It sounds like UT is the only available school that could add value to the B1G.
So if UT left the B12 and OU doesn’t add value to the B1G or SEC, would OU stay in the B12 with the addition of UH, BYU, Colorado State and the Florida schools? In addition, add the B12 Network where you can get premium subscription fees from Texas, Florida, Colorado and others?
I think it sounds like a very good scenario for UH especially without UT in it.
Of course all schools would have to sign the GOR which would probably continue the $36M per school payout.
This is just a hypothetical feeding off the article.
I doubt UT or OU will remain in the Big 12 if either leaves. OU is a national brand and will be welcome in any conference. It’s stupid to think that a school with the history and following of OU adds no value.
I thought Christopher Lambert was good in The Highlander, even though he didn’t sound Scottish. Well Sean Connery (who IS Scottish) didn’t sound Spanish either. There can only be one.
I should have said, OU doesn’t bring enough value or will not cover the $95M required to be in the B1G per article statements.
The issue is the fuzzy math networks calculate putting a value on a school. If you are a blueblood, I think the networks will add a lot of value just because. This is obvious with the ESPN/LHN deal. Although UT is making $15M per year off LHN, ESPN is loosing money from the deal.
It’s all about money with the B1G but they use academic excuses to add certain schools minus Nebraska of course. If the B1G stay true to its academic profile, OU will not be a member.
It seems to me that the SEC or ACC would both benefit by adding Central Florida and Houston. The
SEC would not only get the ten million population center but an AAU school to boot.
Jmcoog, I’m not sure where you got your data but UCF and UH are not AAU members.
The SEC already has members in Florida and Texas so the SEC network is getting premium subscription fees from those states. With that said, the SEC would not benefit by adding UH or UCF.
UH could help the ACC but they do not want another Florida school.
But you can’t pay any attention to the article because it’s from a West Virginia fan hanging on to every leaf he can in the hope that the Big 12 remains together. If the league splits, his school is screwed. Any conference would covet OU. It’s one of the all-time top five programs in college football.
Yes UCF is screwed as far as the ACC and SEC. Where would the value come from? This is one reason UCF continues to push to join the B12. They already know they don’t stand a chance getting in the ACC or SEC.
The article actually gives us a legitimate understanding of the value of a school to a conference. The $95M is easy math like 1 + 1 = 2.
If I am the president of a university, why would I want to add another school that is only going to take a cut of my current revenues. There is no way I would vote to add that school.
Only the networks can say if OU is worth $95M to the B1G but that is the B1G target number.
Because OU elevates the Big 10 brand. It’s one of the most elite programs in the history of college football. Add OU to Nebraska, Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, etc., and the Big 10 is probably the most prestigious football conference. SEC games were getting great ratings in Texas before A&M joined because it was an excellent product with a strong brand. If it were just about the number of viewers in a state or DMA the Big 10 never would have invited Nebraska, and Kansas would be about as attractive as Baylor were the Big 12 to implode.
Correct, and the B1G isn’t just looking at the current state of things, they are looking at the past as well in order to boost their conference network. If they add OU and Kansas, that suddenly adds a large amount of potential football and basketball viewers as well as content to their channel. Kansas and Oklahoma may not be a huge get, but there are a lot of Kansas fans in Missouri (Kansas City especially) and a lot of OU fans in northern Texas. Land Texas as well and you’ve just picked up some huge properties (Red River game) as well as about all of Texas.
That network is everything to them as it is a huge source of revenue.
Ultimately, the B1G likely tries to get to 16-20 schools that they can manage under one umbrella and continue to increase revenue as they play their game of RISK and gobble up strategic properties and land. They’ll basically have two conferences within a conference and own all the property.
At some point, the other conferences will realize what is going on and do the same. The SEC will likely make a move or two as well or even try to block the B1G by grabbing OU (and possibly OSU with them). Maybe the ACC will go hard after Texas since they’re both ESPN properties. After that, who knows.
At some point, the ACC (if it can’t get Texas) or PAC 12 (if it can’t get Texas) or even the B1G (if they can’t land Texas) will have to make a move to bolster their cache and we’ll be one of the most attractive properties on the market after OU, UT, and KU are no longer available. That’s basically what we’ve been waiting for and positioning ourselves for. Our hope is that one of those conferences gets worried about the others expanding and decides to grab us due to our potential. We may not be worth $95M when we join, but neither was Rutgers or Maryland when they joined the B1G or South Carolina when they joined the SEC, or Utah when they joined the PAC 12, or Pitt when they joined the ACC or TCU and West Virginia when they joined the Big 12.
I remember Delaney saying that the Big 10’s ultimate goal was 20. Imagine them adding Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, and luring Missouri.
That would be great for UH because we’d likely see a chain reaction scramble for the rest, and we’d be at least as well-positioned as any remaining Big 12 school or AAC program.
