It definitely used to require unanimity - many people say Stanford vetoed Texas joining back in the 1990's - but Scott got approval last year to do as he felt was best. Whether that continues into this year, I'm not really sure, but Scott seems to wield a huge amount of power there. From what I've heard, if he recommends something, everyone will probably fall in line - I don't think that will be a problem for expansion for the Pac12. That said, I think the CU/AZ thing is a real concern, but is easily addressable by avoiding the East/West system. I don't think UT or OU would be thrilled with an East/West alignment either - everyone wants the regular games in California. It's interesting how different the reports are coming from Baylor, Texas, and OU. An OU source also reported that OU is likely to withdraw from the Big12 next week, and Chip Brown is obviously being fed stuff from UT. I wonder how much is simply multiple things going along different tracks - even if OU is planning on leaving, they are probably working on expansion options in case they stay for whatever reason, etc. And, of course, people seem to be hiding stuff from each other - that Tech source reported that they weren't informed about the OU/TX meeting. No idea what's really going on behind the scenes at this point.
Didn't see this one posted- SoonerScoop.com's Carey Murdock is reporting that multiple sources have told him that Oklahoma intends to join the Pac-12, and that Monday could be the date the Sooners withdraw from the Big 12. In an update posted on the SoonerScoop.com premium forum, Murdock is also reporting that he's hearing that the Pac-12 would invite Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech, "which would essentially dissolve the (Big 12)." Murdock adds the following regarding the inclusion of Tech in that group: "I was surprised to hear about the Tech situation and I'm still a bit skeptical, but it does make some sense. If you take out three teams, then OU can argue that the conference is dissolved, clearing them of legal issues and taking the pressure off of just Oklahoma."
Isn't there a superstition about if 13 sit a table, one of them or the first to get up will perish or cursed or something... For some, that all of sudden sounds ominous.
<iframe width="420" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/HdGOOVqaVE0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> (relevant)
LOL, sorry I'm going to get up on my big texxx horse and say - yes the Pac-12 (Stanford, UC-Berkely, UCLA, UW, et al) is just burning up the phone lines to tap into the hot commodity that is Texas Technological University- Lubbock Campus.....as a legal fig leaf...heh heh heh. Either way, lay off the pipe..somebody needs it for welding class.
September 13, 2011 Please don't be true....I am pretty sure UT is feeding this to give them leverage ACC may be gaining steam as potential home for Texas Chip Brown Orangebloods.com Columnist Talk about it in Inside the 40 Acres Sources told Orangebloods.com on Tuesday that Texas is looking more and more to the east and the Atlantic Coast Conference as a potential home if the Big 12 falls apart with Oklahoma and Oklahoma State staring down the Pac-12 and Texas A&M counting down the days until it can join the Southeastern Conference. Here are 5 reasons why the ACC could make more sense for Texas than the Pac-12: 1. The student-athlete If it's really and truly about the student-athlete (and we know it's not when it comes to realignment, but let's just pretend for a moment), then it makes more sense for the Longhorns to travel east for athletic competitions than west. Student-athletes would be gaining an hour by traveling back to Austin from the Eastern Time Zone as opposed to losing one or two hours by traveling across two time zones from the west back to Austin in the Pac-12. 2. Academics According to the new college rankings published Tuesday in U.S. News and World Report, Texas (45) would be joining a conference with schools such as Duke (10), Virginia (25), Wake Forest (25), North Carolina (29), Boston College (31), Georgia Tech (36), Miami (38), Maryland (55), Clemson (68) and Virginia Tech (71). The lowest rated schools in the ACC, according to U.S. News and World Report, are Florida State and North Carolina State, which are tied at 101st. In other words, more than half the ACC is ranked ahead of Texas on the list. Good company. The Pac-12 has good academics, too, thanks to Stanford (5), Cal (21), USC (23), UCLA (25) and Washington (42). But there's a big drop-off from Washington to Colorado (94), and half the Pac-12 is ranked below 100 - Oregon (101), Arizona (124), Utah (124), Arizona State (132) and Oregon State (138). By the way, potential Pac-16 members Oklahoma (101), Oklahoma State (132) and Texas Tech (138) would not help raise that conference's profile on the list. 3. Football and basketball Let's call it like we see it. When it comes to college football, everyone is jockeying for second place behind the Southeastern Conference. No one is going to claim the ACC has good or even great depth as a football conference. In fact, it has underperformed as a conference since the league last won a national title in 2001 (Miami). But there's tradition. Florida State dominated in the 1990s. Miami was a force through the 1980s, 1990s and into the early 2000s. Virginia Tech is a perennial power under Frank Beamer. Boston College had Doug Flutie. Clemson had Danny Ford. North Carolina had Mack Brown. And Georgia Tech won that shared national title in 1990. But while the ACC is in limbo, so, too, is the Pac-12. Like the ACC (Miami and North Carolina), the Pac-12 now finds itself with two programs either reprimanded by the NCAA (USC) or under NCAA investigation (Oregon). And outside of Oregon last season; USC when Pete Carroll was there; and Stanford when Jim Harbaugh was there, the Pac-12 hasn't exactly been lighting up the college football world. But when it comes to college basketball, the ACC would rival the Big East in college basketball if the ACC were to bring in Texas or grow to 16 by possibly adding the likes of Kansas, Missouri and Baylor. 4. The non-revenue sports The ACC has great baseball programs thanks to Florida State, Clemson, North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Miami and Virginia. While the Pac-12 schools have had a lot of success in Omaha in the past, the ACC was second as a conference in RPI (just behind the SEC) and ahead of the Pac-12 - UCLA, Arizona State, USC, Stanford. If the Big 12 ceases to exist, the ACC probably is No. 1 in women's basketball. In other words, the non-revenue sports are strong in the ACC and provide a solid home for Texas' "other" sports. 5. The Longhorn Network This could easily be No. 1 on the list. It's that important for Texas to hold together LHN. It will be a bit of a sales job and will require the help of ESPN, but in all likelihood Texas can keep the Longhorn Network and its revenue ($15 million per year for 20 years) by going to the ACC, something the Pac-12 would be unwilling to consider. The ACC is in the first year of a new, 12-year deal with ESPN, which controls the Tier 1, 2 and 3 TV rights in the ACC. And with no Big 12 left to spend money on (in all likelihood), ESPN can probably help make the Longhorn Network palatable to the ACC by giving the ACC a break-the-bank television deal with Texas on board that will blow the ACC members away. Consider it a reward to the ACC for accepting Texas' unique revenue stream. But there would be incentive for the ACC to take Texas. The Southeastern Conference and Big Ten stand to poach schools out of the ACC if it appears the college arms race is leading to 16-team super conferences. The ACC could help fortify its walls by adding Texas and a school like Kansas. FINAL ANALYSIS: While everyone is asking why Texas wouldn't simply head to the Pac-12 with Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech like they were about to do last summer until the 11th hour, a lot has changed that must be considered. Texas now has the Longhorn Network, which UT's administration and regents are enamored with for a number of reasons, including a $5 million contribution to academics for the first five years of UT's 20-year deal with ESPN. And the Pac-12 now has a series of regional networks that are not compatible with LHN. The Pac-12 also has the most restrictive "all rights in" agreement of any conference in the BCS. The Pac-12 even has the rights to its members' web sites. Texas has been monetizing its own web site for years. So with LHN in pulling in $15 million in revenue on its own annually, for Texas to strip down LHN and share revenue with another school and the Pac-12, it would be like going from a free-market economy to socialism. And no one at UT is looking to take a pay cut in a new conference home. If Texas is making between $30 million and $33 million per year right now in the Big 12, the Longhorns will be looking to make that same money elsewhere. Texas is trying to convince Oklahoma and Oklahoma State to look east (ACC) - not west (Pac-12). Right now, OU is not thinking that way. Don't rule out Kansas as a possible ACC target. It's time for Texas fans and faithful to start getting their heads around a possible move to the ACC. It's by no means a done deal. But it's looking more and more like Option No. 1 for the Longhorns if the Big 12 falls apart. Stay tuned.
The ACC huh? That would be awesome, not much competition in football, and we would get to see some great hoops and college baseball here in Austin. Yes please. DD
It does not matter who Baylor gets to represent them. None of the Big XII members signed the TV deal. The TV deal was between FOX and Big XII, Inc. The contract for conference membership includes exit provisions with a fee (like liquidated damages). So long as A&M follows the exit provisions, I cannot see how a suit could succeed. I cannot see how Baylor can sue the SEC for inducing A&M to break a TV contract they did not sign.
What would Texas really hope to accomplish by "flirting" with the ACC? I just don't see that strategy rousing the B1G or Pac 12 to not force the Longhorns to entirely renegotiate the LHN at all, mainly because I don't think they see themselves as really competing with the ACC. I also do not think the ACC would be talked into bringing Texas into the fold for all sports excepting football (a la Notre Dame in Big East), because they really need the Texas conference games to boost ratings and Longhorns past BCS success to ensure they maintain their AQ status.
