Big 12 expansion

mgfan · December 6, 2015

Question to ponder.....

Sooner drop a spot in the poll, partly because the Big 12 doesn't have a championship game. The Big 12 will need 2-4 teams to have a championship game, is UH considered an option? Or, is this a flash in the pan season and UH will come down to earth again?

UNTexas · December 6, 2015

I read Texas wants no part of Houston being in the Big 12. The explanation was recruiting which sounds like bs to me. BYU would be a good fit too.

Cr1028 · December 6, 2015

This is garbage. I bet it was largely due to tv o they could harp on the Nick Saban used to coach Michigan State and Venebles used to be DC under Stoops at OU. Its crap if you ask me. I was so hoping to see Baker Mayfield destroyed by the Alabama defense. Oh well, they will probably get by Clemson and I'll have my fun in the final.

eagle2014 · December 6, 2015

We just need to worry about being in a good place whenever the next conference realignment takes place. We really need to start winning and have an increase in attendance.

MDH · December 6, 2015

We just need to worry about being in a good place whenever the next conference realignment takes place. We really need to start winning and have an increase in attendance.

We're going nowhere fast. SMU at least has the academics and commitment $ wise to athletics and will always be ahead of us in that sense. Only way we move is domination on the field and SMU moving up.

My fear is UH moving up (I think it's a matter of when, not if) and AAC immediately filing with Rice.

H-towngreen · December 6, 2015

It's all about TV markets. Houston brings nothing since they already have it

Eagle1855 · December 6, 2015

The Big XII is probably going to dissolve into the other four major conferences. UH's best bet at moving up is for that to happen and the ACC or Big Ten (whichever one doesn't take Texas) to go for a media (and recruiting) foothold in Texas.

NorthTexan95 · December 6, 2015

The Big XII is probably going to dissolve into the other four major conferences. UH's best bet at moving up is for that to happen and the ACC or Big Ten (whichever one doesn't take Texas) to go for a media (and recruiting) foothold in Texas.

Personally, I think it's stupid to punish the Big 12 for not having a championship game. If they expand the playoffs to 8 teams they can take the champion from the P5 plus three others. Then there's no issue other than when it comes to seeding.

Ben Gooding · December 6, 2015

Question to ponder.....
Sooner drop a spot in the poll, partly because the Big 12 doesn't have a championship game. The Big 12 will need 2-4 teams to have a championship game, is UH considered an option? Or, is this a flash in the pan season and UH will come down to earth again?

it was due to money. It was due to the wigs in charge wanting OU vs Bama in the natty game. I knew somehow, someway this would play out. It's all about $. Nothing more.

tmjerm · December 7, 2015

UH should get the nod. Playing in Houston every year is an advantage for Texas, not a disadvantage. Plus they've got a butt ton of alumni and are filling their stadium every week. It also makes cultural sense, lots of history with many big 12 members and a solid sports history.

Ben Gooding · December 7, 2015

UH should get the nod. Playing in Houston every year is an advantage for Texas, not a disadvantage. Plus they've got a butt ton of alumni and are filling their stadium every week. It also makes cultural sense, lots of history with many big 12 members and a solid sports history.

I hope not. I hope they fall into the suck. I hope we can rise from our natural habitat of the ashes and steal that spot in time with dominance on the turf. Sheer dominance is our only hope to get into a better conference with Baylor being 2 1/2 hours south, OU being about 2 1/2 hours north, TCU 40 minutes south, our lack of fan support (attendance/donating), a real university commitment, and quite the laundry list of other things holding us back. Our current landscape is respectable, we just have to own it down this 5 year stretch and see where the chips fall. At this point though, it will probably be too little too late.

NT91 · December 7, 2015

Add BYU and U of H.

GreenTexan13 · December 7, 2015

The big 12 is already filled with 4 Texas teams. I honestly think that they would want to fill the tv market with some out west. (BYU or Boise) UH does deserve it though. The biggest example UNT should follow, are the cougs. They know how to run a good football program. And they are only getting better in the future.

if Texas left the big 12 (I don't know if that's possible, without the conference crumbling?) then I think that whole conference could accommodate UH or another Texas TV market.

Edited December 7, 2015 by GreenTexan13

GrandGreen · December 7, 2015

Lot of love for UH, which is very good at the moment. However, in their down years their following is not much better than NT.

I think the two universities NT has most in common with in the state are UH and Tech. UTSA may force their way into that group soon if not already.

All the state schools are going to be behind A&M and UT, there is too much history and politics for any of the others to join those two.

Problem for Texas programs now, there are just too many teams. I doubt any Texas G5 school is going to get much support to join any p5. UH would certainly get the nod now if there was an opening for a Texas team, but in a few years that may not be the case.

UNT90 · December 7, 2015

We're going nowhere fast. SMU at least has the academics and commitment $ wise to athletics and will always be ahead of us in that sense. Only way we move is domination on the field and SMU moving up.
My fear is UH moving up (I think it's a matter of when, not if) and AAC immediately filing with Rice.

We have lost any hope of moving up in conference realignment by letting an awful AD hang around for 15 years of unproductivity. Unfortunately, we will always be who we are because of this unbelievable mistake.

But, hey, 17 people have a good friend to hang out with. Does being good at any sport top that?

Eagle1855 · December 7, 2015

If it makes anyone feel any better, UH still can't fill their stadium (still had 10k tickets available 24 hours before the AAC champ game) and Herman is gone as soon as a job opens up at UT or A&M -- which will probably be next season.

Cougar King · December 7, 2015

If it makes anyone feel any better, UH still can't fill their stadium (still had 10k tickets available 24 hours before the AAC champ game) and Herman is gone as soon as a job opens up at UT or A&M -- which will probably be next season.

Don't hang your hat on that. Here's a pic from the AAC championship game. I do like how everybody is in a hurry for Herman to leave UH. It feels good being back on top.

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Edited December 7, 2015 by Cougar King

Ben Gooding · December 7, 2015

Enjoy it. Nothing lasts forever. If history holds serve, UH will sit up there for maybe another year and then collapse to the bottom.

untjim1995 · December 7, 2015

UH is a great story this season--but their location is the killer. The Big XII and SEC don't get anything extra from adding UH. The Pac-12 might be their best bet, or the ACC, but I expect that the Texoma Four will go west to the Pac, when the GOR for the Big XII expires in 2025. The Big XII is DOA. It doesn't have the TV sets that the other conferences have, nor the prestige. The B1G, ACC, and SEC will choose from the carnage. KU, WVU, and possibly K-State will find homes in the other leagues. Iowa State, Baylor, and TCU have their work cut out for them.

My guess is that the P4 will break apart, but they will throw a bone to those G5 programs that are better than the P4s bottom teams, programs like UH, Boise State, Memphis, etc...They will let them be a BYU-type possibility--be independent, still get considered as a possible contender, and treated like a quasi-Power league member. It won't surprise me at all to see independents in football come back into vogue again, like they were until the early 90s. Houston, Baylor, TCU, Boise State, UCF, and a few others might just follow the lead of BYU and kick it old school again, just to have some hope of getting some P4 $$$, both in regular season games, as well as possible bowl games.

Right now, BYU has scheduling problems that they somehow are able to get resolved. But if they got some of the programs to follow suit, these schools could easily play each other, plus 3-4 P4 games a year. It won't surprise me if this has some of this programs hang on for awhile, to see if they can make it financially and competitively--assuming that they still have conferences to be a apart of, like BYU does, for their other sports.

untjim1995 · December 7, 2015

Lot of love for UH, which is very good at the moment. However, in their down years their following is not much better than NT.
I think the two universities NT has most in common with in the state are UH and Tech. UTSA may force their way into that group soon if not already.
All the state schools are going to be behind A&M and UT, there is too much history and politics for any of the others to join those two.
Problem for Texas programs now, there are just too many teams. I doubt any Texas G5 school is going to get much support to join any p5. UH would certainly get the nod now if there was an opening for a Texas team, but in a few years that may not be the case.

TCU is the miracle here. They got great at the perfect time--when the Big XII falls apart from its original membership and the Aggies leave to go to the SEC, creating an opening in the conference. The Northern Big XII schools who depend on Texas recruiting give the mandate that A&M must be replaced with another Texas school, preferably one that is really good and can help get their alumni in DFW an easy game to watch. TCU, with its small enrollment, gets the nod over UH, all because they got a great football program before UH did.

As for us, well, its really hard to imagine us moving too much further up the food chain. As was mentioned, SMU has the dollars, the tradition, the DFW media, and the location of being right in Dallas. They blocked us from CUSA for years until they decided to jump up to the Big East, until that turned into a fancier version of their previous conference. That allowed us to move up to their slot in CUSA, which has also turned into a fancier version of our previous conference, but gave us actual Texas schools to compete with for the first time in a FBS conference since the 60s. I think this is the perfect place for us right now, playing schools we should be able to compete with each year, hopefully being able to win.

Eagle1855 · December 7, 2015

Don't hang your hat on that. Here's a pic from the AAC championship game. I do like how everybody is in a hurry for Herman to leave UH. It feels good being back on top.

I was at the game, buddy. I know what it looked like. It was in fact the third game we've been to this season. We have season tickets. So no, I'm not in a hurry for him to leave.

But the reality is, you can't do anything about UT or A&M (or another major P5 program) offering him $5M per. And if he keeps winning, that's exactly what's going to happen.

Great pic. I have one too. Doesn't change the fact that the stadium was not in fact full and ticket sales were incredibly slow for the first-ever the AAC. You can read it in the local alt news paper:

As of Thursday afternoon, 10,000 tickets remained for the first ever AAC conference title game, which is kind of embarrassing, especially for a school whose vocal minority shouts from the rooftop that they need more coverage (when they've been the most covered Texas college team in town this season).

Let's also not act as if Herman didn't take the fan base to task earlier this season.

“To me,” he said, "we’re not selling out every home game. I would ask why? What more do you need to see? You need a better product on field or more exciting game? I’m confused when I ask Cougar Nation why are you not at every home game? I get some blank stares sometimes because the answer is ‘Coach, I don’t have a reason.’ There isn’t a good reason.”

So just sit back, STFU and enjoy the ride for as long as it may last and hope it leaves the program in a better place one he's gone.

Edited December 7, 2015 by Eagle1855
formatting

Stix · December 7, 2015

If it makes anyone feel any better, UH still can't fill their stadium (still had 10k tickets available 24 hours before the AAC champ game) and Herman is gone as soon as a job opens up at UT or A&M -- which will probably be next season.

And they can't blame the weather.