Big XII Expansion--1996 All Over Again?

When the Big Eight Conference decided to expand in 1996, BYU was a shoo-in along with Texas, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech. It was the move that made the most sense at the time, as BYU was the biggest available name out there.



Then however, politics came to play--the governor of Texas, Ann Richards, started wielding her political clout and threatened to block the three state schools from joining the new Big XII unless her alma mater, Baylor University was invited to the party. This was a Baylor program that had been to 8 bowl games in the last 30 years and rarely cracked .500 for the season.



But her influence was big enough that BYU was pushed out the door and Baylor was brought into the boys club.



Now it's already happening again--the Texas governor, Greg Abbott, has announced that there will be no Big XII expansion unless the University of Houston is part of the deal:



http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2016/7/21/12248918/texas-governor-greg-abbott-big-12-expansion-needs-houston



While he can only directly influence the vote of Texas and TTech, given Baylor's woes he also has his foot on throats in Waco. Any expansion requires 8 of the 10 current members to approve, and Abbott can pretty much direct 3 of those votes.



So, Houston is in. That leaves 1 or 3 spots left, depending on how far you think the conference expands.

The joys of government overreach.

Lest anyone think I'm overselling Abbott's influence, here's a tweet from the University of Texas president hours after Abbott's:


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I think it's a foregone conclusion that UH is in now. The question is, does it require 4 now for BYU to make it in?

Well the other 6 teams should vote no on principle.

scott715 wrote:
Well the other 6 teams should vote no on principle.

Against expansion?

The biggest problem with the tea leave is that this is only partially a question of $$--politics plays a big part of this, especially in Big XII country where football and alma mater carry more weight than most parts of the country.



Latest rumor I've heard out of Waco is that expansion will be either 2 or 4 teams, and the political aspects weigh heavily against BYU:



Two teams = Houston and Cincinnati

Four teams = Houston, USC, UCLA, and then either BYU or Cincinnati



BYU only gets in if USC and UCLA are in the mix. Otherwise, WVU, TCU, and Baylor can block BYU. If BYU is paired with the LA market teams, $$ speaks and BYU can get past Cincy.



Supposedly there has been back channel talks between the LA market teams and the Big XII testing the waters, which is what lead to the sudden course-change on expansion and the short timeline for it to happen. The PAC12 Network's carriage issues have started cutting into the pockets of the LA Market teams who had sweetheart deals before the PAC12 Network was conceived, and they are evaluating an out.

Slight correction. It was 1994 when the existing big 8 merged with part of the SWC to become the big 12. When BYU played KState in the cotton bowl in 96, the big 12 had been in place for a couple of years already.

I know Val Hale and Rondo love to tell stories, but the Ann Richards-BYU thing is a wonderful myth. Glen Tuckett even said we really weren't that close to joining the Big 12.



The reality is that the Big 8 really only wanted Texas and Texas A&M. However the Lieutenant Governor Bob Bullock who actually cared about football, unlike Gov Ann, pushed to add two more teams. You'll never guess where he got his bachelors degree and where he went to law school.



FWIW, TCU and Houston fans have also adopted the same mythology of having it come down to Baylor and their school only to have mean old Ann Richards squash their rightful place in the Big 12.

mormonrasta wrote:
I know Val Hale and Rondo love to tell stories, but the Ann Richards-BYU thing is a wonderful myth. Glen Tuckett even said we really weren't that close to joining the Big 12.

Well, it's myth that also shared by Oklahoma and Texas fans. Even Baylor fans buy into the myth.

http://texas.247sports.com/Bolt/Texas-governor-weighs-in-on-Big-12-expansion-46351869

This wouldn’t be the only time a governor threw their weight around with regard to expansion. Many credit former Texas Gov. Ann Richards with helping to push Baylor into the Big 12 as the fourth Texas school back when the conference first formed.

http://oklahoma.247sports.com/Board/86/Contents/Big-12-Requests-Full-Baylor-Information-45932196

[Baylor] shouldn't have been let into the Big 12 to begin with. It's all due to Baylor Law School's (well, it's alumni including Ann Richards who was governor of Texas at about the time the Big 12 was being negotiated) far reaching Texas influence...

http://www2.baylor.edu/baylorproud/2015/09/from-campus-to-the-capitol-baylor-alums-as-texas-governor/

Richards’ time in office benefitted Baylor directly when her influence reportedly helped usher Baylor into the Big 12

http://newsok.com/article/3642689

Baylor's climb — 10 key figures who have inspired the program's rise.



1. Ann Richards. Where would Baylor be now, if Richards hadn't used her political sway to push for Baylor's inclusion when the Big 12 was formed in 1996? The Mountain West Conference? A 1954 Baylor grad who went to school on a debate scholarship, the former governor of Texas won this argument for her school, changing the path of its athletic programs.

Quote from the Dallas Morning News August 30, 2006:



"One of the biggest misconceptions about the breakup of the Southwest Conference was that former Texas Gov. Ann Richards used her political clout to push Baylor into the Big 12. Those close to loquacious Baylor graduate say that just isn't true.



"She just was not involved to any great degree in working that out," said Richards' former chief of staff, John Fainter. "I'd have to say she was informed, but she wasn't pounding the table or anything like that."



Bill Cryer, Richards' former spokesman, said Richards always thought it was funny that people assumed she bent over backward to help Baylor.



"I remember her chuckling about it saying, 'I can't imagine they think I would do that,' " Cryer said. "But you know how football fans are. They see want they want to see."

Here's a another article. I misremembered. It was the Pac who only wanted 2 teams the Big 8 seemed to be always Ok with 4.



No BYU, no Ann Richards.



http://athlonsports.com/college-football/look-back-birth-big-12

The commissioner of the AAC indicated today that at least two of his schools are going to be leaving the conference for the Big 12.

Just heard the AAC's Commissioner on the radio essentially admit that they will be a 10-team conference in 2017 and they are looking at remaining a ten-team conference.



The AAC currently has 12 football members, so that would mean they are sending two to the Big XII.

snoscythe wrote:
Just heard the AAC's Commissioner on the radio essentially admit that they will be a 10-team conference in 2017 and they are looking at remaining a ten-team conference.



The AAC currently has 12 football members, so that would mean they are sending two to the Big XII.

I don't think it is a done deal yet. I think, like any good commissioner, he is just planning on what to do in the eventuality that one, two , or three teams are taken. If only two are taken, stand pat. If three, then you have to invite someone. I kind of doubt that anyone has solid invites at this point, but the list has probably been narrowed down, and some of the AAC schools are under consideration.

Houston's case is helped by politics, no doubt. But it's also helped by their recent success which can be used to paper over the political machinations.

As relevant, I believe, but far less discussed is the fact that the PAC-12 was having discussions with Houston a couple of weeks before the BXII media days. The Texas schools are scared that their television and recruiting positions would be undermined by having the PAC appear right in their backyard. Far better to co-opt Houston.

snoscythe wrote:

Well the other 6 teams should vote no on principle.

Against expansion?

If expansion happens, it will have to include Houston. Texas+Tech+Baylor are enough votes to veto any proposal, which they will do if the proposal doesn't include Baylor. Old boys' network. It's the Texas way. I hate it.

hawkwing wrote:
The joys of government overreach.

So much for the American Dream of meritocracy.

I don't think his message has changed from over 2 months ago. Here is a quote from the end of May.



“We have an idea of what we might do if something happens,” Aresco said. “But things can change. You never know what can happen, so you have to be flexible.



“If we lost a team or two, we would not do anything rash quickly. We would be very deliberate. Also we might not decide to add any teams. We can play with 10 if that were to happen. We’re not going to dilute our brand.”



http://www.todaysu.com/aac/mike-aresco-trying-to-ignore-big-12-reports/