Baylor suing the SEC

[UNTMike81]

I like that Baylor is couching this as fighting to preserve Texas football tradition and its rivalries. You know, preserving TX rivalries, just like the way that Baylor fought hard to get TCU, SMU, and Houston into the Big 12 when the SWC broke up.

SMU did all they could to get UNT into the SWC when they had the opportunity. I'm no fan of SMU or BCS for that matter I just don't want to see all the talented Texas HS players going to every State under the Sun but Texas because we don't have any BCS affiliation other than the 4 or 5 Texas institutions that are lucky enough to stay in the BCS. This situation Stinks no matter if it's Texas or A&M that isn't happy because they're losing some money. Money makes the world go around, so the parents of kids from Texas will just have to watch on TV, or pay the big buck's to see their son's play football.

[The Fake Lonnie Finch]

There won't be a long, expensive lawsuit because Baylor has no standing.

They have to claim something in order to file suit. They have to ask for either damages or an injunction.

Either way, they have no standing for the first and no proof of the second. So, again, the suit will be tossed long before A&M tees up as members of the SEC in September 2012.

[The Fake Lonnie Finch]

I like that Baylor is couching this as fighting to preserve Texas football tradition and its rivalries. You know, preserving TX rivalries, just like the way that Baylor fought hard to get TCU, SMU, and Houston into the Big 12 when the SWC broke up.

We have a winner!

[GrayEagle]

Has the grounds for the lawsuit ever been stated? To me, the suit makes Baylor the laughingstock of the FBS. Man up Bears!

As to what, if anything, we might do for ourselves...mostly wait for the fallout. At this point we don't know who the leftovers will be.

Does Texas go independent? Do they try to put together a conference that will tolerate the Longhorn Network deal? Who stays and who goes? There are too many questions unanswered to even try to coalesce with another university (if we even have a friend).

Personally, I wouldn't mind North Texas prostituting itself to join with UT in whatever conference they can put together. Whatever payout the revised conference would offer is no doubt larger than the new ESPN contract with the Sun Belt Conference would be.

[Eagle1855]

Personally, I wouldn't mind North Texas prostituting itself to join with UT in whatever conference they can put together. Whatever payout the revised conference would offer is no doubt larger than the new ESPN contract with the Sun Belt Conference would be.

I'm so on board with this it hurts... but we don't have the connections nor the tradition (not that tradition seems to matter so much anymore) to make this work. Tech does. And they'll likely be UT's dancing partner, should they decide they need one, to any of the places Texas may go.

I'd settle for UH and Baylor. Hell, at this point, I'd settle for SMU or Rice. Just give me an in-state rival, for the LOVE OF GOD.

[UNTflyer]

Flyer - with all of your hate for UTSA and Texas State - do you beleive thet should not be trying to better themselves? Would you prefer to see UNT make no effort to improve our situation?

They are already going to the WAC. We as a conference do not need UTSA or Texas State. Inviting them would weaken our conference. We should be picking teams out of the WAC that are already in FBS.

Speaking of, we still don't know if the NCAA is even going to approve their move up. Why spend effort on such an endeavor when we can get NM State and LA Tech?

[UNTflyer]

The difference is:

UNT is a BCS school.

TXSt & UTSA are FCS schools.

We're already bringing up a non-bcs football program in S. Alabama. However, S. Alabama is already in our conference. Why would the Sun Belt, or anyone other than the crumbling WAC consider bringing up an FCS school with all of this volatility right now?

Exactly.

[Harry]

I'm so on board with this it hurts... but we don't have the connections nor the tradition (not that tradition seems to matter so much anymore) to make this work. Tech does. And they'll likely be UT's dancing partner, should they decide they need one, to any of the places Texas may go.

I'd settle for UH and Baylor. Hell, at this point, I'd settle for SMU or Rice. Just give me an in-state rival, for the LOVE OF GOD.

The interesting thing is that the Big 12 will retain its automatic BCS qualifications for I believe 3-years and so it might behoove them to reload it with teams and keep going forward. If Baylor stayed in that conference they would likely get a decent shot at three straight auto BCS bids assuming Texas/Tech/OU/OSU all left for Pac12. Unlikely but possible. The problem with the 16-team conferences is there are more mouths at the table to feed even though the TV contracts are bigger. I do subscribe to the Vito theory that change is a good thing for us right now. Having the enrollment, facilities and location will not hurt our case if opportunities arise.

[Eagle1855]

The interesting thing is that the Big 12 will retain its automatic BCS qualifications for I believe 3-years and so it might behoove them to reload it with teams and keep going forward. If Baylor stayed in that conference they would likely get a decent shot at three straight auto BCS bids assuming Texas/Tech/OU/OSU all left for Pac12. Unlikely but possible. The problem with the 16-team conferences is there are more mouths at the table to feed even though the TV contracts are bigger. I do subscribe to the Vito theory that change is a good thing for us right now. Having the enrollment, facilities and location will not hurt our case if opportunities arise.

That is interesting. The next few weeks should tell us a lot about the college landscape in Texas... and it will likely leave as many questions!

As related to UNT...I hope you're right!

[UNTflyer]

Big 12 - Foreigner Division

Iowa State

Kansas

Kansas State

Missouri

Boise State

Air Force

Big 12 - Lone Star Division

Baylor

Houston

SMU

North Texas

Texas State

UTSA

This is the only way I'd want to be in a conference TSUSM/UTSA.

[MeanGreenTexan]

Personally, I wouldn't mind North Texas prostituting itself to join with UT in whatever conference they can put together. Whatever payout the revised conference would offer is no doubt larger than the new ESPN contract with the Sun Belt Conference would be.

This is a NO-BRAINER... the only hold up would be: would Texas want us?

[UNTflyer]

Or this:

Big 12 - Lone Star Division

Baylor

Houston

SMU

North Texas

Rice

UTEP

Yeah, that's better.

[El Paso Eagle]

I think I might know how to get Baylor to back off …

If they sue, and lose – They have to use the Maryland model for their uniforms

[untjim1995]

SMU did all they could to get UNT into the SWC when they had the opportunity. I'm no fan of SMU or BCS for that matter I just don't want to see all the talented Texas HS players going to every State under the Sun but Texas because we don't have any BCS affiliation other than the 4 or 5 Texas institutions that are lucky enough to stay in the BCS. This situation Stinks no matter if it's Texas or A&M that isn't happy because they're losing some money. Money makes the world go around, so the parents of kids from Texas will just have to watch on TV, or pay the big buck's to see their son's play football.

I couldn't let this little gem pass without comment. No offense, but this couldn't be more wrong. If you believe this is true, then why would they have publically lobbied for freaking Louisiana Tech to join CUSA instead of UNT? Those folks on the Hilltop have absolutely no interest in ever being associated with us, except when it is necessary.

As for an all-Texas conference, it has been tried and worked aweseomely until this little thing called television really got going. It would really fail, on a national scale, today. But, if you want to try and build another all-Texas conference, our old SLC mates will gladly jump in. I mean we can get the gang back together and join SFA, SHSU, Texas State, UTSA, Lamar, and UTA in the Texas Conference. Because SMU, Houston, Rice, Baylor, and UTEP won't have even an iota of interest in joining that lineup.

[Eagle1855]

As for an all-Texas conference, it has been tried and worked aweseomely until this little thing called television really got going. It would really fail, on a national scale, today. But, if you want to try and build another all-Texas conference, our old SLC mates will gladly jump in. I mean we can get the gang back together and join SFA, SHSU, Texas State, UTSA, Lamar, and UTA in the Texas Conference. Because SMU, Houston, Rice, Baylor, and UTEP won't have even an iota of interest in joining that lineup.

I'm inclined to agree, but I don't see those big-time Sunbelt Conference match-ups garnering a great deal of national attention, outside their respective fan-bases... and that's after 10 years of "building a brand"

[untjim1995]

I'm inclined to agree, but I don't see those big-time Sunbelt Conference match-ups garnering a great deal of national attention, outside their respective fan-bases... and that's after 10 years of "building a brand"

I agree with you about the SBC thing, but that's comparing a limping dog with a dog that is blind in one-eye--both are gonna fall short against healthy competition. Neither of these examples is worth a hill of beans nationally because no one cares about them, nor have they given anyone a reason to care about them in a national sense. Seeing ESPN effectively give Wright Waters a watermelon and some coffee as the new TV contract for the next NINE years basically confirms this. But, the idea of a new Texas conference, to me, would do worse than the SBC because the the Texas schools that would be in it are less relevant than the SBC schools are today. I guess the all-Texas could get the LHN to televise the conference games so that it would have additional programming--imagine how fun that would be if we start helping UT get more money by playing on their network without actually playing them...

[UNTMike81]

untjim1995...I was being sarcastic about SMU!!! I know the history of UNT, SMU back in the Hayden Fry days. If we'd have been accepted into the SWC then Hayden could have saved himself at trip to cold, corn country to get into the NCAA Coaches Hall of Fame.

[SilverEagle]

Or this:

Big 12 - Lone Star Division

Baylor

Houston

SMU

North Texas

Rice

UTEP

Yeah, that's better.

For me, here's the deal about Rice. Yeah, they used to be in the SWC and are now in CUSA, but would they don't bring as many fans to our games as Tx St.....or possibly UTSA? I tend to doubt it.

We are never going to have a rivalry with Rice, but we could with TX St. or UTSA.

Edited September 7, 2011 by SilverEagle

[foutsrouts]

The ironic part of all of this is that our reason for not wanting to include FCS teams in our conference is the same reason other AQ instiutions give for not wanting us in their conference: they're not on our level, and therefore we've no reason to associate with them, and if they do improve, they may pass us by.

That's life. Football or otherwise.

[Quoner]

That's life. Football or otherwise.

Gob was learning life lessons all over the place.

[UNT90]

There won't be a long, expensive lawsuit because Baylor has no standing.

They have to claim something in order to file suit. They have to ask for either damages or an injunction.

Either way, they have no standing for the first and no proof of the second. So, again, the suit will be tossed long before A&M tees up as members of the SEC in September 2012.

Baylor will file suit if and when, and only if and when, they are left out in the cold in the BCS shuffle. Baylor would lose millions by being dropped from a BCS conference and having to go C-USA or an equivelent non- BCS conference.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't recall any university being dropped from BCS money. Several have been added, but none dropped. It's all about the money, folks. There has not been an anti-trust lawsuit filed against the BCS, because everyone is too busy scrambling to get the cheese. Take the cheese away from someone who already has it, and that anti-trust suit may be right around the corner.

The biggest shot fired by Baylor this afternoon is that they are preserving their right to file an anti-trust suit if they are left out of the party.

[meangreen]

Gob was learning life lessons all over the place.

Not sure how the hell someone gave you a -1 for that but I bumped ya back to even

[Green Mean]

Has the grounds for the lawsuit ever been stated? To me, the suit makes Baylor the laughingstock of the FBS. Man up Bears!

As to what, if anything, we might do for ourselves...mostly wait for the fallout. At this point we don't know who the leftovers will be.

Does Texas go independent? Do they try to put together a conference that will tolerate the Longhorn Network deal? Who stays and who goes? There are too many questions unanswered to even try to coalesce with another university (if we even have a friend).

Personally, I wouldn't mind North Texas prostituting itself to join with UT in whatever conference they can put together. Whatever payout the revised conference would offer is no doubt larger than the new ESPN contract with the Sun Belt Conference would be.

Just because Texas has this special allure to them I think there will be a conference willing to accept their Longhorn Network if ultimately the conference as a whole gets better. And Texas entering any conference makes it more high profile with not only athletics but academics as well.

Texas can choose who they want their dancing partners to be for the most part...UNT wouldn't even get noticed. We just don't have much to offer in most people's eyes other than potential. That is a word that gets thrown around way too much so instead of selling the point of having potential we just have to go out and do it in the field/court/diamond etc. And more and more funds have to be coming in terms of research etc. While its not everything...these big conferences do value how a school is academically as well.

[stebo]

There won't be a long, expensive lawsuit because Baylor has no standing.

They have to claim something in order to file suit. They have to ask for either damages or an injunction.

Either way, they have no standing for the first and no proof of the second. So, again, the suit will be tossed long before A&M tees up as members of the SEC in September 2012.

From what I have read, Baylor isn't threatening to sue...they just refuse to sign away their ability to sue down the road. There are no damages based on speculation but if they do get left out in the cold, there would be tangible evidence that the SEC caused financial harm to the program. I don't think they would win, but if OJ and Casey Anderson can walk free...you just never know what a jury might think in a civil court.

[stebo]

Baylor will file suit if and when, and only if and when, they are left out in the cold in the BCS shuffle. Baylor would lose millions by being dropped from a BCS conference and having to go C-USA or an equivelent non- BCS conference.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't recall any university being dropped from BCS money. Several have been added, but none dropped. It's all about the money, folks. There has not been an anti-trust lawsuit filed against the BCS, because everyone is too busy scrambling to get the cheese. Take the cheese away from someone who already has it, and that anti-trust suit may be right around the corner.

The biggest shot fired by Baylor this afternoon is that they are preserving their right to file an anti-trust suit if they are left out of the party.

TEMPLE got kicked out of a BCS conference and have been relegated to the MAC... but they basically kicked themselves out. They were asked for a plan to increase commitment and attendance and they said to hell with ya!