There's infighting at Oklahoma over potential Big 12 expansion

Wag Tag · May 11, 2016

On May 9, 2016 at 0:26 PM, Greenrex said:

Max Weitzenhoffer, the Oklahoma board of regents chairman, told CBS Sports he will try to convince influential OU president David Boren to ditch Big 12 expansion.

http://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/theres-infighting-at-oklahoma-over-potential-big-12-expansion/

The lower tier teams better pray expansion does not happen! OU and Texas will bolt!

UNTLifer · May 11, 2016

A thread title on this board highlighting infighting elsewhere. Comedy gold.

Aldo · May 11, 2016

My uninformed opinion is that Big 12 ain't imploding, Big 12 ain't expanding (didn't they just pass a conference championship rule?).

Got5onIt · May 12, 2016

When OU decides to let UT's balls fall out of their mouth, then they can talk. They'll do whatever the Shorthorns tell them to do....

Edited May 12, 2016 by Got5onIt

untjim1995 · May 12, 2016

29 minutes ago, Got5onIt said:

When OU decides to let UT's balls fall out of their mouth, then they can talk. They'll do whatever the Shorthorns tell them to do....

They don't have much of a choice but to kiss up to Texas, just because they don't bring much of a market with them and their academic pedigree isn't bad, but it's not great either (not an AAU member).

The school with UT balls in their mouth is Tech. Talk about being desperate...Tech is hoping that they can keep riding those coattails into the Pac sunset. If not, they will get to join New Mexico as old Border Conference rivals in the MWC. Tech's problem isn't UT appreciating their "love", its the fact that everyone else sees them as a STD-ridden joke that would never get into the club without the powerful date (UT) they are trying to weld themselves to. Tech thinks UT will marry them, but UT has a wandering eye...and they know that Tech is an STD-infested piece, but they just can't unload her just yet.

Mike Jackson · May 15, 2016

So you say the LHN contract goes all the way 2031? Well that just means UT is staying put with a 10 team Big 12 unless a very unexpected move is made by one big school in our bordering states. I don't see that happen cause the schools in question are all locked up. Arkansas, Oklahoma, LSU, and Colorado aren't going anywhere. The LHN network deal seems custom made for UT to go independent. Playoff contention is not a concern when you have the cache to schedule a strong schedule every year. OU would never back out of the Red River Rivalry, it means too much for recruiting high school players in Texas alone. And like it was written before in this comment thread UT could line up a game with Notre Dame every year. Texas playing a more national schedule would be very attractive to ESPN. They could almost guarantee a schedule with the high visibility traditional team from every time zone every year and maybe multiple every year from West Coast and East Coast time zones. Here an example of maybe the typical schedule they could make every year as an independent. In no particular order

1. OU

2 Texas Tech

3. TCU or SMU (DFW market presence) [A&M* only because of state tradition and statewide interest]

4. Rice or UH (Houston Market presence)

5. Arizona, Arizona State, Utah, or BYU (Mountain Time Zone)

6. Auburn, Georgia, Florida, Florida State (Southern Gulf Coast Market) maybe Miami*

7. UCLA, USC, UC, Stanford, or Oregon (West Coast Market)

8. Notre Dame or upper level traditional Big 10 opponent. (Mid West Market)

9. Syracuse, Boston College, Pittsburg, West Virginia, Rutgers, Maryland (Northeast Market)

10. NC, NC State, Virginia, Clemson

11. Gimme cash home game

12 Gimmie cash home game

With scheduling options like those it should be fairly easy to build a persuading argument to be included in a playoff. Maybe even more convincing than winning a 2nd game against a mediocre opponent that just happen to win the other division in the Big 12. I think next big shoe to drop in realignment is what the powers at UT decide to do. If I am AD I am making the phone calls and back channel contact to see how feasible my propose 'scheduling matrix' is. If could get 6-10 game 'home and home' with this list that set the "competitive" schedule to get my program to 2031 as an independent. If ESPN decides to drop the LHN then any conference would be happy to take you. But alternatively you could be in a position to negotiate a Notre Dame-NBC like deal with Fox or maybe even NBC. If I am an NBC executive you could have competitive game featuring Texas or Notre Dame every Saturday to compete with the CBS SEC game of the week or whatever ABC-ESPN has. I hate the Longhorns but their brand has national clout so it is foolish to underestimate them. If BYU can go independent UT have the clout to do the same should be self evident to everyone.

Edited May 16, 2016 by Mike Jackson

VideoEagle · May 15, 2016

Two different articles with negative views on expansion in today's Morning News. I'm on my iPad and keeping an eye on a toddler so I can't link. Same basic arguments against that are listed here were confirmed by the paid reporters with actual sources. Texas wants to be in a conference but doesn't want watered down candidates that create SWC 2.0. OU's President wants expansion, but also only wants candidates that bring in revenue enough to match or exceed a current share and few if any do. Saw a swipe at UHs chances from a UH alumnus. Also a list of revenues and I was surprised Baylor is 3rd and on the high side of $100 million. And other schools also have 3rd tier media rights they sell just like the LHN, but since they aren't as popular nationally the revenues aren't as high. Plus half of LHN goes to academics and even OU's Bowen says UT would have to be "made whole" on that in any change to the LHN. Everyone, even the big boys, are feeling the pinch on funding outside of athletics.

TreeFiddy · May 15, 2016

It is relatively easy for an independent to schedule the first half of their season. The challenge comes in the latter half of the season when most teams are not looking for a bruising OOC game as they are trying to maintain momentum going into the end of their season. I am not suggesting ut-a would struggle to fill out a schedule, but it would be interesting to see the opponents.

untjim1995 · May 16, 2016

If they go independent, right off the bat, they will have games scheduled with the following teams--Tech, OU, Baylor, TCU, Rice, BYU, and ND. Then they will have 5 games to schedule, of which three will be bought homes games from FCS and lower G5s.

If the Big XII implodes before the LHN expires, which is most likely, independence, even for a short amount of time, will be their best hand. They get to keep the LHN money, they can avoid any lawsuits that Baylor, Tech, and TCU would bring against them because they are going to be still on the schedule and not a member of another conference, like A&M was when they joined the SWC, and they can then join whatever conference they choose later without any baggage (Baylor and TCU not acceptable to the Pac, Tech not being acceptable to the B1G).

VideoEagle · May 16, 2016

4 hours ago, untjim1995 said:

If they go independent...

Why would they? I know I've read they prefer to be in the Big XII where in any given year the champion - even including Baylor and TCU now - has a 65% chance of making the playoff.

4 hours ago, untjim1995 said:

If the Big XII implodes before the LHN expires

Again, this might happen but isn't likely. OU's President wants to expand, but his Board does not. And even Boren has said he want to expand "with the right teams" only. Sunday's papers pointed out most of what is easily available are not the "right teams." BYU does work, but you really need two and unless you can poach from another Power5, no one else is likely to get the support needed to join.

Texas would prefer to keep the Big XII as has been noted in many articles by real reporters.

untjim1995 · May 17, 2016

16 hours ago, VideoEagle said:

Why would they? I know I've read they prefer to be in the Big XII where in any given year the champion - even including Baylor and TCU now - has a 65% chance of making the playoff.

Again, this might happen but isn't likely. OU's President wants to expand, but his Board does not. And even Boren has said he want to expand "with the right teams" only. Sunday's papers pointed out most of what is easily available are not the "right teams." BYU does work, but you really need two and unless you can poach from another Power5, no one else is likely to get the support needed to join.

Texas would prefer to keep the Big XII as has been noted in many articles by real reporters.

There's no question about this, but if OU and KU leave, that league is done, even if UT is still there because of their insistence on keeping the LHN. But the only league that has a lot of room to expand is the Pac, since it has 12 members. Everyone else is at 14 currently, with an eye at 16. I believe that 18 may very well be an even better number down the road, since it would give you 8 division games, 1 game against the other division, and 3 OOC games, plus a conference championship game with a much smaller chance of it being between two teams that met in the regular season.

UT has a lot of options without the LHN, but they lose control of the league they join. With the LHN, they have no league to join. So the Big XII is completely ideal for them. But if there is no OU or KU, they lose their fellow bellweather college football program and the premier basketball team in their league. At that point, the LHN's $15 million per year may be enough to convince them to stick with it until the contract runs out with ESPN in 2031.

I still think the Big XII will fall apart sooner rather than later. I could see the Kan-Okla-Tex public schools (6) to go the Pac, giving them a division of those 6 + CU and the Arizona schools. I could see the B1G add 4 more ACC schools, such as Ga Tech, FSU, UNC, and UVa. The SEC would add NC State, Va Tech, WVU, and Miami. The ACC would then add Cincy, UConn, Baylor, TCU, UH, Memphis, Temple, Iowa State, UCF, USF, and East Carolina.to join Duke, WF, BC, Pitt, Syracuse, Louisville, and Clemson.

ND, BYU, Army, and Navy would be your independents still, with possible playoff slots available to them

The MWC would pick up SMU, UTEP, Rice, Tulsa, Tulane, and UTSA to join their 12, which will have no playoff slots available, but would have a BCS bowl game slot.

The rest--the MAC, CUSA, and the SBC--will be permanently lowered to the new I-aa. At that point, the SBC and CUSA realign into conferences with closer travel and is inclusive of top tier FCS programs, as well as seeing top FCS leagues like the Big Sky and the Southern Conference join the ranks.

VideoEagle · May 17, 2016

3 minutes ago, untjim1995 said:

but if OU and KU leave, that league is done,

But OU does not want to leave. They want to stay paired in a league with Texas. Their BOR doesn't want Big XII expansion at all and Boren has said he only wants it if he can get the right schools. It isn't something he want's to leave the league over and has said so. I don't know what Kansas' intentions are, but I have heard them threatening to leave either.

Yes, if they leave or if OU drops football the league is done. But that's not likely.