Let CU/NU leave, add TCU and Houston...

[Pokevette]

(I know this is wishful thinking)

If I were running the Big-12 after the reality of Nebraska and Colorado leaving, I would restructure the Big-12 as follows:

North:
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State
Kansas
Kansas St
Missouri
Iowa State

South:
Texas
Texas A&M
Texas Tech
Baylor
Houston
TCU


That would (in most years) probably give you a Texas vs Oklahoma Conference title game giving both schools a solid chance at BCS bids.

That (IMHO) would put OSU in a division in which the Cowboys could be extremely competitive.

I know it won't happen, but it would be preferable in my eyes to about anything that likely will happen.

[BigBadBen]

Not enough TV sets or market revenue in that change.

[FloridaPoke]

The only way the Big 12 would be viable would be to add Arizona and Arizona State, plus additional expansion of some weird mix I have no clue about. Adding more Tx schools only dilutes an already diluted Tx television market. Probably impossible to get the tv sets to work on the Big 12 surviving though.

[osutuba]

Best bet would be to add Tulsa and, of all schools, Wyoming to the Big 12. Crazy, I know, but I like the idea personally :)

So what does Nebraska's move do to the Big Red Rivalry?

[BigBadBen]

Nebraska is an anchor school for the Big 12's legitimacy. When they bolt today, we would need to find another anchor, and that just wont happen. Adding mid majors makes the Big 12 laughable.

And again, its all about revenue, and those mid majors bring no TV market.

The Big 12 is dead.

[osutuba]

That was NOT what I wanted to hear. But, if that is happening, I'd rather they join the SEC

[Ivan]

With all the moves going on, and TV networks being started by conferences, the big 12 doesn't have they money or leadership to survive IMO. Adding more texas teams will not save the big 12.

Only adding more big time colleges will. And starting a big 12 network to rival big 10, SEC, and PAC 10 networks.

[Pokevette]

I think this structure is looking better today even than when I originally posted the idea...

[osutuba]

What about enciting a coup in the SEC and stealing LSU and Arkansas from them?

[Verb]

If we add any schools from Texas or the south, we'll end up with two divisions again and we'll be put in the north division. And we cannot let that happen--we need those Texas high school players!

[GoPokes83]

Adding Tulsa would be like Houston..... We already own the majority of that TV market. From a purely athletic / academic standpoint Houston would be a great fit. But they just don't bring enough money to the table to help out the rest of us "also in the conference" schools. UTEP maybe.... El Paso's a fairly big, largely untapped TV market

[MemphisPoke]

TCU and Houston dilute the already overcrowded Texas TV market. Plus neither one has a stadium that would fit the "Big 12" mold.

So I am going to throw out this one:

Ready?

Raid Conference USA and add Memphis and Southern Miss.

Memphis plays in a stadium larger than ours. Southern Miss is in the process of adding on to theirs, I think.
Southern Miss is the 2nd largest university in Mississippi (behind Mississippi State) and has a really good following.
Memphis has a financial backer with more money than Boone. Plus they have a Basketball venue that hosts Regional NCAA Tourneys (FedEX Forum). The distance to Memphis from OKC is about the same as it is from OKC to Austin.

Split the conference up into East and West.
East: MO, ISU, K State, Kansas, Memphis and So Miss.
West: OSU, OU, TX, aTm, Tech and Baylor

What it would give the Big 12: two new TV markets, one hell'va basketball rivalry between Kansas and Memphis with the winner getting a shot at the West champ, inroads into the SEC recruiting areas (Mississippi and Tennessee, and to a degree Southern Alabama and Southern Louisiana and Arkansas), we would get to go up against Larry Fedora, and we already have a history with So. Miss.


Mull that one over for a while.

[76374_Poke]

TCU and Houston dilute the already overcrowded Texas TV market. Plus neither one has a stadium that would fit the "Big 12" mold.

So I am going to throw out this one:

Ready?

Raid Conference USA and add Memphis and Southern Miss.

Memphis plays in a stadium larger than ours. Southern Miss is in the process of adding on to theirs, I think.
Southern Miss is the 2nd largest university in Mississippi (behind Mississippi State) and has a really good following.
Memphis has a financial backer with more money than Boone. Plus they have a Basketball venue that hosts Regional NCAA Tourneys (FedEX Forum). The distance to Memphis from OKC is about the same as it is from OKC to Austin.

Split the conference up into East and West.
East: MO, ISU, K State, Kansas, Memphis and So Miss.
West: OSU, OU, TX, aTm, Tech and Baylor

What it would give the Big 12: two new TV markets, one hell'va basketball rivalry between Kansas and Memphis with the winner getting a shot at the West champ, inroads into the SEC recruiting areas (Mississippi and Tennessee, and to a degree Southern Alabama and Southern Louisiana and Arkansas), we would get to go up against Larry Fedora, and we already have a history with So. Miss.


Mull that one over for a while.

Memphis,
Has the city of Memphis/ Shelby County made any improvements to the Liberty Bowl lately? I went to a few games there when I lived in Memphis back in the late-mid 90's and thought it needed a lot of work then.

I would be against adding USM and Tiger High to the Big XII. Surelywe could do a lot better.

[mt_goat]

I like it at 10 teams and no division, just play everyone every year. :D

[MemphisPoke]

Memphis,
Has the city of Memphis/ Shelby County made any improvements to the Liberty Bowl lately? I went to a few games there when I lived in Memphis back in the late-mid 90's and thought it needed a lot of work then.

I would be against adding USM and Tiger High to the Big XII. Surelywe could do a lot better.

Yes, they have made some improvements to the Liberty Bowl. And Tiger High (as it was fondly known as, in the past) has an enrollment of only 1,883 less then OSU (per Wikipedia).

[CaliforniaCowboy]

I don't really care which teams get added, but we should have learned by now that the North/South structure does not work (the North schools don't get engouh trips to Texas to be competitive), and that there needs to be an East/West allignment with an equal number of Texas teams on each side.

That gives everybody more equal access to the Texas recruiting market.

[Poke John I]

I doubt we will add anyone in the next few year but it we do, I suggest the Air Force Academy should get a good look. That would bring the Denver market back into our market which we lost when Colorado left. More than that, it would also bring a nationwide and International following with Air Force personel all over the World. Notre Dame is highly desired by the Big 10 due to it's nationwide following but Air Force is potentially more with its nationwide and International following.

[BigBadBen]

Okay, the problem with adding teams is that it destroys the larger piece of the pie all the teams were promised.

How is that addressed if more teams are added?

[Scott]

Okay, the problem with adding teams is that it destroys the larger piece of the pie all the teams were promised.

How is that addressed if more teams are added?

Well, it isn't a problem if you're OU, Texas, or Texas A&M. The rest of us are left with dividing our Happy Meal into even smaller portions.