There are no protected territories. Remember the Big 12 raided the east coast for WV and BIG added east coast teams in Penn State, Rutgers, and Maryland. When the B12 was faking expansion there was a great deal of talk about adding 2 Florida schools.
Regarding the BIG10 that was quite a few years ago. penentiary state was an independent. I believe the two Florida Schools were G5 Teams not P5 Teams. WV is an interesting example but they were BIG East. We all know how the BIG East evolved.
It makes absolutely no business sense to not have U of H in a P5. That is why I believe there is much more that we do not know.
P5s are waiting for the dominoes to fall before moving to the next tier and we are in that next tier.
By that, I mean that the other P5s have been waiting to see if either the ACC or the Big12 dies. Up until recently, the money was on the ACC Losing FSU and Clemson and setting off a chain reaction where the B1G grabs some ACC schools, the Big12 grans some, and the SEC grabs some. Clemson and FSU changed the narrative and âsavedâ the ACC while the Big12 ended up whithering and dying. Now, no one will make a move until OU and UT decide what they want to do.
Sadly, it leaves us in limbo as no conference is going to take us with the possibility of Getting Texas being out there. Our best shot for now was the Big12 and the out of state schools killed our chances (well, they didnât really want to expand anyway).
But once Texas and OU decide, then the deck will reshuffle quickly. UT, OU, and KU basketball are the pearls; everyone else is in the same boat (sort ofâŠBaylor, K State, TCU all have little to no shot). Our best hope is that UT and OU move North or East as it gives the PAC 12 limited options at that point.
Patrick, Texas will go where the money isâŠThat means BIG, who has a far more lucrative package than PAC 12. or possibly ACC, if thats what ESPN wantsâŠAs you say, There was never any expansion plan by them, as it was always their intention to leaveâŠThe PAC and BIG will both expand and we likely end up in PAC.
I hate Texas, too, but they can only go to one conferenceâŠand 2 are going to expandâŠwe will go where they arentâŠwhich suits us fineâŠ
When BIG goes to 16 or 18, then PAC will follow suitâŠ
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I think the only thing that would hold Texas back from the B1G would be ESPN. With the ACC Network not supposed to come online until at least 2019, I could see a scenario where ESPN steers (i.e. throws money at) them to get them to go to the ACC while simultaneously switching the Longhorn Network into the ACC Network. This would allow ESPN to maintain control over Texas while also adding some much-needed oomph to ACC football beyond FSU and Clemson. If they can add Notre Dame, all the better. Texas would rather be on the east coast than in the midwest and the ACC would be easier for Texas to manipulate than the B1G.
I think, in the end, OU will move to the SEC while possibly bringing OSU with them. The state may push OU to find a good landing place for the Pokes and the B1G wonât touch them. SEC would take both as a package in a heartbeat. Only question would be as to whether FOX would allow it as theyâre backing the Sooners right now and the SEC is a SEC/CBS conference. Would FOX try to pull OU into the PAC12? Maybe, but I doubt that conference would really want to have OK State along for the ride either (many in the conference are not happy about Washington State and Oregon State being in the conference and Oklahoma State isnât even on par with those schools). If OK State isnât an issue, OU to the B1G is probably the most likely scenario with Kansas tagging along.
âŠor Kansas, being an ESPN school, is pushed towards the SEC in order to beef up SEC basketball and rekindle the rivalry with Mizzou. Notice that Kansas and Kentucky are playing basketball quite a bit the last few years and ESPN is hyping the games up quite a bit. Could make it on par with the UNC-Duke rivalry. If OU doesnât want to go to the SEC, SEC could provide OK State a spot with KU as the Pokes basketball program would also boost the SEC and their football program is good enough. That would also allow the B1G to go in a different direction with their OU partnerâŠUCONN would probably be the leader for that spot, but Houston could get a long look as the B1G desperately wants to move South.
The problem the PAC 12 has in trying to lure schools is that they are basically 4th out of the 5 conferences right now and closer to the Big 12 than they are the others. Theyâre network is a bust at the moment which also is costing them with timeslots on the major networks. Doesnât help that they are down in football right now either and that they really donât have marquee teams in basketball with UCLA struggling as of late. Maybe FOX can entice OU to move West, but why would the Sooners do that unless they get a ton of money. More than likely they are left with the best of the rest after all the dust settles: Texas Tech, Houston, Colorado State, BYU, TCU, Iowa State, Cincinnati, New Mexico, UNLV. This is why it would have made sense for the Big 12 (non-UT, OU, or KU division) to expand as some of these schools could have made partnerships for the next round.
Looking at the above, where does the Pac12 go? Iowa State and Cincy are probably dead in the water as thatâs B1G territory and the Pac12 needs to keep them as an ally. BYU? Only if ESPN decides to be a bigger partner with the Pac12 and even then, it probably would be the longest of long shots. Colorado State? Colorado would be solidly against. UNLV? Pac12network is already in Vegas and the school isnât that far along with their academic progress as of yet. Basically leaves the choicthe es as Texas Tech, Houston, TCU, and New Mexico. Of those four, Houston would probably be sitting pretty with Tech being right there with them.
Even so, if the 4 16-team conference idea doesnât happen right away, the first shoe to drop will probably be OU and/or UT leaving in 3-5 years. In order to break free of the GOR, the conference will probably need to make a deal that would allow it to stay a P5. The conference would need to expand and would probably expand to 12 ASAP. Houston would more than likely be a shoo-in at that point to grab one of the 4-5 slots that would be open. The conference would eventually fade the same way the Big East did, but it would stay a P5 probably until the next playoff contract needed to be negotiated.
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Iâve said this before but I think U of H to the PAC would be a no brainer and would help the PAC tremendously with TV time slots. They could literally occupy 12 constant hours of college football.
You would be covering three time zone and could have games running from noon until midnight. No other conference could offer that.
Noon Game - USC vs U of H
3 PM - UCLA vs Colorado
6 PM - Arizona State vs Utah
9 PM - Stanford vs Oregon
Or any other kind of variation. But you can spread marquee teams out throughout the whole day and command the TVs. That should be part of our sales pitch.
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Why would the remaining P4 feel obligated to move to 16 teams unless they can pick up UT or OU (and maybe Kansas)? The P4 can make the club even cozier. Thatâs my bet.
because, in PACs case, they NEED the teams to help their new network and increase their now limited territoryâŠNO WAY PAC stands still if BIG makes any kind of move at allâŠand they willâŠ