tadowdaddy

who's watching? The state of Texas and the other 14 people in the Big 12 footprint? No cable carriers will feel compelled to carry a Big 12 network outside of those areas. So are you telling me that if someone like Kevin Durant shows up at a school in this league again (which will happen), he's going to be broadcast nationally playing against EVERY school in the league. Now the lesser teams (not talking about KSU as our entire bball schedule was televised last year) like Baylor get broadcast nationally, and gets some exposure. People WILL watch that just to see someone like Durant. I get where you're coming from, but you can't be so short sighted about it. it's not just about kevin durant; the big ten network televises field hockey and soccer and volleyball and women's basketball. of course a men's basketball player who is the best player in the country is going to be a big deal, but people on the east and west coast and in the great lakes/ohio valley aren't going to want to pay an extra .75 to 1.00 to have the big xii network on their cable provider. the high profile big xii games (texas-ou, texas-kansas basketball, etc) are going to be broadcast nationally and nobody is really going to care if they miss out on ksu-baylor. the big ten network isn't included by most cable providers in the northeast and mid-atlantic states, and there are tons of big ten grads in those places. I'm not going to argue with what you're saying and I'm not privy to all the details of the package, but from what I'm hearing and all I know is that it'll be nationally televised. That allows any Big 12 fan who is in a remote state like me in Michigan, to not have to subscribe to say ESPN + to be sure I get to watch every KSU game that is televised on ESPN +. I'll get a lot of them on the Big 12 network. Makes the big 12 available to a very it quite a large audience across the nation that went to a Big 12 school. Not every aTm game is shown across the nation, but their fans will have access to watch their team now. When aTm plays Iowa State for instance, I'm sure their fans would like to watch it. This package makes it a possibility more so than what is out there now.

who's watching? The state of Texas and the other 14 people in the Big 12 footprint? No cable carriers will feel compelled to carry a Big 12 network outside of those areas. So are you telling me that if someone like Kevin Durant shows up at a school in this league again (which will happen), he's going to be broadcast nationally playing against EVERY school in the league. Now the lesser teams (not talking about KSU as our entire bball schedule was televised last year) like Baylor get broadcast nationally, and gets some exposure. People WILL watch that just to see someone like Durant. I get where you're coming from, but you can't be so short sighted about it. Are we talking about two different things? If there's a dedicated cable network for Big 12 sports, it won't be carried anywhere but in Big 12 land. Unless it's part of some super duper premium sports tier elsewhere. And I doubt carriers in across the country are going to all of the sudden make it part of the basic cable package because Kevin Durant part 2 walks into the league for one season. Maybe I just don't get the way a Big 12 network would work. Am I missing something? The package will be a NATIONAL package according to what I've been told. It may be part of some sports package on DirecTV for example, to cover costs, but it won't have to be individually purchased. There are plenty of people who buy those packages (I'm one of them). I don't know the details, but I know it will be a nationally broadcast package. Dunno about blackout rules etc.

Do they add Air Force and BYU as reported earlier this week? No, 10 team league where you play everyone in the league during football season.

Beebe did nothing to bring out this TV package other than being a figure head. The TV contract was developed in large part by Tim Weiser, who I do trust. Beebe is a figurehead and nothing more! Trust that. He won't be around long.

who's watching? The state of Texas and the other 14 people in the Big 12 footprint? No cable carriers will feel compelled to carry a Big 12 network outside of those areas. So are you telling me that if someone like Kevin Durant shows up at a school in this league again (which will happen), he's going to be broadcast nationally playing against EVERY school in the league. Now the lesser teams (not talking about KSU as our entire bball schedule was televised last year) like Baylor get broadcast nationally, and gets some exposure. People WILL watch that just to see someone like Durant. I get where you're coming from, but you can't be so short sighted about it.

Here's another thought for people asking why the Big 12 would get this TV contract. Fox wants to keep up/surpass with ESPN/ABC and Murdoch has the money to do so. A channel dedicated to ONLY Big 12 sports will compete with anything that the ESPN/ABC college monopoly will offer.

This will tell me if my source is good or not, but I'm hearing DONE DEAL. Big 12 is now solid with 10 teams. We'll see how right on he is. May not be made public til tomorrow, but he said he was 100% certain it was done.

Well, the PAC 10 and SEC deals are both 15 year deals. This one has the opportunity for renegotiation should we want to bring on more schools as well from what I've been told.

Still less than what Neb will make in the Big 10, isn't it? I have no idea what kind of payout CU is getting. Without the dissolving of the conference, Nebraska and Colorado get to pay the price for leaving the conference/their contractural obligations. Which will be a nice starting point on the Texas-only Network UT wants to create, giving them more leverage to bend over the rest of the conference/other conferences/go independent/smoke cigars made of rolled benjamins in a few years when this happens all over again. That 2 million that KSU athletics will get is a great start on a Basketball practice facility that has been planned but not funded. Thanks NU and CU.

I guarantee in the long term that Kansas holds 2 BCS schools, and it's because of this. With this major national defense institution in KSU's near future, it has to stay a BCS school. Not being a BCS School will kill a project like this, because it will deter students from wanting to come to the school, regardless of this being there. It's in process of being built. I know it's an old story, but I didn't have a chance to find something more recent. http://www.bizjournals.com/wichita/stories/2008/12/01/daily25.html

That would make things interesting because my friend on the KBOR says that they will not let KU/KSU split should the conference dissolve. Who knows, but we'll see. Would definitely make things worse for KSU if it happened. I don't think it's ultimately the BOR choice to make. I've also read reports from the BOR that the schools are not bound together. And if they do, they should all be fired. You have one Tier 1 school with a national reputation that is was mandated by the state gov to become a top 50 school in the nation. Additionally, it's been invited by the NCI to apply for designation as a National Center Institute comprehensive cancer center, which would be ENORMOUS for the state as a whole. Why would you handcuff it to a Tier 3 school and insist it get shuffled off to mediocrity, crippling the state's chance at having a top-rated university and all the money/benefits that come with having one? The BOR needs to be loyal to its mission--higher education. If they knowingly drag both schools down, they would be doing the entire state a disservice. I'm not in complete disagreement, although you know where my loyalty is. From what I'm told, it is a 100% BOR decision. They feel that they could keep the "rivalry" together and would do so if KSU/KU are asked to join the same BCS conference (see Big East) over having one school in one BCS Conference (Pac Whatever) and the other school in a different but most likely BCS Conference (MWC or Big East). They Kansas BOR is totally against playing west coast games and what it' would do to student athletes academically as well from what i've been told. My info comes from a former Kstater that sits on the BOR, so I may be getting one side of it, but we'll see i guess if it even matters.

Awesome! I'll say that I lived my whole life in Kansas and know plenty of people connected with the Big 12 right now. Here's my "prediction" as to where this is heading. The Big 12 was never as dead as others were sure that it was. They're really close to getting through this. I know that negotiations are ongoing with the 10 schools to enter a new contract. As of this morning ALL 10 schools have signed a confidentiality agreement in hopes of preventing further leaks. Nobody will know anything further for certain until it's either announced that the conference is surviving, or is dead. Anything you hear from now on, from Chip, from ESPN (who is always a day or 2 behind), or from anyone is complete speculation. My money is on the 10 teams coming out of this united as a Big 12 (10). I'll eat crow if I'm wrong but my sources inside the Big 12 are telling me this. the big xii can continue to exist, but the fact of the matter is that the teams going after some of the big xii leftovers are in much better position financially and can offer much better prospects for the future. why would texas and aTm and oklahoma want to stay in a conference when other conferences can offer millions more dollars each year? If the proposed TV contract that was presented to all Big 12 Schools is as big as I"m told it is, the Big 12 TV revenue will be just as big as any other conference. that's completely illogical. there are only two big powers in big xii football (OU, texas) and a large number of football teams that either stink or lack any sort of meaningful tradition. the population of the big xii states (texas, oklahoma, kansas, missouri, iowa) is 40 million, compared with nearly 59 million in the SEC (where there's also a lot more tradition and college football is basically a religion), 70 million in the big ten and 60 million in the pac 10. why on earth is a network going to pay as much for the big xii as those other conferences? I can't answer the "why" but I'm told that it's on the table. To add to this, when you have a top 3 conference in every major sport (Better than the Pac 10 in both Football and Basketball in terms of conference ranks), I guess you pay for it.

Texas committing doesn't mean a ton, though. It's up to A&M to stay. If they bolt, there's no conference to commit to. The 6-3 board of regents vote at aTm was to agree to the SEC over the Pac 10. It had nothing to do with staying in the Big 12. If you go back and read the quotes of all the AD's in the Big 12, you'll see one common thread. They've all committed to trying to save the Big 12. I'm hoping (and from what I've been told) that since they're now seeing the big picture in terms of revenue and being allowed to start their own broadcast networks, that the do believe they can stay in the conference and get what they wanted all along. Hoping the SEC talk may now be a moot point.

Would it be though? A new TV contract that pays as much as the other 2 conferences (SEC/Pac-10) and also allowing teams to persue their own tv networks doesn't sound like the conference being dead to me. Well, there's rumors of such a TV contract, but odds are just as good that Beebe is just making things up. In that case it might make sense, but really the conference would lack the media clout to be sustainable, they'd have to change the rules to have a conference championship or lose that revenue too, etc. It would be a pretty awesome hoops conference though. Come on now, Beebe just making it up? Fox was present at the Big 12 meetings just weeks ago proposing a 15-20 year 10 figure contract to ALL 12 schools. And since then the conference has lost one of it's top national draws and one of it's top media markets. Colorado is not a loss at all. Those fans don't even support their school, let alone the conference. Denver is a great professional sports market, but a garbage market for college sports. Their athletic department is GARBAGE, as they've not thrown a competitive team out there in years in either basketball or football. Nebraska, population of just over 2 million does nothing in terms of a "market". Sure they have national recognition, but it's nothing like losing a aTm would do in terms of market. I'm guessing Beebe's estimate of the conference losing only 10% of it's value by losing those teams isn't far off. Taking 2 teams out of the revenue sharing can only increase revenue in terms of year by year payouts to the remaining 10 teams. Right now, KSU and KU are making less than 10 million dollars a year in TV revenue. What I've been told is that with the new TV contract, KSU, KU, ISU, Mizzou etc. have all agreed to give OU, UT, aTm, a bigger piece of the pie to stick around. They are sure making it worthwhile for the big dogs to stay. They're still going to be almost doubling their revenue with then new contract as opposed to what they get today.

Awesome! I'll say that I lived my whole life in Kansas and know plenty of people connected with the Big 12 right now. Here's my "prediction" as to where this is heading. The Big 12 was never as dead as others were sure that it was. They're really close to getting through this. I know that negotiations are ongoing with the 10 schools to enter a new contract. As of this morning ALL 10 schools have signed a confidentiality agreement in hopes of preventing further leaks. Nobody will know anything further for certain until it's either announced that the conference is surviving, or is dead. Anything you hear from now on, from Chip, from ESPN (who is always a day or 2 behind), or from anyone is complete speculation. My money is on the 10 teams coming out of this united as a Big 12 (10). I'll eat crow if I'm wrong but my sources inside the Big 12 are telling me this. the big xii can continue to exist, but the fact of the matter is that the teams going after some of the big xii leftovers are in much better position financially and can offer much better prospects for the future. why would texas and aTm and oklahoma want to stay in a conference when other conferences can offer millions more dollars each year? If the proposed TV contract that was presented to all Big 12 Schools is as big as I"m told it is, the Big 12 TV revenue will be just as big as any other conference.

Would it be though? A new TV contract that pays as much as the other 2 conferences (SEC/Pac-10) and also allowing teams to persue their own tv networks doesn't sound like the conference being dead to me. Well, there's rumors of such a TV contract, but odds are just as good that Beebe is just making things up. In that case it might make sense, but really the conference would lack the media clout to be sustainable, they'd have to change the rules to have a conference championship or lose that revenue too, etc. It would be a pretty awesome hoops conference though. Come on now, Beebe just making it up? Fox was present at the Big 12 meetings just weeks ago proposing a 15-20 year 10 figure contract to ALL 12 schools.

Would it be though? A new TV contract that pays as much as the other 2 conferences (SEC/Pac-10) and also allowing teams to persue their own tv networks doesn't sound like the conference being dead to me.

From what I'm being told, it's going to originally stay at 10 teams, with no North/South divisions and a 9 game conference schedule in Football. They'll look to add schools in the future.

Awesome! I'll say that I lived my whole life in Kansas and know plenty of people connected with the Big 12 right now. Here's my "prediction" as to where this is heading. The Big 12 was never as dead as others were sure that it was. They're really close to getting through this. I know that negotiations are ongoing with the 10 schools to enter a new contract. As of this morning ALL 10 schools have signed a confidentiality agreement in hopes of preventing further leaks. Nobody will know anything further for certain until it's either announced that the conference is surviving, or is dead. Anything you hear from now on, from Chip, from ESPN (who is always a day or 2 behind), or from anyone is complete speculation. My money is on the 10 teams coming out of this united as a Big 12 (10). I'll eat crow if I'm wrong but my sources inside the Big 12 are telling me this.

That would make things interesting because my friend on the KBOR says that they will not let KU/KSU split should the conference dissolve. Who knows, but we'll see. Would definitely make things worse for KSU if it happened.

Doesn't matter. It's in the best interest of the state of Texas to keep Texas and aTm playing each other. Where does it say that we have to be in the same conference to play each other? It's not going to say it anywhere, but that's what they want. If the Texas government wants it bad enough, it'll happen.

Doesn't matter. It's in the best interest of the state of Texas to keep Texas and aTm playing each other.

In a week's time it went from probably 90% to Pac-10 to 60% to Pac-10 to we have the votes on the Board of Regents for the SEC. Now our insider says Don Beebe is making a huge push to keep the Big 12 afloat that is actually making everyone rethink their moves. Even still, I expect us to bolt to the SEC. If we don't, I will be pissed. There's no way that if Texas commits to the Big 12 lite, the Texas Legislature will let aTm move anywhere. It's not up to the legislature. The state pours a TON of money into it's schools. It sure as hell will be up to them in the long run. They will threaten to pull money, etc. Look at how Baylor tagged along for the ride to the original Big 12. That was a 100% state government move. The 3 didn't want to take Baylor with them, and nobody in the Big 8 wanted to add Baylor. The state of Texas said it was a package deal, take it or leave it, and they HAD to take Baylor into the original Big 12.

In a week's time it went from probably 90% to Pac-10 to 60% to Pac-10 to we have the votes on the Board of Regents for the SEC. Now our insider says Don Beebe is making a huge push to keep the Big 12 afloat that is actually making everyone rethink their moves. Even still, I expect us to bolt to the SEC. If we don't, I will be pissed. There's no way that if Texas commits to the Big 12 lite, the Texas Legislature will let aTm move anywhere.

Very interesting now. I can't wait for Monday/Tuesday.. 1. Texas now stepping back a bit. First, aTm doesn't want to go to the Pac 10. They'd rather play in the SEC. Texas senators do not like the idea of splitting up the 2 schools, and have asked if they can meet with all 4 Big 12 Texas schools, in addition to Rice, UTEP, Houston, TCU etc. on Monday to discuss how splitting up Texas and aTm will impact the state of Texas from a financial perspective. 2. Texas AD would prefer to stay with the Big 12. It's the BOR that would rather move to the Pac 10 because they feel that they fit in better academically with those schools. 3. Fox wants to meet with the remaining Big 12 schools to show them how the new TV contract will pay. Rumored to be in line with the Pac 10's and SEC's TV contracts. If this thing is all about money, why include all that extra travel for your athletic teams when you can make nearly the same amount by playing the teams you already play? 4. In terms of KSU/KU/Mizzou, I'm being told by a friend of mine on the Kansas BOR that KSU and KU are working very well together right now to ensure that they end up in a BCS conference when it's all said and done. The BCS conference probably won't be the MWC, but instead a merge to the Big East. Would be a 12-14 team football league and a potential 20 team Bball league. Can you imagine how awesome adding an upcoming KSU and Mizzou along with KU to that bball league would be. Yikes... Talk about new recruiting ground and exposure for those basketball programs. In the end it may all come down to UT finally realizing that a move isn't a good thing and staying in the Big 12. The Big 12 then adds a few more teams, and is back to status quo. But, will this all happen again a few years from now. Been a very interesting process thus far. After my talk with my Kansas BOR friend, I do feel much better about where KSU and KU will end up if this break up does happen.