Who knows what could happen in a 12 team playoff universe. I do think the ideal conference size is 12 teams so the big 12 and SEC could work together in plotting some moves so each is at 12. However, before the big 12 could land anybody worthwhile Texas and espn would need to eliminate the LHN network and create a big 12 network, can’t see Nebraska, Arkansas or Missouri joining the big 12 without that happening.

(06-07-2021 07:52 PM)OhioBoilermaker Wrote:  I don't have the Athletic so I can't read it, but I would bet my life savings that it's better reasoned than 90% of the commentary on this board...

I read the article. You lost your life savings in that bet.

(06-08-2021 10:36 AM)Wedge Wrote:  

(06-07-2021 07:52 PM)OhioBoilermaker Wrote:  I don't have the Athletic so I can't read it, but I would bet my life savings that it's better reasoned than 90% of the commentary on this board...

I read the article. You lost your life savings in that bet.

Tell me he underestimated the quality of commentary on this board. :D

Sportswriters aren't very bright. That's why they write about sports.

(06-08-2021 09:46 AM)Sicembear11 Wrote:  

(06-08-2021 09:41 AM)bluesox Wrote:  You can’t just send Arkansas to the big 12 by themselves. Would Arkansas and Missouri be better off joining a 12 team big 12? Would the sec be better off with only 12 teams if it lost Arkansas and Missouri ? It would probably be better if you sent Arkansas and Nebraska to the big 12 with Missouri going to the big 10. I think it would work great for everyone if you could also send WVU to the ACC and Florida state to the big 12, so the big 12 would have a Florida foothold. Thus, the big 12 would lose WVU and add Nebraska, Arkansas, and Florida state with the big 10 losing Nebraska and adding Missouri and the ACC losing Florida state and adding WVU. The only way this would happen is if the p5 broke away and reorganized among themselves post split.

If we’re already talking hypotheticals. I think if you already have Mizzou and Arkansas in hand, then you go and talk to Nebraska. They don’t like the Big 10 and have a great preference for their old Big 8 foes. If you can demonstrate that teams that previously left can be brought back into the fold without issue, then I think there would be a strong chance of Nebraska returning to the Big 12. Especially in an alignment that gives them more access to Oklahoma.

If the SEC and Big 12 could work out more money for the 14 SEC schools and the 10 Big 12 schools, it could happen. Maybe ESPN would prefer a 12 team SEC with Arkansas and Missouri out of the TV mix. And ESPN gets all of the Big 12 as they do with the SEC.

(06-07-2021 08:47 PM)johnintx Wrote:  

(06-07-2021 07:59 PM)AZcats Wrote:  There has been speculative talk of the pigs joining the Big 8/12 that I know about for nearly 50 years. I've heard some stories, don't know how true they are, that the pigs almost joined the Big 8 instead of the SWC.

There's a tale that the Big 8 was talking to Arkansas in the 70's or 80's, but Nebraska blocked their entry. Not sure how true that is.

Apparently, Frank Broyles was afraid they would be left out of the Big 12, so he talked to the SEC, got them in, and started a cycle of conference realignment.

It would be good to have them in the Big 12, but that ship has sailed.

They may not win as many football games in the SEC, and the trips are slightly longer, but those checks sure pay for a lot of things. There's no way they're leaving the SEC.

Frank Broyles tried to get Arkansas into the Big 8 for several years in the late 70's and early 80's. I saw an interview on one of the Oklahoma TV stations with Broyles in the 80's and he said he had been trying to get Arkansas into the Big8 for several years, but he said the Big8 did not want to go to 9 teams and that the only way for Arkansas to get into the Big8 was if Kansas State, which was a horrible football program at the time, dropped out.

Nebraska for 12. Big Ten poaches Missouri to keep things even.

Or, if Arkansas is on the table, swing big for A&M and LSU to get to 14.

Summary of article:

(1) All of the objective things that actually matter to university presidents = staying in the SEC

(2) All of the subjective emotional crap that is completely irrelevant in conference realignment = maybe the Big 12 somehow makes sense if you squint hard enough

Swap out “SEC” for “Big Ten” with respect to Nebraska or pretty much any other P5 school that people try arguing would be better off in the Big 12.

Arkansas could benefit from moving to Big 12 and the financial hit wouldn’t be that bad and much of the financial impact offset in ticket revenue and happier donors.

BUT they aren’t going to put their future at the hands of the whims of Texas. The Horns think out loud about the Pac12 and B1G every tv contract negotiation period.

If Bama got in a mood and went to B1G with UGA the SEC is still very attractive. If UT and OU or Kansas bails B12 you’ve got a mess

I’m unaware of Broyles ever trying to join Big 8. He did try to found a new conference of Arkansas, Texas, Texas A&M, LSU, OU, OKSt, Nebraska and Mizzou and ditch the CFA.

LSU passed the information onto the SEC that got the expansion to 16 plan brewing when they figured out the title game aspect no one else had noticed.

With the CFP expansion news...

Arkansas to Big12 not as crazy as I originally thought.

Arkansas can choose to be in the Alabama shadow in SEC West or compete for a 1st-Round Bye as a legit Big12 contender.

(06-11-2021 09:43 AM)ArmoredUpKnight Wrote:  With the CFP expansion news...

Arkansas to Big12 not as crazy as I originally thought.

Arkansas can choose to be in the Alabama shadow in SEC West or compete for a 1st-Round Bye as a legit Big12 contender.

Arkansas's chances of winning the SEC in the next 5 years = .00001%
Arkansas's chances of winning the Big 12 in the next 5 years = maybe 1% at best?

If any teams would consider leaving the SEC for the Big 12 for the purposes of winning it and having a decent chance of doing so, I'd say Texas A&M or LSU. But I still don't see it happening.

(06-08-2021 09:28 AM)ccd494 Wrote:  If you'd read the article, the second paragraph is this:

Quote:Today, the SEC offers prestige. It offers security. The last time a team left the conference, Americans were still three years away from setting foot on the moon. (Rough call on that one, Tulane.) Most importantly, it offers more cash than anyone could have dreamed of when the Hogs made the move.

However...

Quote:Arkansas can soothe its sorrows by counting its money from SEC membership. A move to the Big 12 would introduce risk and probably cost the university a few million dollars per year. Last year, the SEC distributed $45.5 million to member schools. The Big 12 handed out $37.7 million.

That affects fans … how, exactly?

The author's point is, yes, Arkansas makes more money in the SEC than they would in the Big XII. But, Arkansas has been largely irrelevant in football, Arkansas' fans still don't really give a **** about any other "rival" in the SEC (and vice versa), and there are natural rivalries in the Big XII with the Oklahoma schools and Texas (all of whom are geographically closer to Fayetteville than the SEC "rivals"). Arkansas' biggest alumni base outside the state is DFW.

It will never happen, he acknowledges that, but from every perspective except raw income, it makes sense.

Ubben conveniently ignores the SEC's new contract numbers that jumps per team payouts to ~70 million by 2024. Pure mid summer clickbait and stupid too boot in that it isn't going to ingratiate him to Knoxville people who would rather read anything about the Vols, good or bad.

(06-09-2021 10:42 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  Arkansas could benefit from moving to Big 12 and the financial hit wouldn’t be that bad and much of the financial impact offset in ticket revenue and happier donors.

BUT they aren’t going to put their future at the hands of the whims of Texas. The Horns think out loud about the Pac12 and B1G every tv contract negotiation period.

If Bama got in a mood and went to B1G with UGA the SEC is still very attractive. If UT and OU or Kansas bails B12 you’ve got a mess

I’m unaware of Broyles ever trying to join Big 8. He did try to found a new conference of Arkansas, Texas, Texas A&M, LSU, OU, OKSt, Nebraska and Mizzou and ditch the CFA.

LSU passed the information onto the SEC that got the expansion to 16 plan brewing when they figured out the title game aspect no one else had noticed.

If Texas or Oklahoma left it would hurt. If Kansas left, no.

The Big 8/Big 12 would have been a far better fit for Arkansas in 1991 than 2021. They're happy members of the SEC and a great fit for the conference at this point. That's not saying they wouldn't have been great for the 12 or 8 in the past, but right now?

(06-09-2021 10:42 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  I’m unaware of Broyles ever trying to join Big 8. He did try to found a new conference of Arkansas, Texas, Texas A&M, LSU, OU, OKSt, Nebraska and Mizzou and ditch the CFA.

Yeah, I can see why Nebraska's AD would deep six that. They would lose all of their day trip away games against regional and very beatable talent. That's been a pretty big sticking point among fans since the move to the B1G.

(06-11-2021 10:24 AM)JRsec Wrote:  

(06-08-2021 09:28 AM)ccd494 Wrote:  If you'd read the article, the second paragraph is this:

Quote:Today, the SEC offers prestige. It offers security. The last time a team left the conference, Americans were still three years away from setting foot on the moon. (Rough call on that one, Tulane.) Most importantly, it offers more cash than anyone could have dreamed of when the Hogs made the move.

However...

Quote:Arkansas can soothe its sorrows by counting its money from SEC membership. A move to the Big 12 would introduce risk and probably cost the university a few million dollars per year. Last year, the SEC distributed $45.5 million to member schools. The Big 12 handed out $37.7 million.

That affects fans … how, exactly?

The author's point is, yes, Arkansas makes more money in the SEC than they would in the Big XII. But, Arkansas has been largely irrelevant in football, Arkansas' fans still don't really give a **** about any other "rival" in the SEC (and vice versa), and there are natural rivalries in the Big XII with the Oklahoma schools and Texas (all of whom are geographically closer to Fayetteville than the SEC "rivals"). Arkansas' biggest alumni base outside the state is DFW.

It will never happen, he acknowledges that, but from every perspective except raw income, it makes sense.

Ubben conveniently ignores the SEC's new contract numbers that jumps per team payouts to ~70 million by 2024. Pure mid summer clickbait and stupid too boot in that it isn't going to ingratiate him to Knoxville people who would rather read anything about the Vols, good or bad.

In today's environment the money talks with all the gate revenue lost from the pandemic.

XII I'm sure would like to pick off a P5 university if it could. The Arizona State idea seems more plausible. They should have added BYU instead of WVU to gain a foothold out west.

XII (BYU, Arizona St)
PAC (Colorado St)
MWC (UTEP)
CUSA (Louisiana)
SBC (Liberty)