Playing 'what if'...What if the Big XII booted Texas and got the band back together?

VectorVictor

VectorVictor

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Just follow me here for a second...

It seems as if Colorado, Nebraska, A&M, and (now) Missouri all have problems with the same school, Texas.

Schools like TCU, SMU, and Houston are wanting automatic BCS bid conference homes.

Why doesn't Chuck Neinas get the other Big XII ADs to boot Texas, get commits from the departed schools to come back, and add the above TX schools to go to 14?

Yes, I understand that Texas' absence would put a dent in the Big XII contract negotiations coming up. But the Big XII is currently looking at losing the Denver, St. Louis, KC, and Houston markets since their last discussion thanks to Texas being Texas in the Big IX (soon to be Big VIII). That would be almost as devastating as dropping Texas completely.

By removing the cancer from the patient, you can add the Texas schools to keep the DFW and Houston markets (Austin is lost), get your second-best program back (that's us folks), and you keep Denver, KC, and St. Louis intact. Also, you get an additional $20+ million/year (per B1G and Pac-12 deals) for your title game that gets split 14 ways that wasn't there before.

Yes, it would be a hard sell...but isn't selling the remaining Big IX members on a long-term future with Houston, Denver, KC, and St. Louis markets being replaced with BYU and whatever flotsam or jetsam happens to wash up just as hard?

(and yes, I realize that this is as likely as Mila Kunis showing up at my door with a permission note from my wife, but if you're tasked with saving a dying patient, aren't you supposed to explore *all* options?)

 
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matthew_m_g said:
NU41SB said:
Personally, I am liking the B1G. Not sure that I would want the university to go back. JMO to each their own
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Don't get me wrong--I do too. I'm just saying, if you're Chuck Neinas, shouldn't this be your best way to fix the conference?
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I agree this very well could or should be Neinas's plan A for fixing the Big 12. However I don't see Nebraska going back now that were in the B1G and everyone is happy. Your plan really should of happened before Colorado and Nebraska even left.

 
wildman said:
matthew_m_g said:
NU41SB said:
Personally, I am liking the B1G. Not sure that I would want the university to go back. JMO to each their own
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Don't get me wrong--I do too. I'm just saying, if you're Chuck Neinas, shouldn't this be your best way to fix the conference?
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I agree this very well could or should be Neinas's plan A for fixing the Big 12. However I don't see Nebraska going back now that were in the B1G and everyone is happy. Your plan really should of happened before Colorado and Nebraska even left.
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Ideally, yes. But Oklahoma's, Missouri's, and A&M's contempt for Texas wasn't out in the open, where it needed to be to gain traction on such a movement.

 
If this happened, I think Nebraska would lose a ton of respect nationally from college football fans as well as the media. The perception would be that we were just "using" the Big 10. I think this would be a terrible idea and don't really know how it would benefit Nebraska. Sure we would get the rivalries back that some people were up in arms about losing but other than that I don't know what we would get. Not more money. Less future academic prestige. It would be a lose, lose IMO. The B1G may be behind the Big 12 in terms of quality of teams but they are WAY ahead in terms of Tradition, Money, and Academics. I love where we are now.

 
First off, any notion of us going back to the Big 12 or Texas being kicked out is ridiculous. We would be pariahs for conference jumping twice, hated by the Big 10 and Big 12, and Texas would never be kicked out just because people don't like them. Like it or not Texas is the biggest money machine and probably has the largest fan base in CFB.

I don't think there's anything that could have been done to direct the Big 12 to a position of strength like the SEC rather than the current state of squabbling, greed, and instability. I didn't realize how much of a hangover from the SWC still lingers in Texas and there's overwhelming opposition to adding more Texas schools among the existing ones, either because of recruit greed or a genuine desire to not recreate the circumstances that tore apart the SWC (in state rivalries, cheating at programs that want to get good fast, politics, etc.).

It's best for everyone that we're out and the new Big 12 comish isn't acting rash. It seems that Texas was at least slightly humbled by the Pac-12 rejecting them and the prospect of the ACC not appealing at all, and realizing that a stronger Big 12 is the best option even if they had to make concessions. And they did with the vote for equal revenue sharing for most TV...and probably the eventual realization that the LHN is becoming more of a headache than it's worth since nobody wants to carry it.

 
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I presume this conversation is SOLELY about football, because academically this is a laughable premise. There is NO WAY, and I cannot stress that enough, that we would voluntarily leave the Big Ten. Joining this conference is a complete home run for Nebraska, both athletically and academically, and the BTN is a HUUUUGE benefit for the fans.

Even if it's solely about football, and no other considerations went into this decision, still you stay with the Big Ten. Three of the top seven all-time winningest teams in college football history reside in this conference - four with Nebraska. These are programs built on tradition, longevity and stability. This is not a fraternity you leave. 25 years from now can you honestly say that Iowa State football, Missouri football, Kansas football, or any other teams in the current Big XII, aside from Oklahoma, will do their utmost to field a solid team? I can guarantee you that Nebraska will. Not even Texas can point to their history and claim this - just look at their record in the 80s and 90s. But you can also guarantee that Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State will be striving for supremacy, every year, from now until then. That's a much more stable base than the Big XII would offer.

We have too much integrity as a school to join the SEC. We'd stick out like a puritan at a brothel in that conference.

 
knapplc said:
I presume this conversation is SOLELY about football, because academically this is a laughable premise. There is NO WAY, and I cannot stress that enough, that we would voluntarily leave the Big Ten. Joining this conference is a complete home run for Nebraska, both athletically and academically, and the BTN is a HUUUUGE benefit for the fans.
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Just football--I know the potential grant monies we'll earn in the Big 10 due to the CIC outweigh the big fat zero of the Big XII.

And this is a big 'what if'--I'm perfectly content in the Big 10. If anything, just feel sorry for some of the smaller schools from time to time.

Call it survivor's guilt, I suppose.

 
Colorado and Nebraska are gone. I thought this idea could have gotten A&M to reconsider, but I think that is also gone. I don't quite understand why everyone else in the Big12 lets 3rd tier rights go to individual schools. Tear up the charter and write a new one that shares 3rd tier rights. If Texas wants to go, let them enjoy the ACC.

Also, I believe the main opposition to adding TCU comes from Texas.

 
I really like the idea of trying to kick Texas out of the Big 12 (though I have no idea if it is even possible). But not trying to get back Colorado/Nebraska/A&M.

Ideally, the Big 12 could have done this before A&M decided to leave... (leaving the Big 12 with top football teams Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M and Baylor) But yes, I think the Big 12 should be more proactive and kicking out Texas would be very fun to see happen. :) Just don't think it ever was a possibility.

 
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