By Pauly Balst
College Station, Texas, based sources close to Texas A&M confirm the scenario of
Texas A&M, Texas and Nebraska joining the Big 10, bringing the total to 14. This is totally logical when you think about it. Hence, the “Tech problem”, as Texas Tech is attempting (has attempted?) to stand in the way. Everyone knows UT Austin drives the cattle in conference expansion, and well-heeled alumni have (loudly and repeatedly) let it be known they are not enthralled with going to Corvallis or Pullman for 11 pm EST Saturday night games. Conversely, and direct quoting: ”we love the idea of Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State road games” at their respective 110,000 seat Casas’ Grande. “We especially like the idea of those fans coming here (Texas) rather than the Baylors and Texas Techs, because those schools will fill hotel rooms and support local restaurants and businesses. It simply makes sense for Texas”. He continued, ”It will be a bowl game-like atmosphere every Saturday these schools come to town”.
Sources also confirmed the rift with Texas Tech and Baylor is that “UT and A&M have joined together in this decision”. By adding this trio, UT does not “go to war alone in a new conference” when ongoing issues arise. This scenario also appeases the Texas legislators seeking to avoid any role in any decision (unless its popular and they can later take credit for it). It ensures there will be Texas based programming each weekend, and “Texas based Big Ten football in Texas every Saturday” in the fall, a key element to the negotiations. No empty Saturdays for the State of Texas, or the Big Ten Network.
So it appears Texas is covered.
If Texas and A&M opt to move to the Big Ten, what ramifications does that have for the reported expansion of the Pac-10. Does it then become the Pac-14 instead of 16? Do they invite Kansas and Baylor into the mix. Hey, if Texas Tech can move to a conference with the word “Pacific” in it, why not Kansas.
Now looking to the east, the source confirms a combination of Notre Dame, Syracuse and Rutgers will join in the next phase, bring the mega conference to 16. This secures the New York/New Jersey megamarket. Notre Dame says no more than 14. but does the Leprechaun have any clothes at this point?
Could Notre Dame be left out?
Jack Swarbrick, The eyes of Texas are upon you.
To say this story is fluid and changing by the minute is a huge understatement.
Pauly Balst has a very solid reputation and track record in speculative journalism and for-profit amatuer athletics.
Unfortunately, I am hearing the same thing here in Corsicana Texas.
I hope this is true, I really do. The thought of Big Ten sports in Texas if fantastic.
I don’t see this happening. I wonder what the financials look like for the basketball team, the fencing team, wrestling, etc. Travel makes this unbelieveable to me.
wanna try traveling to Oregon or WA??? Get out your map and take a look. Big Ten is closer than Pac 10 and equal to SEC
You have to be joking.
Do you have any idea what is going on? Never mind the TV revenues which will be double what UT would get with the Pac16 or 4X what they get from the Big 12 today. ($40 million is the projection with the Big 10, or $30 million more than today).
Penn State’s research money has gone from 200-300 million since joining the B10 to around 800-900 million. This is largely due to the prestige and collaboration that comes with CIC affiliation.
I think they can afford to pay for the travel of their athletic teams.
BTW – Texas has been in cahoots with Jim Delany on this all along. Larry Scott involved too. Chip Brown was a puppet and UT was the puppet master.
@UT to Big Ten, you get it. This is a huge win-win-win for UT/A&M, Big Ten and Comcast. Not only the presige UT gets from Big Ten, but the prestige the Big Ten gets from UT and A&M. Texas Tech wasnt invited for a reason. I’d be surprised if it didnt happen at this point.
The cost for travel is chump change compared to the cash UT will take in. Plus, is it going to be less expensive to travel to Corvallis?
Umm, UTwill play the normal B12 South in the PAC16, minimal travel, plus one game out West. Big 10, ALL away games are up north. Eff the cold arse great lakes region.
B10 is delusional to the extreme. Read some orangebloods (spoon fed all the info from UT Admins, and all has been on the money).
Aint happening, understandably, you guys would like to get a real football team, but you wont be. Nebraska is a husk of there former selves (like tOSU and Michigan).
Now we hear that Mark Cuban is becoming involved. As an Indiana grad, there is nothing he would like to see more than the Hoosiers show up in Austin and College Station periodically.
Cuban isn’t a native Texan, but his money and keys to facilities buys a seat at the table.
Cuban wants to sponsor a UT vs IU home and home basketball classic at American Airlines Arena and Conseco Fieldhouse.
Texas Hold ‘Em: Longhorns, A&M To Big Ten
Oklahoma Looking To Move To SEC, Needs 1 Other School
POSTED: 2:10 pm CDT June 10, 2010
UPDATED: 3:12 pm CDT June 10, 2010
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — High level sources in multiple conferences have told KCTV5 that Texas and Texas A&M are looking to move to the Big Ten Conference and have petitioned for membership, while the University of Oklahoma is planning on petitioning the Southeastern Conference to become a member of its conference.
KCTV5′s sources said that Texas and Texas A&M do not have to include Texas Tech or Baylor in their plans. Sources told KCTV5 that there have already been discussions about the two schools entering the Big Ten and that the agreement could be made as soon as Thursday.
Oklahoma is currently working on petitioning to enter the SEC, but must find another university to enter the league with them, sources said. TMZ Sports has reported that Oklahoma State is likely to accept a bid to move to the Pac-10. Earlier Thursday, Colorado accepted an invitation to join the Pac-10.
KCTV5′s sources also said that some Big 12 officials are saying decisions on which deals Big 12 schools take invitations by the end of the day Thursday, although the deals may not be officially announced. Big 12 officials also tell KCTV5′s sources that some Big 12 office employees are planning to be without a job within weeks.
Those decisions would leave the University of Kansas, Kansas State University and the University of Missouri with Baylor, Texas Tech and Iowa State in the Big 12. The Missouri Board of Curators met Thursday and planned to meet Friday to discuss the future of Missouri sports.
Come on aboard! Would love to see UT and A&M in the Big Ten.
So much for UT “doing everything it can” to save the Big 12. The Pac 10 is a better fit for them — lots of drama and arrogance.
Does this mean that the Big 10 office has to move to Dallas, and the Big 10 championship game will be in Jerry Jones stadium?
You forgot money…………..We’re Texas
Doesn’t all of this flopping around make UT look a little incompetent?
I don’t think they’ve made any public statements about where they’re going. Everything other than the Colorado news has been “sources say”
I agree that it is probably BS, similar to 90% of the stories we have been bombarded with the last week.
Actually, they’ve been textbook cool.
As an Indiana alumni I would LOVE to have Texas and Texas A&M along with Nebraska!!!! I think it would be GREAT!!! So, I hope the reports of fellow IU alum Mark Cuban getting involved are true!
HAHAHAHAH, what a joke. Go get some credible news and sources.
Bull. Wrong info.
Well I will say that it’s all good on paper, and competively for Texas the best move considering the best teams in the Big10 are 2nd tier teams in the SEC, and Ohio St being the beat of those. The acedemics may have played a part like UT officials claim but their biggest motivation is money which is sad from one of the top 5 richest schools in the country but hey that’s Texans for ya! I’m actually glad that Texas isn’t coming to the SEC, no one likes to hear a team cry about getting media whooped all the time and now that USC is out of the picture Texas no matter where they land becomes the most powerful school in college football, unfortunately for them they will still have to get their butt kicked by SEC schools for a championship so that equals more crying, no had they come to the SEC they would have a legit complaint of not making it to the national title game but now it will be expected! Sucks for them, OU is making the right choice, at least when they cry about it it will be legit! Lol
A little early for the bourbon, isnt it Mike? Frum your speling and granmmar, you is an SEC gradgyite! Think of all those hideous towns full of rednecks Texas fans are missing out on. I’ve been to Starkeville.
You are leaving out the actual decision maker on this from Happy Valley to Austin, and that COMCAST. At 50 cents a house, thats a lot of dough in Texas. SEC, Pac 10, no one can generate that kind of deal. Only the Big Ten.
actually it’s 88 cents per subscriber, makes it even more attractive don’t it?
not when you consider how the pac 16 will take the big 10 network as an outline, and get a better deal…cha ching ….face it, PAC is whats happening, if anything, Aggot goes solo to the SEC and Utah/Kansas is in the mix….but Aggot cant leave UT, as much as their fans may want to
@Dudler, as Pauly Balst pointed out here on his link earlier this week, these conferences can all start a network, in fact the WAC has one today. But given that they don’t have enormous alumni and fan bases nationwide, THERE IS NO MARKET FOR THE PRODUCT. THEY will pay COMCAST to get Pac 10 network carried, that’s what the big pissing match was over the past 2 years. Who cares about Cal vs Oregon in Chicago? No one. Who cares about Illinois vs Wisconsin in Los Angeles? One hell of a lot of alumni that moved out there, that’s who. So TX can go to an established powerhouse in Big 10 network, or a hope and a prayer on a business model with 3 strikes against it in Pac 10. Outside So Cal, Phx and SF, there is not much out west. And its proven that So Cal, Phx and SF are not very interested in the home teams, partly because the Comcast subscribers are from other parts of the country, like Big 10 states, partly because the are doing other things in the fall. If you think they will get a better deal, BP has an oil rig they would like to sell you.
As a Spartan fan, I would absolutely love to see Texas join. A&M is acceptable so if that’s what it takes I’m ok with it
“Texas and Texas A&M have “petitioned” the Big 10″????????? HUH give me a break. Have to petition???? Following NU with Bevo’s tail between his legs. Like a burnt orange bad penny!
More like 70-80-90 cents AND but Comcasts makes up some of the difference because it gets to sell commercial time.
The Big 10 has said Texas Tech does not meet academic requirements of Big 10. Pac 10 has invited Texas Tech. How could Texas join the PAC 10 now and not be a laughingstock? Does Texas Tech say they wont join a club that will have them as a member?
The Big Ten, I don’t know what the draw would be up there. To me, it’s not a 100 percent football league. This is big-time football we’re talking about in the state of Texas, people live and die off of it. They don’t do that up in the north. I can’t imagine any team from this league that didn’t have to go would go up that direction. -Tommy Tuberville
If you big 10 idiots would go check out what Chip Brown (orangebloods) has been tweeting/reporting you’d know that UT is never in a million years going to the Big 10 (or the SEC for that matter). If Nebraska some how falls through, Big 12 stays intact (not likely), otherwise we are all (sans maybe Aggot) heading West.
The draw is cash and academic prestige. The academic stuff doesn’t resonate for fans, but it sure does for the college administrators. As does cash. $22-million per school for the 10-11 year is a lot of money. The Big Ten has figured out how to monetize the fans’ passion for college athletics. The Big 12 is way behind in getting that done.
ummm, yeah, cash in the PAC 16 20+ million. Enough academic prestige to satisfy UT, and the ability to bring Tech. Big 12 is dead, thats irrelevant.
==> Dud, Tuberville is the perfect contrary indicator, that means this will happen. Confirming, is that the same Tommy Tuberville who whined about not playing for a National Championship coaching Auburn, then got POLE AXED by a middling Bucky Badger Wisconsin in the Capital One Bowl a couple weeks later? UW was up 24-0 in the first quarter, held Auburn, the erstwhile National Champs to under 100 yards rushing? Same Auburn that had to go to OT to beat 1550 SAT scoring poindexters from Northwestern this year? UT and A&M realize that while you can get great greens and cornbread from the hillbillys in Starkville and Columbia, they put men on the moon in Ann Arbor and West Lafayette. Just a fact both the SEC and PAC 10 are inferior academically. And thats a big deal.
No, that would be the Auburn team that went 12-0 and then beat Va Tech in the Sugar Bowl. The team that is now going to split the Natl Title with OU since USC had it revoked. Thanks for playing. Academics is a small deal, its money and power, PAC offers both.
Tell the university regents, trustees, presidents, and chancellors that academics are a small deal. The money for whatever the Pac-10 does to monetize its product is all speculation. With the Big Ten, the cash is in the bank. As for the travel, it’s great until about November 1. Before that, it’s beautiful in the upper midwest. Now, traveling for hoops would be a different deal.
You are arguing with an idiot, in the literal sense of the word. Academics is a small deal, we know, in the SEC.
We beat Va Tech in the Sugar Bowl! Crown us now! Whooooo-hooooo! Didja seem him run like Richard Petty he did!? Didja?!
Actually, the Big 10 money is all speculation as well. You have to restructure more teams and a new contract. While Nebraska brings heritage, they dont carry a lot of TV’s. PAC projections are 23.5M.
=> Dude, you are grasping at straws. We dont even have pro football in LA. Too busy at the beach/golf/mountains/babes. Actual viewership doesnt lie, and its not in the PAC 10. Nascar doesnt sell outside the Southeast. Motocross doesnt sell in the East. Hockey doesnt sell in the south. Comcast will not pay for availability and potential, they pay for eyeballs.
Comcast??? We are talking Fox…say what you want, but 1/3 of the country is in the PAC 16. Not having a pro team only helps the situation. Preciate ya pal.
How does the most obvious evidence of not giving a shit about football weigh in favor of the Pac-10. People in Los Angeles are bigger fans of their mirrors than sports.
This begs the question, expecially since Oklahoma St is apparently determined to move with Texas, could the Big Ten take Nebraska, Texas, A&M, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma St.? They switch to the Big 16, two divisions as was the plan of the Pac 10 then. That would certainly ruin Pac 10 officials plans…
OSU is worse then Tech, and OU is just a bit better academically….so that wont work.
No, Comcast wants population centers and appeal, the Big Ten Presidents demand academics. Big Ten will go East next.
I dont care what conference were in as long as there is still a Texas-Texas A&M Rivalry
oh by the way UT And A&M would be playing teams like ohio state michigan all these good teams I would love to see all of them here in college station
Right back at you Anno, we’d love the tradition and excellence TX and A&M would bring. I maintain this country would be a different place without Texas. From the outside looking in, the TTech, Baylors, etc., seem like gum on your shoe, but what do I know.