(05-11-2015 07:55 PM)XLance Wrote:  

(05-11-2015 07:34 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(05-11-2015 07:28 PM)XLance Wrote:  Texas as a full member in the ACC is possible/likely if the conference moves to 18. Texas, TCU, Baylor and Kansas could make up a western pod with Louisville and Florida State.
The SEC would also move to 18 with Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and West Virginia.
The SEC/ACC rivalry end of season games would be enhanced with Texas/Texas A&M, Kansas/Missouri, and West Virginia/Pitt. Plus you could have TCU/Baylor as a season ender as well as Texas Tech/Oklahoma State. And of course the RRR would be guaranteed.

Nice try, but it won't work. We need one school to take a greater slice of DFW. One Oklahoma school gives us that. Texas Tech might give us part of that. All three are overkill. So that's one school that gives us a little bit of West Texas that we don't have. Two schools that give us exactly the same thing outside of brand and split 3.3 million viewers for double the cost, and a school that gives us a little over a million new viewers. That's a lose, lose. Rethink it.

So, just send Texas Tech and Oklahoma State back.

While that outcome would be acceptable to me, and perhaps to the SEC, I'm not so sure that frees Oklahoma up to join. And round and round we go with the Okie-Pokie. Now should we take Virginia Tech and Oklahoma State we would have the Hokie-Pokie and that might work. If we are going to take 4 each to get it done there simply isn't an ideal workaround for either of us. Which is why the PAC said no the first time. Which is why Delany wouldn't bite on the overtures initially made to the Big 10, and why Slive said no when Boren came to us with the both Oklahoma's offer a few years ago.

The best thing I can say is that Oklahoma State does have value on their own. Their athletic department is in the black and for a decent margin, they are competitive in most sports, and they deliver the same demographic as their counterpart. The issue is that if Texas and OU go together there isn't enough value left with a Kansas (which is not a cultural fit to the SEC) to cobble together a plan that would be acceptable. O.S.U. and OU cannot be separated unless there is a Texas / OU pairing. That way the Sooners are still free for Bedlam and Texas. But if O.S.U. goes with Texas it is problematic for Sooner scheduling.

Texas as a brand adds value no matter what. Oklahoma by themselves could as well but not nearly what Texas brings. And that issue is the relevant issue for all would be suitors. Kansas has value. Texas and OU have value. Any of those can land a home. Kansas State, T.C.U., Oklahoma State, and Iowa State would be tight fits anywhere to the East. West Virginia could land in the ACC and might make the SEC in the right pairing. Baylor could be acceptable to both the SEC or ACC with the right pairing. Texas Tech might even be acceptable to the SEC with the right pairing. But those right pairings all involve either Texas or Oklahoma, or both.

Once those are placed there isn't enough interest in the rest to dissolve the conference without the magic bullet theory of the time zone issue for the PAC, which while possible, isn't probable.