Texas' future

[Sirhornsalot]

Burton has an interesting column about the historical perspective of Texas' response to conference realignment. He ends up endorsing a move away from the Big 12 and to either the Big 10 or SEC.

I've long been of the thinking that Texas needed to just stay put and add value to the conference they are in. I've felt that way all the way up to, well, this week. Watching as Baylor and TCU, who I thought could have both beaten Bama, were left out. That, IMO, was a slap in the face of the conference. And that should never happen to the Big 12, or at least the conference Texas resides in.

For the life of me, I cannot wrap my brain around a move to the Big 10. Burton compares playing Iowa St to playing Iowa. I don't see the big difference frankly. ISU often beats IU. Playing Iowa as a conference member would be one of our closest games away.

I don't want to go to the Big 10, though I think we'd win it more times than not.

So there's the Pac 12 or 14. They'd take us if we called, no questions asked. But again we have that distance thing. Nice road trip, no doubt. But they're all road trips, significant road trips.

Since there are only three real options (not counting independent status), we'll call Pac 12-14 my plan b.

That brings us to the SEC. Yes, those guys. If there's a way I can make that happen, I do it. It puts an end to competing with the SEC from the outside looking in. I'd love the chance to play LSU, Ole Miss, Auburn. Reasonable road trips. Good football. And would it not be a hoot to have yet another Big 12 team come in and wreck the place? lol Finebaum would give birth to hate radio like we've never seen. lol

I don't buy the concept that Texas in the SEC makes things worse on the recruiting trail. They already cheat. It's not like joining the conference will change a thing now.

What say you? Can we go on like this? Are the options out there (Cinn, BYU, CFU) even worth pursuing? Are we trying to save something that just can't be saved?

 

[J.B. TexasEx]

Bottom Line is Texas doesn't want to be in a conference where its voice isn't the loudest and its not the lead dog.  Burton is just trolling.  Do you really believe UT or OU gets left out of the CFB Playoff with BU's and TCU's credentials?  I don't.  

Both the B1G and Pac12 travel would suck for our fans and alumni.  SEC?  Not scared of the competition, but I doubt the academia nuts who run our prestigious University wanna associate with those rednecks.

Step off the ledge...the Big12 will be just fine long-term.

http://big12fanatics.com/marketing-performance-big-12-got-robbed/

 

[utisdabomb12]

Oh Burton. 

 

[texasdalton]

I love the rivalries we have forged but i really would mind a jump of the sec or pac12. It would be huge for recruiting, open up acess to the west coast. The Sec would get a huge wake up call from Strong and his defense. The only thing getting left behind in the big12 are the sooners but they are on a crash course to the mack brown dumpster fire.

 

[TheContractor]

this can and will be debated until a resolution in made. 

I agree with you, big 10 is just to far and too cold and not fun. 

ideally, we would go somewhere where we can take a few friends/foes with us(Ou, OkSt, TT, maybe Bu) but thats not most places. Personally, i think super conferences is what will happen in the future. weather they be 16 teams or 20 teams. There needs to be equality, 4, 16 team conferences or 8, 10 team conference and make it easy. The more you leave in NCAA/committee/BCS hands the worse the situation. I think we need to give it a year or 2 b4 doing anything to see where Big12 really stands. Had FSU lost to GT and tOsu lost to a MichSt or PSU then Big12 had a shot to get 2 teams in. It is also Bu and Tcu fault for scheduling shit in non conference. Bu for the next 5-7 years has still scheduled crap while Texas and Ou have scheduled big boys. 

There will probably be some sort of pod system if we go somewhere. 

4 places left to go(not counting Independent). 

Expand Big 12: but with who? BYU, UCF are my top 2 but Cincy and others have been mentioned. As stated above Texas(at least with Deloss) has always wanted to be the solo big dog and make make all the decisions regardless of how small the pond has gotten. I think going to another conference with friends and we can still do that. maybe add 2 teams and see what that does for a few years b4 making the big leap would work, maybe?

SEC: if we don't go there and don't take Ou with us, Ou is going to SEC meaning everyone around us will cheat like its 1960s, 70s, 80s. The ? really is, are teams going to separate from the NCAA?

IF yes, then rules will/should be established on cheating and there will/should be consequences. Currently laws exist(some that don't make sense) but no penalty if they are broken.

if no, the we need to level the playing field. I think SEC could be an option and we have our games with Ou, Aggie, Lsu, Arky and others.

Pac:again we need to bring friends with us so the travel isn't bad. if we had our Pac east pod of UT, Ou, TT, Osu then we don't travel too far often. Colorado, Utah, Zona and ASU arnt too far and better destinations, by far. We would be the Big dog along with usc here. easy travel to LA, Phx, SF, etc. great academics. negative is west coast and time zones but we can always say our games should start no later than 7 central. another negative is some far travels to oregon, washington. 

ACC: this is another good option imo. essentially a merger of Big12/ACC. We are the ACC west. UT, Ou, TT, Ok St. great and easy travel to ATL, Mia, DC, Boston, etc. We are the big dog here along with unc(research triangle runs the ACC). great academics with GT, UNC, DUKE, etc. Merger meaning teams like Wake, might have to go. negative is some far travel. 

i don't think we should move anywhere alone bc of travel distance and bc we need friends in new places and we do need to remain a big dog(maybe not the solo big dog) but in a bigger pool. 

 

[Tejas fan]

If Texas goes west, they will lose the connections in Florida. I don't see those recruits wanting to play on the west coast after a lot of their family is asleep.

 

[TheContractor]

If Texas goes west, they will lose the connections in Florida. I don't see those recruits wanting to play on the west coast after a lot of their family is asleep.

Short term yes but this is a long term decision. You can always play an ooc game vs UCF, USF, Miami, Fsu, UF.

I think culturally Texas fits better with some schools in Pac(UCLA, Stanford, Cal) and ACC(UNC, Duke, UVA). 

 

[texasdobbs]

No SEC. ....

 

[Shevis Irons]

Absolutely No to the Sec.

 

[HornEsch]

I would love for the ACC/B12 to merge. It would cover a lot of good recruiting grounds, media markets, and has good academic schools as well.

 

[Juan]

At one point, we had a good chance to form a Pac-12 East or South in our own image, which would have maintained many of the traditional rivalries and minimized the travel inconveniences and late-game-time nonsense.  However, due to the steps the Pac-12 took subsequent to Dodds backing out of that deal, I am not sure that same window is still open.  I thought at the time and still think that, whole not perfect, this would have been the optimal set-up for our school -- on almost all levels -- academic and athletic.  And it would have been a powerhouse conference.

B1G - While I have no choice but to concede there would be certain academic benefits of joining that conference, I don't think its worth the trade-off for the sports programs. That is a dying part of the country.  Texas is where the growth and future is.  I think, in the long run, they would get more out of this relationship than us (even though they may not yet recognize it themselves).

SEC - Never had any interest.

I have said this before and some people get agitated over it.  But, purely from the "fan experience" perspective, the SWC was way more fun than the Big12 has ever been.  It is not close.  

Thus, we are sort of stuck now, with no great option (thanks to Dodds going into turtle mode in the moment of truth).

 

[Juan]

 

[Juan]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIzbTtRNQkM

 

[Duke C #11]

UT and the SEC go together like matches and gasoline.

 

[Hiphopopotamos]

The absolute best thing that could happen for Texas and the Big 12 is for Texas and OU to become national powers again.  Once that happens - no one is having this discussion.

 

[utisdabomb12]

The absolute best thing that could happen for Texas and the Big 12 is for Texas and OU to become national powers again.  Once that happens - no one is having this discussion.

Yep. 

 

[Hiphopopotamos]

Yep. 

The problem is that none of the schools outside of Texas and OU have the historical relevance or a high enough Q rating to hold up the conference while Texas and OU are down. 

This is a perception issue - the perception is that the Big 12 is the weakest of the Power 5, despite the evidence to the contrary (ie. TCU and Baylor in the top 7 and KState at 11).  But thats only te perception because the traditional powers both had down years.  Add in Texas and OU to the top 25 and perceptions will change very quickly.

Unfortunately they're having to battle against the ESPN/SEC hype machine that would lead you to believe that at one point Alabama, Auburn, A&M, Georgia, LSU, Miss St., Ole Miss were all top 8.  The ACC has the defending National Champs and the Pac 12 has everyones darlings/favorite in Oregon.  And now, because of Ohio St's thumping of Wisconsin (and ESPN's advocacy) there are people who actually believe the B1G is the better conference.

This year was the result of a weird turn of events that if simulated out 1000 more times may never have been reproduced.  Its going to get better - starting next season.

*To add:  I was as disappointed as everyone else in the way the conference handled expansion/contraction 3 years ago - but whats done is done.  There are no easy solutions, and bringing in a couple of crap programs just so we can have a CCG isn't going to solve anything.  Get the lawyers involved, get the waiver, and figure out a way to have a CCG with 10 teams.

 

[HornEsch]

Hip, you are quickly becoming one of my favorite reads! Keep it up!

 

[TheContractor]

A lot of divorces in this family.