Texas isn't bigger than an entire conference, and could get gored.
College conference cannibalism has made a mid-season return. It's back in full fury.
So if the idea of Syracuse and Pittsburgh moving from the Big East to the ACC isn't sitting well, blame Texas.
Greed is a systemic problem in college football right now, but the University of Texas' push to create its own TV network dedicated solely to "burnt orange" caused a political earthquake in the Lone Star state, now everyone's feeling it.
Briefly here's what happened.
The Big 12 conference lost two of its members (Nebraska and Colorado) to other conferences who wanted to expand to hold a cash cow, also known as a championship football game.
Texas toyed with new Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott's idea of creating a 16-team super conference, but decided it was better off in the midwest. But they got their own prize, the OK to create their own TV network.
Already there's one red flag. Conferences have networks, not individual schools.
Equally culpable in this mess, ESPN, who got involved and brought with it a $300 million over 20 years to partner with the Longhorn Network (LHN).
Here's where things spiraled out of control.
Texas planned to use the LHN to televise high school football games, many of which would showcase its own recruits. Not only does break an NCAA rule, but it would create a glaring recruiting advantage.
So Texas A&M, always the little brother of the Longhorns, said enough is enough is jumping ship to the SEC.
Now the Big 12 conference, not only has math problems with nine members, but everyone else in the league senses it's going down and is looking to leave too.
So as the major conferences grow even larger, the fans and anyone who stills cares about college basketball are losing out.
Think it will be the same to have Syracuse playing for a basketball title in Greensboro, N.C. instead Madison Square Garden?
Think Pitt fans will travel down to Chapel Hill to watch a football game? They didn't even travel to Charlotte to watch a bowl game.
I didn't go to school that it made sense to travel to watch games, but friends I know who were at those schools talk about road trips as part of the college experience.
That's not possible with geographic sprawling conferences.
Conferences used to form based on geography, convenient for travel and for creating rivalries.
Kiss that goodbye. Right now, it's all a big money grab.
And the great conference swap happening right now is thanks to Texas and ESPN.
1 comment:
This drives me bananas. I understand that college football is big money but in the race to scarf up as many dollars as humanly possible, the conferences are ruining tradition, the sports stations are advocating for players to get paid (like a free college education isn't payment?!? Average out of state tuition at public institutions is $11,990, plus room and board times 4 or 5 if you red shirt and at the end of that you get a diploma that cost between $50 or $60,000) and we're subject to HOURS of bitching by announcers about NCAA enforcing rules. Look, I don't care if the rules are stupid, or dumb, if the school did something wrong, they should pay. I get money talks, but it seems like the dollars are sucking a lot of the fun out of the game.
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