Longhorn Sports Network rumor from work today...

[missouridawg]

So I live in Houston, TX as most of you know... I work with lots of A+M, Texas and TTech engineers...

Talk around the office today was this...

Texas asked TTech to play this years game on the Longhorn Network and TTech denied that request (not sure how they have power to do so, but this was the story). Texas then offered TTech the opportunity to show two of their home games each year for the next 3 years on the Longhorn Network and TTech again declined. Texas then said "you'll never have a game on our network for the next 10 years unless you agree to this"....

If this stuff is true, it appears Texas is essentially digging the Big 12 graveyard.

And to add onto the speculation, since that's what message boards are for.... What happens if the Big 12 disbands? TTech, OU , OSU go to the Pac 12 (with Boise State probably getting them to 16). A+M and Mizzou come to SEC. KU/KState/Baylor/IState left hung out to dry.... and Texas goes independant.

Besides OU and A+M, who is Texas going to schedule for their other 10 games? I personally don't see any SEC teams scheduling Texas because their is no need to add another tough game, especially considering that with A+M in the SEC, we already have access into Texas. I could see it to bea major, major problem for Texas early on their independancy in regards to scheduling. They are going to have a tough time finding atleast 8 BCS schools for a schedule...

 

[missouridawg]

So I live in Houston, TX as most of you know... I work with lots of A+M, Texas and TTech engineers...

Talk around the office today was this...

Texas asked TTech to play this years game on the Longhorn Network and TTech denied that request (not sure how they have power to do so, but this was the story). Texas then offered TTech the opportunity to show two of their home games each year for the next 3 years on the Longhorn Network and TTech again declined. Texas then said "you'll never have a game on our network for the next 10 years unless you agree to this"....

If this stuff is true, it appears Texas is essentially digging the Big 12 graveyard.

And to add onto the speculation, since that's what message boards are for.... What happens if the Big 12 disbands? TTech, OU , OSU go to the Pac 12 (with Boise State probably getting them to 16). A+M and Mizzou come to SEC. KU/KState/Baylor/IState left hung out to dry.... and Texas goes independant.

Besides OU and A+M, who is Texas going to schedule for their other 10 games? I personally don't see any SEC teams scheduling Texas because their is no need to add another tough game, especially considering that with A+M in the SEC, we already have access into Texas. I could see it to bea major, major problem for Texas early on their independancy in regards to scheduling. They are going to have a tough time finding atleast 8 BCS schools for a schedule...

 

[rabiddawg]

I say we play Tejas every year, after they agree to pay us 4 million a game to play them.</p>

 

[BMadoff.nafoom]

they're practically one now

 

[FlabLoser]

Texas planted that shovel the day the Big 12 was formed. Big 12 money isn't split evenly. Texas takes a monster share of it. The Big 12 is Texas and everybody else.

 

[thatsbaseball]

televising highschool games and howUT will attempt to manipulate recruiting through the process.

 

[BiscuitEater]

Texas planted that shovel the day the Big 12 was formed. Big 12 money isn't split evenly. Texas takes a monster share of it. The Big 12 is Texas and everybody else.

that is exactly 'why' I see Tx A&M looking more and more fondly at the SEC. They already have a rivalry with the Hogs & kinship with State. Would be an easy transition for the aggies.

 

[missouridawg]

Recruiting being one of the big ones.... I mean... you're a high school kid and you can watch yourself on the Longhorn Network? Why wouldn't you love UT then?

The Longhorn Network is without a doubt, the last nail in the coffin of the Big 12. It is completely unfair to the other institutions.

 

[QuaoarsKing]

But I'd bet on Kansas going to the Pac-12 over Boise State. The Pac-12 won't even consider Boise due to market size and academics (which I believe Stanford is the only one who won't let Boise in for that reason)<div>
</div><div>If not Kansas, New Mexico is the only other school that would add a new market and meet academic standards.</div>

 

[DawgatAuburn]

I understand the A&M and OU rivalries, but if they are end up in the SEC and Pac 16 respectively, they don't need another killer game. Plus, I'd make Texas spend as much money as possible traveling to whomever they could get to play them. And it would be a great 17 you to UT after they way they have manipulated all those other schools through this process. Let Texas play Notre Dame, BYU, Army, Navy and eight directionals every year.

 

[MSUBully1]

Part of the agreement about the Texas Network states that other teams in Big 12 - 2 havethe right to accept or decline playing Texas on the Network. If I were the other nine schools, I would tell Texas NO, everytime they requested it. ESPN and Texas might be left standing there with their mouths hanging wide open.
I wouldn't give the University of Texas the time of day.

 

[tcprdr321]

<p class="MsoNormal"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial" size="2">Hi
everyone….Texas Tech Alum here. Living
in a “house divided” with a MISSISSIPPI STATE DAWG, I follow your website
regularly. The Longhorn Network is
obviously a topic I am familiar with and follow closely. </font></p>

<p class="MsoNormal"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial" size="2">Let me
start by saying I completely agree that the LHN is wrong.<span> </span>It absolutely will give the Horns an unfair
advantage when it comes to recruiting.<span> </span>A
Longhorn booster blunted stated in an interview that the school was planning to
air high school games that feature top recruits.<span> </span>He went so far as to name future recruits by
name.<span> </span>What high school kid wouldn’t want
to see his game on TV?<span> </span></font></p>

<p class="MsoNormal"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial" size="2">That
being said – Oklahoma and Texas A&M – two schools being very vocal against
the LHN – are also being incredibly hypocritical. The LHN was a factor when the Big 12 nearly
dissolved this past year. Everyone knew
about it and agreed to it when the conference stayed together. Additionally, for the conference to stay
together, the five schools who were the “odd men out” – Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri,
Iowa State, and Baylor – were forced to give Texas, Oklahoma, and Texas A&M
their portions of therevenuepaid to the conference by Nebraska and Colorado in
order to leave the Big 12 early. The other two schools
– Texas Tech and Oklahoma State – were forced to take a smaller percentage of
their portions. Basically Big 12 Commish did anything Texas wanted in order to save his own job, and clearly there is
something wrong with this entire picture. </font></p>

<p class="MsoNormal"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial" size="2">Frankly, I was hoping Texas would go
independent.<span> </span>Oklahoma and especially Texas
A&M have been threatening for years to go to the SEC.<span> </span>I have no idea if the SEC would actually take
them, but both schools constantly say they are in “discussions” to do so.<span> </span>I think both schools are just defenseless to
how powerful UT has become, and other schools such as Texas Tech, Oklahoma State,
Missouri, etc. are making names for themselves in their own right.<span> </span>It is no secret that is why Nebraska
left.<span> </span>When the Big 12 was formed, the
Cornhuskers ruled the roost.<span> </span>Recently, Nebraska
argued that they were against certain schools getting all the revenue, so they
left the conference; however when the Big 12 was formed, Nebraska voted for the
unequal revenue distribution – which at the time went to them.<span> </span>Personally, I always felt that even if other
schools did leave, and Tech ended up in something like the MWC or WAC, I would be completely okay with that.<span> </span>Anything to
get away from the politics of the Big 12.<span></span><span></span></font></p>

<p class="MsoNormal"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial" size="2">Regarding
the Texas Tech/Texas game, I am thrilled that Tech declined.<span> </span>All summer I have been seeing commercials for
a UT Big 12 game to air on the LHN this fall, and I have been praying that it
would not be Tech.<span> </span>Red Raider news outlets
have quoted our Chancellor, Kent Hance, as saying, ‘I don’t want a Tech fan to
have to give one dime to the Longhorn Network.’<span></span>If this is true, I am very pleased, and that is saying a lot because I
can honestly say I can’t stand our current administration after the embarrassment
of the Mike Leach scandal in recent years. <span></span>(Cheering new Tech coach, Tommy Tuberville, is
definitely a sore spot in our household!)<span></span></font></p>

<p class="MsoNormal"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial" size="2">What a
lot of people are not considering – and please understand I am NOT defending UT
here – is that ESPN is the one primarily calling the shots.<span> </span>Here is an excerpt from Amarillo.com (two
hours away from Lubbock and a “sister” media outlet):</font></p>

<p class="MsoNormal"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial" size="2"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="line-height: 115%; color: rgb(50, 50, 50); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">Tech reportedly was told the UT game would
unlikely be carried by ESPN or its partner ABC, thus trying to make the LHN
option more attractive. ESPN's pitch also included televising at least two
non-conference football gamesover the next four seasons for $5 million
andand some other non-football-related programming. There was also some
discussion of ESPN putting together a home-and-home series with a high-profile
BCS conference school.</span></span> </font></p>

<p class="MsoNormal"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial" size="2">Now how
unfair is this – not just to Big 12 schools, but to all schools. This kind of leverage is ridiculous. Why would Texas Tech – or any school for that
matter – WANT to air on the LHN? I
really think we are only starting to scratch the surface of a very messy debate
involving ethics and profit when the LHN becomes a reality.</font><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'Times New Roman', serif"></font></p>

 

[missouridawg]

is that ESPN is doing it. I still can't fathom how the NCAA thought it was ok for the worldwide leader in sports to cover just one team for a network. How they did not see the implications of it is beyond me. Maybe they were too busy figuring out Renardo Sidney's punishment.

 

[dawgstudent]

Feel free to post anytime.

 

[GloryDawg]

And to add onto the speculation, since that's what message boards are for.... What happens if the Big 12 disbands? TTech, OU , OSU go to the Pac 12 (with Boise State probably getting them to 16). A+M and Mizzou come to SEC. KU/KState/Baylor/IState left hung out to dry.... and Texas goes independant.

There is nothing written in Stone.I would not be surprise if the SEC move Alabama, Auburn, MissState and Ole Miss to the east and add four of those teams to the west.

 

[dawgs.sixpack]

But I'd bet on Kansas going to the Pac-12 over Boise State. The Pac-12 won't even consider Boise due to market size and academics (which I believe Stanford is the only one who won't let Boise in for that reason)<div>
</div><div>If not Kansas, New Mexico is the only other school that would add a new market and meet academic standards.</div>

from what i remember last year, kansas and k-state are a package deal. much like oklahoma and ok st. i'd imagine oklahoma schools go to the pac 12, and i'd bet the kansas schools go to the big east, though the big 10 is a possibility. baylor and iowa st might be screwed and stuck with the MWC. <div>
</div><div>i also see a big east split looming between the football schools and the basketball only schools. once they get 12 football schools, i think it's almost inevitable. </div><div>
</div><div>of course there is the possibility the sec raid the acc for 2 east coast teams to add with 2 former big 12 teams and the big 10 making a move for some programs to get themselves up to 16 ('cuse, maryland, rutgers, and pitt all mentioned before), which might lead to some kinda acc/big east football merger to form a 16 team conference?</div><div>
</div><div>either way, once the a&m domino falls, it's gonna be a cluster17 as everyone moves fast towards the 16 team super conferences. let's just be thankful we are already in 1 of the 3 that are on sure footing (sec, pac 12, big 10). big 12, big east, and acc all look like they could be ripped up and split apart and combined to make it happen.</div><div>
</div><div>regarding boise's academics, it could easily come down to boise or baylor. if they pac 12 wants to maintain the dual pairing (az/az st, ucla/usc, etc), i could see them going baylor and having baylor/tx tech as a pair.</div>

 

[AssEndDawg]

There is nothing written in Stone.I would not be surprise if the SEC move Alabama, Auburn, MissState and Ole Miss to the east and add four of those teams to the west.

So the East would have 10 teams and the West 6. That would make for some interesting scheduling.

just busting your balls, I don't think it makes sense for the SEC to expand to 4 teams in the West. Two to the west and two up the East coast would make much more sense and pull in a bigger TV market.

 

[GloryDawg]

It was all just a thought.</p>

 

[Hector.sixpack]

Why does UT want to go independent? I think a conference affliation puts your programs in perspective, but when your independent you're just out there. Texas is always gonna pull 5 star recruits anyway, doesn't always help.They are always gonna be ranked preseason.They've got money out the wazzou, doesn't mean you always win. College sports is different now, Notre Dame should've joined the Big 10 a long time ago.Great conference >one great team.When another SEC game is on, I watch it because I'm a fan of the conference and all the stories and intricacies within each program. And what is the network gonna show when games are not on? Old games? </p>

 

[dawgs.sixpack]

because people tend to forget that even if they are the richest and most powerful, they didn't get there alone and relied on many less rich and less powerful people to help them achieve their current status. texas is gonna find out the hard way i believe.

 

[boatsnhoes]

You know UT (austin) people think they are greater than the sum of the parts (the rest of NCAA football not just big 12), just like Notre Dame. How dare anyone question their football prestige.**

 

[lawdawg02]

A&M to play Texas every year. They would also probably include something about Texas Tech, Houston, North Texas, etc. also.

It will be interesting to see whether OU wants to keep the rivalry going. Of course, that rivalry is probably a good thing for their Texas recruiting.

 

[patdog]

Being an independent hasn't exactly worked out too well for them on the field the last 20 years or so. They haven't been ranked in the top 10 in a final poll since 1993. And they've only been in the top 25 seven times since then. If Texas goes independent, they're going to find their path to a BCS bowl game is going to get tougher, rather than easier. And when they start missing those big bowl games, they won't be such a hot program as they've been the last decade or so.

 

[DawgatAuburn]

One call!

 

[lawdawg02]

I don't know how Texas controls its colleges and universities (like our IHL Board), but I would think that the Legislature would have the authority to legislate how they are run.

I feel like I remember another state Legislature getting involved in a similar situation, but I can't recall where it was and how it turned out. They say the first thing to go with age is your memory. I can't quite remember what the second thing is...

 

[patdog]

The only reason Kentucky and Louisville play each other in football now is because the legislature forced them to. Even if A&M could win if they did challenge it, it probably wouldn't be a good idea for them to piss off the legislature.

I think lawdawg is right. A&M would have to keep playing Texas, and Oklahoma probably would because of Texas recruiting. But I could easily see the rest of the Big 12 pretty much locking them out. I doubt they'd get many SEC games either, so scheduling would be an issue for them.

 

[missouridawg]

And everything to do with A+M wanting to get out of a deal that heavily favors Texas.

 

[dawgs.sixpack]

eh, texas knew that deal wasn't gonna sit well with the rest of the conference and that it would only serve to drive teams away. they are pulling the passive aggressive card if they are gonna sit there and act like they had no idea this deal would very possibly lead to the dissolution of the big 12.

 

[MedDawg]

The Longhorn Network may dominate the State of Texas, but they won't approach what NBC did for and got from Notre Dame, even with Texas having more success on the field.

 

[mcdawg22]

I think they are an average football team that's recruiting classes are inflated and live on their reputation. They have gone 10-11 against Big 10 teams in the last seven years. Yet have gone to BCS games twice (both times with two losses.) Every year they get publicity on ESPN even if the previous year they lost eight games and unlike a small school building a a good team (ie Rutgers, TCU, Utah) when Notre Dame goes on a four game win streak they get vaulted into the top 25. Herbstreit said it best a couple years ago, If you are going to keep your admission standards so high it's going to be hard to have a top five program in today's CFB landscape and until they make it to a BCS Bowl game and actually win it Notre Dame is just another average team that should become bowl eligible every year. I hope Texas doesn't go independent, cherry pick it's opponents, lose to Oklahoma and A&Mand get's a BCS bid because writers for ESPN feel their impressive wins against SMU, North Texas and UTEP deserve a top 5 vote.

 

[LightninInside]

Thanks,

 

[missouridawg]

.

 

[tcprdr321]

LSU's "TigerVision" is an in-house produced product of the LSU Athletic Department. Basically all it does is broadcast select games via pay-per-view only -- and that is assuming your cable provider will carry it. "TigerVision" is just a fancy little name for the production and program. <div>
</div><div>The Texas "Longhorn Network" is being produced by ESPN using ESPN broadcasters. It will be a 24-hour a day network -- similar to ESPNU -- except it will bededicatedto the University of Texas andbroadcasttwenty different varsity-level UT sports. It will bedistributed as a basic digital cable channel by the cable companies reaching millionson people who may or may not have interest in the University of Texas. Reports say that UT will make over $248 million from the network over the next twenty years. </div>

 

[tcprdr321]

I just came across this in an article on SI.com.....thought you guys would find it interesting.<div>
</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">What Brown said next probably made coaches' blood run cold in the Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC. "I know there is a kid Connor Brewer from Chaparral High School in [Scottsdale] Arizona," Brown told KZNX. "We may try to get one or two of their games on, as well, so people can see an incoming quarterback that'll be part of the scene here in Austin." Brewer, another member of the class of 2012, also is committed to Texas. But what about the players in future recruiting classes? Essentially, Brown admitted The Longhorn Network will highlight the players Texas wants -- no matter where they live.</span><span style="background-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><br style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><br style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">
</span></span></div>

 

[Dawgpile]

asdf

 

[tcprdr321]

Here you go....<div>
</div><div>http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/andy_staples/07/21/longhorn-network-big-12/index.html</div>