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Let me say before I go more in depth that if UConn is invited into the Big12, they have no choice but to accept but while keeping my fingers crossed I’m still going to hold my nose because as a fan I’ve lived the Big 12 experience.
I went to Colorado and graduated in the 80’s when Oklahoma and Nebraska football dominated the Big 8 and Colorado was just about to be a national power. At the time, the SWC was falling apart mostly because no one could refrain from cheating culminating in SMU getting the death penalty. Everyone who won the conference was a suspect in the eyes of the NCAA and the only winners were the athletes being paid off by unscrupulous staffs and boosters.
When the Big 8 was about to throw Texas and Texas A&M a life line and absorb them into the conference, the politicians of Texas somehow shoehorned Baylor and Texas Tech into the new Big 12 and the headquarters moved from Kansas City (which was also the home of the NCAA) to Irving, TX. In other words, the Big 8 allowed the conference of cheaters to move the power base away from prying eyes and move the office to their turf outside Dallas.
At this point, both Colorado and Nebraska were incredibly concerned. In fact, Nebraska’s Tom Osborne at the height of his power spoke out about giving the Texas (and subsequently the Oklahoma) schools so much power because he knew UT had the clout to exploit that power. He warned that the Texas schools would eventually dominate the conference politically and eventually on the field. Colorado listened and, in fact, there was a very good chance Colorado was moving to the Pac 10 in the early 90’s but for the sake of tradition they stayed.
Colorado and Nebraska had also won 3 of the 6 prior national championships with HOF coaches and there seemed no end in site to their success until Colorado’s Bill McCartney retired in the last year of the Big 8. While Colorado was relevant for the next decade (they won the conference in 2001) and Nebraska won 2 national championships as Big 12 members and played for a third, slowly the University of Texas began dominating the spotlight if not necessarily the big games under Mack Brown. Even worse for the original Big 8 members, was Colorado faced a supposed recruiting scandal beginning in 2001 which they have never quite recovered from just as another HOF coach Bill Snyder was about to retire for the first time from Kansas State and Tom Osborne had become a Congressman.
So what happened in the 00’s that changed everything and eventually led Colorado (thankfully), Nebraska, Missouri and Texas A&M to flee the conference? First, Texas finally won a Big 12 and national championship (thank you Vince Young). Second, with only Oklahoma as a consistent national and inter-conference rival, they exploited the conference’s television deal with ESPN to create the Longhorn Network. Thirdly, they exploited their power by having a dalliance themselves with the Pac-12 and by 2012, there was no question who was in charge… Texas regardless of everyone else (including Oklahoma) claiming otherwise.
So what UConn expect if they are given the nod? A lot of frustration, financial exploitation and likely Texas (and possibly Oklahoma) leaving for greener pastures after wringing every dollar out the conference that they can. Is it worse than the AAC? No, but UConn needs to go in with their eyes open. Even if Texas and Oklahoma leaves, the remaining conference with Iowa State and Baylor is still better than Memphis and Tulane. As a life long Husky fan, I want to see them be as relevant as possible and the Big 12 offers them that chance but in the meantime, I’m hoping beyond hope that the Big 10 or ACC has one more expansion in them before the final decisions are made in Irving.
I went to Colorado and graduated in the 80’s when Oklahoma and Nebraska football dominated the Big 8 and Colorado was just about to be a national power. At the time, the SWC was falling apart mostly because no one could refrain from cheating culminating in SMU getting the death penalty. Everyone who won the conference was a suspect in the eyes of the NCAA and the only winners were the athletes being paid off by unscrupulous staffs and boosters.
When the Big 8 was about to throw Texas and Texas A&M a life line and absorb them into the conference, the politicians of Texas somehow shoehorned Baylor and Texas Tech into the new Big 12 and the headquarters moved from Kansas City (which was also the home of the NCAA) to Irving, TX. In other words, the Big 8 allowed the conference of cheaters to move the power base away from prying eyes and move the office to their turf outside Dallas.
At this point, both Colorado and Nebraska were incredibly concerned. In fact, Nebraska’s Tom Osborne at the height of his power spoke out about giving the Texas (and subsequently the Oklahoma) schools so much power because he knew UT had the clout to exploit that power. He warned that the Texas schools would eventually dominate the conference politically and eventually on the field. Colorado listened and, in fact, there was a very good chance Colorado was moving to the Pac 10 in the early 90’s but for the sake of tradition they stayed.
Colorado and Nebraska had also won 3 of the 6 prior national championships with HOF coaches and there seemed no end in site to their success until Colorado’s Bill McCartney retired in the last year of the Big 8. While Colorado was relevant for the next decade (they won the conference in 2001) and Nebraska won 2 national championships as Big 12 members and played for a third, slowly the University of Texas began dominating the spotlight if not necessarily the big games under Mack Brown. Even worse for the original Big 8 members, was Colorado faced a supposed recruiting scandal beginning in 2001 which they have never quite recovered from just as another HOF coach Bill Snyder was about to retire for the first time from Kansas State and Tom Osborne had become a Congressman.
So what happened in the 00’s that changed everything and eventually led Colorado (thankfully), Nebraska, Missouri and Texas A&M to flee the conference? First, Texas finally won a Big 12 and national championship (thank you Vince Young). Second, with only Oklahoma as a consistent national and inter-conference rival, they exploited the conference’s television deal with ESPN to create the Longhorn Network. Thirdly, they exploited their power by having a dalliance themselves with the Pac-12 and by 2012, there was no question who was in charge… Texas regardless of everyone else (including Oklahoma) claiming otherwise.
So what UConn expect if they are given the nod? A lot of frustration, financial exploitation and likely Texas (and possibly Oklahoma) leaving for greener pastures after wringing every dollar out the conference that they can. Is it worse than the AAC? No, but UConn needs to go in with their eyes open. Even if Texas and Oklahoma leaves, the remaining conference with Iowa State and Baylor is still better than Memphis and Tulane. As a life long Husky fan, I want to see them be as relevant as possible and the Big 12 offers them that chance but in the meantime, I’m hoping beyond hope that the Big 10 or ACC has one more expansion in them before the final decisions are made in Irving.