(12-06-2014 09:54 AM)vandiver49 Wrote:  

(12-06-2014 06:17 AM)JRsec Wrote:  

(12-05-2014 10:25 PM)He1nousOne Wrote:  Memphis and Cinci to the Big 12?

Smoke and Mirrors.

It is good that such things are coming out. It is either nothing at all or it is part of the maneuvering. If the Big 12 had any talks at all about those schools, it would simply be a bluffing show of force that they might not go along with "The Big Plan" because of the way the season is going right now.

They wont do it, they probably just want more concessions given to them in the negotiations. They don't actually want Memphis and Cinci. That bluff is likely to be called or at best a cursory concession is given in order to move along negotiations.

I agree with this assessment. There is no way that Texas and Oklahoma want to be hooked into a relationship with Memphis, Cincinnati, Iowa State, and T.C.U. forever. Texas may be stuck politically with the Red Raiders, but the core of the SWC/Big 12 is Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Baylor. The strangle hold is that all of them other than Baylor have a little brother problem. There are only two conferences that could accommodate the little brothers. The PAC could do it by taking 8. The SEC could do it by taking 6. But here are the issues. The SEC already has the largest state in its footprint. Oklahoma and Kansas aren't worth a pair each. The PAC would have to go big to pull it off and until they sell a portion of their network to ESPN they will have trouble landing schools under contract to ESPN.

I also concur. But it's not just the Texahoma 4 that would be opposed to it, but ISU, KSU as well. They aren't interested in being in a division with Cincy and Memphis not are they looking to see less visit from Texas teams. I'm not sure if it's an angle for concussions though. What would Texas want short of a ND type deal that they couldn't get from the B12 by simply asking?

It could be anything really. It is hard to say what specifics are in doubt. For one, I don't think Texas wants to be the bad guy. They have been portrayed as the bad guys quite a bit. I think they want EVERY Big 12 school to get a landing spot. I don't think they want to go out West at all. I think they are probably willing to allow the LHN to be rolled into an ACC Network BUT they are still going to want some of their individual programs to be aired upon it.

That last point makes things difficult because ESPN would have to figure out how to do that for every single ACC school on the ACC Network. That means regionalized programming. That means having to have more programming than the minimal amount. There is more cost involved in that. Do they make the schools pay for that? That will cause some of the smaller, less wealthy schools in the ACC to balk. It is a more complicated situation than we generally talk about on these boards. That is why the negotiations are taking so long.

This whole Memphis and Cinci talk reeks of being a bluff. Let's keep in mind that the likes of Memphis and Cinci are positioned to profit from the demise of the Big 12. If it blows up then we will see some new rules passed very quickly. Those rules will allow the AAC to finally put distance between themselves and the other mid majors.

It is in their best interest to play along, even if they know they aren't actually going to get into the Big 12. Hell, maybe they do think they have a chance and they are being played too. I don't know.