Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

[Bondgirl0072]

Re: A&M to the SEC starting to blow up again on Twitter

The SEC is a strong conference.

[AUChase]

Re: A&M to the SEC starting to blow up again on Twitter

Let's not go down this road, please.. there was a pretty good debate going

[choadler]

Re: A&M to the SEC starting to blow up again on Twitter

Are you saying the SEC isn't the strongest conference? Which one is then? They all have Football cupcakes (Indiana, Minnesota, Illinois, Purdue, Duke, Wake Forest, UVA, Baylor, Iowa State, UCLA, Wazzou, etc.)

Where did I say that SEC isn't strong? Arkie moved to SEC and the success they had in 60's through early 80's has not not been seen in the SEC. Vandy, Kentucky, Miss St., Ole Miss, and South Carolina will very rarely if ever see a shot at a BCS bowl. So let's not pretend that because you play in the SEC that you have a great shot at being relevant.

[choadler]

Re: A&M to the SEC starting to blow up again on Twitter

Once again, we're not talking about the same networks here. Longhorns keep saying A&M can't be mad because they were offered a piece of the network, but they weren't. They were offered a piece of a network that was not backed by ESPN's $300 Million. To say A&M was shortsighted for not seeing that ESPN would offer UT $300 Million in order to keep UT from going to the PAC, is beyond stupid.

Doom, let's stop playing semantics. A&M was approached with an opportunity and did not wish to pursue it. Should Texas have done all of the legwork to get the network set up and then all of the sudden come back to Aggy and say oh here have a piece of it?

Anyone who thinks that Texas holds all of the cards in the Big 12 is beyond stupid. If Okie leaves, big 12 done, If Mizzou leaves, big 12 done. If ESPN wanted to keep Texas from moving to anohter conference, they would have insisted that A&M be included in the deal to ensure they wouldn't bolt to the SEC, thus starting the destruction of Big 12 and a real possibility that Tex, Tech, Okie and Okie Lite pursue the PAC 12.

ESPN made its play to save the Big 12 by not reducing the contract thus nearly doubling the amount of money each team receives. ESPN is going to have to do much better than the LHN to keep Texas from making a move in conference realignment. The $15M will be nice, but there is more money to be made when the super conferences realign.

[choadler]

Re: A&M to the SEC starting to blow up again on Twitter

Time warner is the number 4 provider in the country, behind comcast, direct & dish (none of whom carry the LHN) so I guarantee you ESPN cares about them.

You can not compare the LHN to the NFL network. No matter how important UT thinks they are, they are no where near the level of the NFL. While every football fan in america would love to have the NFL picked up by their provider, only UT fans want the LHN. Many other college fans (not just Aggies) have told their providers that they will not pay extra for the LHN and if it was added they would switch providers. UT is big and has a lot f money, but they do not outnumber all other college fans combined. As much as UT fans love their school, and would pay extra to get the network and support their team, fans of other schools don't even want to think that their money is going to support another school (rival or not).

Don't think that ESPN is so powerful that they can just force providers to carry it. If that were the case they would already have the carriers. The week before the LHN launched with no major carriers, all the longhorns were saying that "this is how negotiations go" and "carriers will all come on right before the launch", but only one major provider came on but not for the launch. Now two days before the first big game all the longhorns are saying "this is how negotiations go" and "carriers will come on right before the game". I guess we'll see.

I don't doubt that eventually other major providers will pick it up, but I'll bet you it's not on the basic packages, and that is not what ESPN wants. They don't want people to have to choose to pay extra for the LHN, they want them to unknowingly pay for the LHN as part of the basic channel package.

While we're on the subject of ESPN's strength. Do you think that ESPN is just going to let UT do what it wants in terms of conference realignment? ESPN will have a huge say in where UT ends up, and what is best for ESPN is going to come before what is best for UT. The two may go hand in hand, or they may not, but as you said ESPN isn't just going to take a bath on $300 million. UT won't just have to deal with what the other conferences will allow in regards to the LHN, they will have to deal with what ESPN will allow.
Will UT be happy if they could have gone to the B1G, but ESPN decided that making the network a regional PAC network shared with either Tech or OU was best for ESPN. I doubt it.

Do you really think that UT would hand cuff themselves to ESPN and not be able to determine their fate in confernece realignment? Do you have inside knowledge that ESPN now controls Texas' moves? Come on man. You are overthinking this.

[acts238shaun]

Re: A&M to the SEC starting to blow up again on Twitter

How did that work out for Arkie? When was the last time they were battling for a national championship. Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Miss St., Ole Miss? Yeah, that's what I thought. Let them all chant SEC SEC, while the teams with built in advantages such as Florida, Alabama, and LSU continue to dominate the conference.


Don't you doubt that at the end of all of this Texas will be in as good a place or better than A&M. I have no doubts about that, even if the Network dissolved. Anyone would jump on Texas to join their conference in an instant (SEC, B1G, PAC 12).

Dude, last year UT was sitting at the house after going 5-7 while Arkansas nearly beat OSU in a BCS bowl. With Petrino at the helm, now that the joke Nutt is gone (never thought I'd root for BYU against an SEC team), we're not going anywhere. BTW, 24-17, A&M.

Oh, and FYI - if we hadn't choked in close games in 06 (thanks Nutt!) we'd have been playing OSU then as well, only for a NC. After UF blew them out one Gator said "Arkansas was better than these guys". I'd say it's working pretty good.

[acts238shaun]

Re: A&M to the SEC starting to blow up again on Twitter

Just heard a rumor about Clemson being the 14th or 15th team, on top of VaTech. Looks like we're gonna be discussing a 16th team soon. Not sure of the legs on the rumor, but the person mentioned A&M back in the spring meetings. I dismissed it, I didn't think anything about it until the same person mentioned Clemson to my brother today.

Like AA I live in SEC HQ, but it could be that, just a rumor. I am unsure because of the gentleman's agreement not to expand in the current footprint, but in getting to 16 you never know.

[choadler]

Re: A&M to the SEC starting to blow up again on Twitter

Dude, last year UT was sitting at the house after going 5-7 while Arkansas nearly beat OSU in a BCS bowl. With Petrino at the helm, now that the joke Nutt is gone (never thought I'd root for BYU against an SEC team), we're not going anywhere. BTW, 24-17, A&M.

It is one year, when Arkansas starts to do this regularly than I will change my tune. No one ever said that Arkie was going to leave. I wouldn't leave if I was Arkansas either.

I just think it is funny that people think that by going to the SEC that somehow means you are going to instantly better. The fact is that just isn't true. Vandy outside of the Jay Cutler years has been horrible. Kentucky had a few blips, but largely has done nothing. Miss St. could be on the path back, but really what have they done? South Carolina looking decent, but their history hardly indicates that have or will become a national power. Ole Miss, they are pretty much the Texas A&M of the SEC.

Arkansas was a national power for about a 25 year span. They are simply not. Time will tell if they will become that again under Petrino. A&M couldn't win in a "weak" big 12. Will they become what they couldn't do in the Big 12? Not sure. All I am saying is that by going to the SEC doesn't mean that you are instantly better. If Aggie gets mudstomped week after week, that will not help them.

I think the SEC is the best conference in the land that doesn't mean that it is the only option for teams to go play college football and depending on the team, the best option. I believe that Texas aligns with the PAC 12 much better than the SEC.

[Perfect Zero]

Re: A&M to the SEC starting to blow up again on Twitter

choadler, everything you have said goes into the "no ****" folder. Texas A&M isn't expecting to go out and win championships in football right off the bat. It's going to take time to get the team to the top. It doesn't mean that the Aggies are forever going to be on par with Kentucky and Vanderbilt in football. Heck, watch out for some of the great Wildcats-Aggies basketball games, Volunteers-Aggies women's basketball games, Aggie Baseball against the best of the SEC. This move helps Texas A&M in a lot of ways, and when it comes to football, it will get better over time.

As for more expansion (as this is really what the thread is about), I'm still thinking that 16 is where it's going to end. It may not be in the next few years, but it could be by the end of the decade. Earlier in this topic, I posted new divisions and it seems that everyone hated them. I wonder if teams had the option for their favorite six rivals, they could play them and rotate the other three...

[doom41]

Re: A&M to the SEC starting to blow up again on Twitter

Doom, let's stop playing semantics. A&M was approached with an opportunity and did not wish to pursue it. Should Texas have done all of the legwork to get the network set up and then all of the sudden come back to Aggy and say oh here have a piece of it?

I'm sorry if Facts get in the way of your argument, but that doesn't change them.

Where did I say UT should have offered A&M a piece of the ESPN deal?
All I said was that the deal offered to A&M did not include ESPN, and to say A&M was shortsighted in not accepting it is STUPID!

That's like me winning the lottery last year and saying that you were shortsighted for not splitting that ticket I offered to split with you 4 yrs ago.

[coogrfan]

Re: A&M to the SEC starting to blow up again on Twitter

Where did I say that SEC isn't strong? Arkie moved to SEC and the success they had in 60's through early 80's has not not been seen in the SEC. Vandy, Kentucky, Miss St., Ole Miss, and South Carolina will very rarely if ever see a shot at a BCS bowl. So let's not pretend that because you play in the SEC that you have a great shot at being relevant.

What Arkansas does have is this: by being a member of the SEC, the Hogs can be absolutely certain that when the era of the Superconferences does come to pass they will have a seat at the adult's table. Can any school in the Big XII other than UT/OU make that claim?

[doom41]

Re: A&M to the SEC starting to blow up again on Twitter

Do you really think that UT would hand cuff themselves to ESPN and not be able to determine their fate in confernece realignment? Do you have inside knowledge that ESPN now controls Texas' moves? Come on man. You are overthinking this.

Yes UT has in fact hand cuffed themselves to ESPN, in the form of a 20 yr $300 million dollar contract. The parrameters of the Network are very clearly explained in the contract, and in almost all instances they require both UT's and ESPN's approval to be changed.
Do you realy think that ESPN is going to let UT decide what happens with the LHN in regards to conference realignment without ESPN's approval?
I did not say that ESPN controls UT's moves, but the structure of the LHN will not change for UT to go to a different conference unless ESPN allows it to. I don't need inside information to see that. UT does not own the network, ESPN does.
UT will not only have to negotiate with the other conferences on what they will allow the LHN to be, but also with ESPN.

[DonkeyJote]

Re: A&M to the SEC starting to blow up again on Twitter

Anyone who thinks that Texas holds all of the cards in the Big 12 is beyond stupid. If Okie leaves, big 12 done, If Mizzou leaves, big 12 done. If ESPN wanted to keep Texas from moving to anohter conference, they would have insisted that A&M be included in the deal to ensure they wouldn't bolt to the SEC, thus starting the destruction of Big 12 and a real possibility that Tex, Tech, Okie and Okie Lite pursue the PAC 12.

If Mizzou leaves, they can and will be replaced. The only school besides Texas that the Big XII needs to survive is Oklahoma.

[rspencer86]

Re: A&M to the SEC starting to blow up again on Twitter

Mizzou coach Gary Pinkel had this to say about the whole situation:

"You don't hear about these issues at any other league in the country. And we all know where it starts."

I think Mack Brown will probably be scratching Pinkel off of the Christmas Card list.

[Perfect Zero]

Re: A&M to the SEC starting to blow up again on Twitter

If Mizzou leaves, they can and will be replaced. The only school besides Texas that the Big XII needs to survive is Oklahoma.

Yeah, but by whom? Brigham Young? Houston? Southern Methodist? I have respect for these schools, but bringing in these teams won't help the Big XII replace Texas A&M, Missouri, and whoever else wants to leave.