10 Thoughts On Realignment

Photo Attribution: Rick Smith

In light of Larry Scott’s “we are not expanding” message from the Pac-12 (which, for whatever reason, seemed more significantly more definitive than the one from Mike Slive about A&M), I decided to give you 10 quick thoughts I have on everything that’s transpired over the last week…

1. You know how in gambling when one side is really heavy on one team and there’s Scrooge-like money coming in on that squad leading up to game time? Usually if you take a step back and say “hmmm, maybe we should think about going against what literally every single other person in the country is saying about this”, you’re going to cash in. That’s what the Pac-12 announcement that it wasn’t expanding last night felt like. Everybody had already penciled in the Oklahoma schools to the new conference. Larry Scott says, not so fast my friends.

2. Where is Ken Starr sending Larry Scott’s family on vacation? Is he rich enough to buy them an island?

3. Let me translate this portion of Larry Scott’s press release: “we have a strong conference structure and culture of equality that we are committed to preserve.” – Screw you, Texas.

4. I like how Jenni Carlson suggests that OU should demand equal revenue sharing amongst networks (give us the money you’re earning!) and yet they’re okay with the fact that overall revenue sharing in the Big 12 is unequal (in OU’s favor, of course).

5. In case you were wondering (as I was), revenue sharing in the Pac-12 is completely equal except that USC and UCLA get an extra $2M each until media revenue reaches $170M per year.

6. I agree with Travis Haney that Larry Scott was playing OSU and OU to get Texas. That was the end game here in my opinion because if you can get a happy, satisfied Texas you’re guaranteed conference stability (and highly lucrative stability at that) long-term.

7. To follow that up, it was also interesting to read in Jenni Carlson’s article how adamant DeLoss Dodds is about making the Longhorn Network work. It seems like everyone in Austin is so committed to it that they’re just doing it now to say “see, we told you we could make it work!” and not even for the money anymore.

8. Three people I hope are considered for conference commissioner (since Dan Beebe is further out the door than Les Miles at the 2004 Alamo Bowl):

Boone – The conference title game would end up being playing in BPS every year
Larry Scott’s brother – I don’t care who he is
Fake Dan Beebe – Since we apparently can’t have the real one…

9. I can’t imagine Mike Holder and Burns Hargis exchange many texts that say, “omg did you see what Boone just said on ESPN, so glad we have him!” Don’t get me wrong, it’s worth the money, but that money also has a cost, and you’re paying it in the form of him being an unchecked liability at the expense of leverage and a politically stable message.

10. West Virginia, BYU, TCU – Do it. Or if you want a basketball conference to rival the ACC – West Virginia, Memphis, Louisville. Either way we get Dana back in Stillwater. Everybody wins.