The Demise of Nebraska

[TexasLidig8r]

Interesting article on the Bug Eaters and the advent of the Big XII...

Changes diminish stature of Big Red football

LINCOLN, Neb. Tom Osborne called it painful. He sat dejectedly in the hotel ballroom after his loss in the Republican primary for governor last month. He’d even lost his home district.

“They sent me a pretty strong message,” he said.

These are rare moments for Osborne. Simply put, the man is not accustomed to losing. Sending strong messages? Osborne lives on the delivery side of those.

A decade ago, however, the new Big 12 Conference also sent a message to Osborne and Nebraska. The days of the Huskers getting their way, being admired and feared as the nation’s premier college football program, were numbered. The Big 12 would bring with it new rules and, because of that, new rulers.

Financially, the Big 12 has been a necessary blessing for its members. But there were losers along the way. Atop that list sits the Nebraska football dynasty, going from mythical to mediocre in this new super conference.

“The mystique of Nebraska fell off,” said Jon Zatechka, a Husker offensive guard from 1994 to 1997. “Once you know you can beat a team, that’s half the battle. And teams were lining up.”

Osborne and Nebraska approached the new league with skepticism. Bad enough the Big Eight seemed to be catering to the Lone Star State’s every desire. But the biggest blow — Nebraska football’s first Big 12 loss — came a year before the league kicked off. It served as the earliest stare-down between North and South, specifically the powers in each region, Nebraska and Texas.

Nebraska wanted unlimited partial qualifiers. Texas did not.

Texas won.

Unlimited partial qualifiers — players who don’t meet either minimum grade-point average or standardized test score requirements — would not be part of the Big 12.

“The University of Texas became a major driver of Big 12 policy,” Osborne said.

In time, when Osborne and his recruits from the Big Eight days shuffled out of the program, the Huskers started to slip. But it wasn’t until 2002 that the empire crumbled. Nebraska, which went 60-3 from 1993 to 1997, is 30-20 the last four seasons.

“It hurts,” Zatechka said. “When I was being recruited, it was like you could come to Nebraska and it was a guarantee you were going to win nine games and go to a bowl game.”

•••

In the Big Eight’s final three years, Nebraska went 36-1 with two national championships and three undefeated regular seasons. It’s easy to see why the Cornhuskers were comfortable in their environment.

And they weren’t alone in cheering the Big Eight.

Former Iowa State coach Johnny Orr often reminded reporters in a high-pitched tone, “The basketball coaches voted 8-0 against merging with them.”

Kansas basketball coach Roy Williams teed up the Texas schools at a news conference. He thought “Big Texas” was a more appropriate name for the enterprise.

Even after the Big 12 got its legs, the resentment bubbled. In 1999, a confidential e-mail slipped out from Kansas State president Jon Wefald, in which he suggested the University of Texas “represents in most people’s minds incredible wealth and arrogance.”

Osborne sensed trouble from the start. He learned by reading it in the newspaper that the Big 12 had chosen former Oklahoma athletic director Donnie Duncan as the associate commissioner for football. Nothing against Duncan, Osborne said. Heck, they got along fine, and Osborne liked the choice. He just thought a memo from the conference office that the position even existed would have been appropriate.

It had been established that Steve Hatchell from the Southwest Conference would be the commissioner and not Kansas athletic director Bob Frederick, that the league office would be in Dallas and not Kansas City, and that the Huskers would lose their annual rivalry with Oklahoma in the new scheduling.

Nebraska, the Big Eight’s muscle, was seeing its wishes denied.

But as a sour point, the partial-qualifier issue towered above all.

The Big Eight allowed schools to sign athletes who fell short of certain academic requirements. Those athletes sat out as freshmen, lost that year of eligibility but could regain it through solid classroom work.

Five defensive starters from the 1995 national championship team came to Nebraska that way.

Texas wanted stronger standards.

“We thought it was extremely important to make a stand on this,” said Chris Plonsky, Texas women’s athletic director. “This was a new generation of college athletics, and this was an opportunity for a new conference to say we were going to be about high academic standards.”

Besides, Texas was prepared to take its ball and run to the Pac-10 or Big Ten.

“The issue was a deal-breaker for us,” Plonsky said.

Still, Osborne pleaded his case. He reasoned that initial eligibility rules were biased against economically deprived athletes, that schools in the Midwest have a small recruiting base and need the advantage, and players in the university’s academic help system would succeed.

What’s more, Osborne resented that Nebraska was cast as an academic backwater. No school has produced more Academic All-Americans, and the football program has consistently ranked near the top of the conference in graduation rates.

But the vote went against the Huskers. Plonsky remembered being at a men’s basketball game when she was approached by then-president Robert Berdahl with the news.

“I remember him saying, ‘We held our ground,’ ” Plonsky said.

A compromise allowed each Big 12 school to admit two male and two female partial qualifiers each year. Osborne wasn’t happy. Then again, little about the whole Big 12 idea pleased him.

•••

Nebraska continued its tidal wave of momentum into the Big 12. A 17-game winning streak in regular-season conference games, another perfect season and national championship in 1997, and national title contenders in 1999 and 2001. In 2002, though, Nebraska went 7-7 under Frank Solich. Streaks of 33 straight seasons with at least nine victories and 348 consecutive appearances in the Associated Press polls ended.

Two years later, after Solich was fired, the Huskers went 5-6 under Bill Callahan. Nebraskans no longer could boast of being to a bowl game every year since 1969. They had suffered their first losing season since 1961.

And to Texans fed up with Nebraska’s gripes when the league started, it must have seemed like dessert.

Except one prominent Texas coach never saw it that way.

“I have so much respect for Nebraska — I always have,” former Texas A&M coach R.C. Slocum said. “We all took so much pride in Nebraska when this league started. I’ll tell you what, when we beat them in 1998 that was very big for us.”

The Aggies’ victory in College Station was the Cornhuskers’ first conference loss since 1992 and avenged a 54-15 drubbing in the previous year’s Big 12 championship game. The Big 12 appeared as imbalanced then, favoring the North.

“I remember reporters asking me after that game if the South was ever going to catch up with the North,” Slocum said. “I said that these things never appear to be as one-sided as they look. And I believe that’s the case now.”

Nebraskans hope so. Last year’s fast finish, with a lopsided victory at division champion Colorado and a comeback thrill ride over Michigan in the Alamo Bowl, gave the Huskers an 8-4 record. Now check out any Big Red fan board and read the smack. Bring on Southern California! The Huskers play on Sept. 16 in Los Angeles.

“There’s a strong feeling of optimism right now,” Osborne said. “Obviously, when there’s a coaching change there’s a period of adjustment.”

Just as there was for Nebraska in the new Big 12. The hope in Big Red country is that all adjustment periods come to an end, and the Huskers can return to business as usual.

[Octavian]

poor Nebraska....the world needs ditchdiggers too.

I'm excited to see the UNL-texas game this year though...should be good.

[FaninAma]

The rest of the Big 12 should double dog dare Texas to take it's ball and go to the Big 10 or PAC 10. I don't think they have the guts to do it. They would lose support in the Texas legislature and they would lose their stranglehold over recruiting in Texas if they had to tell recruits that they would be traveling to PAC 10 or Big 10 venues. And what do you think those leagues would do when Texas tried to throw their weight around like they do in the Big 12? I suspect schools like Ohio State, Michigan, USC, and Penn State would tell them to blow it out of their arrogant puckered up asses.

I guarantee you the league office wouldn't be in Texas and Texas would be one vote out of 10 or 11....not like the dominant force they are now.
It would be the worst move UT ever made....similiar to Arkansas skipping off to the SEC just to a smaller degree.

It doesn't suprise me that with the likes of Donnie Duncan running the league that league officials would cave in to Texas.

[Funky G]

Texas sucks, and only wins an NC every 35 years.

[TexasLidig8r]

The rest of the Big 12 should double dog dare Texas to take it's ball and go to the Big 10 or PAC 10. I don't think they have the guts to do it. They would lose support in the Texas legislature and they would lose their stranglehold over recruiting in Texas if they had to tell recruits that they would be traveling to PAC 10 or Big 10 venues. And what do you think those leagues would do when Texas tried to throw their weight around like they do in the Big 12? I suspect schools like Ohio State, Michigan, USC, and Penn State would tell them to blow it out of their arrogant puckered up asses.

I guarantee you the league office wouldn't be in Texas and Texas would be one vote out of 10 or 11....not like the dominant force they are now.
It would be the worst move UT ever made....similiar to Arkansas skipping off to the SEC just to a smaller degree.

It doesn't suprise me that with the likes of Donnie Duncan running the league that league officials would cave in to Texas.

That's ancient history now Fan. Before the Big XII was formed, Texas was in substantive discussions with the Pac 10. Whereas, it certainly was not a done deal, the Pac 10 was looking to add Texas and perhaps Colorado to make it the Pac 12 and split the conference into a Southern Division with the two Arizona schools, USC, UCLA, Colorado and Texas. The Washington schools, Oregon schools, Cal-Berzerkely and Stanford in the north. Ultimately, all talks were quashed by then Chancellor of Stanford.. our own Condoleeza Rice.

As for recruiting, yeah. it would have been real tough selling kids on the idea of playing in San Francisco, LA, Seattle.. such backwater bergs with no teevee exposure!

But.. ah. what could have been. You are stuck with us at least for another generation.

Howdy Neighbor! :D

[SoonerShark]

Texas wanted stronger standards.

That may be true, but something is going on at UT that gets around that "stronger standard." I have heard Vince Young and other Longhorn athletes speak. When Vince opens his mouth to spout is an embarrassment to the Big XII after his seven semesters at UT. He and the others did not possibly get into UT without strings being pulled.

Junior college athletes who were barely accepted into the JuCo ranks are more articulate than Vince and others from Austin. Not that some athletes elsewhere are any better, but Vince and certain UT basketball and football players would not have gotten into UT if some questionable act was not taking place in the admission and grades arena. When Vince was on the Tonight Show the day after the 2006 Rose Bowl I cringed as I endured his speech patterns and grammar. And I like Vince Young.

[Sooner in Tampa]

That may be true, but something is going on at UT that gets around that "stronger standard." I have heard Vince Young and other Longhorn athletes speak. When Vince opens his mouth to spout is an embarrassment to the Big XII after his seven semesters at UT. He and the others did not possibly get into UT without strings being pulled.
I have thought the same thing for YEARS. UT has always stood on the mountain top bragging about their tough standards. I just find really had to believe that EVERY single 5 star recruit in football meets their standards.

[Mac94]

If Texas had gone to the Pac-10 it would have really hurt Oklahoma. The Big-8 needed this like the four Texas schools did, because of TV issues and money. The Big-8 markets just didn't have the TV ratings clout in the way
college football was going.

Texas was being courted by the Pac-10, as was Colorado, and Texas A&M had LSU as a sponser into the SEC, and there was a strong leaning towards going that direction (Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock was the key in derailing A&M's SEC drive).

If Texas had gone west, Colorado would likely have also, and A&M most likely would have gone east. That would have left the Big-8 without one of their better programs and with only the "leftovers" of the old SWC to court. The remaining Big-8 schools could have been left in a faily bad situation as a league.

[Luthor]

I thought this was a Nebraska thread rather than just another Oh How I Hate Texas thread. Perish the thought.

When the unlimited non-qualifiers + county sponsored scholarships went away at Nebbish so did their short term future. NU will be back but it will take a considerable time. Sort of like the Corleon family doing only legitimate business.

[soonervegas]

I love these kind of articles. Texas killed the super power Nebraska. Texas just loves to hand job themselves. The biggest problem with Nebraska's demise has been coaching.

These kinds of articles were also written about OU back in the mid-90's. Get a great coach in there and it will be a different story. The verdict is still out on Callahan, although I think he will get it done.

[crawfish]

Nebraska will be back. When they find the right coach, of course.

[KyleUT]

Hey Lid, where did this come from?

[Jello Biafra]

Hey Lid, where did this come from?

send a pm d*cksn*ffer

don't use our boards as an IM client

[Jello Biafra]

I thought this was a Nebraska thread rather than just another Oh How I Hate Texas thread. Perish the thought.

.

one sure way to make sure THAT happens.....don't particiapate. get lost f*ckt*rd

[Jello Biafra]

.



so you put all this BS on our message board to tell us that nebs demise is because of texas and not the hiring and firing of the coaches since osborne left?


you trying to show us that texas academic standards are so much higher than the old big 8?



you putting this here because you like to see euterus name in print?




WTF are you here?!?!?!? SPIT IT OUT!

[TexasLidig8r]

send a pm d*cksn*ffer

don't use our boards as an IM client

Duck Snuffer?

http://www.portlandphoenix.com/archive/features/00/09/22/tji/image/dead_duck.gif

[Jello Biafra]

Duck Snuffer?

http://www.portlandphoenix.com/archive/features/00/09/22/tji/image/dead_duck.gif



you do plenty of it. you know EXACTLY what it is.........

[TexasLidig8r]

so you put all this BS on our message board to tell us that nebs demise is because of texas and not the hiring and firing of the coaches since osborne left?


you trying to show us that texas academic standards are so much higher than the old big 8?



you putting this here because you like to see euterus name in print?




WTF are you here?!?!?!? SPIT IT OUT!

Wow.. someone didn't take their Ritalin this morning!

Nebraska's demise was due to higher academic standards being imposed by the Big XII conference schools.

It was not a "pro Texas" article at all.

And, to a certain extent, I agree with other more objective posters on here that Nebraska's fortunes will rise when they get a coach who can recruit and coach. Is Callahan the answer? Who knows... but, in terms of athletes today, the old Nebraska power option may have seen its day since defenses are now stronger and much faster than when the Bug Eaters were in their heyday.

As for why I am here.. as posted many times.. to be the voice or reason, the loyal opposition, the fly in the ointment, the monkey in the wrench, the pain in the asss.. to see Trolls like you, blinded by their raging, "I hate Texas" hormones, pop an aneurism when you see Texas posters on here.

[yermom]

I love these kind of articles. Texas killed the super power Nebraska. Texas just loves to hand job themselves. The biggest problem with Nebraska's demise has been coaching.

These kinds of articles were also written about OU back in the mid-90's. Get a great coach in there and it will be a different story. The verdict is still out on Callahan, although I think he will get it done.

coaching, the death of the option

once Osborne AND Crouch were gone, they were in some trouble

[Jello Biafra]

Wow.. someone didn't take their Ritalin this morning!

Nebraska's demise was due to higher academic standards being imposed by the Big XII conference schools.

It was not a "pro Texas" article at all.

And, to a certain extent, I agree with other more objective posters on here that Nebraska's fortunes will rise when they get a coach who can recruit and coach. Is Callahan the answer? Who knows... but, in terms of athletes today, the old Nebraska power option may have seen its day since defenses are now stronger and much faster than when the Bug Eaters were in their heyday.

As for why I am here.. as posted many times.. to be the voice or reason, the loyal opposition, the fly in the ointment, the monkey in the wrench, the pain in the asss.. to see Trolls like you, blinded by their raging, "I hate Texas" hormones, pop an aneurism when you see Texas posters on here.


nebraska's demise is all about the coahing. period. fire callahan, pick up another until you find the right coach. see texas and oklahoma 80s and 90s as well as many other schools. you can't have 30 years of success and then the HC retire and all of the sudden they suck.............. peterson (NU AD)
is OUs Donnie Duncan and until they fire his dumb *** they won't do a thing approaching the 90s in football.


you may have said the "bigXII" imposed higher standards but the article said (in no uncertain terms) if texas didn't get their way, they would take their ball and go suck off some tree huggers in the pac 10.....


you're the monkey in the wrench? wow. just wow.
I have no blinding rage. Im here to show the WWW how stupid and arrogant longhorns are and you are a shining example. when you come across a fairly intelligent one, they open a dictionary and attempt to browbeat anyone who says something negative about texas see:mirror
you'll never see me stroke out because you are on here. I have a government job bro. low stress and get paid no matter what. for a lawyer, you don't spend much time in court...

[FaninAma]

If Texas had gone to the Pac-10 it would have really hurt Oklahoma. The Big-8 needed this like the four Texas schools did, because of TV issues and money. The Big-8 markets just didn't have the TV ratings clout in the way
college football was going.

Texas was being courted by the Pac-10, as was Colorado, and Texas A&M had LSU as a sponser into the SEC, and there was a strong leaning towards going that direction (Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock was the key in derailing A&M's SEC drive).

If Texas had gone west, Colorado would likely have also, and A&M most likely would have gone east. That would have left the Big-8 without one of their better programs and with only the "leftovers" of the old SWC to court. The remaining Big-8 schools could have been left in a faily bad situation as a league.

I'll have to disagree. I think Nebraska and OU would have gone as a package deal and been accepted by either the Big 10 or the SEC. The Big 8 would have folded like the SWC did. Of course that would have negated any recruiting advantage that OU would have gotten by Texas leaving for the other conferences.

And I disagree with the contention that UT's recruiting wouldn't have been hurt. Sure it would appeal to a few recruits that they would get to play in California or against name teams in the Big 10 but I guarantee you that parents of the recruits who want to be able to watch their kids play as much as possible wouldn't have felt the same.

And I reassert that leaving their SWC brethern behind would have created some powerful enemies in the Texas state government for Texas.

[TexasLidig8r]

I'll have to disagree. I think Nebraska and OU would have gone as a package deal and been accepted by either the Big 10 or the SEC. The Big 8 would have folded like the SWC did. Of course that would have negated any recruiting advantage that OU would have gotten by Texas leaving for the other conferences.

Agree

And I disagree with the contention that UT's recruiting wouldn't have been hurt. Sure it would appeal to a few recruits that they would get to play in California or against name teams in the Big 10 but I guarantee you that parents of the recruits who want to be able to watch their kids play as much as possible wouldn't have felt the same.

Texas recruiting in California would have become much stronger, perhaps off-setting the loss of some Texas kids. As for parents, agree about that too.

And I reassert that leaving their SWC brethern behind would have created some powerful enemies in the Texas state government for Texas.

Agree about that most definitely.

Good points

[JohnnyMack]

Another Saxet paranoia article. Nebbish is still ****ed that their tride and true method of rolling out parolees and people with IQ's below 85 isn't going to work anymore and that they're going to have to buckle down academically and make good hiring decisions. Steve Pederson is a fockturd. He's to blame for the bugeaters' predicament more than anyone else. He's not that good at his job. Joe C. has done a much better job all the while dealing with a state that is every bit as economically disadvantaged as Nebraska is. This isn't about Saxet being better than everyone else as much as it is about NU having to work a little bit harder and crying about it for more than a decade now.

[OUstud]

Does anyone else wonder what UNL did last year to make people think they are on their way back? Their season-ending 3 game winning streak was against 5-6 KSU, the Barnett Debacle, and Michigan, who finished at 7-5. They lost by 25 to Kansas, surrendering 40 points to that horrible offense. They beat Pitt by 1, thanks to 2 botched FGs in the final seconds. (That Pitt team lost to Solich's Ohio Bobcats. Warrents mentioning.) They were also killed by Missouri.

[All_Day_28]

F*ck texas!

[Mac94]

I'll have to disagree. I think Nebraska and OU would have gone as a package deal and been accepted by either the Big 10 or the SEC. The Big 8 would have folded like the SWC did. Of course that would have negated any recruiting advantage that OU would have gotten by Texas leaving for the other conferences.

Big-10, maybe. I've heard Nebraska name mentioned in relation to the Big-10 before. I doubt the SEC, though.


And I disagree with the contention that UT's recruiting wouldn't have been hurt. Sure it would appeal to a few recruits that they would get to play in California or against name teams in the Big 10 but I guarantee you that parents of the recruits who want to be able to watch their kids play as much as possible wouldn't have felt the same.

Texas will always recruit Texas well but it would have been interesting, esp if Texas had to play a few night games out on the west coast when the local media wouldn't be able to run their results on the news or the Sunday papers, etc.


And I reassert that leaving their SWC brethern behind would have created some powerful enemies in the Texas state government for Texas.

Namely a friend of Baylor and THE power borker at the time in the state, Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock. I don't know if the emnity would have lasted to long, but he was a very powerful man with alot of influence. He was the driving force behind Baylor getting into the Big-12 and keeping A&M out of the SEC (a few "incentives" to push through some things ... like Reed Arena, etc. helped).

[Flagstaffsooner]

I thought is was Ann "prune face" Richards that demanded that Baylor be put in the Big XII?

[mikee likee]

Keep in mind it was U of houston that got the big 12 talk started. And They were left out in the cold. Back to Baylor, the story I got was that Dr. Pepper said if no Baylor no more Sponsorship. At the time a lot of the power politics in Austin had some form of Baylor ties. $$$$$$ ain't it funny how that makes things happen, just ask my wife, no mon no fun.......

[royalfan5]

I love it every time I see the myth about county scholarships. It's easier to say county scholarships, than recognize that NU was way ahead of the curve on weight training and conditioning. That edge has since went away.

Also, y'all don't realize what a sorry mess Solich left for the Nebraska program. His poor recruiting and over-reliance on walk-ons and a decript coaching staff lead Nebraska to develop a massive talent drop off. Again Callahan may or may not be the answer, but the program was in nowhere as good as shape as you all think it was in.

Also, there is more cash in Nebraska than y'all realize. Plus we don't have to split it with any other schools. With ethanol prices at 3.00 a gallon, than aint's going to hurt us in the least bit, plus Omaha has a lot of business that take advantage of it's good location for pipelines and other transportation.

Bottom line is the Nebraska football failed to embrace change in a timely manner and that was the ultimate problem. Right now Nebraska is going through those changes in a belated manner. Will they work out spectacularly, I don't know, but we were on a slowboat to being K-State on the road we were on. Sudden change is often ugly, but tends to work out better in the longhaul, than half-***ing it.

[tbl]

I stopped taking the article seriously right about here:

specifically the powers in each region, Nebraska and Texas.

That's rich!! saxeT wins a National Championship and two Big 12 championships, and all of a sudden they're the power in the South region the entire time the conference has been together.

Come on... surely saxeT fans don't try to claim they've been the dominant team in the South, do they????

[Salt City Sooner]

"one Big 12 championship"
Texas won the first Big 12 title in '96, FWIW.

[tbl]

My bad. I was thinking of Mack...

Still, my point stands. OU has been the dominant team in the South, ESPECIALLY the last half.

[TheGodfather889]

I don't dislike Nebraska but they deserve some down time. My entire family from my mom's side is from Nebraska. I had to endure years of listening to them boast and be happy with their football team while my team (OU) sucked throughout the 90's. The 2000 victory of Nebraska is still one of my all time favorite victories just because it was revenge for all those years of frustration and seeing them happy and then of course winning the National Championship made it much better. The next year I did enjoy seeing Colorado and Miami thrash the Huskers and then from 2002-present to see them struggle. Once again,I don't dislike Nebraska but it is very nice to see my relatives go through what I went through all throughout the 90's.

[tbl]

Good point, GF. All teams need to go through the humble pie years. It is definitely Nebraskas time... although they might be coming back. A lot of the preseason polls seem to think so. I'd prefer they stayed down for another 5 years or so, just to really test the durability of those fans.

[PDXsooner]

The rest of the Big 12 should double dog dare Texas to take it's ball and go to the Big 10 or PAC 10. I don't think they have the guts to do it. They would lose support in the Texas legislature and they would lose their stranglehold over recruiting in Texas if they had to tell recruits that they would be traveling to PAC 10 or Big 10 venues. And what do you think those leagues would do when Texas tried to throw their weight around like they do in the Big 12? I suspect schools like Ohio State, Michigan, USC, and Penn State would tell them to blow it out of their arrogant puckered up asses.

I guarantee you the league office wouldn't be in Texas and Texas would be one vote out of 10 or 11....not like the dominant force they are now.
It would be the worst move UT ever made....similiar to Arkansas skipping off to the SEC just to a smaller degree.

It doesn't suprise me that with the likes of Donnie Duncan running the league that league officials would cave in to Texas.

a-men. i agree. i'd love to see texas join the big ten. good riddance.

[The VIIIth]

The rest of the Big 12 should double dog dare Texas to take it's ball and go to the Big 10 or PAC 10. I don't think they have the guts to do it. They would lose support in the Texas legislature and they would lose their stranglehold over recruiting in Texas if they had to tell recruits that they would be traveling to PAC 10 or Big 10 venues. And what do you think those leagues would do when Texas tried to throw their weight around like they do in the Big 12? I suspect schools like Ohio State, Michigan, USC, and Penn State would tell them to blow it out of their arrogant puckered up asses.

I guarantee you the league office wouldn't be in Texas and Texas would be one vote out of 10 or 11....not like the dominant force they are now.
It would be the worst move UT ever made....similiar to Arkansas skipping off to the SEC just to a smaller degree.

It doesn't suprise me that with the likes of Donnie Duncan running the league that league officials would cave in to Texas.

Excellent points, they would most likely also have lost access to the PUF fund they manage to exploit from the other texas Universities like the greedy sob's they are.

[The VIIIth]

Keep in mind it was U of houston that got the big 12 talk started. And They were left out in the cold. Back to Baylor, the story I got was that Dr. Pepper said if no Baylor no more Sponsorship. At the time a lot of the power politics in Austin had some form of Baylor ties. $$$$$$ ain't it funny how that makes things happen, just ask my wife, no mon no fun.......

I believe it was texas Governor Ann Richards, a Baylor grad who took a similar stand when it looked like the Bears were going to be left out in the woods. I forget what strings she either pulled or threatened to pull if Baylor wasn't accepted into the Big 12.

[Octavian]

what great program hasn't suffered a drought after a legendary coach left?

Miami is the only one and they're a special clear-out-the-jails case.

[yermom]

well, Miami happened to run into a team that had a coach following a legendary coach in '01

they haven't exactly been tearing it up after Davis's recruits left

[Octavian]

well, Miami happened to run into a team that had a coach following a legendary coach in '01

they haven't exactly been tearing it up after Davis's recruits left

Thats true but I was thinkin of their 80s/early 90s run.

3 coaches won 4 titles.

[yermom]

bleh, i try not to think about them :P

[Crimson Kid]

I love neb being down, one of my buddies is a diehard fan, hell his whole family is, the boy wears neb clothes EVERY DAY LOL!!

[TheGodfather889]

I bet Nebraska still keeps their fanbase. There's simply nothing better to do in Nebraska than to watch college football.

[goingoneight]

we're not allowed to talk about opponents on sf.com... it show weakness and there is plenty of other things to talk about in between seasons...

like... tacos.

[SicEmBaylor]

I believe it was texas Governor Ann Richards, a Baylor grad who took a similar stand when it looked like the Bears were going to be left out in the woods. I forget what strings she either pulled or threatened to pull if Baylor wasn't accepted into the Big 12.

I've gone through this several times on this board. It was more Bullock than Richards. Richards was a Baylor graduate but never had any close sentimental ties with the University. She rarely even mentions the fact she's a Baylor grad and is rarely seen at any Baylor events. Bullock on the other hand was a big fan of Baylor and even ended up depositing all his political papers at Baylor University that has become the "Bob Bullock Collection" of political archives. If you want to find the political "in" for Baylor it's with Bullock not Richards.

However, all of that being said I have pointed out and listed all of the statistics that at the time showed Baylor the clear choice as the 4th Texas school to enter the Big XII. I personally think Arkansas would have been a bitter fit, but as far as another school within the state of Texas it was Baylor who was clearly 4th.

Regardless of how poor Baylor has been athletically during its time in the Big XII when the Big XII formed we had a fairly good athletic standing. Unfortunately, we didn't take advantage of becoming a member of the Big XII quite the way some other schools did. But it's simply false to say there was any other school in Texas who was clearly more deserving of the #4 spot than us.

[Big Red Ron]

Anyone else find it amusing that they still call themselves "Big Red?"




I'm only 33 and remember when the were not calling themselves "Big Red."

OU was the Big 8's "Big Red." We stopped using it while we slipped and they rose (no coincidence there, eh).

[Flagstaffsooner]

I love it every time I see the myth about county scholarships. It's easier to say county scholarships, than recognize that NU was way ahead of the curve on weight training and steroids.

:rolleyes:

[soonercody]

Was it the limit on PQs that ended the legendary Nebraska "walk-on" program?

[royalfan5]

Was it the limit on PQs that ended the legendary Nebraska "walk-on" program?
No, it meant we couldn't take prop 48's anymore. The walk-on program is completely seperate from qualifiers. What killed the walk-on program was the Solich's over-reliance on it, and everybody else catching up to Nebraska in S&C. Callahan has trimmed it back from the bloated Solich days but we still have one of the larger walk-on programs in the Big XII and will likely have several walk-ons contributing and starting this year.

[Dances with Possums]

a-men. i agree. i'd love to see texas join the big ten. good riddance.


And there would go 75% of the remaining conference's revenue and TV viewers. Ya'll would become the Midwestern Plains Conference.

[Flagstaffsooner]

And there would go 75% of the remaining conference's revenue and TV viewers. Ya'll would become the Midwestern Plains Conference.Yup, we'd lose all that trailer park viewing.
http://web.ndak.net/~darbybob/trailer-park-trash.jpg

[Octavian]

And there would go 75% of the remaining conference's revenue and TV viewers. Ya'll would become the Midwestern Plains Conference.

heh.

Has Texas ever been offered an exclusive contract from a major TV network? Now...has OU??

Was the Big 8 or the SWC closer to a mid-major before the merge?

Conference revenue? Every school in the Big XII should name a street after Bob Stoops for the BCS money OU pumped into their programs this decade. Remember, we'd played in 3 BCS games and won a NC before some blind Lawrence refs and Vince ever got you into your first.

You're not talkin to a bunch of Iowa St. fans here....Oklahoma doesn't need Texas or any of the other 10 dwarves to prosper and succeed.

[XingTheRubicon]

And there would go 75% of the remaining conference's revenue and TV viewers. Ya'll would become the Midwestern Plains Conference.


You're too moronic to even fathom how inept this statement is.

You do know that swimming loses money, right?



The Big 8 had plenty of Texas viewers back before 1996. That might explain why OU was/is always a bigger national draw. Your pathetic conference dismantled and joined OUR conference (the BIG XII). Never forget that.

The Southwest Conference was nothing then, and it's nothing now.

[Flagstaffsooner]

Dances with Possums is a prime example of the state of texass. He is dirty, ignorant and irrational. He lives in the state that thinks it is above all others yet it is truely below all.

texass is a nasty, dirty, uneducated cesspool.

[PlanOUred]

Well Nebraska is not a factor in college football anymore. Probably never will again with their small recruiting base and coaching. The only thing that will get them any exposure is winning the North, which is very easy to do...even though they never do it anymore..even with all those poor teams. They will have some fairly good years record wise, but when you look at who they beat, it will put things in perspective. They will become kind of like Minnesota and Yale....good in the past, but marginal future.

I think possum puts too much credence on the power of the state of Texas. OU is well represented in the Dallas and Houston areas.....has a huge following there. If Texas left the conference, it would not hurt that much. It would open up recruiting even more for OU in the Texas area.....even though they have cherry picked over the last many years....see 5 out of the last 6 meetings. That record says how OU has recruited down here in Tx as well as around the country. OU is a NATIONAL recruiting power and not regional like Texas. So OU would be OK with or with Texas in any conference realignment. OU with their National prestige could go to any conference and be welcomed with open arms....in a heartbeat.

[budbarrybob]

That may be true, but something is going on at UT that gets around that "stronger standard." I have heard Vince Young and other Longhorn athletes speak. When Vince opens his mouth to spout is an embarrassment to the Big XII after his seven semesters at UT. He and the others did not possibly get into UT without strings being pulled.

Junior college athletes who were barely accepted into the JuCo ranks are more articulate than Vince and others from Austin. Not that some athletes elsewhere are any better, but Vince and certain UT basketball and football players would not have gotten into UT if some questionable act was not taking place in the admission and grades arena. When Vince was on the Tonight Show the day after the 2006 Rose Bowl I cringed as I endured his speech patterns and grammar. And I like Vince Young.

Two Words: Demond Parker

[yermom]

Well Nebraska is not a factor in college football anymore. Probably never will again with their small recruiting base and coaching. The only thing that will get them any exposure is winning the North, which is very easy to do...even though they never do it anymore..even with all those poor teams. They will have some fairly good years record wise, but when you look at who they beat, it will put things in perspective. They will become kind of like Minnesota and Yale....good in the past, but marginal future.

I think possum puts too much credence on the power of the state of Texas. OU is well represented in the Dallas and Houston areas.....has a huge following there. If Texas left the conference, it would not hurt that much. It would open up recruiting even more for OU in the Texas area.....even though they have cherry picked over the last many years....see 5 out of the last 6 meetings. That record says how OU has recruited down here in Tx as well as around the country. OU is a NATIONAL recruiting power and not regional like Texas. So OU would be OK with or with Texas in any conference realignment. OU with their National prestige could go to any conference and be welcomed with open arms....in a heartbeat.


it seems like people were talking about ND the same way a year or two ago (not that they have done anything great, but they are a factor)

i can't imagine Nebraska is done

[KyleUT]

However, all of that being said I have pointed out and listed all of the statistics that at the time showed Baylor the clear choice as the 4th Texas school to enter the Big XII. I personally think Arkansas would have been a bitter fit, but as far as another school within the state of Texas it was Baylor who was clearly 4th.

Regardless of how poor Baylor has been athletically during its time in the Big XII when the Big XII formed we had a fairly good athletic standing. Unfortunately, we didn't take advantage of becoming a member of the Big XII quite the way some other schools did. But it's simply false to say there was any other school in Texas who was clearly more deserving of the #4 spot than us.

Big 12 needed a private school, period. Keeps the books from being public record.



Conference revenue? Every school in the Big XII should name a street after Bob Stoops for the BCS money OU pumped into their programs this decade. Remember, we'd played in 3 BCS games and won a NC before some blind Lawrence refs and Vince ever got you into your first.

Big 12 would've gotten the BCS money regardless whether OU was there or not -- it woulda been Neb, CU, TX, A&M, etc if not OU. Only one year has OU gotten an extra BCS bid that brought the conference more $$ than it would have originally -- the year y'all played LSU. TX has the same amount of at larges. So does NU.

[Jason White's Third Knee]

Osborne isn't used to losing? Show him a picture of Barry Switzer and I'll bet he wets himself.

[Jason White's Third Knee]

Two Words: Demond Parker

Two words: Weed.

[Brasky7]

Osborne isn't used to losing? Show him a picture of Barry Switzer and I'll bet he wets himself.


my mind immediately went to Dr. Tom's face when he learned he get a second helping of sooner magic in the orange bowl...

[Octavian]

Big 12 would've gotten the BCS money regardless whether OU was there or not -- it woulda been Neb, CU, TX, A&M, etc if not OU. Only one year has OU gotten an extra BCS bid that brought the conference more $$ than it would have originally -- the year y'all played LSU. TX has the same amount of at larges. So does NU.

If not for your uncle's balls, he'd be your aunt.

The fact is that it was OU. We were the ones bringing home the bread to the conference, not anyone else...whether it was an automatic spot for the conference or not.

The remark was made to refute a typically bogus claim by one of your trolls.

[yermom]

Osborne isn't used to losing? Show him a picture of Barry Switzer and I'll bet he wets himself.

6-12 i think :P

you could also tell him that he gets to play Switzer again after finally beating him ;)

http://www.jimsoklahomasportspage.com/videos/theface.wmv

[Octavian]

6-12 i think :P

you could also tell him that he gets to play Switzer again after finally beating him ;)

http://www.jimsoklahomasportspage.com/videos/theface.wmv

5-12 :D

[Big Red Ron]

Two Words: Demond ParkerWrong, the difference between Demond and Vince is that Demond wasn't stupid. I'm sure his Wonderlic score is on record somewhere. But also, Demond had a serious stutter not just hooked on ebonics. I had class with him and he was not stupid.

[Big Red Ron]

.

[Jason White's Third Knee]

6-12 i think :P

you could also tell him that he gets to play Switzer again after finally beating him ;)

http://www.jimsoklahomasportspage.com/videos/theface.wmv


I thought I heard Osbourne say "Double farts!" when the guy was talking.

[Jason White's Third Knee]

Wrong, the difference between Demond and Vince is that Demond wasn't stupid. I'm sure his Wonderlic score is on record somewhere. But also, Demond had a serious stutter not just hooked on ebonics. I had a couple of classes with him and he certainly wasn't stupid.

Well, ****, BRR. Look at you go. I'd back you up, if you wanted to fight him. BTW, I am a good guy to back you up in a fight. I have this kinda face.:eddie: