New Big 12 Expansion Rumor

It is my impression with them that it's all the same. A belief in the God of Abraham is a belief that homosexuality is a sin. They also see the differences in doctrine as a sign that some of these folks are just making things up. Mormon's are a small group within the same tent of oppression. The judgment against their nature is institutionalized; everyone is arguing it is their BELIEF that is protected by religious freedom but this belief (and that's all it is to atheists; a belief without foundation) is causing them pain. It is not a harmless belief; it is aggressive because it fuels the opposition to gay marriage and it forces them to endure such comments as, "What's next? Polygamy? Marrying your dog?"

 

Move this religion/homosexuality argument over to the West Mall thread. I stay off Facebook to avoid this crap I don't need it infiltrating my FOOTBALL FORUM. UH sucks and they shouldn't be in the Big 12. This conference is too crowded with Texas teams as it is, it shouldn't be on our *** to save the conference while hurting our recruiting grounds. I'm sick of the big 12 and even if we do leave, letting UH to a power 5 will hurt us for years to come long after we exit this **** conference.

 

This is a football discussion because it is impacting the possible addition of BYU to the conference. You can't pretend it doesn't exist. Just like you can't pretend rape cases on campus committed by football players does not belong on a football forum. Just like you can't pretend what Sandusky did does not belong on a football forum. Just like you can't pretend that cheating by alumni does not belong on a football forum. Just like you can't pretend that PED use does not belong on a football forum. That is the world we live in and if you want purity then I'd say go watch five year olds play.

 

Q,

Sorry, but what kind of kid would choose four years in the Third Ward over four years on the Forty Acres or next door to The Colonial, or even Norman or Brazos County?

I can only think of two kinds of kids that would do that:

1) Those too ******* dumb to have to go to class somewhere - see also Warren McVea and 90% of Yoeman's players, Guy Lewis' players, Roland's players.

2) Those that are bought and paid for; again see Yoeman & Lewis, UNLESS they are like the big lineman from Waelder (IIRC), whose mother took their money only to see the kid not graduate from HS and have to go to juco, then have momma demand more money from Third Ward, and after receiving it, the kid gets caught robbing a store and goes to prison rather than to UH.

 

Believe it or not those kids from the 3rd Ward like it. Stay close to home, be a big fish in a little pond. Get sweet jobs from Tillman, and have mamma see all your games. I'd rather stay in the 3rd ward than go play in Waco or CS.

 

Any kid that cherishes working for Tillman would NEVER make through the first semester of classes in Austin, even Austin Community College.

 

1) Those too ******* dumb to have to go to class somewhere - see also Warren McVea and 90% of Yoeman's players, Guy Lewis' players, Roland's players.


In the past I've spoken to some counselors at a couple of prestigious private high schools here in Austin about Texas schools and they did not characterize U of H in those terms at all. They said it is much better than it's rep. I think it is very harsh to describe them as too ****** dumb to go anywhere else.

 

Yes, there has been great improvement in the academic standing of Houston over the last three decades, and virtually all of that lays (no pun intended) at the feet of Ken Lay and the changes he put in place. They are certainly to be commended for the marked improvement, but it is not extending into the athletic department. They still are not even Tier two, and rank behind Rice, Texas, SMU, aTm, and Baylor in rankings, not to mention Trinity if smaller schools were consider by USNWR.

Lay's "urban renewal" and building program gave the school a much improved image. He was educated at Missouri, and came to Houston from Florida to be president of Transco. As Chairman of the BOR, he was most disturbed by the school's public image and how to change it. As a friend who teaches there said, "I have two kinds of students, those who really want to be somewhere else but can't afford it, and those who don't speak English". Lay realized that to have long term success, he needed to create s culture of people who wanted to be there.

 

Thanks for that insight. I don't have a dog in the hunt as I went to Trinity (hence my handle, "bystander" aka t-shirt fan for all you aggies out there). I just thought I'd throw my anecdotal evidence out there. But maybe I have a very small soft spot for Houston as I took one class there (Cost Accounting) during a sabbatical I took in 1994 to prepare for the CPA exam. I also took a class (Auditing) at The University of St. Thomas the same semester. And yes I passed all four parts in one sitting in Nov 1994; very proud of that fact! I got an A in both classes but I was a mature adult (not some kid out of high school looking for a bong) and was already in the accounting field so it's hard for me to judge Houston versus Trinity. In other words, it wasn't that difficult. All I know is the text book used was at the same level as the CPA exam so I guess the question would be about the prof; my recollection was she was a pleasant, attractive white woman (PhD) who knew what she was talking about.

But I've slept since then...

 

I think the mormons would be in favor of polygamy. Again... we're talking about mormons folks.

 

I had fresh shrimp on the beach in Port Aransas last night.
Yum.

 

I didn't get that he is pretending. He just asked to move it to WM.

 

I think some people are just mesmerized by Herman and his success. I'm not excited about UH joining the Big XII at all.

 

Well, logically, if a small segment of society wants to change a basic definition, such as marriage being a compact of fidelity between a man and a woman, to a compact of anything else (such as between homosexuals), then why not polygamy, why not marrying your dog?

A logical progression.

Blue and red are no longer blue and red.

Up is down. Down is up.

Nothing means anything anymore. It's just what an individual THINKS it is; what they WANT it to be. Regardless of what it truly is.

And yes, take this to the West Mall.

 

Back to the topic at hand... is the Big 12 expanding or not? I have not seen any relevant rumors or news on what is happening lately.

 

The "secret signing" of Cincinnati appears to be either silenced or stuck in the mud for now. We still have 22 days until the first game, and the conference said they want this to be done before the season starts, so we still have a little time left.

 

That's interesting, I heard the opposite - that there was no hurry to choose the invitees before the season starts. We will see. Not saying I agree or not, but my guess is BYU is out due to the letter written by LGBT group. After Baylor, I'm thinking thats the last thing the Big XII wants to deal with.

 

Bystander,

SabreHorn has an obsession with bashing UH, usually with a not-so-thinly-veiled racial commentary (notice the gratuitous reference to the Third Ward--you don't see him referring to Rice by geographic positioning, such as the University of Southhampton or of the Medical Center or of the Museum District).

Your point is well taken. I received two degrees from UH, graduating from their Honors Program (now Honors College). I was a National Merit Finalist, as were many of the students who participated in the Honors Program and had a scholarship offer from UT, which I declined because Houston was a "big city" not too far, but just far enough, from my home town (Baton Rouge). So, contrary to SaberHorn's premise, there were numerous students during my tenure (the early 90s) who could have attended UT, or Tech, or A&M, etc, etc, who attended UH. (Interestingly, UH drew students from throughout the country (like me) who presumably didn't grow up with the preconceived notions of UH that SabreHorn expresses. For example, UH has one of the pre-eminent creative writing programs in the country--that doesn't really jive with SabreHorn's world view.) And I suspect with UH's recent improvements in its academic standing the trend remains upward regarding students who could attend other schools but choose to attend UH. SabreHorn's commentary to the contrary is a false narrative that he (and others) like to spew, presumably to make themselves feel better or simply just to denigrate others. Who knows? But it's just false.

And folks who think UH couldn't compete in the Big12, which really should be the subject up for debate, are just not being honest. UH has more built-in advantages (athletically) than TCU and Baylor, and, last I checked, those schools have had a pretty good run in the Big12.

I know this is a UT board, so bashing other schools is your prerogative, but the slander of UH is just unwarranted and a vestige of "the good ole days."

 

Oh, and I forgot to respond to the most insightful part of SabreHorn's post: I speak English, I'm caucasian, and I could have afforded to go to UT (because I had a full ride and my parents could have afforded the whopping $5,000 in out-of-state tuition in 1988 anyway). Sorry to burst your bubble.

 

My objection to UH is not academics. UH is a very good school. I am still angry over the Chk Sh$t behavior related to the red tagged temporary seats and the fact that we all saw it coming. It was a UH FU UT. To me they should pay for it. I also think the current BOR comments about Texas being afraid to play the Coogs etc is just silly school boy talk. FYI I would not mind watching Big 12 football every other weekend in Houston (in part because tickets would be cheap and plentiful). But in general I think U of Houston and local Houston politics are the same, blow hards that given the chance to do something in the right way mess it up with ignorance and egomania.

 

I'm not going to defend Bleacher Gate. It was a debacle. (There's a technical defense to be had by laying blame at the feet of the bleacher contractor and the rain leading up to the game, but that's just buck passing. It was a black eye.) All I can say is that, thankfully, UH has new and much better leadership. But if that's why folks want to keep UH out of the Big12, that's fine. I just take exception to the baseless assertion that kids attend UH because they couldn't go elsewhere.

I'm somewhat surprised that UT fans wouldn't prefer UH to Cincy, Memphis, UConn, etc. At least UH gets the blood pumping and provides some folks an opportunity to watch UT in Houston every other year. Who wants to go to Cincy, Memphis, Connecticut, Tampa, etc?

 

PDM.

After you get through playing your race card with every post, which is total unadulterated ********, please enlighten us as to one thing that the admission of your school into the Big XII or any other P5 conference does to benefit that conference.

Not that you care, my post you quoted was speaking of your athletes over the years, and supported by factual examples from your school's history. While I liked Guy Lewis and thought he was a great coach, the statements I made are the primary examples and the reason he was kept out of the HOF for so long. I believe his exclusion is a huge travesty.

Dave,

Gladchuk did worse than the temporary bleachers, he also sold the best seats to three different buyers. This included selling the season ticket holders seats to two more buyers. That's why he slimed his way out of town in the middle of the night.

I wouldn't rail on Tillman very much considering the Chairman of our BOR. Tillman is Tillman and won't change. He at least is trying to make the school better, which is more than I can say for a Baylor Bear friend of little Ricky Perry.

 

I agree. I prefer UH to all of the above but I don't see how UH helps UT unless there is some long term value, even politically. I don't think UH has political clout and there inclusion otherwise adds nothing from a sports stand point. Having UH as a very good academic school helps Houston, family, neighbors etc, but how does UH benefit Texas football or the Big 12?

 

I don't believe many, if any prefer the other mid majors to your school. The only one that really has anything going for it is the endowment of Cincinnati, which is very surprising. Not good enough to get them in, but surprising none the less.

Admission should be based on value added, not prior history, and I do not see any value added by any of the schools mentioned.

 

So the networks are against expansion, Bailor U wrecks the lives of multiple young women without conf punishment, and the only widely accepted option in adding improvement to the league is likely out due to a minority group's protest.

Can we exit this clown show of a conference already? Any expansion without BYU will rightly become a punchline for other major conferences and Aggy jerkfests.

 

My point isn't that the Big12 is missing the boat by failing to add UH. I'm working from the premise, which is the Big12's most recent position (I think), that the Big12 is going to expand. In that circumstance, I don't understand why UT fans would prefer any of the other options to UH.

I understand the argument that the Big12 wants to access new markets in BYU and Cincy, but I don't know why UT fans would be more excited to play BYU or Cincy than UH.

And, SabeHorn, I still fail to understand why you feel compelled to refer to UH as the University of the Third Ward. I don't see you referring to other schools by neighborhood, and I don't think a geographic reference, standing alone, is inherently funny or meaningful, unless there's some unspoken message. And you know what message you're trying to convey; I'm just surprised that you're so unabashed about it. (Then again, I didn't expect someone to write that kids went to UH because they couldn't speak English, so I guess wonders never cease.)

 

The non English speaking isn't a new revelation. Your school has for at least two decades recruited foreign students, many of whom spoke no English. One of my friends is from the western part of China, another is from Taiwan. Neither knew anything about Houston or Texas or the US. They have a group of Asian friends, all of whom fall in the same category. When asked why, they replied that it was the first school to accept them.

Are you aware of the housing issue that the administration created and their solution? They admitted foreign students (in this case mostly from India and Middle East, but some from Africa), took their money only to find out that they had no housing for them, but had taken their money. Response, there are a couple of old Allison Walker office buildings on Broadway at Belfort. The school paid the owner to convert PART of the office building into living quarters. Unfortunately for the students there were toilets, but no showers, closets, etc. Then there was the matter of none of the students having a vehicle or a drivers license. That resulted in a major disagreement between the landlord (Chinese) and the school administration.

I told you before, the school is located in the Third Ward, an old and very proud section of Houston, and the hand sign is three fingers which form a "W". Yes, I refer to many other schools by location - Brazos County or The Cesspool on the Brazos for aTm, Washington County for Arkansas, the High Plains for Tech, and Cleveland County for OU. Rice was Rice before there was a South Hampton or West U, or John Meacom donated his beautiful fountain to the city. It is Rice, which speaks for itself.

Now, turn my admiration for Rice (where I did get accepted) into some connection to William Marsh Rice's will and it's caveats about who could and could not attend his school.

 

Here's how I view this with my likely too old-school and black and white vision.

BYU's code of conduct is legal, and the enforcement of it as its written is legal?

A small portion of society views the code as discriminatory to them, yet the law does not support their position.

So others must punish BYU by prohibiting greater financial gain and athletic status for having/enforcing a legal code of conduct to appease those who disagree with it?

 

Yep, you got it. Never wrong; never in doubt. Never ceasing to denigrate UH, now with fantastical stories of your Asian friends. So I assume these Asian friends of yours were some of the athletes you mentioned earlier who couldn't speak English or get into UT? Ok.

You may not understand the picture you paint of yourself, but I'm pretty sure everyone who reads this board regularly gets it. I only come over here to see whether there is any Big12 expansion news, and, in my limited exposure, I sure haven't had difficulty comprehending your message.

I'll do everyone else a favor and sign off; you can keep on keeping on in peace (and quiet acquiescence). But maybe Bystander or others will have the integrity to call you out and keep in check your demeaning commentary about UH and its students. Then again, I suspect that no one will stop you from "telling it like it is" or "telling it like it was back in your day."