Any chance we caould trade Baylor for TCU?

[soonerfan28]

I was just thinking about how TCU likes to switch conferences, so why couldn't we talk Baylor into leaving the Big 12 and inviting TCU. It seems like a good fit except maybe in basketball.

[soonermix]

because everybody deserves a whipping boy

[soonerfan28]

because everybody deserves a whipping boy

Isn't that Poke St?

[SteelClip49]

the XII South is already a monster year in and year out so we need to keep Baylor just like the SEC keeps Vanderbilt.

[Taxman71]

The only school I would gladly see leave is osu....they add nothing to the conference in football and will likely continue mediocrity in basketball post-Sutton. Above all else, playing them is always "everything to lose, nothing to gain" and is not something to look forward to. I would much prefer to play a team that gets our players fired up.

[RedstickSooner]

I thought someone once posted that part of the reason for Baylor is that they're a private college, and that gives the conference some advantages in terms of secrecy?

My memory on this subject is extremely hazy. Maybe someone else can fill us in.

[OU-HSV]

Instead of trading Baylor for TCU ...Baylor could go to the WAC, who would replace TCU in the Mtn. West though (isn't that TCU's conference?)

[KantoSooner]

How about Baylor for TCU and Iowa State for Arkie? Our only outlier then would be Colorado.
Iowa State would not be an even trade to the SEC for Arkansas, so we'd have to do something creative...like Iowa State to join the Big 10 (hey, it would raise the football IQ level of both sides) and then get Notre Dame to fill Arkie's slot in the SEC. This would give the SEC a 'name' team and would also ensure that ND got beaten at least 6-10 times per season, which is reason enough to get behind the program.

[Fraggle145]

How about Baylor for TCU and Iowa State for Arkie? Our only outlier then would be Colorado.
Iowa State would not be an even trade to the SEC for Arkansas, so we'd have to do something creative...like Iowa State to join the Big 10 (hey, it would raise the football IQ level of both sides) and then get Notre Dame to fill Arkie's slot in the SEC. This would give the SEC a 'name' team and would also ensure that ND got beaten at least 6-10 times per season, which is reason enough to get behind the program.

How 'bout Baylor for Arkie straight up. F the SEC.

[stoops the eternal pimp]

I was thinking maybe SMU for Texas, Houston for A&M, Rice for Tech, keep Baylor and osu so the south would be

OU
SMU
Houston
Rice
Baylor
osu..............that would be some entertaining football

[badger]

Yeah, private schools aren't subject to pesky open records requests (remember SEC school fans FOI'ing their teams coaches cell phone records and e-mails to see if they could get a tune in to the program's direction?).

Thus, it is beneficial to have private schools in the mix. At least one. Every other major conference has one... The ACC has Duke, BC, UCONN and Miami. SEC has Vandy. Pac 10 has USC. Big 12 has Baylor. Big 10 has... ummm... huh. Well, they've tried to get Notre Dame for years, and now we know why :D

[OU-HSV]

I was thinking maybe SMU for Texas, Houston for A&M, Rice for Tech, keep Baylor and osu so the south would be

OU
SMU
Houston
Rice
Baylor
osu..............that would be some entertaining football

That would make for some OU offensive high scoring games. Let's do it.

[royalfan5]

Yeah, private schools aren't subject to pesky open records requests (remember SEC school fans FOI'ing their teams coaches cell phone records and e-mails to see if they could get a tune in to the program's direction?).

Thus, it is beneficial to have private schools in the mix. At least one. Every other major conference has one... The ACC has Duke, BC, UCONN and Miami. SEC has Vandy. Pac 10 has USC. Big 12 has Baylor. Big 10 has... ummm... huh. Well, they've tried to get Notre Dame for years, and now we know why :D

Northwestern is a private school so the Big 10 has one too. The Pac-10 has Stanford as well. The ACC has four with Wake Forest.

[RedstickSooner]

Yeah, private schools aren't subject to pesky open records requests (remember SEC school fans FOI'ing their teams coaches cell phone records and e-mails to see if they could get a tune in to the program's direction?).

Thus, it is beneficial to have private schools in the mix. At least one. Every other major conference has one... The ACC has Duke, BC, UCONN and Miami. SEC has Vandy. Pac 10 has USC. Big 12 has Baylor. Big 10 has... ummm... huh. Well, they've tried to get Notre Dame for years, and now we know why :D

Thanks for the answer, Badger. Now, I'm still a smidgeon hazy -- how does the conference use this to their advantage? Does the presence of a private school mean that they get to make all their meetings private under the notion that they must respect the private school's right to privacy? Meaning, does the private school trump the open records vulnerability of the public institutions?

Kind of a fascinating wrinkle to things, really.

[ric311]

Big 10 has... ummm... huh. Well, they've tried to get Notre Dame for years, and now we know why :D

Perhaps you've heard of a school in the Big 10 located in Evanston, IL, just North of Chicago. A bunch of really smart people have gone there. It's a private school called Northwestern.

[badger]

Thanks for the answer, Badger. Now, I'm still a smidgeon hazy -- how does the conference use this to their advantage? Does the presence of a private school mean that they get to make all their meetings private under the notion that they must respect the private school's right to privacy? Meaning, does the private school trump the open records vulnerability of the public institutions?

Kind of a fascinating wrinkle to things, really.

Hmmm... you know, I've never looked into that. However, my guess is that...

1- Baylor gets an expense account with the Big 12.
2- Baylor pays for the stuff that is important to remain secret with said expense account.
3- Big 12 dealings remain secret, because Baylor conducted them on their own, thus not subject to FOI.

Baylor would need to conduct the biznezz. However, don't think you can request just anything from public schools. A few years back, OU was subject to numerous FOI requests because of a certain car store and a few certain players. Under student confidentiality laws (read: you can't FOI request some student's grades, health records or social security number, even if its written on a paper paid for by your tax dollars), they blacked out student-athlete names and other identifying characteristics (addresses, numbers, etc) on these documents. The funny part was, they did such a gawd-awful job of blacking out the names that the media figured out pretty quickly that one Hardison was also involved in the mess. Oh, and Adrian Peterson's social security number could be read by astute eyes. IDENTITY THEFT ALERT! This is the last I will speak of that.

So, hope that gives you greater insight into FOI. There are limits to our open records requests, but Baylor is not subject to anything in that regard, because they are private, not publicly funded.

[IronHorseSooner]

The reason that Baylor got into the conference is that it was the alma mater of former Texas GOV (The late) Ann Richards. In order to make the conference to into existence, they had to add Baylor (along with TTECH because it was the alma mater of the former Texas Speaker of the House, I forgot his name).

[ric311]

You guys are forgetting that at one time, Baylor had a pretty good football team. Grant Teaff was a very good coach, and I believe Mike Singletary went there. They weren't always total chumps.

[badger]

You guys are forgetting that at one time, Baylor had a pretty good football team. Grant Teaff was a very good coach, and I believe Mike Singletary went there. They weren't always total chumps.

Yeah, they nearly beat us once :D

[mdklatt]

TCU is a private school just like Baylor.

[Taxman71]

Yeah, they nearly beat us once :D

Referring to Bomar's TD pass in OT or Terry White knocking down the 2-point conversion?

[soonermix]

Isn't that Poke St?

as much as it should be please see 2001 and 2002 as to why they are not

[S008NER]

Somebody has to be the bottom of this conference. There is not an obvious choice of a replacement if one school left the conference. IMO I think if that if we ever need to add a school Houston (with the stipulation that they played in Reliant Stadium) should be strongly considered because it benefits our recruiting with even more media exposure in the Houston area, makes it easier for Houston area recruits to travel to see the team play and it also benefits our Alumni group in Houston, which is the largest outside of Oklahoma, by having closer travel for games.

[Jason White's Third Knee]

I like Baylor. Where esle can you go to watch the Sooners play for $6? The stadium is pretty cool too. Nice landscaping. Small, but nice.

[King Crimson]

BU is pretty competitive in a lot of sports, just not football. TCU doesn't really bring much, IMO.

also, someone posted above that UCONN is a private school. ain't true.

[NYC Poke]

BU is pretty competitive in a lot of sports, just not football. TCU doesn't really bring much, IMO.

also, someone posted above that UCONN is a private school. ain't true.


Also, it's in the Big East, not the ACC. Big East football has Syracuse, and lots of other private schools in basketball.

[soonerfan28]

I would rather have TCU then Baylor. Baylor had some good seasons before they entered the Big 12, but they haven't ever been competitive in the Big 12 regardless of whether or not they gave us a few scares. Iowa St has been better in the Big 12 then Baylor has. I know that they have it easier in the North then Baylor does, but still they've at least been competitive.

[Taxman71]

Again, osu is the obvious choice to get booted from the Big 12. They bring in no national attention and only serve to annoy the rest of the conference.....they are the appendix of the conference.

[royalfan5]

Again, osu is the obvious choice to get booted from the Big 12. They bring in no national attention and only serve to annoy the rest of the conference.....they are the appendix of the conference.

The same argument could be made for ISU. They really a junior varsity version of OSU.

[bluedogok]

The reason that Baylor got into the conference is that it was the alma mater of former Texas GOV (The late) Ann Richards. In order to make the conference to into existence, they had to add Baylor (along with TTECH because it was the alma mater of the former Texas Speaker of the House, I forgot his name).
The Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock (UG-Tech, Law-Baylor) was the one that really pushed for their inclusion in the Big 12, Ann Richards fully went along with it. The speaker was the on the Tech side as well. The Lt. Gov. and Speaker is where the power is controlled in this state.

[Ardmore_Sooner]

I'd rather have Tulsa than TCU.

[King Crimson]

or Terry White knocking down the 2-point conversion?

i knew we sucked *for real* when i was jumping up and down in my living room over that one.

Blake talked about it like it was one of the big wins in school history.

[NYC Poke]

Be realitic. If you're going to exapand the conference, go west. Colorado State looks good.

[King Crimson]

Be realitic. If you're going to exapand the conference, go west. Colorado State looks good.

no way. CSU had some good years in the late 90's and early 00's in football but they are terrible now. they bring nothing else to the table in terms of sports.

that's just bad thinking. i live in Colorado. show me something that makes CSU make sense?

because i don't think there is that argument. they don't even sell out their own stadium...which is like 40,000.

[goingoneight]

Well, when your team gets thumped by Troy, anything looks good. :P



I keed... I keed... :D

[SicEmBaylor]

I was just thinking about how TCU likes to switch conferences, so why couldn't we talk Baylor into leaving the Big 12 and inviting TCU. It seems like a good fit except maybe in basketball.

I wish there were one giant well that I could throw all of you idiots down into.

[Echoes]

You guys gotta think though.. Football is not the only sport out there. Big 12 needs to compete in all sports, not just football.. and Baylor does that, pretty well really.

Plus all that private school stuff already mentioned.

If your going to trade someone, trade in ISU. What are they even doing in our conference?

[Vegas Sooner]

keep Baylor... Why would you want the south to be any tougher than it is??

[soonerfan28]

I hadn't thought about Tulsa. They are becoming more competitive in basketball as well as football. Maybe it's a good fit. Maybe Baylor does compete in other sports, but football is the money maker and people always talk about how bad the Big 12 is with the exception of about 5 teams and I'm sick of hearing about how tough the SEC is. We obviously need to get better and Baylor can't seem to do that. How many coaches have they had in the last 12 years and not one of them have got them to a single bowl game. That's my point. If we want a doormat then we have one just down the road from us.

[soonerinabilene]

I like Baylor. Where esle can you go to watch the Sooners play for $6? The stadium is pretty cool too. Nice landscaping. Small, but nice.

And they have badass corn dogs.

Srsly, they may not challenge for a big 12 title in football anytime soon, but dont be surprised if Briles makes them competitive.

[Taxman71]

i knew we sucked *for real* when i was jumping up and down in my living room over that one.

Blake talked about it like it was one of the big wins in school history.

The following week, they showed Terry White knocking down the pass as a "Great Moment in Sooner History". That was definitely an omen.

[ric311]

Be realitic. If you're going to exapand the conference, go west. Colorado State looks good.

You think the turds in Stoolwater are bad? Try dealing with the mountain aggies in fart collins.

Although I have to admit that I'd care a lot more about the CU/CSU game if it were an actual conference game. Additionally, I wouldn't mind giving up ISU for CSU.

[bluedogok]

CSU was fun to watch when they had Van Pelt, you never knew what he was going to try to do. I saw a lot of those late night MWC/WAC games.

[yermom]

i liked Van Pelt as well

i kinda like Iowa State, it's hard to think of ditching an old Big 8 school from the Big 12

i like the conference the way it is though, i mean really, what should OU be complaining about at this point?

[TexasLidig8r]

I believe Baylor has won more national championships in all sports than those sheep luvin, nut squeezers at A&M. Baylor is competitive in non-revenue sports and to see its basketball program rise from the ashes has been impressive.

I believe the wave of the future (read, distant future as in 20 years or so) is the superconference. The foundation is being laid for this right now. The Big 10 has started its own television network. Presidents at other universities in other conferences will soon get on board with this as the potential for additional revenue is much greater. (gotta love those corporate sponsorships and commercial advertising revenue)

This will inevitably result in conferences wanting to expand further to capture additional televsion markets. Texas, perhaps Colorado to an expanding Pac 10... aggy, Nebraska and OU (not so much for the state's population, but its national drawing power) to the SEC... Mizzou to the Big 10.

It is inevitable the smaller schools will get squeezed and the conferences with the fewest number of television sets will get compacted then fold.

[ric311]

I believe Baylor has won more national championships in all sports than those sheep luvin, nut squeezers at A&M. Baylor is competitive in non-revenue sports and to see its basketball program rise from the ashes has been impressive.

I believe the wave of the future (read, distant future as in 20 years or so) is the superconference. The foundation is being laid for this right now. The Big 10 has started its own television network. Presidents at other universities in other conferences will soon get on board with this as the potential for additional revenue is much greater. (gotta love those corporate sponsorships and commercial advertising revenue)

This will inevitably result in conferences wanting to expand further to capture additional televsion markets. Texas, perhaps Colorado to an expanding Pac 10... aggy, Nebraska and OU (not so much for the state's population, but its national drawing power) to the SEC... Mizzou to the Big 10.

It is inevitable the smaller schools will get squeezed and the conferences with the fewest number of television sets will get compacted then fold.


If we're going all super-conference, why are you assuming it won't be the Big 12 that expands? Why not add Iowa and Arkansas? What about adding Illinois and LSU? That seems just as reasonable to me as CU and UT in the Pac 10. The only people pusing the Pac 10 on CU are the bazillion alumni on the West Coast.

[TexasLidig8r]

If we're going all super-conference, why are you assuming it won't be the Big 12 that expands? Why not add Iowa and Arkansas? What about adding Illinois and LSU? That seems just as reasonable to me as CU and UT in the Pac 10. The only people pusing the Pac 10 on CU are the bazillion alumni on the West Coast.

Big XII will have the same problem the Big 8 had... doesn't have enough television sets.

We have the second run team in Ioway... Nebraska (not densely populated).. both Kansas schools (again, not densely populated).. the two Oklahoma schools (no top 10 urban areas in terms of population).

The major metropolitan areas are Dallas, Houston, Denver, KC and St. Louis.

If Mizzou jumps ship to the Big 10 (as has been rumored in the past).. KC and St. Louis are gone...

The Pac 10 has Phoenix, LA, San Francisco area, Seattle... that's a lot of teevees.

Let's suppose you're Ford, or Exxon, or Microsoft... are you going to be willing to throw hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue at a conference which is watched by millions of people along the West Coast... or significantly fewer viewers (consumers) in the heartland?

[fwsooner22]

I love the off-season..................

[yermom]

Big XII will have the same problem the Big 8 had... doesn't have enough television sets.

We have the second run team in Ioway... Nebraska (not densely populated).. both Kansas schools (again, not densely populated).. the two Oklahoma schools (no top 10 urban areas in terms of population).

The major metropolitan areas are Dallas, Houston, Denver, KC and St. Louis.

If Mizzou jumps ship to the Big 10 (as has been rumored in the past).. KC and St. Louis are gone...

The Pac 10 has Phoenix, LA, San Francisco area, Seattle... that's a lot of teevees.

Let's suppose you're Ford, or Exxon, or Microsoft... are you going to be willing to throw hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue at a conference which is watched by millions of people along the West Coast... or significantly fewer viewers (consumers) in the heartland?

OU and Texas don't seem to have a problem getting national games on ABC though

[Jacie]

If the Big XII is going to "trade" any school, my vote is aTm for just about any other. The cult routine wears thin after awhile and they have a habit of winning (sometimes) as the home dog (no puns here, please). The whorns could keep em on their schedule as a non-conference game similar to how they played us so many years. The aggies for any of Houston, TCU or even UTEP would be addition through subtraction for the Big XII.

[UTgolfer]

If the Big XII is going to "trade" any school, my vote is aTm for just about any other. The cult routine wears thin after awhile and they have a habit of winning (sometimes) as the home dog (no puns here, please). The whorns could keep em on their schedule as a non-conference game similar to how they played us so many years. The aggies for any of Houston, TCU or even UTEP would be addition through subtraction for the Big XII.


As much as I hate to admit it, the aggy AD seems to be turning that athletic program around. Yes the cult routine wears thin and nobody roots for aggy except aggy, but Bill Byrne has made some good hiring decisions in recent years.

[soonerfan28]

They have been to bowl games. Baylor hasn't.

[yermom]

well, as Big 12 members at least

[soonerfan28]

well, as Big 12 members at least

Wasn't the last one like in 1995?

[ric311]

Big XII will have the same problem the Big 8 had... doesn't have enough television sets.

We have the second run team in Ioway... Nebraska (not densely populated).. both Kansas schools (again, not densely populated).. the two Oklahoma schools (no top 10 urban areas in terms of population).

The major metropolitan areas are Dallas, Houston, Denver, KC and St. Louis.

If Mizzou jumps ship to the Big 10 (as has been rumored in the past).. KC and St. Louis are gone...

The Pac 10 has Phoenix, LA, San Francisco area, Seattle... that's a lot of teevees.

Let's suppose you're Ford, or Exxon, or Microsoft... are you going to be willing to throw hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue at a conference which is watched by millions of people along the West Coast... or significantly fewer viewers (consumers) in the heartland?

Here we go with the "the old SWC saved the Big 8's butt" again. Give it up. If it weren't for the Big 8 taking you and your sorry brothers in, you'd be playing in the WAC now. No need for thanks, just scale back the self-important arrogance a notch or two and we'll all be fine.

But I digress - Having St. Louis, KC, Denver, Dallas, San Antonio & Houston is pretty good in my book. The LA TV sports market is saturated, as is the Bay Area market. There may be more TV sets there, but fewer are actually tuned in to games and that's what's important. If the B-12 adds Illinois and LSU, for instance, that brings in a whole new bunch of TV sets in Chicago and New Orleans. Again, I never can understand why we seem to feel like the Big 12 is ripe for dismantling. It gets stronger every year. Two BCS teams and the National champion in mens basketball. That's pretty good stuff. This is a strong conference and I don't have any problem telling people that.

[NYC Poke]

The SWC really went downhill after Phillips left.

[UTgolfer]

[QUOTE=ric311;2314876]Here we go with the "the old SWC saved the Big 8's butt" again. Give it up. If it weren't for the Big 8 taking you and your sorry brothers in, you'd be playing in the WAC now. No need for thanks, just scale back the self-important arrogance a notch or two and we'll all be fine.


Since UT was so desperate, destitute, down, and needed to be saved...how do you explain how we got our way in so many areas...starting with academic standards and location of the conference offices? As for which other conference we would be playing in....Pac 10. And there was considerable alumni support for that proposition.

[soonerspudman]

If the Big XII is going to "trade" any school, my vote is aTm for just about any other. The cult routine wears thin after awhile and they have a habit of winning (sometimes) as the home dog (no puns here, please). The whorns could keep em on their schedule as a non-conference game similar to how they played us so many years. The aggies for any of Houston, TCU or even UTEP would be addition through subtraction for the Big XII.

...sorry, I just had this surreal thought about dogs buried in front of their own scoreboard. I think the Texas authorities will next target these people for placing their children in safe custody.

[bluedogok]

If Mizzou jumps ship to the Big 10 (as has been rumored in the past).. KC and St. Louis are gone...
StL yes, that is Mizzou country but KC is KU country.

[yermom]

KC has a good share of MU peeps, Columbia is pretty much equidistant between KC and STL

[royalfan5]

StL yes, that is Mizzou country but KC is KU country.

KC is more Balkanized than that between MU, KU, and KSU. Plus, there a lot of NU fans in KC as well.

[TexasLidig8r]

Here we go with the "the old SWC saved the Big 8's butt" again. Give it up. If it weren't for the Big 8 taking you and your sorry brothers in, you'd be playing in the WAC now. No need for thanks, just scale back the self-important arrogance a notch or two and we'll all be fine.

But I digress - Having St. Louis, KC, Denver, Dallas, San Antonio & Houston is pretty good in my book. The LA TV sports market is saturated, as is the Bay Area market. There may be more TV sets there, but fewer are actually tuned in to games and that's what's important. If the B-12 adds Illinois and LSU, for instance, that brings in a whole new bunch of TV sets in Chicago and New Orleans. Again, I never can understand why we seem to feel like the Big 12 is ripe for dismantling. It gets stronger every year. Two BCS teams and the National champion in mens basketball. That's pretty good stuff. This is a strong conference and I don't have any problem telling people that.

Dude.. first, did you fall out of the insecurity tree? Not only did I NOT say, I did not even imply the 4 Texas schools saved the Big 8. Facts are facts though and intercollegiate athletics today are not like they were in the 60s and 70s.. today.. they are driven by corporate revenue streams and television contracts. The states that have the biggest alumni following and major metropolitan areas are going to carry a lot of sway.

As for the West Coast, you really don't think a superconference with 6 additional teams added to the Pac 10 isn't going to result in many more televisions being tuned in?

And. why in the world would Illinois leave the Big 10? The Big 10 is ahead of the curve in terms of television networks and marketing itself LSU? Come on.. the television revenue and other money it gets from the SEC exceeeds that which it could get elsewhere.

In terms of the Big XII being strong, athletically, we are. Your outlook seems to be focused on athletics alone. My viewpoint is focused on business and revenue streams.

As for Texas being the WAC... that's either idiocy, naivete or flame bait.

[poke4christ]

I didn't read this thread and I'm sure it's already been mentioned, but TCU would get crucified in Basketball if they were in the big 12. I've been to their arena and it's terrible. I'd love to have them for football purposes, but I just don't know if it would work overall.

[badger]

I didn't read this thread and I'm sure it's already been mentioned, but TCU would get crucified in Basketball if they were in the big 12. I've been to their arena and it's terrible. I'd love to have them for football purposes, but I just don't know if it would work overall.

Eh, we have several whipping boys in the Big 12 as far as basketball goes, but there's not a team out there that doesn't have the chance to improve that. Look at you guys - you have a perennial joke team that wasn't... GOODENOUGH (allow me to recover from my laughing at my own pathetic joke, hahahahahaha... ok, now I'm fine) women's basketball team. Now, you're selling out Badlem and competing for conference championships.

Basketball is a sport where any team in any conference can do well. If you want to talk about discrepancies, talk football or a sport that requires more than 2-3 good players to make the postseason :D

[badger]

Dude.. first, did you fall out of the insecurity tree? ...As for Texas being the WAC... that's either idiocy, naivete or flame bait.

Objection! He's making a funny :rolleyes:

Texas is in the conference because they're a guaranteed draw no matter where they go. So, the Big 8 wants them. Alas, when you invite big brother to play, little brother will cry if he's not invited, so we had to get A&M. We've already discussed Tech's and Baylor's inclusion a little.

I think Texas saw the potential in guaranteed draw games as well. Sure, you have to ISU in town once every three years, but you also get to continue your annual matchups with OU and A&M. Plus, you'll get to start new matchups with the likes of Mizzou and Nebraska in football and have a killer basketball series with KU.

So, anyways, Mr. WAC, I don't think we need to plant any insecurity trees around here. We need you as much as you need us. As far as football rivalries, we're both No. 1.

[bluedogok]

KC is more Balkanized than that between MU, KU, and KSU. Plus, there a lot of NU fans in KC as well.
I thought about that later, I would say about 75% of the people that I know in KC have KU connections, most of the rest are NU with only a few MU or KSU people thrown in there. Going to a Chiefs game you see a bunch of NU gear.

[soonerfan28]

I didn't read this thread and I'm sure it's already been mentioned, but TCU would get crucified in Basketball if they were in the big 12. I've been to their arena and it's terrible. I'd love to have them for football purposes, but I just don't know if it would work overall.

The more I thought about it I think Tulsa would be more competitive in both.

[KingBarry]

KC is more Balkanized than that between MU, KU, and KSU. Plus, there a lot of NU fans in KC as well.

So, what you are saying, is that if Mizzou fled to the Big 10/11, KC television would remain mostly Big XII dominated because of the city's focus on KU, KSU, and Nebraska? I think you are basically agreeing with the "KC is KU country" remark.

Or, am I reading you wrong?

[KingBarry]

In considering new conference members, really there are only three relevant consideration, and these are TV market size, TV market size, and then finally don't overlook TV market size.

TCU brings absolutely NOTHING to the conference. We've got UT AND A&M, therefore, we've got the TX TV market wrapped up. Colorado State is the same thing -- we've got CU, so we've got Denver. What does CSU add? Maybe, let's see, oh that's right, nothing. And somebody mentioned UTEP?!?

You can make a case that TCU would be bowl eligible more often than Baylor, but who cares, that would just mean that the BigXII will have another 6-6 team bowl eligible team sitting home, ala the Manginos in 2006. And the money brought in by that 7th or 8th bowl bid is peanuts, anyway.

If we're going to add anybody, to strengthen the conference, we should be looking at strictly big city drawing schools -- Illinois is an excellent, excellent example. However, as stated, they play in a conference rich in big city schools and would have nothing to gain by playing the farm states in the Big XII.

If you really want to boost the strength of OU's conference, not necessarily the Big XII mind you, but something that doesn't exist now, you take OU's dominance of the small Oklahoma TV market, and it's still strong national drawing, and make it part of a national superconference that doesn't include ISU, Baylor, OkSt, and probably even Nebraska. And Tech, especially.

Most confernce tie ins today are regionally based, and traditionally the desire to keep travel costs low has been a primary driver in conference affiliations. But, in the digital/jet/internet age, basing conference membership on geographic location is obsolete. Look at how far flung the ACC has become?

As Oklahoma is mostly a rural market, I really worry that OU is in serious danger of someday slipping permanently into the second rung of college sports. It has already happened to a number of schools -- TCU comes to mind, and will happen to a lot more in coming years. But thankfully OU has got some decades before it happens for us, so hope for the best. We've got to to keep good administrators and innovate, as the demographics, as I see them, don't trend in our favor. (Hope I'm wrong!)

With that cheery thought, think I'll go to sleep.

[SicEmBaylor]

Into. a. well.

The whole lot of you.

[OU_Sooners75]

Why get rid of Baylor?
They are good in Basketball (men's and women's), Track, and other things (i think).

[snp]

I'm not in favor of ditching Baylor. But if the Big 12 ever expanded, I'd look at BYU and Houston first instead of TCU, CSU or any other candidates (Illinois/LSU/Arkansas are not possibilities)

BYU would bring in a whole new state and already has the stadium and facilities in place. They'd definitely be able to compete.

Houston over TCU is partly my bias, but partly because there is a bigger gain to be had from Houston than TCU. UH certainly needs some work to get there before they'd be considered, as of last season they only drew 21,000 fans compared to TCU's 30,000. But they also have 10X the alumni and stadium improvements are on the way.

I'd like to add more to the conversation but I gotta run.