The Big 12 was always a short term answer, for a long term problem. This was the case for both the SWC and the Big 8. There were the four flagship schools with huge alumni bases, huge stadiums, fans that traveled, generated oceans of cash and delivered TV markets. Texas, Ou, aggy and Nebraska. The rest of the two league's members didn't travel, played in 50,000 seats stadiums that they could not sell out, and delivered nothing in the way of TV markets that were not already covered by the Big 4. Additionally when one thinks of Academic Excellence, Iowa State, the Kansas schools, OSU, and Cougar High seldom come to mind.
Missouri had whined for decades about the Big 8 and that they had a "standing invitation" to join the Big 10. Which came as a huge surprise to the Big 10. Nebraska was quickly tiring of being Texas' and Ou's *****. So they took the money and ran and now Northwestern is shoving them around.
Many, myself included, thought we would end up in a PAC-16 East (Texas, Ou, Tech, OSU, CU, Utah and the Arizona schools) with the PAC-16 West being the original PAC-8. I have spent less money traveling to Stanford, Cal, UCLA, USC and Boulder than I have going to Ames and Morgantown. Trust me, they aren't comparable trips.
And going to USC, UCLA, Berkeley and Palo Alto once ever 4 years seems pretty cool to me.
Now the snag. Castiglione has always indicated "where Texas goes, we go". David Boren, as a former Governor and US Senator, was never going to let Ou go anywhere without OSU. Boren only has months left on the job and his replacement will not have the allegiance to keeping OSU in the fold that DB does.
But that also opens another problem for Ou. Geographically and culturally, they make sense in the Big 10. But playing 1 game a year in Texas does not. The two schools the benefited most from the Big 12 in recruiting were the Oklahoma schools. Look at Nebraska and Arkansas' recruiting here now. The Oklahoma schools playing 4 games a year in Texas has been a boon to both. So Ou has to tread lightly.
SWC problems did not start with the Death Penalty on the Hilltop or Arkansas bolting almost 30 years ago. They began in the 1960's with the unwillingness to recruit black athletes and watching the church schools and Rice announce crowds of 34,000 when 16,000 showed up. Most here are too young to remember DKR was in his 12th season before we had a non-conference sellout in a stadium that seated 62k. Or that we had such undying love for him and Broyles, that in what we already knew was going to be their final game in 1976, less than 40,000 showed up.
Which finally brings me too my point. There is no one to poach. We do not need any city/commuter schools (they have no following, their programs are swimming in red ink and they seldom turn out billionaire donors). I will throat punch the next person that suggests Tulane. A true, all out conspiracy by all P5 members to stop scheduling ND in all sports (save their Olympic sport ACC tie-in), is the only way to force them into a league. And if that happens they go to the Big 10 with Texas and Ou. Moreover, monkeys will come flying outta my *** before that happens.
Which leaves us with......Independent. Do a base schedule ala ND to build rivalries. Do home/home with schools where the Longhorn Nation would go en masse (Northwestern, Air Force, Navy, Army). Rice to get a game in Harris County or even LSU. Ou in Dallas. Because Ou maybe riding the same bus we are. Do a 2 for 1 with OSU & TCU. And THEN add the marquee games like Ohio State, Michigan, Alabama, USC, etc..
My look to the future may be flawed, but what got us here is not. Once again, I believe Sabre can verify, even if we have different interpretations of events, as well as provide the business side, both past and present.
Discuss.
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