Originally published at: https://pistolsfiringblog.com/why-adding-byu-could-help-big-12-stay-afloat/
Both parties could benefit from a marriage.
I would rather have UCF than BYU.
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" So there’s appeal if you’re BYU in linking to a strong conference with a more secure future, too."
How does this Conf, with 8 members, none of which are visible nationwide, who are all trying to leave as we speak…offer the appeal of being anything remotely close to a “strong conference with a more secure future”?
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Easy. Look at the alternative. Do you think NU, MU, CU, or ATM feel like they are valued members of their conferences like they were in the Big 8/12.
The baby is getting thrown out with the bath water. The lack of perceived value coming from ESPIN is funny based on how wrong they were about LHN. The pandemic hurt ESPN and they stopped overpaying for TV contracts which came up when the Big 12 tried to negotiate. ESPN benefits by destabilizing the Big 12 and adding assets to the SEC which is under a huge contract than can’t go like the LHN.
None of this deals with the elephant in the room which is getting the NCAA out of college football. ESPN IMO is in a hostile take over with the NCAA and it is just playing out slow so plausible deniability can be maintained. NCAA leadership mirrors the quality the Big 12 has had under Bowlsby so it is just a matter of time.
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I don’t disagree with most of the conspiracy theory elements of your post involving ESPN. You do have a little wrong with the Big 12/ESPN contract. FOX was the one who chose not to renegotiate the Conf TV deal. That shows me & should’ve shown Bowlsby just how fragile this Conf was overall. So that was nothing to do with LHN or ESPN or a coup by anyone to oust the NCAA. That was just dollars & cents.
You mentioned the 4 teams that left prior to OU & Texas & their feeling of value currently. I really have no idea whether those 4 feel as valued in these Conf’s. Nor do I think that matters in any way at all. Of the 4 that left, I guarantee A&M feels like they’re in a better spot. Mizzou seems to give off that impression as well. Colorado seems like they’d be about the same in the Big 12 as they are now in the PAC. Now Nebraska…….they’d give their left testicle to go back to 2010. On that note, BYU will need a whole lot more than “we can offer you a sense of value” to jump into what appears to be a sinking ship.
I respect and appreciate the discussion though. See, people can have differing opinions without it turning into throwing feces at each other
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I just sent an email (excerpts below) to President Shrum re this topic: To wit:
“Good morning! I trust you might recall I wrote you on 3/Aug., 2021 re your appointment and Big-12 Athletics.
Today, in a much shorter missive, I rise to address you re the above-referenced subject (of Big12 Expansion - BYU!
I have recently read a great deal about the subject and most recently much about adding BYU to the conference. This would be a monumental mistake by the Big-12. If you think UT (or texascede as I so irreverently referred to them) is a problem, then multiply this by a factor of at least 10!
My direct knowledge of this comes via an ex/retired major sport coach, and a faculty representative at the US Air Force Academy when BYU was a member of the Mountain West Conference (and prior to that the Western Athletic Conference – both of which AF was also a member of both conferences for many years with BYU).
FYI, I have resided in Colorado Springs since 2001 and attend many AF sporting events; and as a season ticket holder for football and basketballand have some personal knowledge of BYU!
They are precisely like texascede in that if you don’t do it their way – it is the highway! Ask any present or former MWC or WAC conference member(s)!
They also bring the same issue that IMHO was a huge issue in the Big-12 w/texascede, i.e. their own TV Network; not to mention scheduling problems for most sports in which they compete! And if you think the land thieves and texascede have obnoxious, insufferable, offensive fans – they hold no quarter over BYU fans – yes really!
Just for the record, this opinion has absolutely nothing with religion – period! It is just a fact and if you check around with those members of the MWC and the WAC you will be able to validate these comments”.
This article:
In reference to TV numbers, well… consider the purpose & source of the numbers and their world wide TV network!
BYU is texascede & the land thieves on steroids!
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We do not NEED to do anything right now. Why is every pundit sweating over who can suggest an answer soonest. Lets wait–see if UT pays the OU leave fee of $80M, see what a couple of the other conferences do for TV pkgs. Then we can best assess where/who we want to do. Right now is not the time to try pushing the rope.!!!
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Oh, and remember that they bolted the MWC just as texascede & the land thieves bolted the Big-12!
As to NU, my best friend is a NU alum & he rues the day they left the BIG-12, not to mention ex-coach & AD Tim Osborne wasn’t going to abide the “my way or the highway” attitude of texascede given the strength of NU academically & athletically; as to MU & CU the were/are in dire financial straits (and still are); with regards to A&M (and even Arkansas) the rationale is clear they vtired of texascede after so many years of having to contend with “texascede’s way or the highway”!
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We don’t really know if any of the other 3 P5 conferences want to expand or not. The new P12 commish, stuck his neck out way too early speaking about expansion. Of course he had to walk it back and say that the P12 at this time will stand pat. If he did say, yes we are going to expand, then he would create pressure on himself by answering who? ACC and B10 were smart to not take the bait and just research and observe. I still think no major announcements until after the season,…but secret meetings will continue.
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Tom Osborne was butthurt and he made a decision that has forever changed the direction of their football program. They may never recover. You can’t treat a multimillion dollar business the way you would a personal relationship. If you do, you will absolutely put that business in dire straits. Sound familiar? That’s why if you’re OU/TX, you don’t tell your competitors about your move. That’s why if you’re OSU, you don’t quit playing Bedlam football. These universities are businesses………so run them like such.
A&M left because of UT, but they are in much greener pastures as a result.
As for the Texas influence and attitude, that only worked with the Big 12. It will not in the SEC.
“Secret meetings”………that’s not how some people on here say you’re supposed to conduct business. for the record, I agree with you
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Nebraska is millions of dollars ahead because of their move. You keep talking about it being a business decision, then they made the right decision.
I on the other hand, don’t believe it is a business decision, because if over the long haul they lose their fan base, going to a conference where the payday is higher, they’ve lost what made them successful.
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If expansion is going to happen then add BYU, Houston, SMU, Boise or Cincinnati. Create the two divisions and be done with it.
North:
Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, BYU, Cincinnati, Boise State
South:
OSU, TCU, Baylor, Tech, Houston, SMU
Did west Virginia leave the big 8? Or is Joey almighty kicking them out.
For the business, it’s absolutely the right decision. I’ve never said otherwise. It’s also, undoubtedly compromised their success as a football program. It’s great for business……terrible for their W-L record.
As of now, they haven’t lost their fan base. If that happens……then you’re absolutely right.
There is nothing to do but watch corn grow in Nebraska
They’ll go to the ACC.
Watching corn grow might be better for them than watching Nebraska and Frost lose to Fordham and or Buffalo at home.
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Sign up BYU (football only). Legacy program = Steve Young, Jim McMahon, Ty Detmer, Steve Sarkisian, Taysom Hill, Zach Wilson. They will put butts in seats and eyeballs on TVs. They are top half of conference on day 1 = they will make the competition better. Remember when they beat Texas 40-21 behind 259 rushing yards by Taysom Hill in 2013, and then 41-7 in Austin in 2014 behind Taysom’s 181 pass/99 rush?. They have won impressive road games during Independence years - Tennessee, Mich St, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Cincinnati, Boise State, Houston. And they will win frequently at Lawrence, Manhattan, Lubbock, Waco, Morgantown, Stillwater, Ames, and Fort Worth.