Quote:As the Big 12 presidents and chancellors were wrapping up their summer board meeting in Irving, Texas, last July, one prominent school official was driving to a dinner when he flipped on his satellite radio. Instantly recognizing the voice of Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby over the airwaves, he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

The Big 12, Bowlsby declared, would officially begin to explore expansion.

"Almost careened off the road," said the official, who immediately began phoning his colleagues around the league to figure out how this happened. They, too, were stunned.

"I thought we had lost our minds."

Quote:But going forward, Big 12 leaders are hopeful that not having their tier 3 rights tied up in a linear channel could actually give the conference an edge on the digital front.

"Frankly, the traditional linear network is obsolete technology," Bowlsby said. "We have a long ways to go, but I like the flexibility we have right now. ... We see some opportunities on the horizon."

Those opportunities include becoming the first conference to land a lucrative third-tier agreement on a digital platform.

"We intend to be among the first to be successful broadening our ability to bring our athletics, our sporting events to a different kind of audience on new platforms," Boren said.

Beside the traditional players such as Fox and ESPN, whose parent company, Disney, is investing $1 billion in the over-the-top streaming service BAMTech, the Big 12 is banking that Netflix, Google, Hulu and Amazon could soon join the marketplace as well.

Quote:Boren, who has been viewed as a source of that dysfunction in the past, has effusively praised Bowlsby and the Big 12 in recent weeks, while stating over and over that Oklahoma is committed to the Big 12.

"I think the day has come and gone of, 'Is the Big 12 in danger? Is the Big 12 here to stay? Is it a stable conference?' I don't even think that's an issue anymore," Boren said. "My goal is to get that topic off the table. ... I think we're on firm ground now. We're financially in a strong position. We're very tied to each other. We have many traditional rivalries.

"I feel much more confident about where we are than I did even two or three years ago or this time last year. ... I think there's a lot of sticking power to this conference, and the best days are ahead."

(06-28-2017 03:51 PM)AllTideUp Wrote:  Article today from Jake Trotter.

It's an interesting piece and I thought I'd hone in on a couple of quotes...

Quote:As the Big 12 presidents and chancellors were wrapping up their summer board meeting in Irving, Texas, last July, one prominent school official was driving to a dinner when he flipped on his satellite radio. Instantly recognizing the voice of Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby over the airwaves, he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

The Big 12, Bowlsby declared, would officially begin to explore expansion.

"Almost careened off the road," said the official, who immediately began phoning his colleagues around the league to figure out how this happened. They, too, were stunned.

"I thought we had lost our minds."

The sudden realization that you do not control the process. Texas does through Bowlsby. They had agreed not to extend the GOR. Ding, Ding!!! Now they were going to interview the G5? Why? To determine the valuations of their left behind schools moving to the AAC, not to determine the values of the G5 moving to the Big 12. That way UT, OU, and KU knew what appropriate damages would be.

Quote:But going forward, Big 12 leaders are hopeful that not having their tier 3 rights tied up in a linear channel could actually give the conference an edge on the digital front.

"Frankly, the traditional linear network is obsolete technology," Bowlsby said. "We have a long ways to go, but I like the flexibility we have right now. ... We see some opportunities on the horizon."

Those opportunities include becoming the first conference to land a lucrative third-tier agreement on a digital platform.

"We intend to be among the first to be successful broadening our ability to bring our athletics, our sporting events to a different kind of audience on new platforms," Boren said.

Beside the traditional players such as Fox and ESPN, whose parent company, Disney, is investing $1 billion in the over-the-top streaming service BAMTech, the Big 12 is banking that Netflix, Google, Hulu and Amazon could soon join the marketplace as well.

Pie in the sky to hold the rabble in place until the key pieces had decided where and when they were moving.

Quote:Boren, who has been viewed as a source of that dysfunction in the past, has effusively praised Bowlsby and the Big 12 in recent weeks, while stating over and over that Oklahoma is committed to the Big 12.

"I think the day has come and gone of, 'Is the Big 12 in danger? Is the Big 12 here to stay? Is it a stable conference?' I don't even think that's an issue anymore," Boren said. "My goal is to get that topic off the table. ... I think we're on firm ground now. We're financially in a strong position. We're very tied to each other. We have many traditional rivalries.

"I feel much more confident about where we are than I did even two or three years ago or this time last year. ... I think there's a lot of sticking power to this conference, and the best days are ahead."