Has it come to this? Is the SEC that afraid of the empty threat of a lawsuit that they are hesitating on taking Texas A&M? Could it be true that the ACC showed more intestinal fortitude than the SEC is showing?
Nah.
This whole lawsuit threat is merely something that gives everyone a chance to pause. The SEC is willing to step back and wait because there is no need for them to rush.
The Pac-12 gets to think a little longer about how much it wants to take Oklahoma. All the Big 12 members are willing to take a step back for the moment. The only place that is really pissed off about this are in College Station, Texas.
“We are being held hostage right now,” Loftin said of being forced to stay in the Big 12. “Essentially, we’re being told that you must stay here against your will and we think that really flies in the face of what makes us Americans for example and makes us free people.”
Uh, yeah. Hyperbole much? And the recommitment and public statements about sticking with and supporting the Big 12 in the prior year? Well, those don’t count.
Do you recall back in the summer of 2003, when the ACC was pursuing their Big East raid? Where the ACC went behind the Big East’s back to court Miami. Did the Big East threaten a lawsuit? No. They filed one. Not just filed a lawsuit, but got state attorneys general to participate.
Remember what it accomplished? Unless you are Syracuse or Virginia Tech, it merely acted as a minor delay.
Oh, it made ACC schools skittish enough that they couldn’t muster sufficient votes to take Miami, BC and Syracuse in one swoop. Instead, it gave the Virginia legislature and governor time to bring pressure on UVa to not support any expansion without bringing Virginia Tech to the conference. VT was even a party to the Big East lawsuit against Miami, BC and the ACC. Since enough ACC teams wanted Miami, they decided to take VT as well, and waited a year before getting BC.
Other than a brief delay and getting VT into the ACC, the only other thing that the Big East got out of it was an agreement for a bunch of home-and-home games.
This Big 12 joke, isn’t even the threat of a lawsuit. It is that Baylor (and now Kansas, Kansas State and Iowa State) won’t waive their right to bring a lawsuit.
The reports are that the objections would be dropped if Oklahoma (and by extension Oklahoma State) reaffirm their commitment to the Big 12. Right. All this is going to do is make Oklahoma more eager to run.
If A&M is forced to stay in the league, and it continues at 10 teams, what kind of environment would ensue? It would be a pirate ship of a conference. A virtual prison, with every school sleeping with one eye open, because it trusts no one. Do you think OU, much less A&M, wants to be in a league with Baylor after Wednesday?
You talk about planning an exit strategy.
Or let’s say the threat would work — a far-fetched idea; when did anyone ever get ahead in life threatening David Boren? OK, so OU’s back in, with no A&M, and the league needs a 10th team, which everyone agrees would, best-case scenario, be Brigham Young. BYU has been waffling on its interest in the Big 12. Some in Provo believe independence works better for the Cougars.
Now, those BYU skeptics have to grow, don’t they? Does a Big 12 held together by desperation and threats, still with widespread resent of Texas, sound like something anyone would want to join if they don’t have to? Not even the lure of a possible BCS bid would make that palatable to BYU.
The real goal is to give Baylor time. Time to find/force its way into another BCS conference.
Baylor administrators have had discussions with the Big East and are confident the league would extend an invitation to the Bears if the Big 12 implodes, a source with knowledge of the conversations told Yahoo! Sports on Wednesday night.
“There haven’t been any guarantees,” the source said. “But [Baylor] feels strongly that that’s what would happen.”
Big East officials declined to comment, but it’s certainly not difficult to see why the conference would value Baylor. The Bears are surging in football and men’s basketball and are a perennial contender for the NCAA title in women’s basketball.
Uh, I can think of plenty of reasons why the Big East would have little interest in a private school located in Waco. One that despite being able to force its way into the Big 12, did nothing for the first dozen years in the conference. A program that has been wracked by scandal on the basketball side that it makes Jim Calhoun seem downright saintly.
I would dismiss this as outright bulls**t, but we are talking about the Big East braintrust being involved, so… I am a little worried.
Meanwhile, Texas just sits back. They aren’t part of any of the threats and wrangling. They just lit the fuse. But if you think they are upset over this, well Chip Brown at the Texas Rivals.com site has been both breaking news and doing his level best to give the Texas spin. And boy does he spin it today.
And it would also give the BCS conferences two years decide what they really want to do with college athletics.
Sources say the Pac-12 has indicated it would not expand unless the SEC moved first. So if Texas A&M-to-the-SEC is off the table for two more football seasons, there is a real chance the massive realignment that appeared so imminent just a couple days ago in college athletics could actually be thought out – for better or worse – over time.
All the scenarios about whom the SEC might add to get to 16; about whom the Pac-12 might add and how Texas and the Longhorn Network could or could not fit into a conference structure could be mulled over for weeks and months and not hours and days.
How about a trial balloon to the Big 10?
If the Big Ten came to Texas and said we will take you as a member and you can bring the Longhorn Network – with the only caveat being that Texas could not share in any of the revenue from the Big Ten Network, that could be deliberated and discussed thoughtfully.
And then there is the trolling of the rivals.
For the second year in a row, college athletics is facing massive realignment. This time it’s been, in large part, because the boards of regents at Texas A&M and Oklahoma decided enough was enough. A group of nine people – made up of professionals such as dentists and convenience store owners – were making the decisions about who would be playing in what conference and when.
Meanwhile the Texas regents are saints and world leaders. Every last one of them.
It goes on:
Not a commissioner. Not a group of athletic directors. Not a group of people who spend every day thinking about the business of college athletics. A group of non-paid volunteers who are appointed to a regents board by that state’s governor.
Think about that for a second.
Sometimes these regents move at the behest of a governor’s agenda as opposed to an athletic director’s agenda.
Not a Rick Perry fan in any way, shape, or form. But now we are about to add Perry’s presidential aspirations and the getting the Southern vote to a conspiracy to get Texas A&M into the SEC? To wit:
Nonetheless, they are the ones moving the chess pieces in realignment because there is no one watching over college athletics with EVERYONE’S best interests in mind.
I don’t think the hypocrisy-meter can handle this one. A Texas homer bitching about how schools are looking out for their own interests rather than the best interests of everyone.
highoctaneboi: Any thoughts or insight on the conference shift garbage to calm us Pitt fans down (or not)?
Paul Zeise: No, other than to say this – there are so many moving parts and so much stuff flying you would be much better served NOT to react to every piece of information that is put out there because so much of it could be false, so much of it could change, so much of it could be predicated on a hypothetical – that you just never know. The best I can tell you is this – whether it is a strengthened Big East or another major conference, Pitt will clearly land on its feet and be fine. I would NOT Have said that a year ago with confidence but I have had enough conversations with enough of the right people to know that the University finally has realized that it needs to be proactive and needs to take care of itself and is no longer married to the idea of saving the Big East at all cost. That means the University is going to do what is best for its long-term future. I can tell you, it wasn’t that long ago that Pitt in a different conference was a pipe dream. Now, I could easily see it – just as I could easily see the Big East putting together the right combination of teams to stabilize itself. So I wouldn’t react too much to stuff in a negative way because I really do believe Pitt will be fine.
I’m glad to hear that the Pitt administration has finally woke up and supposedly gets it according to Zeise. However, Pitt had better be truly proactive behind the scenes because I’m not seeing much in public. Yes, Zeise is probably correct and Pitt should end up fine, but look at who’s running the show. I have far more faith in Olie Luck.
That is all.
I agree, as I think many or even most on here do, that Pitt will be fine.
Nor is the sky falling, and there is nothing to lose any sleep over. It’s not the Israeli’s and Palestinians situation. Most get that, but, this is a blog, it is a topic that has been brought up, and I don’t think anyones opinion one way or another is crazy. It’s a college football blog and a current topic for discussion, right???
In that regard, and I’d say I’m about %80 positive Pitt will land ok, if I had to put a figure on it, there is a little bit of cause for some concern and apprehension.
If it was all about Pitt’s image, as a football team, history, and academics (AAU), yes, they are a shoe in!!! However, there are scenarios that could be envisioned, where we could be left out.
If it was just about the above mentioned, we would have been in the Big 10, 20 years ago.
Allthough one person said, “hey, Pitt doesn’t have the value you think they do”, to someone on here. I do disagree with that, Pitt is still an attractive college program, and still pretty well respected around the country. TV ratings prove that out I believe. Also, just talking to people all over the country, college football fans still know who Pitt is.
There are scenarios that could happen, because of geographics, relationships with ESPN, politics, tv markets, where it could go sour.
I don’t believe that to be the case, and I think, I, like many, are just hoping that Nordy and Steve are on top of this and calling, schmoozing, calling in favors, politicing, whatever, to make sure we are relevant, if the “big” scenario would happen.
“Sources close to Baylor say the Big East reached out to BU along with Kansas and Kansas State. Maybe so, maybe not. But the Bears didn’t want to take their chances. They have plans to renovate Floyd Casey Stadium with the millions they are promised starting next year in the Big 12, when their TV revenue jumps to between $17 million and $20 million.
Schools make a small fraction of that in leagues like the Mountain West and Conference USA. You’d be desperate too, to hang onto what you’ve got when you’re facing that reality.
Baylor wasn’t going to let that Big 12 paycheck go easily. And now they’ve been joined by the likes of Iowa State, Kansas and Kansas State in refusing to agree to a waiver of legal claims against the SEC. So here we are. “
On top of all this you get Pitt’s football tradition and highly ranked basketball program !
All of what you said and throw in we have over a
$2 Billion Endowment. I see Big 10 or ACC as well
or maybe even the SEC. Both the Big 10 or the SEC would be a big step up in football and $$$, the ACC not so much.
Hell I hope my concern is misguided because I want Pitt to land on it’s feet.
And it sounds from what Ziese is saying Pitt learned from the past which is all I wanted to hear.
DaveD
no-drinkin’, no-dancin’, but a good old fashioned tent revival at halftime in the middle of 25 acres of parched mesquite scrub- sign me up. Bible pounding optional.
This smells more like Baylor trying to delay the move with the hope that political forces will put pressure on Texas to take Baylor with them if they move. I really think this is more about Baylor trying to find a soft landing spot rather than a realistic attempt to stop A&M.
#10, let’s see, who do we have a choice of(rolls eyes), c-usa teams, a fcs team and service academies. I haven’t read anywhere that Navy is in play. Army is back to being an independent after a few seasons in C-USA.
If TAMU is not going to the SEC, then the BigEast should go after BYU, but they probably won’t be interested. (but at least make the effort)
So I guess I take Navy since they have more than a respectable football team and have had lots of bowl seasons in the last 10-12 years. Nova….no thanks, take your soccer stadium, your preppy students and your campus bars and shove em.
I think they play in the Patriot League for hoops already or the Colonial League. Whatever.
I say this because when the B10 announced their expansion intentions in December of 09, they made a big deal of academic standing being a big criterion for selection. Then they select a school who they knew was losing their AAU certifcation. On the other hand, aside from ND and Texas who were not interested, Nebraska had the highest TV ratings of all of the potential candidates, not to mention their rabid fanbase.
Pitt’s academic standing and endowment surely is a plus but I believe it to be secondary criteria.
To your comment about knowing Neb losing AAU membership, that was true but B10 could say at the time Neb was AAU, Neb had football tradition, sizable research budget, and a new TV viewers for B10. 0n that checklist of 4 items Nebraska now meets 3 (No AAU)and Pitt meets 3 not a new TV market, keep in mind PSU currently delivers 72% of PA to B10 based in cable carriers, Pitt could close that remaining 28% to a degree and prevent the ACC or SEC from getting a foothold in B10 country. Again you underestimate the value of Research grants held by the schools.
These research grants translate into spin off research programs ($)for Conference member schools.
Pitt brings planty to B10 in addition to being a good defensive move to protect TV coverage in B10 country from other rival conferences.
Thus, Nebraska met 2 of the 4 items listed in the post above … andneither of these have anything to do with academics
Again, this seems more like a ploy by Baylor to slow the process a bit to try to involve the politicians. The problem is, this time (unlike when the Southwestern Conference broke up), they don’t have a sitting governor who graduated from their school.
From a legal perspective, they don’t have much to stand on. I’m guessing that they know this and that is why nobody has actually filed a lawsuit.
Worst case, if the SEC really wants A&M (which I think they do), they have the school indemnify the conference against potential losses. In other words, let A&M do battle with (in other words, crush) Baylor. A&M might actually agree to this since the legal claims are basically meritless AND they have the backing of the governor and many other politicians. That being said, I don’t even think it comes to that.
As Chas pointed out, this is a delaying tactic and nothing more.
This will all go away soon I believe, Texas A&M may have to pay a little extra cash.
They will not be going back to the Big 12.
At most, they might be independent for a year, but, …………hey, how about inviting them to the Big East!!
Texas A&M and Baylor, so they can have recconciliation!!! LMAO
Come on boys, most of us have your back, and Coach Grahams back, had it last week, even after a so-so at best performance……….
You gotta lay it on the Lobsters. No 10-7, no 21-17, but a lickiing better be had!!!
I would be interested in taking a look at the conference affiliation and television rights agreements–do you know whether they’re publicly available or amenable to FOIA requests? It seems strange to me that networks would plunk down $200mm/year for rights to a conference’s slate of games if each constituent team could easily walk away.
I know, I know, FIU is improved!!! Look, they play in the Sun Belt, and, they are, F.I.U.!!!
– only 10 years of FB and they won the Sun Belt last year
– located in Miami, recruiting hotbed and will continue to improve
– 4th largest college in FL, 15th largest in US – 44,000 undergrad enrollment
– research univ; $138m endowment; more valedictorians wnet there than any other US college last year
– beat Lousiville tonite; lost to Rutgers by 5 and Texas A&M by 7 last year
This is a rising star – time for the BE to strike
It needs to be noted that Montour’s RB, Julius Durden had 162 yds on 14 carries. Durden was also offered by Pitt who is supposedly high on the Panthers according to PantherDigest (Scout.com)
BTW, the most recent Pitt commit, Corey Jones, had a 59 yd TD reception against Gateway
I wonder if he is going to move on to another program shortly?
FIU was ready to play and another black eye for the big east.
We need the kids to act like the zoo today. Where is today’s version of Tiger Paul? We need a new cheer that is unique to Pitt. Olay Olay Olay has already been taken as has whatever they do at PSU. Any ideas?
By the way, I don’t remember hearing the Band play the fight song last week. Maybe they should blast it over the crazy loud sound system.
I hope they are not bringing in top recruits today to witness the pagentry that is PITT.
Sorry for the negativity. Hail to Pitt!
As for the Pitt Band, the director and some of his key folks were in the band in the late 60’s and early 70’s. Jackie Anderson’s dad was a Pitt Dentist and Asst. Director from the 50’s through 1970. They know what to do, but they are just “scripted” into submission.
However, for those that feel better because of Zeise’s column, I urge caution. Zeise is not an insider and think that has been proven through the mess we had with haywood, etc. Nice guy and reporting is ok but he is far from an insider.
Nonetheless, nobody really knows, not even Pitt officials, what the future holds. They can be roactice all they want and make other conferences know that they would be interested in joining, but they don’t have the leverage to force their way.
All Zeise was saying that the Pitt admin is prepared to take advantage of any opportunity that may come their way.
trolls who are a bit mathematically challenged):
1) Texas with 114
2) A&M with 53
3) Baylor with 42
4) Oklahoma State with 40
5) Oklahoma with 39
6) Kansas with 24
7) Iowa state with 11
8) Texas Tech with 11
9) K-State with 7
10) Missouri with 7
Inclusion of now departed teams:
Nebraska with 72
Colorado with 27
Influence only gets you so far…winning on the athletic field is where it
counts. Baylor has not been the best in years past in football, but they have
improved tremendously over the last 4 years. Currently ranked in the top 20 with a defeat of soon to be BE member TCU.
