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Key tweets, and it's all gone to Hell.

From UH's scout board via Chip Brown...full paragraph posted in link

LATEST ON BIG 12 - FOCUS ON CINCY AND UH (NOT SO MUCH ON BYU)
I'm hearing Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby, Oklahoma president David Boren and Texas president Greg Fenves as well as the Big 12's TV partners have been working overtime since the Big 12 began "actively evaluating" two to four candidates for expansion.
And for those wondering why the Big 12 made a public cattle call for potential expansion candidates back on July 19, I'm told the league did so to avoid any claims of tortious interference that could be made by the leagues of any schools the Big 12 spoke with.
As long as schools in other leagues were the ones seeking out the Big 12, any legal claims of the Big 12 being a home wrecker would be diminished, I'm told.
After talking to sources in the Big 12 as well as TV industry sources, it sounds like the Big 12 will expand by two - and not four - because there's a chance a couple schools currently in Power 5 conferences might want to join the Big 12 closer to 2024, when most all of the P5 leagues have Tier 1 & 2 TV rights packages expiring.
If the Big 12 was to expand by two right now, I'm told by most of the sources I spoke with it would be Cincinnati and Houston.
Cincinnati has been perhaps the most consensus candidate for the Big 12 since July 19, when the league's presidents and chancellors announced the league would be actively evaluating expansion candidates. The pros for Cincinnati are its location in a football-crazed state, with solid TV markets (and college football ratings), located in the middle of the country, making travel manageable while serving as a regional partner for


All Things Conference Realignment / Expansion
 
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Who the hell is going to leave their current conference for the Big 12? The PAC is the only one possible - and who Colorado and Utah? There is NO way that the Arizona schools will leave the Pac 12, none.

And I still don't think there's any way they have 5 Texas schools out of 12. No way. That's almost half the friggin league. that Chip Brown article is garbabe IMO.

I keep clinging to the fact that these are presidents who ultimately decide and the fact they can add the top school available - which also happens to be the school that spends more on athletics than anyone else in the hunt and is located between two of the biggest cities in the country...I think that means something here.

If houston is seriously joining, I think they add 4 with UConn being one.

Houston, Cincinnati, UConn and UCF. No way with Memphis. I think UCF may have big potential in the Big 12 and is in a football hotbed with a good-sized market.
 
Clockshop said:
From UH's scout board via Chip Brown...full paragraph posted in link

LATEST ON BIG 12 - FOCUS ON CINCY AND UH (NOT SO MUCH ON BYU)
I'm hearing Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby, Oklahoma president David Boren and Texas president Greg Fenves as well as the Big 12's TV partners have been working overtime since the Big 12 began "actively evaluating" two to four candidates for expansion.
And for those wondering why the Big 12 made a public cattle call for potential expansion candidates back on July 19, I'm told the league did so to avoid any claims of tortious interference that could be made by the leagues of any schools the Big 12 spoke with.
As long as schools in other leagues were the ones seeking out the Big 12, any legal claims of the Big 12 being a home wrecker would be diminished, I'm told.
After talking to sources in the Big 12 as well as TV industry sources, it sounds like the Big 12 will expand by two - and not four - because there's a chance a couple schools currently in Power 5 conferences might want to join the Big 12 closer to 2024, when most all of the P5 leagues have Tier 1 & 2 TV rights packages expiring.
If the Big 12 was to expand by two right now, I'm told by most of the sources I spoke with it would be Cincinnati and Houston.
Cincinnati has been perhaps the most consensus candidate for the Big 12 since July 19, when the league's presidents and chancellors announced the league would be actively evaluating expansion candidates. The pros for Cincinnati are its location in a football-crazed state, with solid TV markets (and college football ratings), located in the middle of the country, making travel manageable while serving as a regional partner for


All Things Conference Realignment / Expansion
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Lol if they really think any current P5 team is ever leaving for the Big 12.
 
It makes no sense, because you get more money now for adding four, and if you want to add two more disgruntled PAC12 schools when and if (a very big if) any become available, just go to 16 teams at that point in time. By the time anybody might consider leaving another conference, you may not need them anyway if the four new members progress exponentially due to greatly improved resources and recruiting at the P5 level.
 
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The Viking said:
Who the hell is going to leave their current conference for the Big 12? The PAC is the only one possible - and who Colorado and Utah? There is NO way that the Arizona schools will leave the Pac 12, none.

And I still don't think there's any way they have 5 Texas schools out of 12. No way. That's almost half the friggin league. that Chip Brown article is garbabe IMO.

I keep clinging to the fact that these are presidents who ultimately decide and the fact they can add the top school available - which also happens to be the school that spends more on athletics than anyone else in the hunt and is located between two of the biggest cities in the country...I think that means something here.

If houston is seriously joining, I think they add 4 with UConn being one.

Houston, Cincinnati, UConn and UCF. No way with Memphis. I think UCF may have big potential in the Big 12 and is in a football hotbed with a good-sized market.
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If they add 2, UConn Cincinnati like Flugaur said way back when.
 
Heyyyy look who made "Top 15 Most Improved College Football Teams" on ESPN

10. Connecticut Huskies
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i

The Huskies got the benefit of bowl practices for the first time since 2010 and have 16 returning starters (second most in the American). They go from my No. 79 most experienced team in 2015 to No. 12 this year. This is Bob Diaco's best team of his three years, with seven home games. They do have three Power 5 opponents on their schedule but none of the three (Virginia, Syracuse, Boston College) had a winning record last year.
Expand ...


The 15 most improved college football teams for 2016
 
The PAC stuff only makes any sense whatsoever, if GoR gets extended. To jump off of a stable ship in the PAC, for the leaking tanker that is the B12, to have it blow up in a decade? Oh, and the only possible suitor to jump to, when that happens, is the league you just left?

It's insane in any instance, but friggin ridiculously insane without GoR.
 
I do think UConn is in better shape than it was a few days ago if the Big 12 adds just 2. While I get BYU's mission and have several friends that are grads, the LBGT policy is a tough one for a league to stomach and brings a lot of bad press. While Houston is not a completely terrible addition, I don't see the northern Big 12 schools wanting 5 of 12 members in Texas.
 
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upstater said:
If this ends with Cincy and Houston, it will be a colossal failure.
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And we will be saying that the former Cinci president did the right thing but loudly and publicly lobbying his school.
 
upstater said:
If this ends with Cincy and Houston, it will be a colossal failure.
Expand ...

Good grief that would suck. But it is the Big 12, so that is probably what they do. As a KU fan I can tell you, this conference is run by morons, and always has been.
 
The only reason non-Texas schools would presumably vote to add Houston is to get something that they want from Texas and its voting bloc. Cincinnati is an obvious choice if expansion is already on the table, but standing alone, they aren't a big enough carrot to justify ceding more voting power in the Big 12 to the Texas bloc, unless UT is willing to sign a GOR or make some other deal favorable to the Big 12's long-term security. But then why would Oklahoma sign? They matter in football-world too. Unless they're getting assurances from the TV networks that a two-team expansion would be acceptable, and guarantee favorable treatment at contract-renewal time. In which case, Cincinnati might not be the choice at all - it would have to be a long-haul investment, which means re-considering UCF, BYU (despite the issues) and UConn.

Meh. I'm starting to buy into the "smoke screen/no expansion" theory. Why interview 17 schools via video conference, unless you're trying to drive home some kind of a point to certain observers?
 
upstater said:
If this ends with Cincy and Houston, it will be a colossal failure.
Expand ...

I have to believe Gundy's thoughts on this is quite prevalent throughout the non Texas world of the BIG 12. There can be no possible way that they let the "Texas 4" become the "Texas 5" without some form of compensation. If going to 4 for expansion is off the table then I see no other way for them to be compensated.

The "northern" school presidents have to be tired of Texas running the show. If they add 2, there is no way Houston can or will be one of them.

Of course they just announced that hot dogs and soda, at the Rent, are now $3, the Diary Bar truck will be at games and all incoming freshman get free tickets to the games and students gets free shuttles to the game. So I guess anything is possible. :D
 
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sportsart said:
I have to believe Gundy's thoughts on this is quite prevalent throughout the non Texas world of the BIG 12. There can be no possible way that they let the "Texas 4" become the "Texas 5" without some form of compensation. If going to 4 for expansion is off the table then I see no other way for them to be compensated.

The "northern" school presidents have to be tired of Texas running the show. If they add 2, there is no way Houston can or will be one of them.

Of course they just announced that hot dogs and soda, at the Rent, are now $3, the Diary Bar truck will be at games and all incoming freshman get free tickets to the games and students gets free shuttles to the game. So I guess anything is possible. :D
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$3.00 for a soda AND a dog or $3.00 each??? :D
 
ninety-nine said:
The only reason non-Texas schools would presumably vote to add Houston is to get something that they want from Texas and its voting bloc. Cincinnati is an obvious choice if expansion is already on the table, but standing alone, they aren't a big enough carrot to justify ceding more voting power in the Big 12 to the Texas bloc, unless UT is willing to sign a GOR or make some other deal favorable to the Big 12's long-term security. But then why would Oklahoma sign? They matter in football-world too. Unless they're getting assurances from the TV networks that a two-team expansion would be acceptable, and guarantee favorable treatment at contract-renewal time. In which case, Cincinnati might not be the choice at all - it would have to be a long-haul investment, which means re-considering UCF, BYU (despite the issues) and UConn.

Meh. I'm starting to buy into the "smoke screen/no expansion" theory. Why interview 17 schools via video conference, unless you're trying to drive home some kind of a point to certain observers?
Expand ...

I think this is a shakedown of the media partners. The Big12 presidents/ADs can read the writing on the wall, so they are trying to milk as much money out of ESPN/Fox as they can. They don't want 14 teams in the conference, they want more money. Yes, there are certain schools that wanted expansion, but it wasn't majority.

What kept the Big12 teams happy was Texas pushing the idea that FSU, Miami, GT and Clemson were coming once the ACC GoR expired. Now that is off the books, the push for expansion has hit the media. Now you are hearing certain P5 teams want to either come back or go to the Big12. We have heard rumors of Arizona, ASU, UCLA, Colorado, Missouri and Nebraska all have expressed interest is the league when their respective GoRs expire. Who has started these rumors? Texas? ESPN/Fox? And why would they get started? (I assume they are false.)
 
upstater said:
If this ends with Cincy and Houston, it will be a colossal failure.
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Since SyraPitt left, I'm not sure any of us could have envisioned a scenario where Houston stepped over us in conference realignment. Freaking Houston! It's insane.
 
nd73 said:
McMurphyESPN: Big 12 will hold video conferences w/17 schools; Big 12 expanding by 4 “less & less likely,” sources told @ESPNhttps://post original url/KwGgQFIza5

Sources: Big 12 to talk expansion with 17 schools
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If you had any doubts as to why the B12 is in the position it's in, this should slam the door on your doubts. These guys are their own worst enemies. They've snoozed for years and lost teams, and are so slow to agree on anything the rest of the conferences are blowing right by them.
 
I do not believe any of this. Everyday there is a different source or rumor that contradicts the last one from the previous day. 17 teams really?? Did they start including the Ivy League now?
 
nd73 said:
McMurphyESPN: Big 12 will hold video conferences w/17 schools; Big 12 expanding by 4 “less & less likely,” sources told @ESPNhttps://post original url/KwGgQFIza5

Sources: Big 12 to talk expansion with 17 schools
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Congratulations to ESPN. The decade long triggering of events by them concluding this year with giving the ACC network for nothing and trashing the candidates the Big 12 was considering, will seemingly finally kill off UConn once and for all. No surprise they are the ones with this scoop.

We had one hope left for a safe and stable home and that ended when ESPN gave the ACC a network without a wink and a nod to make them take us as #16, a harmless proposition seeing we A. Belong there and B. they will need a 16th someday. Now we are at the mercy of dysfunctional yahoos who simply don't know what their doing. I would take the Big 12 in a heartbeat over the AAC but no one can say at this point that they are not wholly unimpressed with how they have handled this expansion. They have made all the wrong moves.
 
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17 schools? What the..
This conference is a joke and while we can't do it because of our desperation it would be funny as hell if UConn pulls it's name from consideration because of the clown show that is the Big 12.
Of course if we get one of the two invites I take it all back!
 
Chuck Carlton ‏@ChuckCarltonDMN 7m7 minutes ago
Video presentations by schools to Big 12's Bob Bowlsby should run a couple of hours each. Told at least 14 schools. ESPN reported 17 today.

Chuck Carlton ‏@ChuckCarltonDMN 4m4 minutes ago
The 14 have all publicly expressed interest. If there are 17, it could be from a group of San Diego St, UNLV, N. Illinois and Fresno St.

Chuck Carlton ‏@ChuckCarltonDMN 2m2 minutes ago
Told that 12 or 14 both remain options for conference, zero far less likely. Fourteen means more $$$$, bigger footprint, more stability.

Chuck Carlton ‏@ChuckCarltonDMN 1m1 minute ago
Told 12 is a safe middle ground and means that Big 12 feels reasonably confident about its future and possible new media interest come 2024.

Chuck Carlton ‏@ChuckCarltonDMN 11m11 minutes ago
What I'm hearing on Big 12 expansion: the timetable (subject to change) is mid September to early October.
 
The Viking said:
17 schools? What the..
This conference is a joke and while we can't do it because of our desperation it would be funny as hell if UConn pulls it's name from consideration because of the clown show that is the Big 12.
Of course if we get one of the two invites I take it all back!
Expand ...


I think its the 10 BIG12 schools, plus the 7 candidates. Not 17 candidates..
 
17 schools....the big 12 is obviously trying to 'play nice' and nothing more. It's higher education -- there are obviously a lot of connections between the big 12 institutions and the schools mentioned in the ESPN article. The best way to not piss everyone off whose on the outside is to give each school a 'shot' as to not burn bridges and to ensure that those representing the Tulanes can say "look, I got us a seat at the table."

ESPN is doing everything it can to make the Big 12 expansion process look like a clown show -- and that's really easy to do simply by focusing on the Big 12 internal dysfunction and the fact that 13/14 out of those 17 schools make most P5 member schools laugh and / or puke.
 
ASweet3781 said:
Congratulations to ESPN. The decade long triggering of events by them concluding this year with giving the ACC network for nothing and trashing the candidates the Big 12 was considering, will seemingly finally kill off UConn once and for all. No surprise they are the ones with this scoop.

We had one hope left for a safe and stable home and that ended when ESPN gave the ACC a network without a wink and a nod to make them take us as #16, a harmless proposition seeing we A. Belong there and B. they will need a 16th someday. Now we are at the mercy of dysfunctional yahoos who simply don't know what their doing. I would take the Big 12 in a heartbeat over the AAC but no one can say at this point that they are not wholly unimpressed with how they have handled this expansion. They have made all the wrong moves.
Expand ...

It does prove one thing. Either nobody from Gov. Malloy on down in the Conn. state government has lifted a finger to influence ESPN in UConn's favor, or if anybody actually has, ESPN told them to take a hike.
 
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