Sporting News: SEC is Oklahoma's and Texas A&M's Outlet if Longhorn Network Issues Aren't Resolved
by Year2 on Jul 20, 2011 8:11 PM EDT
in Conference Realignment
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PrintLost in the rest of today's big news (at least on this site) is the report from the Sporting News that Oklahoma and Texas A&M will likely turn to the SEC if the issues they have with the Longhorn Network are not worked out.
We've covered several recent developments regarding Texas A&M looking at the SEC, but this is the first I've seen that Oklahoma would be willing to bail on the Big 12 as well. OU chose to link itself up with Texas and follow UT wherever it went last summer, but that loyalty has apparently evaporated with the Longhorn Network's plan to televise high school games of big name recruits.
We do know from last summer that the SEC talked to both OU and A&M about joining up, but it was purely a reaction to the Pac-10's belligerence. It was not part of a longstanding plan. Now, this report does mean that the SEC could fire the first shot in the next round of conference realignment. A big outstanding issue with the plan is whether or not Oklahoma's state government will insist that the Sooners and Oklahoma State are a package deal.
Mike Slive was noncommittal on potential future expansion plans during SEC Media Days today. He did work in a line that he could get the conference up to 16 teams inside of 15 minutes if he really wanted to, but as I cautioned earlier, he's probably sarcastically referring to the prospect of inviting CUSA or Sun Belt teams. Yes, I'll bet he could get UCF, Troy, ECU, and Tulane inside the league within 15 minutes. He's obviously not going to.
Just about everyone seems to agree that broadcasting top recruits' games is an advantage to Texas' recruiting. Being able to sell those same recruits on getting to play SEC ball is about the only way Oklahoma and Texas A&M could effectively counter that fact. That's why the schools could blow up the Big 12, and that's why this story is out there. It's likely their way of telling Texas to stop throwing its weight around and at least pretend like it cares what its conference brethren think.
UPDATE
The Dallas Morning News reports that plans to have the Longhorn Network broadcast high school games are now shelved pending a review by the NCAA and Big 12. Also on ice for now is Fox's sale of a second Big 12 game to the LHN for this fall.
Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe says the LHN won't broadcast high school games unless "the conference can make it happen with benefit to all and detriment to none." Based on what I've read about what Oklahoma and Texas A&M think, that means it will never happen if we can take Beebe at the letter of his word. Texas, for its part, sees broadcasting high school games as a service to the state and not a recruiting advantage. Of course it does.
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OH HELL YES!
You know what…screw it.
Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Florida State and either Clemson or VaTech (whichever of those two asks first) come on down!!!!
If it is meant to be only two. Bring it on Oklahoma and Texas A&M!!!
Editor at Alligator Army - The Florida Gators Blog
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Oh Man!
Oklahoma is one of the few legitimate crown jewels available in potential conference realignment and I’d be more than happy to welcome them into our fold if they so choose. Texas A&M seems destined for the SEC regardless of what else happens, fits our profile and grows our brand – so I approve of them, too. Adding just those two might complicate realignment within our conference somewhat (Vandy moving West would create competing claims for Tennessee as a permanent East-West opponent, along with Alabama).
As for moving all the way up to the 16-team super-conference threshold: I’ve heard calls for UNC and Duke (I sincerely doubt they’d abandon their North Carolina brethren, or the rest of the ACC basketball powerhouse slash attainable football crown), as well as Clemson and Florida State (who would likely be vetoed by South Carolina and Florida respectively and don’t expand our footprint). Logic suggests Oklahoma State might come as a package deal with OU (I wouldn’t mind them, actually) and that the remainder of the Big XII (Missouri, Kansas, etc.) plus the non-BCS (Houston, etc.) world be readily available. Heck, we could even raid the Big East (West Virginia, Louisville, Cincinnati, etc.) if we had to.
Oh man, this is exciting!
MileHighReport.com member since 02/06/07, promoted to "Position Coach" (i.e. new staff writer) on 02/16/10!
UNC and Duke run the ACC and think they’re academically too good for the SEC. They’ll never join.
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Who in the hell would want Duke and UNC in their conference anyway? I don’t. They are more Big East-type schools anyway. What with the basketball first and all.
Editor at Alligator Army - The Florida Gators Blog
The Florida Gators - The most despised team in all of college football - Which is fantastic.
Well,
The ACC obviously. And according to some corners of the Internet, potentially the Big Ten too.
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And both of those conferences aren’t much. Sure the Big 10 makes money, but they haven’t won anything (even outside of football) in a long time. The ACC, is a little better.
Editor at Alligator Army - The Florida Gators Blog
The Florida Gators - The most despised team in all of college football - Which is fantastic.
Academics.
Yet another reason why Duke and UNC would not join the SEC: thanks for pointing that out! I never said they would, just that some have mentioned it in their wishlist. I’m on the record as saying that I think the ACC adds to its roster (at the Big East’s expense) in the upcoming round of conference realignment, actually…
MileHighReport.com member since 02/06/07, promoted to "Position Coach" (i.e. new staff writer) on 02/16/10!
Can't see OU and A&M alone going to SEC
I’m sure state legislatures in OK and TX will have something to say about this. They will likely insist that OkSt, TT and Baylor are taken care of. What good does it do the state of Oklahoma to have OU go to the SEC, but have OkSt in, say, the MountainWest Conference. And I can’t see the SEC taking even two of those three (BU, TT, OSU).
I’m not sure even the mighty SEC can cherry pick teams as other conferences tried and failed to do. ACC wanted Syracuse and got stuck with Virginia Tech (although this now seems to have been a blessing in disguise), Pac10 wanted Texas and A&M, but was going to get stuck with strap-hangers like Baylor and TT.
Beebe putting his foot down, or something.
The high school games and big 12 games on the Longhorn network are now on hold. Must have actually been something to the A&M/Oklahoma angst.
Yup
Just added an update.
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Hmmm...
I have to think that, in the end, Texas will be an Independent; either that, or they’ll end up atop a vastly weakened 8-team conference with whichever teams care only to bask in their burnt orange glow. They had no problem with the idea of destroying the Big XII by joining the Pac-16 for their gain and I doubt they’ll let the remaining Big XII stragglers bog down the Longhorn Network for long like this. The idea of sticking together as a 10-team Big XII never made any sense to me. Their positioning (both in terms of the college football landscape and geography) makes them easy pickings for the rise power centers in both the Pacific and Southeast. I still think A&M is a lock to join the SEC sooner rather than later and now we see that Oklahoma’s not hitched to Texas, but rather to the first bandwagon out of the Big XII! Oklahoma State would be a small price to pay for those two, so long as we don’t also have to take a Texas Tech or a Baylor, too.
MileHighReport.com member since 02/06/07, promoted to "Position Coach" (i.e. new staff writer) on 02/16/10!
The biggest obstacle to Texas going indie, as well as A&M going to the SEC, is the political support that Baylor and especially Texas Tech (as a public institution) have. Those two can’t go and do whatever they want if the Bears and Red Raiders aren’t equally taken care of.
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I Get That, But...
What if it goes down like this: the SEC gets Oklahoma and Oklahoma State FIRST, crippling the Big XII. THEN Texas A&M could approach US and Texas could go Independent as their only means of saving themselves. Would the Texas state legislature really force the Longhorns and Aggies to bind themselves to a sinking ship or move somewhere that makes less sense simply to take care of Red Raiders and Bears? Would they make them stick with a further weakened 8-team league that would be destined to lose its BCS slot in a world of super-conferences, or force them into the Mountain West or the Big East as the only remaining conferences that could accommodate them all?
I think this will snowball out of their control, is my point. Oklahoma willing to move on its own changes the game. The Big XII’s days are numbered and they have been since the Big Ten Network and the SEC’s TV contracts, and the death knell was rung with the conference realignment talk last spring and summer.
MileHighReport.com member since 02/06/07, promoted to "Position Coach" (i.e. new staff writer) on 02/16/10!
I don't think the SEC wants to break up other conferences
The ACC, Big10, and Pac10 all have made moves that hurt other conferences (all in my view to compete with the SEC in football). The SEC doesn’t need to or want to make this move. There seems to be a stalemate/Catch-22 here: OU and A&M have a home if the the B12 imploded, but the SEC probably doesn’t want to initiate it. The SEC only wants these teams to prevent others (Pac10) from getting them. Is there an upside for the SEC making a move for these teams? Yes. But they see no need to do it right now. The status quo favors the SEC.
by Maroon Baboon on Jul 21, 2011 6:18 PM EDT up reply actions
Great post Maroon
I do disagree with the first sentence though. The Big 10 already beats and would have continued to beat the SEC in per school payouts and expansion for them was about expanding the number of cable households and or National brands. They where likely willing to take a couple of Big East teams if they landed ND in order to try to get the NYC market but once that failed they went with the national brand that wanted to leave.
Other wise I agree the status quo favors the SEC unless they can land a super brand.
Taking care of...
.. I think the Texas legislature ain’t gonna care one whit about Baylor now that there’s no longer a Baylor grad as the governor. The only way Tech got into the Big XII was riding Baylor’s coattails (seriously, it was just gonna be A&M and UT but Baylor muscled their way in, taking Tech with them), and I don’t think Tech’s got the clout to do it on their own.
The legislature will watch out that A&M and UT are both cared for, but not Tech and Baylor. No one really cares.
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Tech has the clout now
The state of Texas in the last few years has heavily invested in Tech trying to turn into a tier 1 research university and they have several powerful alumni both inside the capital and that donate big money in state politics. They now are in a position where they will make it hard for anyone to do anything without making sure they have a soft landing.
Cannot disagree more
If you honestly think that the Texas state Legislature will ignore Tech and Baylor. Live in Texas for a while and you will realize that there is no way the Tech and Baylor will be left to twist in the wind.
Think of it this way, if I am a state legis., I am going to care about the overall pie my state schools (public and private) are getting. If A&M and UT abandoning Tech and Baylor lessen the overall pie amount, which prob would happen, then there is no way that A&M will be allowed to leave.
A&M is stuck.
Google's homepage celebrates too much shit.
I think a 14 team SEC could work.
More than that and scheduling starts to get tricky.
Also, as good as OU and A&M joining would be for the SEC, I think it would not be good for college football. There needs to be some semblance of conference parity. And really, OU, LSU and Bama in the same division?
Jordan Jefferson for Heisman!
Actually...
An 16-team SEC would that added OU and A%M (with Oklahoma State tagging along and perhaps a fourth western team) would simply move the Alabama schools (Bama and Auburn) to the East…
MileHighReport.com member since 02/06/07, promoted to "Position Coach" (i.e. new staff writer) on 02/16/10!
16 team
A 16 team conference would most likely use a 4 team pod system where each season the two divisions are “new”. So pod SW has say UF, UG, USCe, and UK where they play together every season but in the first year their division would also be made up of pod MS/AL of Miss St, Ole Miss, Bama, and Auburn and than the next season Pod West of TAM, Ark, LSU and OU.
Parity
I agree on your point about parity. What is lost in all of this is the pathway to a real national championship tournament (4, 8, or 16 teams). Someone explain to me how having all the great BigXII programs heading to the Pac16 (or the SEC) gets us any closer to a valid title game. It seems that a benevolent governing authority (if that isn’t an oxymoron) would be a big help in this age of conference expansion rumors and the oncoming “superconferences”
Playoffs are never going to happen
As long as the NCAA exist there will never be a serious movement towards a playoff. The conferences have seen what the playoffs have done to men’s basketball and they want no part of it. Over 80 percent of the TV money* in men’s basketball comes from the NCAA tournment and the NCAA takes about a 35 percent cut for themselves before sending the rest back to the conferences including the scrub conferences like the Horizon and Sun Belt. Meaning the schools and conferences only receive about 70 percent of the TV money and the power conferences that actually produce nearly all of the value of the tournment about 60 to 65 percent. In football the schools and conferences keep about 85 to 90 percent of the money.
*less than 10 percent comes from regular season games
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