Expanded playoffs could have a huge impact on the non-power conferences. I would like to see every school have a direct path to a national championship. It’s fun watching the big schools play. But, the smaller schools are entertaining too, if they are playing for something that matters.
Major pointed it out, but the big issue the Big 12 faces is money. The remaining schools' budgets are tied to figures that include UT and OU. Balance sheets become smaller without those two in the conference. TCU has not been to the playoffs. Oklahoma is the only Big 12 team that has qualified for the CFP and they've never made the title game. I think too many schools saw the demise of the Big East and won't make the same "big fish, small pond" mistake again. There is no chance that either Arkansas or Missouri leave the SEC and the revenue that Texas and Oklahoma are so desperate to take part in. The same goes for Big 10 schools who currently get a nice payout from the Big 10 Network. SMU and Houston could be interested, but then the Big 12 faces the same dilemma that the SWC did: a smaller regional footprint than any other conference and, thus, smaller television/streaming revenue prospects. It would make more sense for the AAC to poach Big 12 members and try to force their way into becoming an automatic qualifier.
Winning isn’t guaranteed. TV revenue is however and you are talking leaving $100M+ on the table. I understand your reasoning but no school is going to leave that kind of money and conference security for the Big 12. Edit: Just came across this. BIG schools were already making $10M-$12M more than Big 12 schools on tv revenue alone each year. If this is true, this could easily be a $200M-$300M disparity throughout the life of the conference's next deals.
I stand corrected. I was thinking of 2014 when Baylor was 5 and TCU was 6th. Ohio state was flipped in to keep Baylor out which was 4th before the final... was thinking it was tcu that bumped baylor.
As prairie view a&m is added then SEC is questioning their moves as another powerhouse conference is assembled.
For those concerned about tv money, it's a factor but not necessarily a long term issue. If teams have good years and win against some other conferences you can build a brand. What was Oregon? There are a lot of amazing players who have come from the remaining schools... Barry Sanders LaDanian Tomlinson Thurman Thomas Mike Singletary Etc
SFA and SHSU did make their move...to the WAC (along with Abilene Christian and Lamar). Still FCS but with the goal for the entire conference to convert to FBS.
Oregon has Phil Knight and Oklahoma State had Boone Pickens... It helps when you've got mega donors who are willing to bankroll everything. Unfortunately, I don't think those names mean much to modern players. NIL and the SEC NFL factory mean more to recruits than guys who played at a given school 20 years ago.
Nobody in their right mind will let any undefeated teams from a WVU & OK State led conference get into any playoffs. Good luck.
The Big XII is on life support after OU and UT leave.... not a well ran conference. They can try to target some schools like UH or even BYU that can likely win and sometimes be of national significance, but that isn't going to be enough. They don't even have TAMU to fall back on. There is a good chance that a bunch of Texas schools are stuck trying to survive while UT and TAMU and OU get all of the money and clout. UT has been a horribly under achieving franchise, but it still is a very attractive program in an SEC situation. Beating Alabama and OU and others isn't easy, but the overall quality of the program likely improves. I do wonder when does the SEC become TOO strong and influential? My guess is with revenue being made, the answer is no time soon.
Yeah, when their programs were in worse shape... How about... Dez Bryant Andy Dalton RGIII Patrick Mahomes Tyler Lockett Jordy Nelson Xavien Howard
It's not what you got but what you spend on the program... Drayton built their stadium which is top 5 in the country.
You have no idea what you are talking about. Thinking teams are going to leave hundreds of millions on the table to go to a dying conference, tv deals not being a long term issue, Andy Dalton, Baylor having a top 5 stadium?
It's a shame he couldn't build it outside of Waco. The fact of the matter is that your points are clearly coming from a fan's perspective and that is fine. I don't think it's wrong to recognize that the evolution toward super conferences will hurt the tradition and experience of mid-tier/local teams like Baylor. But it's also completely unrealistic to think that any school in the B1G, SEC or PAC-12 is going to willingly leave an annual paycheck worth tens of millions of dollars on the table in the name of winning a lesser conference, especially if it means losing regular rivalry games. Look at how much West Virginia fans are clamoring to return to the ACC where they can play their traditional rivals again. Mississippi State and Ole Miss go to war over the Egg Bowl every year and I don't think either one would give that up in order to "compete" in a dying Big XII. One of the truly great things in college sports are regional rivalries and I agree with you that consolidation toward super conferences erodes that. However, this all operates on a cycle and it's extremely difficult to extricate yourself from downturns once you're trapped in a particular of the cycle (see: Texas underachieving for 11 years). You miss on some big recruits (Garrett Gilbert) and fall victim to injuries (David Ash) so you start to lose more games; your coach rests on his laurels and then digs his heels in when boosters think it's time to move on (Mack); the team continues to lose games for the aforementioned reasons and recruits begin to notice; you start losing out on the type of recruits you used to get and instead try to crawl back to the top with more three- and four-star guys than five; you fire that stubborn coach and miss on the hire (and the next one), causing all of this cave in on itself. What I'm trying to say is that the landscape is different than it was 10 years ago. The SEC is now the de facto NFL Draft combine. Texas and OU recognized that and decided to move on from the Big 12. This will allow them to make more money and offer their players more money due to NIL. All that matters is winning and the money that comes with it. Baylor, of all schools, has a very recent example of jeopardizing their principles in the name of those golden calves.
Where are you getting hundreds of millions? Tv deals are short term. Those aren't 25 year contracts. Players getting paid now changes recruiting. These private schools can offer cash and playing time a school like Missouri or South Carolina may not. Andy Dalton was a second round pick and started for the Bengals for nearly a decade. He played at TCU. You should read or look him up. You also seem to be unaware Baylor got a new stadium years ago... it's on a short list with Washington and Tennessee for best college stadium...
