The Legislature should pressure the presidents of the Big 12 schools to "step up" and let the University of Houston into the conference, the chairman of UH's Board of Regents, Tilman Fertitta, said Thursday.

"Put pressure on the presidents;, say, 'If you don't do this, we're not going to fund you for this,'" Fertitta said in a meeting with the Houston Chronicle's editorial board Thursday. "It's just the way it is. That's the way to do it."

Fertitta said it's "an embarrassment" that the namesake university of the fourth largest city in the United States has not been welcomed into the conference.

"Be a big boy, step up and put this school that has almost 50,000 students and is so high profile, has so many of the top schools in the United States, it's a tier one university -- we belong in the Big 12," he said. "We're a big, major school with an unbelievable history in athletics and academia."

The Big 12 is currently made up of just 10 universities, including the University of Texas at Austin, Texas Tech, Baylor and Texas Christian University. The commissioner of the conference said in December it's unlikely for that to change.

"Ten is what we are and I think the status quo with all 10 schools committed and with grants of rights for all our media, we're distributing the largest amount of money per school of any of the leagues right now and I don't think any of our members want to change that," Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby said at Liberty Bowl game.

More at link

http://www.chron.com/local/education/cam...089909.php

(02-19-2015 04:03 PM)The Cutter of Bish Wrote:  

LOL

"it's a tier one university"

Always good for a laugh

Psst over here

Houston should also sue every Big 12 President and AD.

I hear Baylor has good attorneys

(02-19-2015 03:44 PM)domer1978 Wrote:  The Legislature should pressure the presidents of the Big 12 schools to "step up" and let the University of Houston into the conference, the chairman of UH's Board of Regents, Tilman Fertitta, said Thursday.

"Put pressure on the presidents;, say, 'If you don't do this, we're not going to fund you for this,'" Fertitta said in a meeting with the Houston Chronicle's editorial board Thursday. "It's just the way it is. That's the way to do it."

Fertitta said it's "an embarrassment" that the namesake university of the fourth largest city in the United States has not been welcomed into the conference.

"Be a big boy, step up and put this school that has almost 50,000 students and is so high profile, has so many of the top schools in the United States, it's a tier one university -- we belong in the Big 12," he said. "We're a big, major school with an unbelievable history in athletics and academia."

The Big 12 is currently made up of just 10 universities, including the University of Texas at Austin, Texas Tech, Baylor and Texas Christian University. The commissioner of the conference said in December it's unlikely for that to change.

"Ten is what we are and I think the status quo with all 10 schools committed and with grants of rights for all our media, we're distributing the largest amount of money per school of any of the leagues right now and I don't think any of our members want to change that," Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby said at Liberty Bowl game.

More at link

http://www.chron.com/local/education/cam...089909.php

How much funding does Oklahoma get from the Texas legislature? Or for that matter, Baylor and TCU?

Maybe he is saying this now because he knows something is up.

In all seriousness I got a question:

Why does he decide to ask the question now? There have been several instances where UH's BOR could have said this spiel since the Big 12 has been at 12 teams.

You'd think the Chairman of the University of Houston's Board of Regents would be at least semi-intelligent. But Tilman Fertitta has proven otherwise. Imagine an educated man thinking legislative action will solve his problems.

(02-19-2015 04:52 PM)bitcruncher Wrote:  You'd think the Chairman of the University of Houston's Board of Regents would be at least semi-intelligent. But Tilman Fertitta has proven otherwise. Imagine an educated man thinking legislative action will solve his problems.

With stuff like this I think it has less to do with the idea that they think this will actually work and more to do with feeding the expectations of the alumni.

You see this all the time where somebody says something and everybody who knows anything realizes that what he is saying is impossible but to the masses what they see is somebody trying to do something that sounds to them plausible or at least official sounding enough to make them happy.

It is also why many schools pay so much money for somebody or something that really does not need that much money. By making their budget look big the school can say that they are trying hard to do something even if the results don't show it. You see that here all the time where people (who often know little about the schools) think that one school is better than another due to having a larger budget (which sometimes is also influenced by what state they are in which changes on how they report the budget) while the other school has been the better school athletically for a significant amount of time.


Sometimes you have to do something that makes the alumni happy, feeds their enthusiasm, or keeps them engaged. This action strikes me as one of those. The action has essentially no hope of getting them into the Big 12 but it can make some Houston alumni feel like their university is lobbying hard to get in and that there might be avenues of success towards that end.

(02-19-2015 04:43 PM)ken d Wrote:  

(02-19-2015 03:44 PM)domer1978 Wrote:  The Legislature should pressure the presidents of the Big 12 schools to "step up" and let the University of Houston into the conference, the chairman of UH's Board of Regents, Tilman Fertitta, said Thursday.

"Put pressure on the presidents;, say, 'If you don't do this, we're not going to fund you for this,'" Fertitta said in a meeting with the Houston Chronicle's editorial board Thursday. "It's just the way it is. That's the way to do it."

Fertitta said it's "an embarrassment" that the namesake university of the fourth largest city in the United States has not been welcomed into the conference.

"Be a big boy, step up and put this school that has almost 50,000 students and is so high profile, has so many of the top schools in the United States, it's a tier one university -- we belong in the Big 12," he said. "We're a big, major school with an unbelievable history in athletics and academia."

The Big 12 is currently made up of just 10 universities, including the University of Texas at Austin, Texas Tech, Baylor and Texas Christian University. The commissioner of the conference said in December it's unlikely for that to change.

"Ten is what we are and I think the status quo with all 10 schools committed and with grants of rights for all our media, we're distributing the largest amount of money per school of any of the leagues right now and I don't think any of our members want to change that," Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby said at Liberty Bowl game.

More at link

http://www.chron.com/local/education/cam...089909.php

How much funding does Oklahoma get from the Texas legislature? Or for that matter, Baylor and TCU?

Through the University of Texas, a ton.

Without UT's TV rights, gate receipts from home games against UT, and UT's share of bowl revenue, the Big XII's conference payout would be... well... not big. And, without state support, there is no UT....

(02-19-2015 05:00 PM)Sultan of Euphonistan Wrote:  

(02-19-2015 04:52 PM)bitcruncher Wrote:  You'd think the Chairman of the University of Houston's Board of Regents would be at least semi-intelligent. But Tilman Fertitta has proven otherwise. Imagine an educated man thinking legislative action will solve his problems.

With stuff like this I think it has less to do with the idea that they think this will actually work and more to do with feeding the expectations of the alumni.

You see this all the time where somebody says something and everybody who knows anything realizes that what he is saying is impossible but to the masses what they see is somebody trying to do something that sounds to them plausible or at least official sounding enough to make them happy.

It is also why many schools pay so much money for somebody or something that really does not need that much money. By making their budget look big the school can say that they are trying hard to do something even if the results don't show it. You see that here all the time where people (who often know little about the schools) think that one school is better than another due to having a larger budget (which sometimes is also influenced by what state they are in which changes on how they report the budget) while the other school has been the better school athletically for a significant amount of time.


Sometimes you have to do something that makes the alumni happy, feeds their enthusiasm, or keeps them engaged. This action strikes me as one of those. The action has essentially no hope of getting them into the Big 12 but it can make some Houston alumni feel like their university is lobbying hard to get in and that there might be avenues of success towards that end.

I'd say this is pretty accurate. I will say that Houstons legislative team has been very active in Austin and was very supportive of UT during their recent conflict with Perry. Their efforts have earned them some friends in the UT administration.

Currently, Greg Abbott, who lives in Houston and began his political career in the city, is governor of Texas. Additionally, the Lt Governor, Dan Patrick, is a long time Houstonian who spent years as a TV sportscaster and a sports talk radio host in the city. Houston is not going to bull their way into the Big-12 because of they have supporters in the two top Texas offices---but they might receive some help getting a more serious look from the Big-12 because the right people get a gentle nudge from some powerful folks in Texas government. Hey, every little bit helps.

The Big 12 is a dead end. The Pac or B1G (some day) would be better options.

(02-19-2015 06:43 PM)_C2_ Wrote:  The Big 12 is a dead end. The Pac or B1G (some day) would be better options.

The administration will take whatever they can get.

(02-19-2015 07:02 PM)Attackcoog Wrote:  

(02-19-2015 06:43 PM)_C2_ Wrote:  The Big 12 is a dead end. The Pac or B1G (some day) would be better options.

The administration will take whatever they can get.

"Whatever they can get," you say?! MUWHAHAHAHAHA!

(02-19-2015 04:52 PM)bitcruncher Wrote:  You'd think the Chairman of the University of Houston's Board of Regents would be at least semi-intelligent. But Tilman Fertitta has proven otherwise. Imagine an educated man thinking legislative action will solve his problems.

Fertitta probably has more money than that Memphis FedEx CEO. If he really wants them in, he should talk to Fox and ESPN about sponsorships.

(02-19-2015 03:44 PM)domer1978 Wrote:  "Be a big boy, step up and put this school that has almost 50,000 students and is so high profile, has so many of the top schools in the United States, it's a tier one university -- we belong in the Big 12," he said. "We're a big, major school with an unbelievable history in athletics and academia."

1st,Tilman might be taken more seriously if he gets his facts straight. UH is no where near 50K students. In fact, they are barely over 40K counting undergrads, grads and online programs.

http://www.uh.edu/about/uh-glance/

2nd, ask the UH community and their supporters to fill their stadium & arena and then ask the Big 12 for inclusion. Louisville, TCU and Utah showed how to get it done and that is what UH needs to do.

3rd, UH is not a Tier 1 University.

4th, 2 Big state schools and 2 private schools in Texas is enough for the Big 12. We don't need anymore Texas teams.

(02-19-2015 08:01 PM)bullet Wrote:  

(02-19-2015 04:52 PM)bitcruncher Wrote:  You'd think the Chairman of the University of Houston's Board of Regents would be at least semi-intelligent. But Tilman Fertitta has proven otherwise. Imagine an educated man thinking legislative action will solve his problems.

Fertitta probably has more money than that Memphis FedEx CEO. If he really wants them in, he should talk to Fox and ESPN about sponsorships.

I wonder how many $$$ he has donated to UH? I wonder why Tilman didn't step and put his name or his restaurants name on the new UH football stadium?

(02-19-2015 08:39 PM)RaiderRed Wrote:  

(02-19-2015 03:44 PM)domer1978 Wrote:  "Be a big boy, step up and put this school that has almost 50,000 students and is so high profile, has so many of the top schools in the United States, it's a tier one university -- we belong in the Big 12," he said. "We're a big, major school with an unbelievable history in athletics and academia."

1st,Tilman might be taken more seriously if he gets his facts straight. UH is no where near 50K students. In fact, they are barely over 40K counting undergrads, grads and online programs.

http://www.uh.edu/about/uh-glance/

2nd, ask the UH community and their supporters to fill their stadium & arena and then ask the Big 12 for inclusion. Louisville, TCU and Utah showed how to get it done and that is what UH needs to do.

3rd, UH is not a Tier 1 University.

4th, 2 Big state schools and 2 private schools in Texas is enough for the Big 12. We don't need anymore Texas teams.

I don't think internet is included. That's still over 6K more than Texas Tech---which "hopes" to reach the 40K level by 2020. Kinda like we are hoping to be in a P5 league by 2020. We all have our goals....

http://www.dailytoreador.com/news/buildi...ec5fd.html