Teams from Texas being looked at for Big XII

[TexasTower]

Link

The last line in this article says a bunch. I think if the conference is going to 12 or more there is no doubt that TCU, Rice and/or Houston have to be on the table.

 

[XOVER]

Let's see here .... Here's a list of schools ranked in the order that each school fills its football stadium (through September 28, 2011):

The 80s Attendance Level:

01. Notre Dame (2-2, with 2 home games): 80,795 (capacity)

The 60s Attendance Level:

02. Brigham Young (2-2, with 2 home games): 61,808 (near capacity)

The 50s Attendance Level:

03. West Virginia (3-1, with 3 home games): 58,241 (near capacity)

The 40s Attendance Level:

04. Louisville (2-1, with 2 home games): 43,692
05. South Florida (4-0, with 3 home games): 43,289
06. Central Florida (2-2, with 2 home games): 43,211 (capacity)
07. Baylor (3-1, with 3 home games): 42,310 (For comparison with Rice/UH)
08. Rutgers (2-1, with 2 home games): 40,724

The 30s Attendance Level:

09. Air Force (2-1, with 3 home games): 38,233
10. Connecticut ( 2-2, with 2 home games): 35,878
11. Boise State (3-0, with 1 home game): 34,019 (near capacity)
12. TCU (3-1, with 2 home games): 33,272
13. Houston (4-0, with 2 home games): 31,574 (near capacity)

The 20s Attendance Level:

14. Cincinnati (3-1, with 3 home games): 25,568
15. SMU (3-1, with 2 home games): 23,385
16. Colorado State (3-1, with 1 home game): 25,367
17. Rice (1-2, with 1 home game): 25,317

The 10s Attendance Level:

18. New Mexico (0-4, with 3 home games): 19,480
19. Florida International (3-1, with 3 home games): 18,184

These are the teams most people talk about with reference to Big 12 expansion.

If the Big 12 adds a number 12 TCU, a number 13 Houston, or a number 17 Rice, or any combination thereof, when the B12 already has teams in Austin, Waco, and Lubbock, then the Big 12 front office has rocks in its head.

Texas and OU are going to voluntarily give a full share to a bunch of clubs that don't draw more than 33,500 fans to their own home games? Especially when so many other higher drawing schools are very likely available?

Texas is not going to stay long in that kind of league. If these remaining B12 schools want to prick at Texas, that's fine.

Dodds bailed on the SWC, and Dodds will bail on the Big 12 if he's forced to.

 

[Burnt Orangeman]

Not that this is wrong but perhaps not the complete picture.

I think a lot of people will watch a good Boise or TCU game on tv that aren't died in the wool fans or graduates (heck I will, won't you?). That is the ultimate value proposition to offer tv advertisers who are footing the bill for the whole sport.

 

[H-D Rider]

Hey Tower, this topic has been discussed Ad Nausem.... there are only 2 teams in that "30s Attendance Level" and the Big 12 might consider and they are Air Force and/or Boise St.!

Texas was in the SWC once, it won't go back.... Please give it a rest!

 

[general35]

I could see alllowing TCU but UH will never be admitted. TX regretted letting UH into the Southwest Conference. UH could defnintely rebuild their program and be a force again if they got back into the big leagues. One of the reasons the big XII was formed was to get rid of UH.

 

[majorwhiteapples]

You have to look at adding another Texas school from the perspective of the other members besides Texas. Playing games in Texas is what they want to do, they are on the local TV and in the local Newspapers for all recruits to see and get invited. All schools not Texas would love to be able to sell Houston recruits that you will play in your hometown at least twice in during your college career.

 

[TexasTower]

H-D, the real reason for the new thread is that it has been said since the conference seemingly has been saved that schools were against another Texas team because we already own that footprint.

The last line in that article makes it seem as though that has changed and the Big XII will be adding another Texas team.

As for the topic, I agree that TV and quality of football have more to do than whether a team should be in a conference. If it was solely based on stadium attendance then schools like Wake Forest, Duke, Washington State, etc would not be in a BCS conference.

 

[XOVER]

Ok, TexasTower, quality of football, then (since you seem to think that how many people are interested in a school is irrelevant).

What makes you think TCU will maintain its "quality of football" once Gary Patterson is gone? They won't. Take a look at TCU's history. Google it.

Schools like TCU are mere stepping stones for great coaches. Every once in a while a school like TCU will get a great coach, and, low and behold, he stays. Wonderful. Enter a golden age.

Look at TCU's history. They've had ten year golden ages in the past when a great coach stayed awhile.

Interspersed with 30-year hiatus from playing "good football." As in 2 or 3 wins a year, with crowds of less than 20,000.

Right now there's no doubt TCU is in a golden age of football. And yet they only draw around 33,500 per game. Pathetic.

And when they decline -- as TCU inevitably will -- then a conference is stuck with them for decade after decade. As the SWC was stuck with them.

Right now, even playing terrific football, TCU would have to be subsidized by Texas, OU, TT, and other schools that make money. TCU, drawing 33,500 per game, cannot pay its own way.

Yet you and others want to subsidize them forever?

Furthermore, since "winning football games" is apparently your only metric for adding some school to your conference, I just don't understand why you don't suddenly love Baylor. They beat your precious TCU earlier this year. When are you going to jump on the Baylor bandwagon? I mean, they're winning and that's all that counts, right? Baylor beat Texas last year so BU must suddenly be equal to, or superior to, Texas, right?

It okay, though. I hope TCU is added to the B12. I really do. Because it will only hasten Texas' exit from a pathetic B12 populated by weaklings like TCU, Boise State, and all these other no draw schools that so many seem to be absolutely drooling over.

Dodds dumped Texas out of the SWC because of financial weaklings like TCU, Houston, Rice, and SMU, and I just don't think he's going to let the SWC be rebuilt under the name "B12," and stay in the "B12." Been there, paid for that. Don't want to pay for it again.

So I hope you get your wish. Add TCU, Houston, Rice and/or SMU by all means.

 

[Mesohorny]

you said it well, xover. i just don't get all the love for tcu, hou, and smu. any of those 3 only offer us an easy road trip to cities we've all been to or live in. certainly not worth the drag that any of them would be for the conference.

 

[westexas]

Like was said. Discussed ad nauseum. We can campaign for or against this or that school, but when comes down to it, no one with the power to choose is going read this. I think the B12 is going to be strong enough to draw three decent programs and keep going.

What's becoming aparant is that UT is going to put this conference together for those programs that want control of third tier rights and want to develop their own network. I think OU will soon have it's own. What UT will have to offer is the model to make a network successful.

 

[TexasTower]

XOVER, I don't have a dog in TCU one way or the other, certainly not to be my beloved team.

I just am saying that you cannot name a conference without patsies. Even the vaunted SEC has Vanderbilt, South Carolina, Miss St., Kentucky, etc.

Out of the Texas schools, I would say TCU is the best fit and gives the best bang when announcing the addition, as they have been a top 10 team in recent times.

 

[old65horn]

TT, are you aware that South Carolina was in the SEC championship last year? Ranked last year and this year?

 

[ViperHorn]

TT, a little historic perspective on TCU. Yes they have been good over the past 4 or 5 seasons, but all you can count on over the long term is 5-5. No measurable fan base; no additional TV sets; the only stadium in the country whose capacity was just lowered. However, the big question is what happens when Patterson leaves?

The conference is already overloaded with 5-5 (or worse) teams - Baylor, KSU, Kansas, ISU. Adding another 5-5 team without any financial upside probably isn't in the best interests for long term conference stability.

 

[IvanDiabloHorn]

TCU = Kansas St. Almost same colors. When Snyder leaves, it will be the same as when Patterson leaves, both will be doormats. We are already stuck with Kansas State, we do not need to add TCU.
BYU only, and add West Virginia if Missouri leaves. Leave an open invitation to Notre Dame, Althought they wont accept, they will have the option.

I would like to see the SEC add South Florida and make them the aggy rival. Texgas would go on for days about SFla copying our hook em horns hand sign ...and having to see it again from a team chosen to be their rival.Ha!

 

[majorwhiteapples]

Stanford recently reduced their stadium.

I like the idea if you can't fill a giant stadium, have the smaller more intimate stadium.

TCU, SMU or Stanford could always host a game at a nearby stadium that would accomadate(sp) bigger crowds, UH could do the same.

 

[majorwhiteapples]

What about Cal? Are they shrinking their stadium?

 

[XOVER]

While you say you don't have a dog in the hunt, TT, I sure hear some shootin' and bayin' of hounds off your direction.

I will condense it all down: I hope the B12 concludes as you do that TCU is the "best fit and best bang" to B12 expansion.

Please offer TCU, Big 12, please. I do want that to happen. I know Texas is just drooling to play TCU every year, and every other year before 33,500 TCU loyalists. Or not.

 

[TexasTower]

Ok, well I should tell the dogs to shut up they are waking the neighbors.

My comment is in regards to the final statement in the article that another team from Texas was in the mix.

What team do you think that is? My guess is TCU.

 

[Santafe]

I just don't understand why the Big-12 would want to revisit the old Southwest Conference days by adding Rice, SMU, Houston, or TCU. These universities have lower average football attendance than Baylor. We would be adding more revenue freeloaders (and--except for TCU and Houston--more patsies to our conference schedule).