expansion not out of the question
Don slam the door on future college conference expansion and realignment just yet.
The trendy instant reaction Monday to news that members of the Atlantic Coast Conference agreed to a of rights clause forits television and mediawas that it would halt realignment.
By the schools media rights to the conference for 14 years, the theory is that it would be too costly for a school to change leagues because it wouldn have much of value to to a new league.
Several old friends in the business of college athletics I talked to Monday said they wouldn bet their own money on that.
These people from conference offices and major college athletic departments all agreed that any numberof lawyers would be delighted to challenge those deals in court.
The ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac 12 have such deals.
As one buddy with a wicked sense of humor said, you really think Texas would sign up for something it couldn get out of? a sidenote, two sources have told The World Herald that the Big Ten has doneprior on Oklahoma, Kansas and Vanderbilt among other schools who might some day be expansion targets. The Big 12 grant of rights deal didn stop a look see for OU and KU.
Besides a legal challenge, the potential future TV money available could still make it profitable for a school to move.
So what do you take from all this?When the most powerful people in college athletics want something, there are ways to do it, regardless of the contracts and paperwork in place.
Greg Davis:
April 23rd, 2013 at 9:31 pm
It is not a real secret many, if not the majority of OU fans who are donors and season ticket holders are not very happy with the current status of the Big XII which appears to be on a slow road of descent to nowhere. But, OU has a lot more reason to follow Texas around than, are you kidding me, Kansas or even Nebraska? Losing Texas off our schedule is more of a death blow than losing KU, or for that matter, Nebraska. We all have seen just how Nebraska has fallen off the end of the earth in Texas HS recruiting, and frankly, these same folks are not real impressed with replacing this fertile field with say, Women's Tre Mason Jersey Iowa, Indiana, etc.
Kyle Dean:
April 23rd, 2013 at 10:35 pm
I'd love for OU to be in the B10, but the problem is, I don't want to lose our other rivals. To me, the rivalries are what make CFB and even an extra $10 million (somewhat questionable) wouldn't be worth losing Texas, OSU, KU. I still don't understand why Nebraska went to the B10. The only thing I can think is that the forecasted moneys were more important than 100 year rivalries with OU, KU, MU, CU, etc. If the B10 could figure out a way to get Texas, OU, KU, OSU, I'd be all for it. The Big 12 benefited by renegotiating first, but it will be difficult for this conference to hold value in the long term. I could see Texas and Oklahoma moving out on there own as soon as they see a good opportunity. As a Texas fan, I can assure you, that Texas fans and Alum are not happy with the current state of affairs with the B12.