(01-16-2018 02:12 PM)Gamecock Wrote:  

(01-15-2018 01:46 AM)JRsec Wrote:  

(01-15-2018 12:50 AM)murrdcu Wrote:  

(01-14-2018 11:29 PM)hawghiggs Wrote:  Even another option. Texas rebuilds the SWC with SoCal.


SWC

East

1,Kansas
2,New Mexico
3,Oklahoma
4,Oklahoma state
5,Texas
6,Texas Tech

West

1,Arizona
2,Arizona state
3,Colorado
4,SoCal
5,UNLV
6,Utah

I’m kind of thinking that, but instead, Texas keeps a smaller SWC core but adds a couple of independents.

Texas
Texas Tech
TCU
Baylor
BYU
So. Cal

Five yearly conference games opens up 7 OOC games—plenty of room for historic rivals, new rivals and cup cakes.

NCAA Rules state you cannot have a conference with fewer than 8 schools.

Add in Rice and SMU. Or even someone like Boise St.

Do you think they would get a TV contract out of that? You have 4 texas schools in his original proposal. You are going to add two more with Rice and S.M.U.. That's 6 of the 8 from a state where Texas is all you need to carry the market. So the conference being proposed would have a 3 state footprint and there is no way that USC joins anyway, and certainly not alone as an outlier to essentially an all Texas conference.

This is message board fantasy. The reality that Notre Dame may one day be forced to join a conference to have playoff access is not.

And what I told Hawghiggs is accurate the networks didn't want to pay for the Big 12 to expand out of the G5. Why? They wouldn't be getting anything they didn't already own through the AAC and it only costs them 2 million per school there, not 20. That's what I call a "Duh" moment.

(01-15-2018 08:50 PM)AllTideUp Wrote:  

(01-15-2018 07:46 PM)hawghiggs Wrote:  

(01-15-2018 05:56 PM)AllTideUp Wrote:  

(01-15-2018 05:12 PM)hawghiggs Wrote:  

(01-15-2018 12:43 PM)JRsec Wrote:  Yes they could, but Texas and Oklahoma don't desire to be bound any further. They voted not to extend it last year.

Why would they? That's their best bargaining chip. They Big 12 will look to either expand or form sometype of network toward the end of the GOR.

If the Big 12 could produce a viable network then they'd already have one. The fact that they don't is not for lack of trying.

That's exactly what its from. They voted against having a network.

So as not to tie themselves down. Same reason they didn't extend the GOR...because the powers are leaving as soon as they can wrangle themselves out.

If they wanted a network then they would not wait a decade to put it into motion. Think of how much revenue they would be leaving on the table if they waited. Absolutely no reason to do that.

The Big 12 schools are like tenants getting ready to move to a new city...no point in remodeling the kitchen because they're not going to be around to live in it.

Which IMO get to the heart of the matter: Texas has options, but none of them are good. This is because the ideal situations, (things like a Texas centered B1G or PAC12) are pure fantasy for the Longhorns. And since everyone knows they want to make a deal around 2025, most of their leverage is vaporware too.

As such, I would evaluate the Longhorns choices by potential political encumbrances:

Scenario 1: Flying Solo - Texas tries to broker a deal for them and OU to the B1G. If they succeed they get a pod with NU, OU and ILL. That would leave the Longhorns with 3-4 games to putz around the Republic playing old conference foes.
If this fails then Texas joins the SEC. They won't go to the B1G alone and can't go back to the B12.

Scenario 2: Wingman -If a Texas move involves TT, then the Longhorns can only look towards the SEC for accommodation. I used to believe that a scheduling agreement with the ACC was possible, but I think that idea is dead. Both schools go back to the B12 if they are rejected by the the folks in B'ham.

Scenario 3: Squadron - If TCU, TT and BAY can get their hooks into UTX then the Longhorns will be forced to remain the B12. That resignation I think leads to Texas actually deciding to lead and strengthen the conference as opposed to whatever they have been doing for the past 15 years. Retaining OU is the key to this plans success. IMO this is the best option.

These plans are predicated upon the assumption that OU is the first mover in the next round of B12 realignment. I can't see Texas being able to keep their plans secret as we approach 2025. OU will have greater freedom to maneuver when the time comes.