(07-26-2016 03:57 PM)XLance Wrote:  

(07-26-2016 03:48 PM)orangefan Wrote:  

(07-26-2016 03:34 PM)bullet Wrote:  

(07-26-2016 12:25 PM)orangefan Wrote:  

(07-26-2016 11:23 AM)arkstfan Wrote:  FWIW, the rumor mill believed that Big 12 was all in on Louisville but vapor locked on who would be #12. Of course Big 10 faced that scenario and said the hell with it took Penn State and kicked the #12 can down the road.

FIFY

UL may even have been the preferred pick for number 10, but was not willing to shoot its way out of the Big East early, which WVU was willing to do.

That's delusional fiction by UL fans. Remember they are the ethical ones. They hire only the most ethical people like Pitino and Petrino and only hire the most ethical hookers as well.

Not sure it was about being ethical. UL didn't have the stomach for the required litigation and the unknown settlement cost. They were gambling that they would get a spot later, which was a risky approach.

I thought it was pretty obvious that the Big East could not force WVU to stay. It was just a matter of what the financial settlement would be. WVU had the guts to take the bird in the hand and suffer through the litigation.

He's just a Kentucky fan trying to get in a dig at Louisville.

Which is odd, considering who their basketball coach is now plus coming off NCAA probation in football not too long ago. Not to mention they historically have a corrupt basketball program

(07-26-2016 03:57 PM)XLance Wrote:  

(07-26-2016 03:48 PM)orangefan Wrote:  

(07-26-2016 03:34 PM)bullet Wrote:  

(07-26-2016 12:25 PM)orangefan Wrote:  

(07-26-2016 11:23 AM)arkstfan Wrote:  FWIW, the rumor mill believed that Big 12 was all in on Louisville but vapor locked on who would be #12. Of course Big 10 faced that scenario and said the hell with it took Penn State and kicked the #12 can down the road.

FIFY

UL may even have been the preferred pick for number 10, but was not willing to shoot its way out of the Big East early, which WVU was willing to do.

That's delusional fiction by UL fans. Remember they are the ethical ones. They hire only the most ethical people like Pitino and Petrino and only hire the most ethical hookers as well.

Not sure it was about being ethical. UL didn't have the stomach for the required litigation and the unknown settlement cost. They were gambling that they would get a spot later, which was a risky approach.

I thought it was pretty obvious that the Big East could not force WVU to stay. It was just a matter of what the financial settlement would be. WVU had the guts to take the bird in the hand and suffer through the litigation.

He's just a Kentucky fan trying to get in a dig at Louisville.

Just at the delusion of the UL fans and the gullibility of the SU fan who believed that ethics kept UL from jumping at the Big 12 opportunity. Its just such utter nonsense and hypocrisy. If you paid attention to the media instead of UL message boards (and the crazy WV Senators), it was pretty obvious what happened. WVU got admitted and some schools also wanted UL, but they couldn't find an acceptable #12. And to anybody who isn't a UL or Pitt fan, WVU was a far, far better add and it was not close. UL had not just won a basketball title, had not just been to the CWS and had not just been to a BCS bowl (in fact, they were struggling to recover from the post Petrino years) while WVU was coming off 3 BCS wins.

Bullet
It doesn't seem right that you can accuse UofL of what they "would've" done, when they didn't do it.

Otherwise much of what your saying is true, WVU was picked over UofL. Big 12 officials were more than happy to say how they didn't need to add another mouth to feed. Then the next season Louisville had the NC, BCS, and ACC invite making the Big12 look stupid.

(07-26-2016 11:17 AM)Dr. Isaly von Yinzer Wrote:  I think it's well past time for the Big 12 and its fans to be honest with themselves about the state of their conference. If they do that, they have a chance to improve. However, their public relations has been horrible and it's primarily because their fans and some admins are wildly delusional.

First, they lose a bunch of teams all at once. That is a big-time red flag that your conference is highly dysfunctional. That just doesn't happen – at least it hasn't happened to anyone else.

Then they conduct a haphazard search in which they approached Notre Dame, Arkansas, Pitt, and others and they were snubbed at every turn.

Then, they finally got their act together and invited TCU as their ninth team and later West Virginia as team No. 10. However, when they adopted West Virginia they should've taken Louisville and Cincinnati as well. That would've been an excellent decision on their part and there would be no geographical or cultural outliers. Louisville and Cincinnati are longtime rivals and West Virginia would fit in with that pair like a glove.

However, because they are delusional, the Big 12 snubbed Louisville and Cincinnati in favor of trying to lure Florida State and Clemson. That was a huge mistake and one they will long regret. Had they made the common sense decision to add the other two Ohio Valley schools, I think they would be in a different position right now.

Since that time, their dysfunction and dissension has only grown. It is rare that a month goes by without reading some account of some administrator upset with the conference or a school within the conference – usually involving Oklahoma and Texas.

That's not good.

After being held off for a long time, Oklahoma has finally won its power struggle with Texas and they're going to expand – most likely by for teams.

However, because they are relentlessly delusional, instead of getting serious and picking from the best G5 schools available, we're constantly reading and hearing nonsense about how all of these recently defected schools are dying to come back or how this Pac-12 school or that Pac-12 school is just dying to join that conference.

What?! Seriously, WTF?!

It's time to face reality. No P5 program would even consider leaving their current situation to join the wildly unstable and geographically landlocked Big 12. Any assertion to the contrary is pure poppycock.

So if I were advising them, and I'm obviously not, I would tell everyone, "Hey guys, let's get serious about this and let's start looking at the resumes of Brigham Young, Cincinnati, Connecticut, Central Florida, Colorado State, Memphis, Houston, San Diego State, Boise State, South Florida, etc. That's where your next set of teams are going to come from, not the ACC, the SEC, the Pac-12, the AFC South, etc.

Honestly, I think there's one clear choice – BYU – and a whole bunch of choices that are ultimately very comparable with each other. I think it depends on the direction the league wants to pursue.

If it were up to me, I think I would fill the other three spots with Cincinnati and the Florida twins. I think those three programs all have good potential for growth – perhaps better potential for growth than all of the others except, maybe Houston. However, there are many ways in which they could go that would also make sense.

What does not make sense is UCLA leaving the Pac-12 for the Big 12; or Nebraska for fitting all of the money it is now raking in to return to the Big 12. That type of thinking is just plain nonsense and it always has been.

SPOT ON!! Great post. Couldn't have said better myself. Go to the B12 board on scout some of their fans are having a melt down some mental breakdown. Espousing some of the same gibberish you just pointed out in your post. They need a reality check.

(07-26-2016 02:45 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(07-26-2016 02:17 PM)ken d Wrote:  

(07-26-2016 12:25 PM)orangefan Wrote:  

(07-26-2016 11:23 AM)arkstfan Wrote:  FWIW, the rumor mill believed that Big 12 was all in on Louisville but vapor locked on who would be #12. Of course Big 10 faced that scenario and said the hell with it took Penn State and kicked the #12 can down the road.

FIFY

UL may even have been the preferred pick for number 10, but was not willing to shoot its way out of the Big East early, which WVU was willing to do.

During the conversation stage, before even TCU was invited, I suspect that privately there was some support for adding Louisville, West Virginia, and Pitt as a bloc to get back to 12. While all of those schools might have felt the ACC was a better fit if the BE imploded, only West Virginia had good reason to think that their chances of getting an ACC invite were very slim.

TCU and WVU were thus "two birds in the hand", and the Big XII was afraid they needed to act quickly to stop the bleeding.

It was a bit more than just the bleeding Ken D. They had to have a specific number of schools (10) to keep their TV contract enforceable.

Yes, that's the bleeding I was referring to.

(07-26-2016 11:17 AM)Dr. Isaly von Yinzer Wrote:  I think it's well past time for the Big 12 and its fans to be honest with themselves about the state of their conference.

While everything you've stated in your post is spot on, what the B12's real issue IMO is that not all of the current members are committed to it's long term existence. This lack of commitment is the worst kept secret in CFB and is the reason why competent decisions about expansion candidates can't be made.

The problem with chasing only the situation with the highest possible payout is that the math is fluid. The right answer in 2016 might not be the right answer in 2018. I personally think that's why they can't make a decision on anything. Every time they meet, the variables have changed.