Reporter for Cincy Inquirer.Who #%& is Jason Williams?
1). Explain to me how non Texas schools would ever let in another Texas school with an addition only 2 schools. Nope....
2) While I doubt our state reps would have the balls to stop the tax credits to ESPN, if they did, ESPN would not be going anywhere. The money needed for such a move, never mind talent search, would be extremely cost prohibitive. Nope...
1) Fear.
2) It's just a non-starter. The tax credits were agreed to and issued. It's not happening.
This isn't hard.
The value of that conference is is held by two schools - if they leave, the money goes with them.
And both are strong enough to kill expansion on their own. If the alternative to letting each of them get their way is having them threaten to walk at the end of the deal, those schools will let them have their way. If you're OSU or TT or TCU or KSU, you don't get to vote - you get to decide whether you're going to appease one or both of the powers or whether you're going to tempt fate and put your future at hazard.
I will say this about memphis/Fed-Ex this morning after @UCONNJACK made this post earlier:
Fed-Ex may be making athletic and education facility upgrade promises...UConn is doing real upgrades. Whether the B-12 becomes a reality or not upgrading the facilities isn't lip-service. Which in the case of Memphis and Fred Smith has been the norm in the past!
And run the risk of falling further behind A&m and the SEC in their home state? If OU joins the SEC, Texas is in real trouble. Texas needs to tread carefully here. Are they capable of playing second fiddle in a new conference with schools they can barely relate to? I doubt it.This is where the ACC could help out Texsa and help themselves at the same time by offering a second Texas program to go along with. UT could play five or six games a year with the conference. The ACC would gain by opening a second outpost in the state and greater exposure in the state for the ACC Network. Maybe the LHN can be brought under the same network, although I don't think it's that critical.
And run the risk of falling further behind A&m and the SEC in their home state? If OU joins the SEC, Texas is in real trouble. Texas needs to tread carefully here. Are they capable of playing second fiddle in a new conference with schools they can barely relate to? I doubt it.
OU and KU are Big 8 holdovers. Should they go they might go together. They'd like to reunite with Nebraska if that day happens.
UT has (or maybe not as strong but still there) a relationship with ND. They're scheduled to play this year. I'm assuming UT is watching how ND is handling the partial arrangement with the ACC and assessing its viability for themselves.