http://www.omaha.com/article/20110921/BIGRED/709219742/1199#shatel-conference-realignment-never-fails-to-entertainIt's an old column, so I'm putting it here in its entirety.
For those who don't know, it was revealed last autumn that Nebraska left the Big 12, its natural
milieu, for the effete elitist snobs of the Big 10 because when Texas forced the formation of the Big 12 in 1994 by misrepresenting what they knew wouldn't happen, the annual Nebraska-Oklahoma football game became non-annual.
Nebraska, having no rivals other than Oklahoma, had to go
somewhere.
It's been a matter of public record for about a year now, that Nebraska would've never left the Big 12 if it still had its annual game with Oklahoma. And all would be fine and dandy, strawberries and cream, in the Big 12.
Blame Texas, with a minor part of the blame on Oklahoma, for making this sordid mess.
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Shatel: Conference realignment never fails to entertainHello. My name is Tom. And I'm addicted to conference realignment. Here are some thoughts:
• I'm really glad the Big 12 is staying together. You usually have to pay for this kind of entertainment. Call it "Modern Conference."
• It's been a madcap week on the realignment front. But man, the best part was reading about "high ranking sources" in Oklahoma lamenting the loss of Nebraska. And rip Big 12 Commissioner Dan Beebe for letting Nebraska go.
Where was all of this concern a year ago? Where were the calls for "major reform" then? Actually, where were they last week?
The Nebraska reference was nothing less than disingenuous. But that's par for the course in this league.
• Yes, NU is in the Big Ten now. But many Nebraskans still follow this Big 12 train wreck. And, really, who can turn away and not look?
• The Longhorn Network is now the 800-pound gorilla in college sports. Texas can't go anywhere else because of it. The other schools in the Big 12 want to minimize it, cut it down to size.
But herein lies the rub: If the Big 12 lessens the LHN, or it goes away, then Texas is free to leave for the Pac-10, SEC or ACC. So, the best way to keep Texas in the Big 12 is to keep the LHN intact.
These Longhorns are really good, aren't they?
• "High-ranking sources" in Oklahoma say OU wants Dan Beebe to be removed. Really? Now?
I feel for Beebe here. I mean, he's made his bed. The damage is done. But OU and the rest of the Big 12 enabled him all the while. They supported him and praised him in public. And now all of a sudden Oklahoma President David Boren needs a scapegoat, so Beebe has to go? I wonder if Texas will stand by Beebe. He is their wing man.
• Beebe's biggest gaffe, and that's saying something, was letting Texas start the LHN — and not being aware that ESPN could come in and control it. That never should have been allowed to happen. Or, there should have been a revenue-sharing rule in place for third-tier TV rights.
Now, it's too late. Reportedly, one of Oklahoma's "major reforms" for OU coming back was that Texas share some of its LHN money with the rest of the league. On Wednesday, Texas A.D. DeLoss Dodds said the LHN was off the table for negotiation.
So much for concessions.
• Here's what I don't get: The Pac-12 can tell Texas to take its network and get lost, but the Big 12 can't. Maybe they should try it. Again, where would Texas go with that huge piece of luggage?
• There's actually talk around Missouri that the school wants to stay in the Big 12. If the SEC is offering Mizzou a spot, MU is crazy if it doesn't jump on it. Crazy. We're talking stability in a great conference forever vs. a dysfunctional family that may or may not be here in five years. This is not even a decision. Just ask Nebraska. If Mizzou turns down the SEC, it deserves whatever it gets down the road.
• This is what Dodds said on Wednesday: "We are who we are. People say what they say. The outcome is the outcome. We're proud of ourselves."
Loathe him or loathe him, Dodds is a classic bad guy, a modern-day J.R. Ewing. But Texas might be the only one in the bunch who is not a phony.
• What I can't figure out is why Boren sounded like a man with two feet out the door and headed west on Monday. Did the Pac-12 change its mind? Did the Pac-12 tell OU that it was interested even if Texas wasn't coming, then change its mind? Don't know, but Oklahoma got embarrassed. No wonder the Sooners were spinning a story in the media that they were actually working on saving the Big 12 and using the Pac-12 as leverage to get reforms.
That story has such great spin on it I think they used square grooves. If OU was a double agent, it was likely more of the Austin Powers variety.
• Is conference realignment dead? No. But it's taking a break. The Pac-12 has nowhere to go. The Big Ten just wants Notre Dame. The Big East may add Navy and Air Force. The ACC didn't have to move on Syracuse and Pitt, but it's still a nice play.
• Will there be 16-team super-conferences? Not anytime soon. I think that 14 is a nice round number. The ACC is there. The SEC will add a 14th and stop. Again, the Pac-12 has no candidates, unless it thinks that Boise State is worth a look.
• Don't look for a Big East "all hoops" league just yet. UConn is staying put for now. Navy and Air Force won't rock the hoopsters' boat. But if that happened, Creighton Athletic Director Bruce Rasmussen has his cell phone ready. I think Creighton would be down the list, behind Xavier, Butler and possibly St. Joe's.
• The Big 12 should add BYU, Boise State and TCU. Put the B's in the north and TCU in the south, go back to a championship game and let the fireworks begin. But Commissioner Dodds said on Wednesday he prefers 10 teams. So there you go.
• Creighton's Rasmussen should be the commissioner of college football. Ras has an idea: Create four 16-team "divisions," which are run like conferences by the commissioners of the Big Ten, ACC, Pac-12 and SEC. That's for football only. Those schools' would keep their basketball and non-revenue teams in conferences similar to what they have now, for travel proximity and rivalries. The four divisions would run by their own rules and have a playoff.
Great idea, Ras. You want to be Big 12 commissioner?
