine why that determination was made, etc? Since TLN is a big piece of why A&M is claiming to be leaving, wouldn't all the details of the discussions between UT and ESPN come out? From a defense standpoint, if I'm trying to arguing that the Big12 screwed me over, I'd want all of the inside information on how the contracts were negotiated, what the agreements were in deciding TLN's plans, etc.
I don't think there's any question about this. UT drives the Big12 - it's UT's people that are looking for replacement members instead of the B12 offices! Any action the Big12 takes is going to be driven by what Texas is pushing - that means these threats of lawsuits, for example, are - at least in part - being pushed by UT. UT has always stated a strong desire for A&M and UT to stay together since last year's mess. Part of the reason that the Pac16 deal came apart was that A&M wanted to go to the SEC instead of the Pac16 and UT wasn't happy with that.
I can't see any way this can stop now. Too much momentum. Too many bridges burned. So, who does everyone want as the 10th member of the new Big 12? Or for that matter, the 11th and 12th members?
To be fair, I think we all said the same thing last year. Everyone wanted out, everyone was unhappy, it seemed the Pac16 was assured and everyone was on board, etc. There are too many players (all the other B12 schools, the Legislature) that want to kill this that it's not done until someone announces something.
That was a titanic shift. To think that was going to go down in the blink of an eye was just premature and silly. This is just one school. And it is a change that has been brewing for a looong time. I have to think the likelihood is far greater this time. I do agree there are hurdles to cross still, but I think they're closer to the jump than they are to staying put. Any scenario that squashes this is just going to create a worse situation moving forward, and I don't see the divorce doing any harm to the kids. So, as long as the Texas legislature and school administrators does what is best for the State (lol, when is the last time that happened, amirite?), then it's a forgone conclusion.
On this part - wouldn't this be the case everytime a conference steals big time members from other conferences? For example, when VaTech/Miami left for the ACC, didn't the other BigEast members lose out? Or when TCU and Utah left the MWC for their new conferences, the rest of the MWC certainly loses out (for example, they would have had a guaranteed BCS bid and $16MM payday in a year or so). I don't know the legalese of what is being alleged, but the conference and the member school will always have plenty of behind the scenes discussions to assure mutual interest long before any invite is made. I'm not sure what is different here?
I agree with that - I definitely think it's much higher than 50/50 that this happens. And I think, at this point, A&M staying is going to cause more resentment and anger - just a bad situation all around to have a member that was threatened into staying. I can't recall any similar scenario out there in the past. I'm REALLY hoping the SEC invites Mizzou too. It seems like the Big12 is trying to stay together, and Mizzou would be the nail in the coffin. I think if they get offered, they jump. They wanted out last year and almost got left without a conference, so it seems like the stability of the SEC would be a huge selling point for them, despite it's academic reputation. The Pac10, Big10, and SEC are only conferences that no one ever seems to be wanting to leave.
1. sure. a deposition of a corp. rep for Fox to say the deal changed and that's why they're walking out. in a potential $1 billion lawsuit, I don't think that would be an impediment; 2. A&M's claims about UT/ESPN would be irrelevant if Fox says it terminated the agreement because A&M left the conference. If A&M is going to claim UT breached some agreeement then they'd bring it as a cross-claim against UT or in a separate proceeding, potentially. This is about Fox's deal with the Big XII.
@McMurphyCBS Brett McMurphy RT @richardjustice: State Rep. Dan Branch tells Dallas Morning News if Aggies leave he hopes Big 12 will add SMU or Houston @McMurphyCBS Brett McMurphy Eliminate at least two possible Big 12 candidates: BYU & Louisville ADs tell @CBSSports they are happy where they are
when has a conference disbanded and major tv money lost like what is certainly possible here? texas, ou, osu, and tech will be fine, but i certainly understand why the rest would be upset and persued any possible legal action if they went from $10mil plus guaranteed to scrambling to find a home in a conference with a much less lucrative deal.
There are buyout provisions, typically. But before year 1 of a 13 year agreement? This is a $1 billion deal set to start this year....
billyliucci Billy Liucci Contrary to reports, no news out of SEC land ... yet. Expect something pretty shortly, however. Be surprised if the meeting lasted long.
