Max Olson: After 2 days of meetings between Bowlsby and Big 12 ADs/decision makers, I’m not gonna say there’s consensus yet but there seems to be a sense that a) these 8 remaining members are working together and b) there’s a real sense it’s time to talk about expansion and these are the 4 schools that seem to have the easiest time gaining support. Sam Khan: Imperative they expand. Long term survival of this conference hinges on them getting bigger. Too vulnerable at 8. … Adding these schools,…BYU has a national brand. UCF recent success. Cincinnati recent success. Houston not immediate recent success but history in the last 17 years of being a team that’s a factor for a NY6 bowl game. These teams make sense. MO: There is definitely a change in tone since Thursday when the PAC12 announced they’re not expanding. There seems to be an understanding now that’s not gonna happen in the near future. … As I’ve reported in the past, there was reluctance about Houston in 2016. They did not bring Houston into the mix because Texas did not want Houston in the Big 12. Now there’s a different tone. Are there political concerns about bringing Tilman Fertitta and Houston leadership into the Big 12? Yeah there are a little bit but seems to be an understanding let’s put politics aside. Houston makes the conference strong. You can quibble over the TV and value and all that stuff but as a Houston grad, what do you think? SK: Very much in the camp of I’ll believe it when I see it when it comes to Houston to the Big 12. Historically, the Big 12 has always been resistant to Houston, even when the conference first formed between the Big 8 and SWC. There’s still a lot of hurt feelings in Houston about that. And then the expansion process in 2016 that wasn’t expansion. Tilman Fertitta called it a sham. He wasn’t the only one who felt that way. MO: He teed off on Bob Bowlsby. SK: And Tilman was smarting a little bit. Texas had just hired Tom Herman. Fertitta tried hard to keep him there. Not only did a Big 12 school take a coach he wanted to keep, they also offered a chance for expansion then made them go through a dog & pony show and didn’t do it. A lot of Houston officials felt upset and felt the time/money/effort was wasted in that process. All that said, if the Big 12 is trying to make the best football conference, BYU has been successful, Cincinnati has been successful, UCF has been successful and Houston has shown it can have success and it’s committed financially. It has a $75M athletic budget which ranks with some lower end P5. They have put facilities. New stadium in 2014. One of the best basketball arena and facilities in the country. They’re working on trying to get a football office building. One of his (Dana’s) next priorities is a $60M stand alone football operations building. They have to raise the money and do all that still but that’s a priority and Houston officials feel like it’s something that could be sooner rather than later. They are committed to competing at the highest level. Renu Khator has always been aggressive in positioning them in athletics. MO: Obvious question here is when? What point does the Big 12 go back to having 12 members? If this is the plan they can reach consensus on, I’ve heard it could move quickly from the standpoint of selecting members and making those invitations. I’m sure there’s more homework to be done in terms of getting all presidents on board. As it stands today, this could move quickly. In terms of bringing schools into the Big 12, there are obvious obstacles. There’s still Texas and Oklahoma still being in the Big 12 and claiming they’ll be in the Big 12 until the summer of 2025. If they give notice, that changes things. Perhaps the Big 12 figuring out it’s future makes it easier to engage in that conversation of when should Texas/Oklahoma leave. No point in predicting how that negotiation would go. The other part of this is if the Big 12 is targeting members of the AAC, the AAC requires 27 months notice and a $10M fee. In 2019, UConn left the AAC and within a month negotiated that down to 12 months notice but they were going to the Big East and independent in football. That’s much less of a threat to the future of the AAC. They were able to negotiate that down to 12 months for $17M. When you think about that timeframe, I assume Mike Aresco is not trying to let them leave early. Is this 2024? 2025? I don’t know. I’m not sure they know. It creates some intrigue. As has been the case, things are moving faster than expected. SK: If you’re the Big 12, remaining 8 schools, Bob Bowlsby, you have to assume Oklahoma/Texas will try to get out for 2022. If you do not prepare for that,…it’s imperative for the Big 12 to operate as if Texas/Oklahoma will not be members next year. … AAC exit, that’s going to hurt the AAC’s media rights deal. I imagine Mike Aresco will fight to make sure they’re made whole. Timing part is most fascinating but imperative upon the Big 12 to move as quickly as they can.
Get R Done Houston deserves the chance to play with the big boys Who would hurt that the most? A&M, OU, UT.
We went nuts when we were cutting down the nets in March. This is just good news and I would be ecstatic for UH fans! Y’all are ready to hang a banner for going to the SEC.. rang at since 2005? FOH with this going nuts talk
I mostly ignore your posts to be considerate but Baylor will always be rape U. No one ****ing likes you guys and you'll never get a invite to a good conference. I'm not super crazy about the UT to SEC move but the biggest saving grace is we'll be separated from an institute and fandom that we don't respect. Seriously. **** Baylor and all the fans that spent the better part of a year defending the indefensible. In all seriousness, UH fans are very very annoying and I can't stand Fertilla but an improvement in their conference is good for the city of Houston so I would be happy for you guys underneath. Outwardly, I'm still going to be condescending of course but there will be a part of me that's happy for the city.
UH fans are annoying and you are not. Whatever helps you sleep better at night, bub. I make a small passing comment about Texas and you get this triggered. You love to see it
Why wouldn't I be annoying to other fan Because OU and UT are going to be in a much better conference while TT, BU & TCU will be in the exact same conference as UH. Like a lot of Houston metro kids might wonder why they should leave their friends and family to go to Waco, Ft Worth or Lubbock when they can stay home and be in the same conference. It might be worth leaving to Bryan, Austin or Norman to play in what is seen by most everyone as a superior conference that produces more NFL talent.
The high 4 and 5 stars might still want to play in the SEC so youre right about that. Baylor isn't getting those guys atm.. high 3 stars, a few fringe 4 stars
Texas has always hated UH. Recruiting base for one thing. When Houston was strong on the football field or the B-Ball court, It always weaken UT's ability to recruit Houston.
UH from the late 70s to early 90s was better in basketball and football than UT. Most of that was homegrown talent. UT relied heavily on Houston. UT kept UH out of the Big 12 for multiple reasons...including recruiting.
UH was also really good during the Briles, Sumlin and Herman eras. I don't recall UT losing recruits to UH outside of Ed Oliver who ended up following his coach to UH. Not saying recruiting wasn't a factor, UH in the Big 12 would've have been a direct competitor. But not sure I agree that strong UH have always weakened UT's ability to recruit the area, especially if you mean that kids were choosing to stay home vs going to UT.
