OT-Rivals site reporting Texas AM to SEC.
Texas AM rivals site is reporting that they are going to the SEC. If true a big domino just fell.
Ed: Wow
August 11th, 2011 at 11:24 PM ^
would stay in Texas alone.
So if you're a fan of a big ten team living in the midwest and they are playing at Texas, you wouldn't be able to watch the game unless it was on ABC or ESPN????
August 12th, 2011 at 12:41 AM ^
If those are Texas's options, and the Big Ten is obviously their best, then I'd be very disappointed in the Big Ten if they gave any BTN money to UT while they insisted on running the Longhorn Network. You join the conference, you play nice. This isn't the Big 12 that needs Texas to hold things together.
August 11th, 2011 at 11:21 PM ^
Their football team would probably be fine as an independent. The big question Texas would need to ask/answer is: how would their other sports do as independents? They have one of the top athletic programs in the country. However, whereas ND is independent in football, they were smart to get the rest of their sports into the Big East.
If the Big 12 dissolves, do you think any of the other super conferences are going to give Texas the ok to be independent in football but the ok for their other programs to participant in the conference? The SEC no way. The Big 10 no way and probably doubtful the Pac-10 would either. That leaves the Big East and the ACC.
The question Texas needs to ask about joining the Big Ten is do they think they can make more money as an independent (while maintaining all their athletic programs) than they can make by joining the Big 10?
August 11th, 2011 at 11:34 PM ^
Anyone suggesting that Pitt or Rutgers would be added under any scenario needs to be punched in the face repeatedly.
August 11th, 2011 at 11:38 PM ^
But you don't want to see the RichRod bowl as our new staff plays RichRod's old staff?
August 11th, 2011 at 11:40 PM ^
We're playing Clemson in 2012?
August 11th, 2011 at 11:51 PM ^
Doesn't want to move. They have it good in the Big 12. Going to any other conference would be a salary cut for them.
August 11th, 2011 at 11:52 PM ^
But if there is no Big 12 they won't have it so good.
August 11th, 2011 at 11:51 PM ^
The thought of Texas baseball destroying B1G teams is absolutely hilarious. At least our softball could compete with them.
August 12th, 2011 at 12:03 AM ^
Maryland has a decent athletics program just not football that would bring the Baltimore/DC tv money to the Big ten. Missouri has a solid football and basketball program that would be able to play old foe Nebraska.
August 12th, 2011 at 9:29 AM ^
The DC market doesn't care about Maryland. Georgetown, GWU, GMU basketball all operate relatively close by. Plenty of Maryland alums around DC, but the lack of interest in Maryland football games (seriously, I can get a ticket to BC v Maryland or UVA v Maryland for $7 right now) makes this a non-starter.
August 12th, 2011 at 12:45 AM ^
August 12th, 2011 at 12:54 AM ^
August 12th, 2011 at 1:40 AM ^
Unless they are able to hold the Big 12 together, Texas is probably going to have to compromise some depending on which conference they go to. And lately it seems Texas is mainly concerned with Texas. I can't see them going to the Big 10 or SEC because I think each of those conferences would want Texas to compromise more than Texas wants. So it would come down to how badly the Pac-10, Big East or ACC wanted Texas and how much that conference was willing to let Texas be Texas.
August 12th, 2011 at 1:24 AM ^
Here we go again *sigh*. Time to dust off the 'ole B1G wish list.
The usual suspects:
Notre Dame - Texas looks like it will eventually wind up going independent. This may give ND the "courage" to stay independent. Look for TX and ND to ink a long term deal to play each year. I just don't think ND is in the picture for the B1G.
Missouri - Meh. Doesn't add that much geography that Neb and Ill don't already account for. But it does give Neb another playmate.
Rutgers - Double meh. Adding Rutgers will not make NYC Big Ten country. It will make New Brunswick NJ Big Ten counrty.
Pitt - Redundant with Penn State. But it gives Penn State a real rival so that they can still complain about the refereeing.
Syracuse - Personallly, I think we would get more bang for the East Coast buck from Syracuse than Rutgers. And there's hoops as well.
Some new faces:
Maryland - Forget the NYC pipe dream. Look south, young conference. Maryland will make the compelling DC area B1G country. They would be hard to pry away from the ACC. They fancy themselves as a basketball school (legit) and have built up quite a decent rivalry with Duke.
Virginia - Maryland would accomplish the same goals for the B1G (ratings, new markets,etc.), but better than Virginia. Va would probably also have to be twofer with Va Tech which is how it played out in the ACC when Va insisted that Va Tech be brought in.
Oklahoma - What the hell. Neb lost its academic accreditation. So what if Oklahoma never had it in the first place. Maybe we look the other way on this one. Unfortunately, OU would be a package deal with OSU (not that OSU).
Oddball stuff:
Duke & UNC - There's been some chatter that the B1G would go the pure hoop pedigree route if it goes up to 16 teams. I'm not sure I see this one. Football is king for the B1G market and the ACC is not necessarily going to dissolve like the Big East may.
Kansas & KSU - There's been some chatter about this too, but its a watered down version of the above without the cache. It would be ours for the taking if we did want it though.
Ga Tech - apparently there were some informal talks with Ga Tech and the B1G in the past. Big appeal market-wise. Remember all the discussions about the population shifting south from the B1G office during the last round of expansion? Location, location, location. Otherwise, actually pretty meh.
Boston College - Another pure media market play, but with less appeal.
Texas - No. Any conference that invites Texas to join it has not been paying attention.
August 12th, 2011 at 1:36 AM ^
Texas as an independent: good point about possibly making ND want to stay independent. Couple that with BYU and that's not a bad threesome. The catch is ND and BYU got their other sports into a conference (ND Big East and BYU WAC). What does Texas do with it's other sports?
ACC teams: Other than possibly Georgia Tech, I can't see any of them leaving unless the ACC falls apart. UNC, Duke, Maryland and Virginia are all core members.
To me the school on there that is interesting is Kansas. So-so football school but would be huge for Big 10 basketball.
Agree on a lot of those schools being meh and not really adding to the Big Ten footprint, but I think it's going to be hard to pull a core ACC school and I'd be surprised if Syracuse left the Big East. After that there's not a lot of schools that get me excited, and if Delaney wanted to keep up with the superconferences (even if it's just to 14 teams) it might require at least one addition that isn't that attractive.
August 12th, 2011 at 8:40 AM ^
Any realignment scenarios that end up with Baylor not having a major conference home should immediately be discarded as pure fantasy. The Texas state legislature will make sure that Baylor has a lucrative and prominent home. They don't deserve it competitively, but it is what it is. Baylor will be protected.
August 12th, 2011 at 10:49 AM ^
goto Conference-USA where they belong
August 12th, 2011 at 8:59 AM ^
should add Notre Dame and Boston College.
August 12th, 2011 at 9:52 AM ^
Nobody cares about BC even in Boston.
Per my constant Syracuse to the Big Ten campaigning, I present Syracuse at MSG in NYC (against other contender Pitt)
At other candidate Rutgers, in NJ.
And for those that are touting the D.C. area, at the Verizon Center.
Of all of the teams mentioned as candidates, Syracuse has the largest fanbase from New York to the mid-Atlantic.
SYRACUSE TO THE BIG TEN!
August 12th, 2011 at 11:29 AM ^
why hasn't ESPN reported/confirmed the story yet? Everything I've seen (such as on cbssports.com) says that it looks like it 'could' happen. Is it really a done deal? Or are there just technicalities to work out before it can be confirmed.
August 12th, 2011 at 11:34 AM ^
that ESPN is who held together the Big 12 last year, and that they own a big part of the Longhorn Network, that they don't want it to happen.
It's financially advantageous for A&M to be in the Big 12.
August 12th, 2011 at 2:53 PM ^
Could we go after Virginia Tech? I get the feeling that UVA and Maryland might be tied to stongly to the ACC.
August 12th, 2011 at 5:26 PM ^
If we took VT we would need to take UVA as well because of the Virginia legislature.
August 12th, 2011 at 9:32 PM ^
No, the Virginia legislature didn't want to leave VT in the dying Big East and forced Virginia to veto syracuse to get VT into the ACC. If VT was going to the B1G, they wouldn't object. It's a moot point though, the B1G has 0 interest in VT.