OKAY its getting scary

Anyone else reading the Greg Flugar tweets?

So his contact says the little 8 will tear up the GOR for an extension of the TV contracts. OK. The big schools get out right now and the little 8 keep P5 for an additional 10 years.

Why the hell would ESPN or Fox ever go along with that? Am I on crazy pills? Seems like the only real money drivers would be leaving.

1 Like

I’m confused about this as well. What exactly is the definition of P5? If OU and UT leave, I can’t imagine P5 status could be retained. Isn’t this exactly what happened when the Big East dissolved and became the AAC? BCS status stuck around for a year then was gone.

Here’s what I think the deal is

The new arrangement will be for any team that wants to leave, they will be allowed to do so without any consideration paid or received by any party

For any parties that wish to remain in the big 12 they will receive the compensation that has been contractually agreed by the networks. They will also be promised power five status but this will be worthless because their strength of schedule will not give them consideration for national championships so the real value here is protection on the downside through the length of the contract

by allowing teams to leave the big 12 and guaranteeing financial payments to those that remain the networks will close the loop on any pay for expansion contractual provisions that they were otherwise obligated to pay

The teams with the best options Will leave the big 12 first . Texas, in particular , is trying to create a deal where they retain some regional rivalries , maintain influence, and improve the content on their Longhorn network . They will also be able to get rid of deadwood such as Iowa State Kansas State iand West Virginia and get rid of the undesirables like Baylor.

Oklahoma’s big argument all along has been to have a conference network and without it they’re willing to walk so the Longhorn network was always going to be an issue

Teams will be brought into other power five conference is in their existing deals with the big 12 network will cease once they join a new network

If you add up the numbers and look at the ACC SEC pack 12 and Big Ten and assume that they need 18 teams each then somebody’s getting left out if BYU in Houston get in

That’s what I think is going on

1 Like

I can see that, but if the B12 collapses it would be fantastic for ESPN/Fox because they could jettison payments to all the teams that aren’t worth the money they are getting.

BU/WV/ISU/OSU/KSt/(really KU)/TCU would then get something approaching what we get in the American at best, and that number far outweighs the cost of bringing one or two more schools on that would create additional revenue.

I would wait to let the dust settle on Flugaville’s postings … most of it is confusing and contradictory …

What is worse is he is getting this 2nd hand through his B1G contact who is in actual communication with the OU contacts

There is still almost week 1/2 until the presidents meet so why is this being discussed in Norman unless it is the brain child of mad Boren and a contingency he is putting in place which really doesn’t have the approval of the other members yet.

My SofP guess is Boren wants to high tail outa the conference ELSEWHERE and doesn’t want the GORs to plague him so he is sugar coating the pill the lil 8 have to swallow to allow this and that they can still be a P5 conference which sorta borders on SyFy fiction … well as long as the lil 8 can buy into it.

As leaky as the information has been from many sources NO ONE has put forth any of this except Flugy and his B1G contact … as we are well aware these writers are desperate for anything to post on their websites.

One can only hope the other lil eight presidents are observing this and that it is scaring them spitless … and … vote UT’s choices since mad Boren’s lights are on but no one is at home.

If all this stuff that’s being leaked is true (Big IF), I still think it’s posturing at this point for the meeting in two weeks. Once they all get in that room, anything can happen. Each side is just trying to get their story straight right now.

From all my years as a litigation attorney, this whole ordeal reminds me of a multi-party mediation. There are usually 2 or 3 primary parties and everyone else is there because they just got lumped in. Everyone gets in a room for an opening session to state their positions. There’s lots of grunting, hemming and hawing as everyone blusters about how right they are. Then they split up into separate rooms and start strategizing how they can get out of this mess. Once all the public talking stops is when the real business is conducted and ultimately accomplished.

All that to say, I think Patrick is right. Everything being said right now is public posturing and there’s a really good chance all these public positions change once the doors are closed and decisions have to be made.

3 Likes

I think you’re right. It’s one thing to leak things publicly without consequence, its another when the chips are on the line.

Tim Montemayor is also putting forth something along these lines saying that OU was holding others to their GOR but now wants to be free of it. Montemayor’s sources don’t seem to be OU related, more UT related, which seems to mean that OU wants this info out there.

Question I am asking: why play this hand now? If you want to leave, go ahead and negotiate on your terms and leave; that’s what other schools did. This talk just seems like a bluff to scare others to give-in to what OU wants. Then again, this whole expansion process seems to be a bluff that’s been dragged out too long.

I think Montemayor’s are more BYU related.

Like I’ve been saying: who is leaking is losing. Everything from BYU and OU sources (and OU the most).

Guys. It ain’t happening. And we were all FOOLS for ever believing the powers that be would actually give us a seat at the big boys table. We are frankly too much of a threat even in our current state and with P5 resources would be just a constant thorn in the side of everyone. No chance we get an invite. Sad to say. But that is just how this will turn out.

1 Like

Something for OU to consider. When Arkansas was in the SWC they were a true national powerhouse. That UT-Ark game every year was a really big deal - easily as big as Texas-OU. Remember the “Game of the Century”? But think about what happened to Arkansas. Like Oklahoma they built their program around Texas recruits. When they jumped to the SEC much to their surprise they lost out on most of those Texas recruits. They got some. Just enough to be a step above mediocre, and not even that many years. And that lasted for over 20 years. They’ve made something of a comeback, but when you try to name the ten best teams in America how often do you add Arkansas to the list? Heck, UH would be ahead of them today.

Point is, OU is in pretty much the same shape. They can huff and puff all they want but the strength of their program is built on Texas recruits. How many of those recruits will follow them to another conference? Some will. I get that, but hell, we provide recruits to almost every team in the NCAA it seems. Will OU be able to bring in enough 4 and 5-star recruits from Texas to keep their status as a powerhouse team? I really have my doubts. If I were advising OU I would caution them to study Arkansas’ experience carefully. No doubt there are differences, but there are a lot of similarities too.

3 Likes

You went to the wrong board again. This is isn’t red raider central.

The PAC has it’s own network and The LHN would not be acceptable. When Oklahoma was “30 minutes from joining the PAC” it was because the PAC would accept them if UT came without the LHN. Texas refused to give up their network and PAC had no interest in Oklahoma without UT.