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Message: [QUOTE="dwalks93, post: 1689313, member: 5598"] WVU's saga should be a cautionary tale to the Big12 programs. There is no place like home and when you lose geographic relevance it harms your program. In fairness to WVU the Big East was imploding and they had to take the only chair at the P5 table they could get. It is hard to feel too sorry for them compared to where we are now. Sadly UConn is now in the same situation as WVU was which means taking any P5 offer we can get. All that said, the vast majority of teams who leave their original conference are later disappointed. Sure Nebraska may have more money but do they feel the same relevance in the BIG? What about Syracuse, Pittsburgh and BC...are they better off now than they were in BE? Rutgers has a lot of money but to date they are a punch line in the BIG. Has Colorado prospered in the PAC? Is WVU succeeding in the Big12 the way it did in the BE? Perhaps TA&M and Missouri are happier now but, if so, that is more a product of Big12 politics than SEC relevance. In summation, the only programs which IMO have benefited in conference realignment are those programs which moved up to P5 (TCU and Louisville) and not those that made lateral moves. UT does not want the Big12 to change but it cannot stay the same, OU has made that very clear. UT is a "value add" to nearly any conference but it won't be UT's conference like the Big12. Right now Big12 teams are complaining about not playing each other every year if they expand. What about never playing each other again? Does UT want to be an "also" program behind OSU/Mich? Would the ACC ever really be home for UT? Is UT playing at 10PM at night in the PAC what they want? Is the future UT the same without playing in a Texas focused conference against historic rivals like Oklahoma? Will any of the Big12 schools be as great as they were before if the Big12 breaks up? As the BIG/SEC shows the strength of a conference far exceeds the value of its individual members. Being the "new guy" outlier in someone else's conference never seems to be a recipe for success. Sometime it is better to own your own smaller home than lease a luxury apartment in someone else's building....It just amazes me how most schools always take the money and think "we are the exception...we are the team that will move to another conference and flourish." I am interested to see if UT falls prey to this hubris...at the end of the day whether the Big12 survives is up to UT. [/QUOTE]

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