After reading about the pressure the Univ. of Texas is putting on fellow Big 12 members Texas Christian Univ. and Texas Tech Univ., if the Oklahoma Sooners and it’s fellow state Big 12 cohort Oklahoma State bolt the league, you can have the Horns in Austin to thank. Current talk has the big school in Austin pressuring its fellow league member from approving a vote, a positive one, in increasing the membership of the Big 12 to twelve or more schools. This has been reported out of Cincinnati, where the Cincinnati Univ. presides. The Bearcats are one of a short list of schools wanting to join the Power Five conference.
According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, Texas is “believed to be influencing Texas Tech’s and Texas Christian’s decisions to also be reluctant to expansion. UT is using its pull because of the Big 12’s rules regarding expanding the conference. If the conference was to expand, there would need to be greater than 75 percent support for the idea. With 10 teams in the Big 12, that means eight yes votes would be needed and seven teams could vote yes on expansion without the three Texas schools.”
Texas and Texas Tech have been close members in the same conference since 1956 as the school in Lubbock follows the lead of the larger school. Like being the little sister in my opinion. As for TCU, the support by Texas was a primary reason that the Frogs were brought in the Big 12. They too look to Texas as a big brother. The fact that if the Big 12 stays at ten institutions and the Univ. Texas continues to hold on to their “Longhorn Network” (as the rest of the conference except the Texas and the two sibling programs) and not turn it into a Big 12 Network, the Big 12 is going to evaporate into the air as something of the past.
Will TCU and Tech find a way to travel with Texas when OU and OSU leave for greener pastures of the SEC or Big 10? How will the little programs in Lubbock and Fort.Worth like their possible destination to a conference with the likes of Rice, Houston, and/or Colorado State?
The reality of the situation is that if the Big 12 doesn’t go to twelve member and the Longhorn Network stays as is, OU and OSU will be members of a conference not with Texas.
Feature Photo: Photo: Tom Reel /San Antonio Express-News
OU won’t leave OSU and both the BiG 10 and the SEC would gain nothing by adding OSU. The only chance for OU is take what’s offered or keep kissing longhorn prime rump.
This is total speculation…I’m a Horned Frog donor/alum and they don’t feel like Texas is their big brother…TCU is better in every sport except basketball and they have invested big there with Dixon and the new arena…they should be fine no matter which way they vote…only guarantee here is they won’t vote for SMU to join…
Also, I am pretty active with OSU living here in Tulsa. I don’t think the Oklahoma schools are willing to just bolt because of lack of expansion.