Will the 10 Remaining Big 12 Schools Stay Together?
Will the ten remaining Big 12 schools stay together? Several rumors today confirm that possibility, but others say Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State will join the Pac-10.
Chip Brown of OrangeBloods.com, a Texas Longhorn site on the Rivals.com network, has been all over this story. Today he is reporting that Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe has constructed a TV deal that will keep the ten Big 12 schools together. Brown reports:
According to sources familiar with the deal, Texas stands to earn between $20 million and $25 million in television revenue, including money from its own network. The UT network figures to generate between $3 million and $5 million, according to sources.
According to sources, the deal will mean more money for Texas, Texas A&M and Oklahoma, who all stand to receive $20 million from the new deal. The other seven schools in the Big 12 would make between $14 million and $17 million, but would nearly double what they currently receive in TV revenue (roughly $7 million to $9 million).
How are they coming up with these figures all of a sudden? We don’t know, but Brown hints that answers will come later.
What we do know is that the Texas Longhorns are the key to all of these negotiations. They have the largest clout and their decision will affect what the other Big 12 schools decide.
For the latest updates from Chip Brown, check out his Twitter feed, which he is updating almost by the minute.
On the other side of the story, ESPN is reporting that a move to the Pac-10 by Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State is “imminent.”
The ESPN article also states that the Texas A&M Aggies will join the SEC rather than follow their Texas counterparts to the Pac-10. Yesterday, the Houston Chronicle reported that the Aggies’ future “appears to be the SEC.”
If the Big 12 -2 can be held together, it might put a stop to the “musical chairs” of conference realignment. The Pac-10, who added Colorado last week, would likely lure Utah as their 12th school.
If Texas decides that greener pastures lie in the Pac-10, a massive change in the college football landscape will result.
It all seems to be changing by the minute. As of now, it appears the Big 12 will continue as a 10 team league. Larry Scott supposedly announced that Texas rejected the Pac-10 and Texas A&M is not heading to the SEC. Who knows?
6/14/2010 10:26 pm
It’s been a whirlwind the last few days. I wonder if the Big 12 (-2) will now try to add 2 more teams to get back to 12. And the Pac-10 is rumored to go after Utah.
6/14/2010 11:05 pm