Are we better off NOT being invited to the Big 12 right now?

Over some beers, it has been argued to me (by a loyal Coog) that Houston would be more competitive in all sports (i.e. able to win championships) by staying in The American. Assuming that is true, with our investment in facilities and continued success on the field/court/track/course/diamond/pool… would we be better off staying in The American as we build our reputation and fan base?

Jumping to the Big 12 now by most accounts would require us to “buy in”. Would a few more years of sustained winning and growth give us a better bargaining position for a new conference in the future?

Jumping to the Big 12 also changes the competition, will we be as competitive in that league right away as we are currently in The American?

I see the BigXII as a ship taking on water fast. Would we board and try to save it? Or is she doomed to sink? Besides OU and UT, what else is there?

I think OU and UT are biding time sucking up as money as they can, and they will make a move as soon as they are able. Then you’re left with Conference USA 2.0

Think about this: if we do what we say we can do this year, and crash the playoff - or at least be the #5 team and have everyone outraged that we didn’t get in, then how does the so called perception of the AAC change? We can certainly prove this year that we belong in the big time conversation, and last year several teams were in the same position for varying periods of time.

I hate the phrase “perception is reality.” Reality is reality, and there are only so many ways of observing and measuring it. Perception is just the set of conclusions drawn about reality for a given person. The more factual a person’s perception is, the less surprised they are at reality when it asserts itself, as it always does. The more subjective, the greater the surprise and pain at the discovery of reality.

This year, we will certainly find out a lot about reality for ourselves. We have at least two major direct tests against real competition. We aced our two tests last year, along with all the quizzes in between. With a new year comes new scrutiny and new opportunity, and we will find out quickly and plainly just who our team is. The rest of the country will, too, and so the revaluation of our conference should go hand in hand. Are we good in spite of them, or as part of them? I believe the latter is true, and trading a conference whose only real problem is money for a conference whose only real solution is money (and not an effective one at that) is not necessarily worthwhile.

We never should shy away from the opportunity to compete at the highest levels, if presented, but we should work just as hard to demonstrate that we already are competing at very high levels, and stuff it in all their greedy faces.

We need the invitation but we don’t have to join. With the invitation, we can negotiate with other stable P5 conferences.

Herman has talked about the fact that if the Coogs win the AAC, effectively the best G5 conference, at least for the near future, then we’re guaranteed an NY6 bowl and, if undefeated, in the playoff conversation. Probably more difficult to crash the playoffs, but we’re playing on New Years and in the national conversation. My understanding is that he saw the South Carolina job as perennial middle of the pack SEC job, with a much more difficult path to NY6.

I’m sure we would take the B12 invite if given, but the whole system is looking like it will change (or implode) in a few years. Wouldn’t it be just as advantageous to build the program if we continue on the current path, not have to deal with Texas and further lock down the Houston market?

B12 invite or not, winning and continuing to build academics gives us options.

Some Game of Thrones/Sun Tzu sh*t going on!

Doesn’t work like that.

You can’t say no to a Big 12 invite.

But the American has a great TV package which has allowed us to build our brand. 25M viewers (including 13M last year) have watched Cougar football in the last three years.

That dwarfs the exposure we got in CUSA, and is 4th outside the P5 behind Boise, BYU and UCF. And we should surpass UCF this year.

So if the Big 12 decides to stay at 10, it is certainly not the end of the world.

And it doesn’t work that way because invitations are given out only after the entry is actually negotiated. Otherwise, it’s a giant loss of face for the inviter.

Perception is reality in college football.

Have to accept a Big 12 invitation, though I agree the AAC is as good as we could get outside the P5, especially if they up the TV money. I don’t think we’d have any problem being competitive right away in the Big 12. We did beat Florida State, Louisville, and Vandy. And as well as we’re recruiting we’d do even better as a P5 member. If we had a “down” season, went 9-3, and didn’t win the conference, we’d end up in the Sugar Bowl playing someone like Georgia or the Alamo Bowl playing a UCLA or the Russell Athletic against maybe Miami rather than in the Birmingham against a 6-6 Kentucky. Our players would have a better, arguably even realistic, shot to win national awards, we’d definitely have a better chance at the CFP, and the additional revenue (some 21 million more) would be a boon. We’re going to have to move up eventually. I don’t think we can keep spending this kind of money indefinitely, but if we keep winning big and packing them in, that would alleviate some of the financial concerns; for example, if we sold out 7 home games, that would translate to roughly 15 million dollars. But I don’t think Herman will stick around forever if we don’t get into a P5. So yeah we’re in a good spot until but we can’t stay forever. But just like TCU we can use this time to continue building our program so that when opportunity knocks . . .

To answer your question, with fair entry terms we could not say yes fast enough.

Herman isn’t going to stay in the AAC for much longer. We could take recruiting and our other programs to entirely different level with financial stability.

I’ll take some of those conference championships you are speaking of!

ORIGINALLY we were suppose to join the BigEast.

But that nightmare scenario after several months wound up turning into the AAC … OR …

Grace Kelly turning into Phyllis Diller

Those who want to stay hooked up to Diller … KNOCK YOURSELF OUT and stay.

The Big12 is no bed of roses … more like hooking up (pardon the pun) to Liz Taylor or that gigantic tushy Kardashian … BUT it is P5!!! … what the BigEast was meant to remain but didn’t.

Yeah, I don’t get Kardashian fever. At all.