I actually got put in handcuffs that night in Baton Rouge. Corndogs are not my favorite type of people to be around. But yah the SEC tailgating experience is one of a kind. I'm pissed that our first game starts at 11:22 this weekend...have to wake up early to start drinking!
Notice, I've stayed out of this argument. I don't blame you guys for leaving. The BIG 12 or whatever it is is a joke. I would have LOVED the Pac invite! I loathe the Big 12, friggin' boring football.
Soooo boring! Pac-16 would have been a dream come true. Great football, great basketball, exceptional academics and each year you'd basically get a Big 12 powerhouse vs an overrated Pac 10 team in the conference title game. I'd root for UT or OU over USC any day in that scenario. That would also have dramatically changed the landscape. Dominoes would fall. Oh well.
Would you agree that a big part of the boredom resonates from A&M's lack of success in the past decade? I mean..you would think that the conference would have been more exciting if one of the four "brand-name" programs carried its weight.
great basketball in the pac-10? lol. and can y'all get the longhorn network opinions straight? is it the worst thing to ever happen to a conference because the huge advantage it gives ut or is it the dumbest thing ever because who wants to watch women's soccer and diving?
The tiebreaker rule was controversial, but it wasn't changed. Tiebreakers in each conference work a little differently, and each option has its share of flaws. Everyone knew what the tiebreaker in the Big12 was, and ultimately the tougher schedule is the biggest determining factor if the voters are basically evenly split (which they were). SEC teams haven't seemed to have any more trouble going undefeated than Big12 teams have. But if you have a problem with that, then compare a 1-loss Big12 team to a 1-loss Big10 or Pac12 team (or undefeated all the way around). Going forward, the Big12 team will almost certainly be left out in that scenario due to a weaker schedule and a lack of a conference championship game to impress voters with during the last weekend of the season. While the SEC, Pac10, and Big10 teams are playing championship games against potentially other top 10-15 teams this year, Texas will be playing Baylor.
http://espn.go.com/college-sports/s...big-12-discuss-leaving-conference-source-says Texas A&M president R. Bowen Loftin had a phone conversation with Missouri chancellor and Big 12 Conference board chairman Brady Deaton on Monday night about his university's desire to withdraw from the conference, a Big 12 source confirmed to ESPN's Joe Schad on Tuesday. Texas A&M could send its formal, written letter of departure as early as this week, the source said. The only holdups are threats of litigation by Big 12 members and the need to clarify exit fees. The New York Times said in a story posted on its Web site Monday night that Loftin sent a letter to Deaton to inform the league it was leaving. Texas A&M denied that report, saying Tuesday it has not sent a letter of withdrawal to the Big 12. When Colorado and Nebraska left the conference last year, they paid about half of what the Big 12 could have contended they owed upon leaving the conference, and Texas A&M would like similar treatment, the source told Schad. Texas A&M said Monday it had received a letter from Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe outlining the withdrawal procedure should the Aggies decide to leave the league. Cook said on Monday that the letter "outlines the withdrawal procedures according to the financial provisions of the Big 12 bylaws and mutual waivers of legal claims." He wouldn't provide any other details of the letter or comment on what A&M's next step might be. The Aggies are interested in joining the Southeastern Conference. Loftin sent a letter to the Big 12 last week formally telling Beebe they are exploring their options and asked for the conference to outline the process if they decide to leave. The mutual waiver of legal claims could mean the amount the Aggies would pay could be determined by mediation instead of lawsuits. Texas A&M would prefer to leave the Big 12 and have an announcement about joining the SEC before this season starts to aid with scheduling concerns and to allow the Big 12 to begin the process of adding a replacement, the source told Schad. But it is possible that process could last until the second week of Texas A&M's season, which is a bye week. The Big 12 board announced Tuesday the conference has formed a committee to discuss schools that could replace Texas A&M if the Aggies leave the league. Deaton said that the committee could also address the possibility of expanding the conference even if Texas A&M stays put. Deaton said the committee is looking at expansion in the "broadest context" and will make a recommendation to the board concerning whether expanding the conference "by one or more members" is beneficial. Adding one school, at least to start with, is the most likely scenario. The Big 12 has interest in Notre Dame, Arkansas, BYU or TCU, a source within the conference confirmed to Schad, though Notre Dame and Arkansas are considered unlikely. BYU declared its football independence this year and TCU has committed to the Big East, but the Big 12 would attempt to react as quickly as possible to the expected departure of Texas A&M. So far, the only school to publicly express interest in moving to the Big 12 is SMU. Athletic director Steve Orsini said he's had informal talks with Big 12 officials for some time to inform them of the school's improvements and growth. "I think we add stability to an (automatic qualifier) BCS conference, especially in our region," Orsini told The Associated Press. "So our goal is to return to the AQ, BCS status that we used to have. They didn't call it that back in the old Southwest Conference, but our goal is to resurrect ourselves to get back there." The Big 12, including Texas A&M, agreed to a 13-year television deal with Fox Sports in April worth more than $1 billion. There is a chance the contract could be voided if the Aggies leave the conference, which could lead to legal issues for Texas A&M and its new league. "The Big 12 remains a strong conference with a very effective media contract in place," Deaton said in a statement Tuesday. The league's board of directors addressed the possible departure of the Aggies last weekend. "I certainly appreciate the discussion among the Big 12 presidents/chancellors and the expression of their desire for Texas A&M to remain in the conference," Loftin said in a statement Monday afternoon before The New York Times report. "We all agree that Texas A&M is an extremely valuable institution; thus, it is incumbent upon me, as the president of the university, to ensure that we are in a position to enhance our national visibility and future financial opportunity." Loftin added this is a "complex and long-term decision," but "it is not our intent to prolong our conference exploration for an extended period of time." The SEC said earlier this month it was happy with its current 12-school membership but left the door open to expansion. Loftin then received authority from the board of regents to take any action he deems necessary in terms of realignment.
No. I'm talking about Tech vs Texas compared to Florida vs Georgia and so forth. Ya follow? Big time matchups. Suckers.
suckers http://www.cnbc.com/id/44329182 Texas A&M's Addition To SEC Wouldn't Mean Much To TV Contracts There's been much talk about the SEC's television contracts and how the addition of Texas A&M would change the conference. If the conference is different, even by one member, the thinking goes that the SEC could re-open its television deals with CBS and ESPN, deals that were signed in 2009 and now seem to be below market value. But adding A&M won't mean that CBS and ESPN will automatically have to pay more than the $825 million and the $2.25 billion they respectively agreed to pay for 15 years of rights. Why? Because there's already protections in its current contract. It's called a composition of conference clause and it says that if the composition of the conference changes, the networks and the conference has to prove whether the change makes the conference TV rights more or less valuable. Texas A&M adds some of Texas, but it does not deliver the state of Texas like the Longhorns do. And the SEC already has a lucrative championship game. "Adding one or two teams does not cause the entire agreement to be renegotiated," said Neal Pilson, former CBS Sports president, who now consults on television deals. While Pilson said it's hard to argue that A&M's addition would dilute the conference, he says the Aggies have "minimal impact." "There are smart people at both ESPN and CBS and I would anticipate that they foresaw this type of contingency," Pilson said. "Based on their record over a period of time, it doesn't appear like Texas A&M is going to be in the top tier of teams in the SEC. So if there's any adjustment to the TV deals, I would anticipate that it would be a very modest adjustment, if anything." If A&M was added as an equal partner, the TV deals would have to be bumped up by 8.3 percent in order for the SEC members to make the same money they make now off the TV deals. It's not a guarantee that will happen.
On a week to week basis, everyone I know enjoyed the Ohio State games in 2005 and 2006 a whole lot more than the Rice, Kansas, etc games. Win or lose, the Ohio State game in 2005 was awesome to watch, and the build up to it was incredible. The Kansas game, on the other hand, was just biding time until the Big12 Championship. It was over in the first quarter and boring as hell. Even the 2006 OSU game - a loss - was a whole lot more fun to experience than watching a 60-14 blowout of some nobody team. Were Longhorn fans excited to win a national championship? Of course. But that's a pretty rare thing. I'd be much more entertained by watching great matchups than just playing scrubs so we can win one. The purpose of sports, after all, is entertainment. SEC teams seem to have no problem both playing exciting games and winning national titles; I think it's pretty silly that a school would run away from that because they are scared of a loss. Texas (finally) seems to agree by trying to upgrade their OOC schedule. As for the finances, I think the biggest value of A&M to the SEC comes when they launch the SEC Network. It would get immediate distribution to households in Texas, and that IS worth a fortune. It's the same reason the Big10 ultimately wants to expand to the NY markets. Even if the ratings aren't great, the cable providers in those markets would have to carry that network.
Winning and being in title contention > Big time matchups. I mean, what matchups are bigger than BCS or NC games?
Major, there is a difference between running away from competition and putting your program in a worse position by running to a tougher situation. I think UTs OOC schedule improved because programs that were strong within the conference lost some of their luster. I also think some of the big game matchups have to do with $$ and increasing the Longhorn brand. But there is nothing wrong with staying in a competitive conference and being happy having an easier path to the NC game then teams in other conferences. That's not running away from anything. It's being in a good situation and realizing it. The Big 12 is not the SWAC.
That was true in the old Big12. In the new Big12, it's more and more likely that a Big12 team will be the odd man out in a situation of 3 undefeateds or 3 one-loss teams, both due to quality of conference and because of a lack of title game to bolster the best team's resume. It's similar to how a BigEast or ACC team is always the odd man out if there are equal record SEC, Pac10, Big12, or Big10 schools. The new Big12 is moving closer to the ACC and BigEast than the other 3.
I'd love the Pac12/16. Matchups and trips to California, Arizona, Washington, and Oregon sound a hell of a lot more fun than going to Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, Lubbock or Waco. Along with OkieState, the UCLA game will be probably be my favorite game to attend this year. Add to that the increased academic connections for UT and its a win-win for everyone.
The distances play a role. Asking students and alums to travel that far on a regular basis is a bit much.
The southern division wouldn't be any worse of a travel schedule than the Big 12 saw when it was whole. ASU, Zona, TTU, UT, A&M, OU, OSU, etc. They'd play maybe 1 North division team a year.
