Expansion...a matter of when

That’s overly optimistic considering two G5 schools in all time have been given a leg up. Those two are TCU and Utah. Both were cases where their respective conferences needed a filler to either replace someone (A&M) or travel with someone (Colorado).

TCU was a warm body that got into the Big 12 for the following reasons.

  1. TCU would help get them back to 10 teams since having at least 10 schools was a contractual obligation with their TV partners.
  2. TCU would vote along the same lines as the other Texas schools.
  3. TCU would be willing to take over A&M’s schedule of Big 12 conference games.

…and most importantly…

  1. TCU would be expendable in the event that UT-Austin tried to go somewhere else. Meaning, as a small, private school, TCU would be easier to seperate from if UT-Austin decided to go somewhere else.

Once Uta realizes what little influence they’ll have in BIG, I suspect they’ll pull back to something more their style, BIG-12+. I’d like to see the BIG-12 become BIG-16 with the addition of UH, Cincy, USF and UCF, then divide East/West or North/South or any way they chose. Put Uta and OU in the same division so they could continue their self-perceived dominance.

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TCU has more than held their own with ANYBODY in college sports. I’d take a Rose Bowl, final Top 5 in FB and 4 straight CWS in baseball any day of the week. You got to tip your hat to them, they had their act together at the right time and the right place. Most TCU folk I know are very pro-UH these days. They more than most, understand UH’s journey to get to P5

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TCU, Utah, Louisville, and Rutgers. And then there are USF and Cinci, who went up and came back down.

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Louisville and Rutgers were Big East schools in the days when the Big East had an automatic bid to the BCS. TCU and Utah were never in a BCS league

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Louisville was in Conference USA until 2005*.

*edit: until 2006.

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Now just when was Flugaur “pretty accurate”? I can’t remember.

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The point was that schools from lower conferences don’t typically get invited unless there is a void to fill. Louisville was a another example. They were called up to join the Big East because of the exodus of Miami, VA Tech & BC. And they were called up again by the ACC to replace Maryland.

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Nobody has been accurate with expansion reports, hence my “grain of sand” comment. However, he has been rather accurate with B10 tv and media contracts and other B10 issues.

Just kinda fun to go for the ride in the off-season.

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With our huge TV market as well as our new medical school & improved ratings, UH is moving toward fitting more closely in the mold of the BIG - along the lines of their recent TV market driven additions of Maryland and Rutgers. Since they’ve already moved into the Eastern TV markets, now it’s time for them to move into the Southern/Sunbelt TV markets.

To me, the big question is would they be willing to add 2 schools (for example - OU & UH) or would they want to add 4 schools in this region. Of course, I’m a bit of an optimist!

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Except that the mold that allowed Maryland and Rutgers to join has now been broken. The new model will be pay-per-view so does the University of Houston have a large enough bass that Subscribers to the Big Ten network will make up for the share that we get from the conference?

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Absolutely. Can you imagine Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State or Wisconsin coming to TDECU? Can you imagine what scalpers could get? You could probably sell out NRG. I’d bet the ratings would sky high in the Houston area. You’d have not only the UH fans (a given) the transplants (also a given) but the casual observer watching.

Plus, which would the non-affiliated fan rather watch UT-Kansas or UH-UM? UT fans would be beside themselves.

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I really want to know what MHVER3 think about these rumors…???.:thinking::face_with_raised_eyebrow:

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I always thought the ACC fit us the best, but B10, wow, what a pay day that would be. Plenty of schools we could beat up regularly. We would not lose to Maryland like UT, and Illinois, Indiana, Purdue, Minnesota and Rutgers would stay bottom feeders. What a dream of having Ohio State in TDECU. Our Med school maybe paying off and do not rule out President Khatur’s influence to get us where she wants us to be.

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How many times have Michigan and Ohio State played, let alone visited, Nebraska since the Big 10 expanded? In a bigger Big 10, the frequency of their blue bloods visiting goes down even more.

Unless UH is added to the same division as tOSU and Michigan, I doubt UH will be playing them more than once every 5 years, and expect 1 visit from each in any 10 year span as UH rotated through the programs in the other division.

Will UT alums accept being a conference with UCF etc, while A&M boasts of being in the SEC?

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One thing for sure a bIG10 invite will follow up with a Big12 invite…Texas will do all they can to prevent that…

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Well that is a shocker … why would Flugerville OUT OF THE BLUE suddenly bring up our UH as not a maybe or an iffy or when the swallows come home to Capistrano … but when and apparently just around the corner …

I suspect Holgerson and Sampson’s LONG TIME COMMITMENTS and our hold over one of the most fertile recruiting areas in SE TX both in FB AND BB obviously has not gone UN-NOTICED by ALL of the P5s.

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If (big if) we get a BIG invite and a B12 invite then we should take the Big invite as quickly as possible.

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If it happened today, I don’t think any of the AAC schools get in. I think the nod would go to Boise St. Long history of excellent performance on the gridiron. Now, if two schools were needed, idk. Tough call really. I think it would come down to UH, UCF, and UC for the second spot. IMHO.