Left Behind: A Quick Dose Of Post Big 12 Reality

[TrashMaster G 18,073]

7 minutes ago, statsman said:

I am so glad that Grant Teaff gets to live to see Baylor football fall into insignificance again

Fify

[SimonBolivar 11,062]

Just now, TrashMaster G said:

Fify

Yeah we didn't make a bowl game from when I was 5 until I was a junior in college.

[PvilleStang 2,983]

3 minutes ago, SimonBolivar said:

Yeah we didn't make a bowl game from when I was 5 until I was a junior in college.

And you rapists shouldn't be able to make one until Jesus Christ walks on the earth again.  The fact Baylor still has a football team is a slap in everyone's face.

[Mitch Cumsteen 18,962]

38 minutes ago, SimonBolivar said:

I don't think it's spoiled to expect 6-6 from Aranda with the newest stadium and football ops facility in P4 along with a NIL fund that is competitive in the B12.  

3 minutes ago, SimonBolivar said:

Yeah we didn't make a bowl game from when I was 5 until I was a junior in college.

Maybe spoiled isn't quite the right word, but you pretty much put it out there yourself how expectations have changed in Waco. 

[SimonBolivar 11,062]

4 minutes ago, Mitch Cumsteen said:

Maybe spoiled isn't quite the right word, but you pretty much put it out there yourself how expectations have changed in Waco. 

Ironically enough though, Dave is fine with a 6-6 year which is all we asked from Dave Roberts, Kevin Steele, and Guy Morriss to keep their jobs (they didn't). It wouldn't be good enough long term, with the $$$ investment in the 2025 class being enough to be a top 3 or 4 class in the New B12.

I'm a big Dave Aranda fan, but I don't think he makes it to 6-6 this year and I expect he'll be out by the bye week after TCU.

[thunderlounge 8,407]

1 hour ago, Scholz said:

He probably doesn't make it out of the bar without getting roofied and raped by his own team.

fify

[statsman 5,691]

14 minutes ago, SimonBolivar said:

…with the $$$ investment in the 2025 class being enough to be a top 3 or 4 class in the New B12.

Is that really a good strategy? So you recruit a good prospect, and he works out, and portals to a B1G or SEC team for more money and exposure?

[SimonBolivar 11,062]

7 minutes ago, statsman said:

Is that really a good strategy? So you recruit a good prospect, and he works out, and portals to a B1G or SEC team for more money and exposure?

[thunderlounge 8,407]

Baylor should be better at NOT doing some things. 

[Jabberwocky 1,666]

 

 

[closetojumping 65,379]

9 hours ago, Jabberwocky said:

 

 

I’m glad they’re tracking this and will also be talking about this as the season moves towards the playoffs. The more pressure applied to the ACC and the SEC to play 9 conference games, the better. The fact that the ACC doesn’t already do this is indefensible. If Yormark isn’t the idiot I think he is, he’d be pushing this disparity for why the Big 12 runner up should absolutely be getting into the CFP, irrespective of whether that pushes the ACC runnner-up out or an SEC team. 

[Funk Doctor Spock 13,277]

I suspect Yormark will leave in about another 3-4 years. He's a clown and he'll suck a lady Thai boy off for an extra penny. 

[mdmost 43,949]

 

[billfromlaketravis 11,817]

1 hour ago, mdmost said:

 

I don’t love it. I like basketball schools existing. This would gut Big East hoops. 
 

Also the Big 12 would want UConn to be relevant in football in a part of the country that doesn’t care about college football. Like at all. 
 

Big 12 media rights are locked up until 2034-35, right? Does Yormark have connections to Turner Sports? If they still exist in 2024, they’re going to want high quality hoops inventory. That could be Yormark’s play here. 

[WBT 20,966]

3 hours ago, Funk Doctor Spock said:

lady Thai boy

you kinda got those words out of order

[Funk Doctor Spock 13,277]

Just now, WBT said:

you kinda got those words out of order

You're right. I was typing too fast. 

[TrashMaster G 18,073]

1 minute ago, WBT said:

you kinda got those words out of order

Maybe his experiences are different from yours.

[Funk Doctor Spock 13,277]

55 minutes ago, TrashMaster G said:

Maybe his experiences are different from yours.

Hey, I pay good money for whomever shows up first. 

[Satchel 6,982]

6 hours ago, Funk Doctor Spock said:

I suspect Yormark will leave in about another 3-4 years. He's a clown and he'll suck a lady Thai boy off for an extra penny. 

Yormark is the perfect commissioner in this era of college football that has the potential to be an unadulterated shit show.

[statsman 5,691]

I have no words…

https://www.star-telegram.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/mac-engel/article291166155.html
 

Quote

Just in case the opportunity presents itself, TCU had discussions with leaders of the Big 10 during the offseason. Nothing formal.

According to people familiar with the conversations, the Big 10 outlined items for TCU to target to make itself an attractive candidate when/if there is major conference realignment again.

A lot will need to happen to make this potential move possible, but it’s a scenario TCU must prepare for just in case.

As long as TCU is committed to investing in athletics as a primary means to market itself, the safest way to ensure a long-term future in major college athletics is with the Big 10 or the SEC. The Big 12 is stable, but the Big 10 and SEC (not the NCAA) currently run big time college sports.

Despite a long list of achievements accumulated since 2000 that should make its place in college football secure, TCU is never done needing to prove it belongs. It has little to do with winning games, and everything to do with enrollment and alumni base. It’s why a Rutgers, Indiana, Maryland, Mississippi State and several other schools with lesser resumes don’t have to worry about conference shuffling.

The 2024 college football season is here, and TCU’s goal is to contend for a Big 12 title, a spot in the newly expanded playoff bracket, while continually planning for a future that it can’t influence.

Waiting on the ACC (and Notre Dame)

The death of the Pac-12 Conferenceforced a lot of people in college athletics to ask themselves, “What are we doing?” The easy answer is looking out for themselves, and squeezing as much money out of FOX, NBC, CBS and ESPN.

The new mega conference model is the creation of ratings-craved network executives, and college athletic leadership that function more like CEOs, or presidents of professional sports teams.

The next move in all of this expansion/consolidation is whatever happens to the ACC. And, Notre Dame.

Notre Dame has become Harry and Meghan; they’re no longer royalty, but they can get into any room in the world. The Big 10 covets the famously independent Catholic university that is a member of the ACC in all sports but football and hockey. By remaining independent, Notre Dame is giving up some money to retain its reputation as the one football team that can do whatever it wants.

The Big 10 will wait, but not forever. As Notre Dame admires its own reflection, the ACC fights with its own members to remain intact. Both Florida State and Clemson have sued the ACC, essentially to force the league to let both out of the grant of rights contract that runs through 2036.

Leadership from the Big 10 and SEC have stated publicly they are not interested in expanding. But if/when the SEC or Big 10 expand, North Carolina will be the priority along with Clemson and Florida State. Virginia, Stanford, Miami and Duke are in this conversation, too.

This expansion may not happen in a year or two, but given the way major college sports have evolved since 1990 it’s hard to see this current model lasting more than five years.

Why would the Big 10 even look at TCU?

On first, second and third glance, there is no reason why a conference that loaded up on big universities would be interested in a small, private school. The conference already has two privates schools — Northwestern and USC — and adding another appears counter to its desires.

The most attractive detail to TCU for the Big 10 is location. The Big 10 is the only one of the four major conferences without a member institution in Texas. Assuming that neither UT nor A&M is interested in leaving the SEC, that would leave the Big 10 to consider other Texas options.

When TCU and Big 10 officials met earlier this year, the conference outlined a few items that could potentially help TCU’s case, just in case. TCU has made it known for a while it aspires to reach an enrollment of 15,000. It currently features an undergraduate enrollment of 10,500. The Big 10 views this as a positive trend.

Another next step the Big 10 needs is for TCU to reach “R1” status. For the uninitiated, the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education tiers schools based on research — R1, R2 and R3. This is based on research, and doctoral candidates, the school produces.

TCU is currently an R2 university. Moving up to R1 is a priority, but it takes time, and, naturally, money. 

Research, and doctoral candidates, have zero to do with athletics, and everything to do with perception. All 18 Big 10 schools are listed as R1.

What would need to happen for TCU to move again?

Since the 16-team SEC and Big 10 are running things, one or the other must make expansion a priority. If both conferences desire to go to 20 schools, there will be a need. Assume Florida State “partners” with Clemson, and North Carolina with Virginia, as the top four candidates to either league (all four are R1 schools). That leaves two coveted spots.

Because of its academic standing and status as one of the top Olympic sport athletic departments in the nation, Stanford will command attention. That would potentially leave TCU, Miami and a handful of others in a Hunger Games of musical chairs.

There is little chance the SEC would want another team in Texas.

Because of its size, the best way for TCU to be in this conversation is to just keep winning, and play relevant games into November.

(Don’t forget about the Big 12)

Under commissioner Brett Yormark, a league that flirted with death is now as stable as any conference not named the SEC or Big 10. He has been aggressive in adding schools, and candid about trying to add more. If the ACC cracks, his phone will be active.

It’s no secret he believes the best way to ensure the Big 12’s overall health is to make it the best basketball league in the nation, which it is, and to be a firm No. 3 in football. With media rights money to the Big 10 and SEC nearly doubling that of the Big 12 and ACC, he has to be creative to find ways to get on the same field as those leagues.

The SEC and Big 10 exert most of the power, and he’s done the best he can to keep his league in this shrinking equation.

For now, with access to the playoff, the Big 12 is fine and so is TCU’s place in it.

As always, TCU is never “done” and all it can do is win, and prepare, just in case.

 

 

Edited August 26 by statsman

[Evil Bill Obrien 3,510]

18 minutes ago, statsman said:

I have no words…

https://www.star-telegram.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/mac-engel/article291166155.html
 

 

 

Tceh, Baylor and SMU fans if that scenario ever comes close to playing out:

Edited August 26 by Evil Bill Obrien
Add more rape school

[statsman 5,691]

It makes you wonder-

what other programs are talking to the B1G and SEC? Do you think the B1G has a tri-fold pamphlet- “What Is Required For B1G Membership?”, to save time?

Wasn’t one of the B12’s strengths that, unlike the ACC, its members weren’t looking to bail?

[Evil Bill Obrien 3,510]

If this is all accurate about TCU it does make at least 2 schools for sure who are working the angles on getting out of the Big 12. Think it’s been a fairly open secret that Utah thinks they are above the rest of the Big 12 and would prob whore themselves out SMU style to get into the B1G.

['stache 22,131]

1 hour ago, statsman said:

It makes you wonder-

what other programs are talking to the B1G and SEC? Do you think the B1G has a tri-fold pamphlet- “What Is Required For B1G Membership?”, to save time?

Wasn’t one of the B12’s strengths that, unlike the ACC, its members weren’t looking to bail?

 

7 minutes ago, Evil Bill Obrien said:

If this is all accurate about TCU it does make at least 2 schools for sure who are working the angles on getting out of the Big 12. Think it’s been a fairly open secret that Utah thinks they are above the rest of the Big 12 and would prob whore themselves out SMU style to get into the B1G.

Everyone has talked to those conferences, not sure why a sportswriter thought TCU deserved a story. I think I saw something a while back about OSU having the conversations, but didn't really merit an article. In what world would a program not pursue a path to doubling their media income? I think there is a mutual understanding that programs would leave if offered a spot to make a ton more money. The strength of the Big 12 is that it still exists and expanded. Stability is because they aren't quite valuable enough to add value to the BIG or SEC. When those conferences go to unequal revenue sharing, the appeal goes away anyway.

[PvilleStang 2,983]

22 minutes ago, 'stache said:

 

Everyone has talked to those conferences, not sure why a sportswriter thought TCU deserved a story. I think I saw something a while back about OSU having the conversations, but didn't really merit an article. In what world would a program not pursue a path to doubling their media income? I think there is a mutual understanding that programs would leave if offered a spot to make a ton more money. The strength of the Big 12 is that it still exists and expanded. Stability is because they aren't quite valuable enough to add value to the BIG or SEC. When those conferences go to unequal revenue sharing, the appeal goes away anyway.

TCU has always been grasping for relevance, and the writer needed clickbait.

[Doc Daneeka 6,793]

2 hours ago, statsman said:

It’s why a Rutgers, Indiana, Maryland, Mississippi State and several other schools with lesser resumes don’t have to worry about conference shuffling.

Among other questionable takes in the piece, I don’t know that I’d carve this one in stone once push comes to shove. 

[statsman 5,691]

22 minutes ago, Doc Daneeka said:

Among other questionable takes in the piece, I don’t know that I’d carve this one in stone once push comes to shove. 

I don’t know. Have you seen a school pushed out, ever, besides Temple in the Big East (and they clearly did are)?

Conferences have rules. Decisions can’t be made without letting the other programs know (eventually. Of course, the SEC waited as long as it could before letting the Aggies know about Texas. It had to let them know, eventually, even though they knew it was a horrible idea to tell them). 
 
The way to evict schools is the way the PAC schools evicted WSU and OSU- everybody else leave. I don’t see that happening in the SEC or B1G. 

[Doc Daneeka 6,793]

Just now, statsman said:

I don’t know. Have you seen a school pushed out, ever, besides Temple in the Big East (and they clearly did are)?

Conferences have rules. Decisions can’t be made without letting the other programs know (eventually. Of course, the SEC waited as long as it could before letting the Aggies know about Texas. It had to let them know, eventually, even though they knew it was a horrible idea to tell them). 
 
The way to evict schools is the way the PAC schools evicted WSU and OSU- everybody else leave. I don’t see that happening in the SEC or B1G. 

Push hasn’t yet come to shove. 

If things come down to an NFL-lite with mid-double digit teams, the Indiana and Rutgers of the world may well be left out on the football side. 

[TKthunder2 5,059]

16 minutes ago, statsman said:

I don’t know. Have you seen a school pushed out, ever, besides Temple in the Big East (and they clearly did are)?

Conferences have rules. Decisions can’t be made without letting the other programs know (eventually. Of course, the SEC waited as long as it could before letting the Aggies know about Texas. It had to let them know, eventually, even though they knew it was a horrible idea to tell them). 
 
The way to evict schools is the way the PAC schools evicted WSU and OSU- everybody else leave. I don’t see that happening in the SEC or B1G. 

Former BCS P6 conference members UConn and USF say 👋 hello!

(Memphis was technically a part of an AQ conference for the 2013 season as well)

[statsman 5,691]

22 minutes ago, TKthunder2 said:

Former BCS P6 conference members UConn and USF say 👋 hello!

(Memphis was technically a part of an AQ conference for the 2013 season as well)

Wasn’t that the Big East collapsing, rather than getting pushed out? Like the PAC did?

My point remains- when programs like Texas are sick of affiliating with programs like Baylor, they leave. They don’t expel. 

[Deej 77,806]

On 8/20/2024 at 1:50 PM, thunderlounge said:

Baylor should be better at NOT doing some things. 

They are really good at ignoring the teachings of Jesus Christ. 

[statsman 5,691]

I checked on the Texan Left Behjnds for this coming week. 
 
TCU plays at B1G member Stanford. The game is on ESPN Saturday night, late. 
 
SMU plays their second game, at home, against Houston Christian University (“The Christians”). It will be streamed by the ACC network ACCNX. 
 
Baylor hosts Tarleton. ESPN+ streaming (Baylor is on streaming a lot). 
 
TT plays ACU. ESPN+ streaming. 

[TrashMaster G 18,073]

2 hours ago, 'stache said:

 

Everyone has talked to those conferences, not sure why a sportswriter thought TCU deserved a story. I think I saw something a while back about OSU having the conversations, but didn't really merit an article. In what world would a program not pursue a path to doubling their media income? I think there is a mutual understanding that programs would leave if offered a spot to make a ton more money. The strength of the Big 12 is that it still exists and expanded. Stability is because they aren't quite valuable enough to add value to the BIG or SEC. When those conferences go to unequal revenue sharing, the appeal goes away anyway.

Because he's in Fort Worth, maybe?

 

 

15 minutes ago, statsman said:

I checked on the Texan Left Behjnds for this coming week. 
 
TCU plays at B1G member Stanford. The game is on ESPN Saturday night, late. 
 
SMU plays their second game, at home, against Houston Christian University (“The Christians”). It will be streamed by the ACC network ACCNX. 
 
Baylor hosts Tarleton. ESPN+ streaming (Baylor is on streaming a lot). 
 
TT plays ACU. ESPN+ streaming. 

Damn, things change fast in realignment...

 

[closetojumping 65,379]

27 minutes ago, statsman said:

I checked on the Texan Left Behjnds for this coming week. 
 
TCU plays at B1G member Stanford. The game is on ESPN Saturday night, late. 
 
SMU plays their second game, at home, against Houston Christian University (“The Christians”). It will be streamed by the ACC network ACCNX. 
 
Baylor hosts Tarleton. ESPN+ streaming (Baylor is on streaming a lot). 
 
TT plays ACU. ESPN+ streaming. 

1) TCU plays ACC member Stanford late on Friday night

2) When did SMU get lumped into the Left Behinders? 

3) SMU didn't get left behind, as they're also now in the ACC

4) UH is a Left Behinder that you do not mention. They host UNLV at 6pm on Saturday night. UNLV is a decent team and may well beat the shit out of UH. Fritz is an excellent coach though, so maybe UH shows us something. 

[statsman 5,691]

1. You’re right. Argh

2. sorry. Just consider them peas in a pod. 
 
4. How could I forget the Houston Cougars? (Rhetorical question)

Edited August 26 by statsman

[Evil Bill Obrien 3,510]

42 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

4) UH is a Left Behinder that you do not mention. They host UNLV at 6pm on Saturday night. UNLV is a decent team and may well beat the shit out of UH. Fritz is an excellent coach though, so maybe UH shows us something. 

 

if I was bored Saturday evening I might go to this…already got Astros tickets tho so not gonna be bored… really do think UNLV gives UH a game and might just flat out beat them

[TrashMaster G 18,073]

23 minutes ago, Evil Bill Obrien said:

 

if I was bored Saturday evening I might go to this…already got Astros tickets tho so not gonna be bored… really do think UNLV gives UH a game and might just flat out beat them

Is that $9 with $20 in fees tacked on top? 

[The Hot Dog Buffet 1,314]

30 minutes ago, Evil Bill Obrien said:

 

if I was bored Saturday evening I might go to this…already got Astros tickets tho so not gonna be bored… really do think UNLV gives UH a game and might just flat out beat them

Last year's UNLV would have beaten last year's Houston team. I'm not very familiar with how good this year's UNLV is supposed to be.

[PvilleStang 2,983]

21 minutes ago, The Hot Dog Buffet said:

Last year's UNLV would have beaten last year's Houston team. I'm not very familiar with how good this year's UNLV is supposed to be.

To be fair, UNLV and UofH aren't really familiar with good CFB...

[NeverMarryAStripper 22,277]

Maybe so, but we were lucky to get out of there with a win last year

[LTtxfan 49,986]

Crazy story to watch is UTSA with their new UT Health merger.  San Antonio might soon be really attractive to the "Power 4". 

UTSA achieved a Carnegie R1 rating, marking it as a top-tier level research school. The school achieved the rating in February 2022.

 

 

"It's one of the most important things to have happened in the UT System in a long time," says UT Chancellor James "JB" Milliken.

The merger is expected to be complete in time for the 2025 fall semester, bringing together 40,000 students and some 15,900 staff, which includes nearly 4,000 faculty and some 1,400 health care providers. Under this new umbrella within the UT System, there will be a combined budget of $2.2 billion and a $1.1 billion endowment. UTSA expects the school to have a $6 billion direct economic impact and $467 million in combined research expenditures.

Looking past the mind-boggling numbers, UTSA hopes the merger will lead to new opportunities, such as pharmaceutical development taking off in San Antonio, bringing in more money for the system and the city. UT Health currently has hundreds of millions of dollars in biomedical research every year, but some drugs are developed elsewhere using research done here. 

A big reason for the merger is the higher status a combined university and health science center holds. During an interview with the San Antonio Express-News' Editorial Board, Milliken lists a number of well-regarded college systems — UCLA, University of California San Diego, Michigan — and notes they all have this in common.

 

"Look at all of the leading public universities in the country on any list, and there are very few that are not these combinations of a very strong health science center and a comprehensive university, and most of them would not be dissimilar from the mix here," Milliken says of the combined UTSA.

That will hopefully attract more students, but also top faculty members who want to teach at such a university. UTSA hopes to grow to 45,000 students by 2030.

"This is about growth. It's about excellence. It's about building something even better than the sum of the parts," Milliken says. "So I think it will grow. It will grow in fundraising. I think it will grow in rankings. I think it will grow in student enrollments. It'll grow in faculty and researchers."

 

https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/utsa-ut-health-merger-19716706.php

[TKthunder2 5,059]

8 minutes ago, LTtxfan said:

Crazy story to watch is UTSA with their new UT Health merger.  San Antonio might soon be really attractive to the "Power 4". 

UTSA achieved a Carnegie R1 rating, marking it as a top-tier level research school. The school achieved the rating in February 2022.

 

 

"It's one of the most important things to have happened in the UT System in a long time," says UT Chancellor James "JB" Milliken.

The merger is expected to be complete in time for the 2025 fall semester, bringing together 40,000 students and some 15,900 staff, which includes nearly 4,000 faculty and some 1,400 health care providers. Under this new umbrella within the UT System, there will be a combined budget of $2.2 billion and a $1.1 billion endowment. UTSA expects the school to have a $6 billion direct economic impact and $467 million in combined research expenditures.

Looking past the mind-boggling numbers, UTSA hopes the merger will lead to new opportunities, such as pharmaceutical development taking off in San Antonio, bringing in more money for the system and the city. UT Health currently has hundreds of millions of dollars in biomedical research every year, but some drugs are developed elsewhere using research done here. 

A big reason for the merger is the higher status a combined university and health science center holds. During an interview with the San Antonio Express-News' Editorial Board, Milliken lists a number of well-regarded college systems — UCLA, University of California San Diego, Michigan — and notes they all have this in common.

 

"Look at all of the leading public universities in the country on any list, and there are very few that are not these combinations of a very strong health science center and a comprehensive university, and most of them would not be dissimilar from the mix here," Milliken says of the combined UTSA.

That will hopefully attract more students, but also top faculty members who want to teach at such a university. UTSA hopes to grow to 45,000 students by 2030.

"This is about growth. It's about excellence. It's about building something even better than the sum of the parts," Milliken says. "So I think it will grow. It will grow in fundraising. I think it will grow in rankings. I think it will grow in student enrollments. It'll grow in faculty and researchers."

 

https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/utsa-ut-health-merger-19716706.php

This is 15 years in the making. It was only a matter of time. Once complete UT-Austin, UTSA, UTRGV, and UT-Tyler will all have medical schools.

That leaves 4 unattached medical institutions.

MD Anderson (which will likely always remain its own thing)

UTHSC-Houston and UTMB-Galveston (neither of which have an existing university nearby…yet)

UT-Southwestern which is sandwiched between UTD and UTA would make merging politically tricky (but not impossible).

UTEP and UTPB are in area where Tech has a medical school or extension, and I doubt SFA will get one with Tyler just an hour up the road.

[Magus Ossis 2,997]

MD Anderson is a medical school? Someone should tell them.

[Vertigo 20,492]

57 minutes ago, Magus Ossis said:

MD Anderson is a medical school? Someone should tell them.

Is that why I keep getting kicked out of surgeries? I signed in and everything. 

[LTbear 4,213]

6 hours ago, statsman said:

 
TCU plays at B1G member Stanford. 

Hmm

[TKthunder2 5,059]

6 hours ago, Magus Ossis said:

MD Anderson is a medical school? Someone should tell them.

First, I called them a “medical institution” in my post.

7 hours ago, TKthunder2 said:

That leaves 4 unattached medical institutions.

MD Anderson (which will likely always remain its own thing)

Secondly…

UT MD Anderson Cancer Center is one of the six schools at UT Health Science Center at Houston. Despite being officially associated under UT Houston, the UT System lists MD Anderson as a separate health institution due to its unique specialization.

Edited August 27 by TKthunder2

[Magus Ossis 2,997]

6 hours ago, TKthunder2 said:

First, I called them a “medical institution” in my post.

Secondly…

UT MD Anderson Cancer Center is one of the six schools at UT Health Science Center at Houston. Despite being officially associated under UT Houston, the UT System lists MD Anderson as a separate health institution due to its unique specialization.

You originally listed it as separate from UTHSC/H to make your list of 4. If you meant schools that offer medically related (but not actually MD) degrees, your list is missing quite a few. If you tell me what you really meant by one of only four medical institutions, I can make fun of your real point more easily.

I'm just having fun here waiting on our season to start-- no hard feelings I hope.

[Al_4_ISU 12,623]

The Big 12 is stable because the Big 10 and SEC aren't adding any of the programs in it.  The ACC has about 4 schools that could work for the other two.

The idea that TCU, Utah, KU, etc could work their way in is laughable.  The Big 10 and SEC have had a million opportunities to add them and continually passed.

The Big 12's play is to be good enough at basketball that whatever iteration of college sports is coming requires their presence for the basketball tournament to continue to be the ratings cash cow that it currently is.  This makes it worth the SEC and Big 10's while to not kick them out of the football playoffs.  Big 12 basketball is like North Korea having some nukes.  They'd never win an all out war, but if they're just dangerous enough to take a bite out of the powers that be's cheeseburger, the powers that be will be more amenable to letting them exist.

[TKthunder2 5,059]

8 hours ago, Magus Ossis said:

You originally listed it as separate from UTHSC/H to make your list of 4. If you meant schools that offer medically related (but not actually MD) degrees, your list is missing quite a few. If you tell me what you really meant by one of only four medical institutions, I can make fun of your real point more easily.

I'm just having fun here waiting on our season to start-- no hard feelings I hope.

It’s a separate medical institution as designated by the UT System. It’s one of only 4 unaffiliated with a 4 year university after the merger of the San Antonio schools.

https://www.utsystem.edu/institutions

lol if I had hard feeling for shit like this on shag/surly I wouldn’t have lasted long.

[Francisco 2.0 32,585]