Realignment speculation

The whorns only have feelings for themselves.

I guessing that you are younger, but at one point we held our own against UT across the board until the last five years of the SWC and the ensuing funk that came thereafter. You are correct in pointing out the current record, but Yeoman, Lewis and others fared well against UT and they do know that we are a sleeping giant and thus there efforts to marginalize our univeesity.

I graduated in 91 and during my time at uh we went 3-1 against UT and then the wheels came off the UH bus. So for at least 25 years UH has had zero, or negative athletic history against UT. That’s around 10 academic generations and 1-2 calendar generation of people who have no memory of being competitive against. UT. So I still say UT does not fear UH.

Trust me, UT fears us. There is no doubt of that. We are 4th largest city in the country with the hottest of hotbeds in virtually all sports recruitng. We have the 3rd largest school in the state and our athletics is growing and getting better despite being in a smaller conference. They know what would happen if we entered the B12.

They are also aware of the yearly gains we are making academically. Now with the looming Medical School.

They fear us.

I live in Austin, I know this.

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Why else would they so diligently works to keeps us out of the B12 and therefore out of the money it would bring. The last go around was a charade to say the least.

The records against UT that I was referring to were all pre 1090s.

All 10 teams worked to keep everyone out of their club. all the teams they considered will be available in the mid 2020’s when their grants of rights and tv deals come up so all they need to do is wait.

Seeing how badly the PAC is doing in the playoffs and bowls justifies the decision. But it was still crummy for the big 12 to dangle the carrot then yank it away.

Agreed, but UT rules the roost in the B12.

UT has a brand new medical school which they had no trouble raising money for. Plus they have hired the best administrators and faculty for it. They have also already established research partnerships. They are also making waves in medical education (https://www.fastcompany.com/3051260/reinventing-medical-school), although not everyone seems pleased with their new approach

The fact is that UH will never be an academic threat to UT. They have too much money, and wealthy alumni who can raise millions in a matter of days. Just a few years ago they raised more than $1 billion months ahead of schedule.

UH can overcome the misperception of average academic reputation, and be a superb academic school. with AAU membership an achievable goal, ahead of any other Texas university. That in itself will be no small feat.

What UH can be threat to is athletics,of that there is no doubt. And yes that will make UT be less than enamoured with the idea of supporting UH for major conference membership.

However the fact that the Big 12 did not take UH should be not entirely placed on UT shoulders. Gundy at OSU, and Barry Switzer both voiced concerns about UH being in the Big 12, would make it harder for Big 12 schools to recruit Houston talent.

No argument here.

It is so unbelievable that those B12 coaches would be afraid of UH and the competition. You would think they would act like men and welcome the competition. TCU is surrounded by some serious high school talent in the Dallas/Fort Worth area but TCU does not get all the top talent there. I don’t think UH would get all the top Houston area talent either but UH would be very competitive as P5.

The success that TCU and Baylor had scares the crap out of the Big 12, and they know UH would be even worse. But that attitude is exactly why the Big 12 will crumble. When it does crumble, UH has one last opportunity to get a seat at the big boy table over teams like Baylor, KSU, Tech, etc. This is a very critical time for UH because the next four years will either facilitate greatness or relegate UH to the athletic minor leagues.

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Any school that can attract a quality coach can do well. Arkansas had a glimpse under petrino and plenty of programs do will with Houston talent without playing a game in the state.

We were in a top tier conference and stunk it up with awful coaching hires. We were supposed to dominate CUSA and didn’t.

Delusions of grandeur may feel good as a reason for being passed over but Louisville moves up with a good athletics program and wasn’t spurned because schools in the acc were scared.

The simple fact that Baylor of all schools had a great football team shows that any school can do well. And uh doing badly in a recruiting hotbed proves that any program can fail to meet potential.

PUF sure does come in handy, doesn’t it?

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Louisville moved up because they filled their stadium once they moved into the new Papa John’s Stadium. They didn’t do so hot when they played in the minor league baseball park. I went to a game there and the place was a lousy venue. Doing well on the field is only a part of the equation.

Also, they had a top notch basketball team.

You could even argue that the recruiting benefits that would come from having UH in the Big 12, particularly for the non-Texas programs, would be greater than any increased recruiting competition from UH.

Speaking to OU grads who are friends of mine, and visiting Big 12 boards, the opposition to having UH in the Big 12 falls into 2 categories:

  1. a general impression that UH really does not add anything in terms of new markets.

  2. the fear that having another Texas program would make an already Texas centered conference, even more so, giving Texas programs, and Texas politicians essentially veto power over all Big 12 decisions.

I remember reading someone making the point that if the Big 12 were to cave in Texas political demands now and add UH, you may as well also add SMU, as in the next round of expansion, the politicians could easily demand that another Texas school be added.

That is why I think if the Big 12 expands to 16, UH is guaranteed a spot, expansion to just 12 or 14, even with pressure from Texas politicians, is not likely to result in UH being added.

While conferences would like to show that expansion was a unanimous call, the Big 12 could easily vote 6-4 for what programs to add. That would give Texas programs an out by saying hey we got outvoted, even though behind the scenes they may actually be supporting the move.

I think they all regret adding TCU. It was a rushed decision and UT especially thought they would not be a real threat, but that it would look like a good add from the success they had in the MWC. I can’t remember the issue with Louisville at that time, but I thought that would have been the add that made most sense for UT/OU. Now adding another Texas school is not wanted by the other Big 12 members to keep some balance and UT doesn’t want to get beat by another school in one of their recruiting hotbeds.

All the stars aligned perfectly for UL before their invite to the ACC.
Just in 2013: Men’s Basketball Title (now vacated), CWS appearance (first of two in a row), and a 12-1 football season topped off with a beatdown of Miami in the bowl game. Their former AD even commissioned an ESPN doc (fully paid for by UL) called “Year of the Cardinal” chronicling the seasons.

This is a pretty tough blueprint to follow for other G5’s hoping to get an invite.

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The B12 is more likely to shrink to 5 teams rather than expand to 12,14, or 16 teams.

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While I think the Big 12 dying is a very real possibility. I would not bury them just yet. Any conference with UT and OU in it can survive easily, if BOTH those programs remain committed to the conference.

Too much uncertainty to predict what might happen in 5-7 years.

True but at this time it appears that not only are UT and OU not committed to the B12 but that they do intend to leave.