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Realignment talk not going away


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10 minutes ago, Gidnik said:

i honestly dont think it will be the money that gets us in if we do go that route, itll be they cant let anyone else have us.  If we go big 10 the big 10 is going to be the #1 conference and they wont let that happen.  

There is something to this I think (and also why it makes sense for Texas/OU to shop themselves as a package deal). If the SEC wants the entire college football world to keep revolving around them they need to add the two biggest free agents first and let the Big 10 and ACC fight over the scraps to counter. 

 

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Would love for this to happen. Doubt it does because we heard all this shit a decade ago and it fizzled out. But with the playoffs expanding, it would not hurt. But not sure why OU would want this. They win the Big 12 seemingly every damn year. Switching to the SEC, they no longer have that big kid on the playground status. With the playoffs expanding, they are almost a lock year in and year out to get there. They would keep the Texas game but would lose the Oklahoma St bedlam game. Another rivalry game they would lose (Nebraska a decade ago). It seems their identity would take another hit. Texas actually gains almost all of theirs back while getting to play aggy and Arky every year. Yes, I know, aggy. But playing aggy and Arky every year would be fun as shit for the shit talking and college sports is all about the rivalries. 

And seeing aggy's head explodes would be hilarious. Big brother would be back. No longer can they use that SECsecsec mantra. Also, do they root for us now in bowl games to boost their own image? And I read somewhere where aggy would be against this as they got away from Texas to have their own identity. Lmao. They have no identity in the SEC. They lost their biggest rivalry game. They are the red-headed step child of the SEC. No one respects them. They have zero history there. They only latch onto the success of Bama. That is their shitty identity. 

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A 12 team playoff would basically put Texas and Ou in the playoff every year. I see more to downside than upside at the moment.

I get that recruits want to play in the SEC but if we avoid the beat down of an SEC season and see them in the playoffs what is the real difference?    By switching we retain most aTm/SEC recruits? TV Money?  

What am I missing?   

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Texas, Oklahoma and the SEC Expansion Talk That Could Reshape College Sports

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During a conversation in May, one of the people I respect and trust most in college athletics dropped this on me, unsolicited: “Keep an eye on Texas and Oklahoma.” The person suspected that the two traditional power programs in the Big 12 were again getting the wandering eye, a decade after nearly leaving that league in ruins and radically changing the national landscape.

Later in May, it was reported that the Big 12 made early efforts to lock up a new media rights deal with broadcast partners ESPN and Fox, four years ahead of its expiration. Those efforts were rebuffed by the networks, according to the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, signaling a lack of interest in paying bigger money to the Big 12. That was another indicator of the league’s fragility.

I asked around with several other parties in college athletics, but nothing firm materialized. Now fast forward two months, and there is some reported fire to go with all that smoke. The Houston Chronicle published a story saying that the Longhorns and Sooners have approached the Southeastern Conference about jumping aboard. Not only that, but a decision on their potential addition to the SEC could come in mere weeks.

If you’re looking for the lever that could flip college athletics irrevocably in the direction of a new model and new shape, this would qualify. Everything could be on the table, from the long-theorized four Super Leagues to a power-conference breakaway from the NCAA. This could massively alter the entire enterprise, at a time when upheaval already is underway and the NCAA has never had less authority.

(Or it could lead to nothing. Texas and Oklahoma have been known to find their way to the brink before backing down. The Pac-12 almost had them back in 2011, and they also batted their eyes in all other Power 5 directions.)

Interestingly, reaction in both the Big 12 and SEC Wednesday was fast but not furious. The word “speculation” was thrown around by several people, but there were a grand total of zero firm denials. The only entity that seemed dead-set on throwing cold water on it was Texas A&M, for obvious reasons.

“We want to be the only SEC team from the state of Texas,” A&M athletic director Ross Bjork told my colleague Ross Dellenger in Hoover, Ala., at SEC media days. “There’s a reason why Texas A&M left the Big 12—to stand alone and have our own identity. That’s our feeling.”

Could A&M alone block a Texas-Oklahoma move to the SEC? It seems unlikely. The league bylaws state that “a vote of at least three-fourths of the members is required to extend an invitation for membership.” That means 11 of the 14 current members would have to vote yes to add a new member. So A&M would either need to find a few allies or create such a furor that unanimity—always prized in conference politics—would be impossible and discourage others from going forward.

Perhaps the support to nix expansion could come from SEC East schools that have traditionally stiff-armed the premise of adding their in-state rivals from the ACC. If Florida doesn’t want Florida State, Georgia doesn’t want Georgia Tech, South Carolina doesn’t want Clemson and Kentucky doesn’t want Louisville, are they sympathetic to A&M wanting no part of Texas?

But beyond rivalry motivations, it’s logical that most of the rest of the SEC would welcome the big brands that are Texas and Oklahoma. They make a ton of money; they add TV clout while further expanding that media footprint; they have deep tradition; and it’s better to add them than watch a rival conference scoop them up instead. Amassing power comes first; logistical nightmares associated with running a 16-team mega-league are just details to be sorted out later.

This also is the perfect time for the SEC to strike, if it so chooses. The Big 12 is wobbly, with an imbalance of power that leaves the Other Eight unattractive compared to the Big Two. There are new commissioners at the Pac-12 and ACC, and while they might work out well they also are works in progress. The Big Ten is in Year 2 with Kevin Warren, and the first year was a turbulent ride that left everyone in the conference shaken. There is little doubt that the SEC can present itself as the best landing spot for wayward bluebloods, although the ACC has a lot to offer. (Other than geographic proximity, but that ceased to matter a decade ago.)

That is, if Texas truly wants a conference landing spot. For more than a decade, one prominent power broker in college sports has insisted that the Longhorns are an ideal independent: Big enough to stand on their own, schedule and recruit nationally, and already in possession of their own TV deal with ESPN via the Longhorn Network. That could be another option for the school to consider.

The fact that Texas just became the first school other than Stanford to win the Learfield IMG Directors Cup since 1994 adds another line to the résumé. If the Longhorns wanted to go it alone in football and find a quality home for their other sports—as Notre Dame has—they would have good options.

Oklahoma, of course, is wise to keep itself aligned if at all possible with Texas. If the Longhorns leave the Big 12, the Sooners are on a bit of an island in a league that is leaking clout and marketability. They would have to go, too, and keeping ties with the state of Texas is vital.

So the two are a bit like Butch and Sundance jumping off the cliff together. The next question is whether their state legislatures would let them jump without additional company.

A decade ago, it was made fairly clear by politicians in both states that Oklahoma State was tied to Oklahoma and Texas Tech was tied to Texas. If a conference takes one, it must take the other. That was not a welcome development for the academically prestigious Pac-12, which looked at the scholarly profiles of the tagalongs and cringed.

Could those ties be untangled today? That’s unclear. If not, and the SEC has no interest in going to 18 to add the Red Raiders and Cowboys, that’s another reason why Texas independence could be an option.

As it stands, Texas is the ultimate example of what a weird place college athletics can be. Its football program has done nothing but underachieve for 10 years, and yet there is no doubt that every major conference in the country would love to have the Longhorns join their club. They might occasionally look like a trust-fund kid who is squandering the family fortune, but that money gusher is never going dry.

The enterprise is increasingly driven by dollars, and the money-driven altering of the landscape a decade ago was doomed to be temporary. Loyalty and tradition are expendable whenever TV contracts come up for bid again. The days of 80-year conference affiliations are fading, along with NCAA power.

The time for seismic change is upon us again, and it could be a constant for years to come.

 

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Just now, Vic Mackey said:

 But not sure why OU would want this. They win the Big 12 seemingly every damn year. Switching to the SEC, they no longer have that big kid on the playground status. With the playoffs expanding, they are almost a lock year in and year out to get there.

This is where I'm having trouble believing it's happening. OU has never had more consistent success and money than since the advent of the Big 12, and there's no end in sight for them. 

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6 minutes ago, Hurtlocker said:

I wouldn't want to be at the next media negotiation, but pick up Cinci/Memphis/Houston/Tulane and win in the post season enough and you could make something.   With no bluebloods though the revenue figures will stink.

I'd guess they negotiate a mid-length deal and come back to the table in a few years with TV numbers that are closer to being PAC/ACCish than MWCish.  They'll also be an elite basketball league... which matters somewhat, too.  

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And there is no way the Big 12 survives without Texas and OU. It would go the way of the Big East. Everyone shifting to other conferences. Oklahoma St, Baylor, TCU, Tech are not going to anchor down a conference. It could maybe stay around a little while, like the Big East did when Miami and company left but it would not last long. Not sure where the Texas teams would go, seeing as they have been apart of a Texas centric conference forever now. 

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If we stay in a viable league I probably would stick around.

If we end up G5 I’ll have to quit following the sport altogether.
The Big12 could live on with the addition of 2 or more teams..assuming everyone doesn't panic and start looking for other landing spots immediately.
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16 minutes ago, camel at sea said:

If the rest of the Big 12 decides to take a breath, this isn't all bad.  The playoff access will remain if they stick together.  And the Norman, Oklahoma roadblock to making the playoff is gone.  Even weaker, the Big 12 is all but a lock to be a Top 5 conference champ and the Big 12 runner-up would regularly be in the mix for a 2nd spot with 2 or fewer losses.  

OSU, ISU, TCU, Tech, etc., will never have had a better opportunity to elevate their football brands.  

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mine was a pure hypothetical.  I don't see anyone else voting no and certainly not LSU because while they may be dumb coonasses, they aren't bitches.
Tigah may not need the SEC affiliation as much as aggy, but they do like having that card up their sleeve in tight recruiting battles with us.
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5 minutes ago, Vic Mackey said:

Would love for this to happen. Doubt it does because we heard all this shit a decade ago and it fizzled out. But with the playoffs expanding, it would not hurt. But not sure why OU would want this. They win the Big 12 seemingly every damn year. Switching to the SEC, they no longer have that big kid on the playground status. With the playoffs expanding, they are almost a lock year in and year out to get there. They would keep the Texas game but would lose the Oklahoma St bedlam game. Another rivalry game they would lose (Nebraska a decade ago). It seems their identity would take another hit. Texas actually gains almost all of theirs back while getting to play aggy and Arky every year. Yes, I know, aggy. But playing aggy and Arky every year would be fun as shit for the shit talking and college sports is all about the rivalries. 

And seeing aggy's head explodes would be hilarious. Big brother would be back. No longer can they use that SECsecsec mantra. Also, do they root for us now in bowl games to boost their own image? And I read somewhere where aggy would be against this as they got away from Texas to have their own identity. Lmao. They have no identity in the SEC. They lost their biggest rivalry game. They are the red-headed step child of the SEC. No one respects them. They have zero history there. They only latch onto the success of Bama. That is their shitty identity. 

Good point about Oklahoma. They have a sweet spot in the Big 12 and it seems like the SEC would be unnecessary trouble for them.

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2 minutes ago, honolulu horn said:

This is where I'm having trouble believing it's happening. OU has never had more consistent success and money than since the advent of the Big 12, and there's no end in sight for them. 

Yep. And with the playoffs expanding, hell, they need to only finish 2nd in the Big 12, something they can do in their sleep, to get a spot. OU does not fit at all in the SEC and really have no reason to go. Texas on the other hand, is trying to re-shape themselves after a decade of sucking. It makes more sense for them. Seeing as 2 of their long-storied rivals are over there. I know some fans poo poo Arky and aggy (especially them) but these games would be great. I'd rather play aggy and arky than fucking Kansas and Iowa St. 

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19 minutes ago, camel at sea said:

If the rest of the Big 12 decides to take a breath, this isn't all bad.  The playoff access will remain if they stick together.  And the Norman, Oklahoma roadblock to making the playoff is gone.  Even weaker, the Big 12 is all but a lock to be a Top 5 conference champ and the Big 12 runner-up would regularly be in the mix for a 2nd spot with 2 or fewer losses.  

OSU, ISU, TCU, Tech, etc., will never have had a better opportunity to elevate their football brands.  

 

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1 minute ago, Vic Mackey said:

Yep. And with the playoffs expanding, hell, they need to only finish 2nd in the Big 12, something they can do in their sleep, to get a spot....

 

OU does not fit at all in the SEC 

Agree

Disagree, those mouth breathers fit right in.

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19 minutes ago, BurntOrange&White said:

Nahlin just now

3D673D8F-8D99-4373-A0E0-3EDBEF429612.png

Nahlins full of shit, if this is happening it is so much bigger than recruiting and NIL. This is the SEC killing off a P5 confrence and stacking theirs so full of money, brand power, and talent that the SEC becomes a football cartel that can bully the CFB, NCCA and networks.

Edited by Not a Sock
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Just now, Surly Bevo said:

LSU-Florida would be problematic.

That game doesn't have to be every year IMO. The only non-negotiable games would be:

  • Texas-OU
  • Auburn-Alabama
  • Alabama-Tennessee
  • Florida-Georgia
  • Ole Miss-Miss State
  • Texas-aggy (if you want to throw aggy a bone)

Am I missing any others?

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Just now, C-Man said:

That game doesn't have to be every year IMO. The only non-negotiable games would be:

  • Texas-OU
  • Auburn-Alabama
  • Alabama-Tennessee
  • Florida-Georgia
  • Ole Miss-Miss State
  • Texas-aggy (if you want to throw aggy a bone)

Am I missing any others?

Georgia/Auburn

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Its not though, but it was.   And adding Texas doesn't add any households to neither ESPN nor the SECN.   This is about audience, people viewing the actual game and it will continue to grow that way over the next decade.   
They will gain more viewers in Houston, and a shitload of brand new ones in DFW (mostly Texas and blowU now) as well as greater Austin and SA.
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1 minute ago, Darth Tron said:

I say do it.  Do it to fuck with the Aggies and Mizzou.  Do it to fuck with Tech.  Do it to leave Fatterson on an island alone with Mike Gundy so they can suck each other off.  Do it so we can play Arky, LSU, and Aggo rather than KU, ISU, and KSU.  And fuck West Virginia while we’re at it.  Burn the whole goddamn thing down and let’s go conquer the SEC.  Those rubes don’t know what they’re doing inviting the wolf into their house.  Let’s fuckin do it!

Who actually gives a fuck about Mizzou, good or bad?  Good rant otherwise.

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1 minute ago, ousux said:
1 hour ago, Hurtlocker said:
Its not though, but it was.   And adding Texas doesn't add any households to neither ESPN nor the SECN.   This is about audience, people viewing the actual game and it will continue to grow that way over the next decade.   

They will gain more viewers in Houston, and a shitload of brand new ones in DFW (mostly Texas and blowU now) as well as greater Austin and SA.

Don’t forget Bandera!

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Just now, ousux said:
1 hour ago, Hurtlocker said:
Its not though, but it was.   And adding Texas doesn't add any households to neither ESPN nor the SECN.   This is about audience, people viewing the actual game and it will continue to grow that way over the next decade.   

They will gain more viewers in Houston, and a shitload of brand new ones in DFW (mostly Texas and blowU now) as well as greater Austin and SA.

We're kind of talking the same thing.   Ten years ago expansion was about markets, because carriage, the amount paid to channels to carry them, relied on it.   Chord cutting changed all that.   Everyone wanted audiences before, but it was secondary to making someone pay who didn't watch.   Now, the metrics are about how much watching occurs and it doesn't matter where it occurs.  

Texas to the SEC doesn't do shit for carriage, because carriage is on the way out.   It provides you a shit ton of viewership.   Brands, success, and fanbases trump DMAs.

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Just now, conVINCEd said:

Who actually gives a fuck about Mizzou, good or bad?  Good rant otherwise.

Rumor is they’re a bunch of asshats who left the Big 12 primarily because of us, and would probably not want to see us again.  Between that and their dipshit QB from a few years back I’d add them in to the fuck pile.

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Just now, Hurtlocker said:

We're kind of talking the same thing.   Ten years ago expansion was about markets, because carriage, the amount paid to channels to carry them, relied on it.   Chord cutting changed all that.   Everyone wanted audiences before, but it was secondary to making someone pay who didn't watch.   Now, the metrics are about how much watching occurs and it doesn't matter where it occurs.  

Texas to the SEC doesn't do shit for carriage, because carriage is on the way out.   It provides you a shit ton of viewership.   Brands, success, and fanbases trump DMAs.

And drives ESPN +.

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I'll go ahead and be the first to predict what will be an inevitable click-bait article that will come out if this goes through and the SEC adds Texas and OU:

What is More Valuable: The SEC or the AFC?

It's just a race between ESPN, SI, BR, and Barstool to research it out and print it up, at this point.

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12 minutes ago, Texas Wahoo said:

 

 

If true that TX and Ou enquired they must have been shown the tv contracts and were unimpressed and asked what it would look like if they took their teams to the SEC.  Thats my best guess. 

Maybe this explains why CDC has been asleep at the wheel on NIL.  Maybe he's been staying up late playing chinese checkers, not simply checkers, thinking he's playing 4d chess.  

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