aggys making veiled threat to Big 12 (minus 2)

[Johnny Bear]

The following link is to an article that appeared in the Houston Chronicle Sports Section in the Thursday (7/29) edition:

www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/college/texasam/7129321.html

Apparently a&m didn't pass on the offer from the B12 members that would've been left behind (obviously including BU) to forego their share of the exit fees from NU and CU, as ut and ou did and they're fully prepared to go after the reconfigured conference and potentially bolt for the SEC if they don't get the promised $20M annually starting in '12 - '13.

[Sammy11]

I've got no problem with them making the Big12 hold up to their bargain that kept them here. Fair sharing or not, the 20 mil helped them decide to stay and the B12 should pay up.

Really funny comment below.

Business for morons (named Dan Beebe) 101: How to manage a major sports conference
.
Step 1: Promise teams $20 million
Step 2: Don't give it to them
Step 3: ????
Step 4: PROFIT!

Funny even though its a ripoff of south park's "Underwear Gnomes"



" Phase 1: Collect underpants, Phase 2: ... don't know, Phase 3: Profit!" lol

[Hurin]

This means one of two things:

1.) The SEC covets A&M to the point they would take them on and force the expansion earthquake where by we end up with 4 16 team superconferences.

2.) The SEC will only take A&M iff (if and only if for you people that didn't take logic courses) the Big XII-2 comes apart and they want to ensure the PAC-10 + 2 doesn't dominate the Texas market.

From everything I've been told, #2 is the correct. Which means that A.) The SEC powers can't be happy that A&M is using their name as a threat B.) A&M admin officials are PR morons.

[OsoVerde]

I would like to know what exactly was promised to OU, UT, and atm. I find it hard to believe that 20 million was offered as a guarentee indefinitely considering that the exit fees paid by Nu and Cu would get used up at some point and that a major factor in a school's yearly payout is the number of appearances on TV. If atm sucks it up and doesn't appear on tv, I can't imagine the other 9 schools giving them 20 million every year forever.

[BaylorGuy314]

What was promised is fairly simple.

The current contract has not yet been renegotiated, it's simply getting split up less ways. That, by itself, doesn't get A&M or Texas or OU, the $20MM/yr they were promised.

However, their portion of the current contract split up only 10 ways, plus a structured payout of the buyout monies provided by NU and CU (which would only be split between TX, A&M, and OU) would move their payout over the next two years or so to $20MM.

It was then estimated by Beebe, and roughly confirmed by the TV execs (though not signed nor committed) that the Big 12 TV revenues would be increased in 2014 and beyond. When structured in a weighted, three tier format, A&M, Texas, and OU could each get $20MM (or very close) in regular payouts from then on.

Teams like KSU, Baylor, and ISU don't exactly like being in the lowest tier, but our payout in that lowest tier is estimated to be $14MM/yr, which is 14x better than any non-bcs league and is still competitive compared to the ACC, etc.

[UbuntuBear]

What if, and it's a BIG IF, Baylor is one of the top 4 teams in the Big 12 for the next few seasons. We would significantly increase our slice of the pie, and reduce others.

If we are good (or any bottom feeder for that matter), and decrease the slice of pie for one of the Guaranteed Elites (GEs), what happens then?

What if it is mathematically impossible for one of the GEs to garner their $20 mil without taking it from a currently lesser, but in the future deserving team?

[OsoVerde]

Baylorguy,

I was always under the impression that a team's distribution was based on the number of tv appearances and which stations they were on. Is that not the currrent case or are you saying that in the new negotations it won't matter how many times a team appears on tv, schools are relegated to a tier and that is what they get regardless of tv appearances?

If it is the latter that could suck for Baylor if we start playing better and appearing on tv more.

[Sammy11]

Teams like KSU, Baylor, and ISU don't exactly like being in the lowest tier, but our payout in that lowest tier is estimated to be $14MM/yr, which is 14x better than any non-bcs league and is still competitive compared to the ACC, etc.

I believe the ACC is going to be between 12-13 million a year.

[Sammy11]

I was always under the impression that a team's distribution was based on the number of tv appearances and which stations they were on. Is that not the currrent case or are you saying that in the new negotations it won't matter how many times a team appears on tv, schools are relegated to a tier and that is what they get regardless of tv appearances?

If it is the latter that could suck for Baylor if we start playing better and appearing on tv more.

I think its the same deal as before (once we reach 2016 or maybe 2014) only that the conference take will make sure the 3 get 20 million if they don't qualify it already. So in a year one of them brought 19 million in, the total amount the big 12 shares with everyone else goes down 1 million. Those 3 have such large fanbases they won't have issues getting there.

[whitetrash]

A&M needs the money--they have a bill for toilet paper for the dorms that comes due next week.

[Let'sRoll]

What if, and it's a BIG IF, Baylor is one of the top 4 teams in the Big 12 for the next few seasons. We would significantly increase our slice of the pie, and reduce others.

If we are good (or any bottom feeder for that matter), and decrease the slice of pie for one of the Guaranteed Elites (GEs), what happens then?

What if it is mathematically impossible for one of the GEs to garner their $20 mil without taking it from a currently lesser, but in the future deserving team?

It is NOT how good BU does on the field - that is a misconception . It is 100 % based on television eyes - neither Waco nor BU alumni have the base needed.

Unless we can somehow get Google , WalMart , or perhaps HP to move Corporate headquarters to Waco , it won't change in our lifetime

[NOVA Bear]

What I remember reading was that the forgotten 5 had offered their share of the CU and NU departure dough to UT, OU, and A&M and that would amount to a minimum of $20M until the new TV contracts were negotiated. If the CU and NU departure money don't equal enough to get A&M to $20M I wonder where that leaves us. If you read the CU and NU message boards, they all seem to think they won't be paying the full departure fees which means less money to pay off A&M's debts.

[GreatWhiteHuntr]

A&M needs the money--they have a bill for toilet paper for the dorms that comes due next week.

Have heard many times that Aggies' athletic side owes their academic side an 8-figure sum. That could be at play here, and could be a significant reason why they didn't bolt for the SEC after the 20 mil was on table and it was clear they might've been stuck with big exit fees if they left.

[zebbie]

It is NOT how good BU does on the field - that is a misconception . It is 100 % based on television eyes - neither Waco nor BU alumni have the base needed.

Unless we can somehow get Google , WalMart , or perhaps HP to move Corporate headquarters to Waco , it won't change in our lifetime

What if another team does well, gets on TV a lot and garners good ratings? the other problem that I have is will all Big12 games now be televised? Most, if not all the SEC & Big10 games are. Obviously this year we will have to wait & see if certain games get picked, but what about when there's only 10 teams?

[twk]

Others have outlined the scenario fairly accurately. Between the monies forfeited by Nebraska and Colorado, and the anticipated increase in TV monies, the conference figured that A&M, Texas, and OU ought to be able to pull in a minimum of $20 million per year, starting in 2012-13, and the five schools who were in danger of being left behind indicated to Beebe that they were willing to guarantee that result, if the TV numbers somehow came up short. A&M made its decision to stay based upon these representations.

We won't know for some time whether or not the guarantee will actually come into play, because the TVdeal extension hasn't been negotiated yet. Frankly, I would take Texas and OU's position on the deal as an indication that they think the money will be there--they are simply trying to posture themselves favorably from a PR standpoint by saying they won't call upon the guarantee, because they don't think they will have to. A&M has made it clear that they aren't worried about the PR game.

So long as Baylor, KU, KSU, ISU, and Missouri stand behind the deal, everything will be fine (OSU and Tech didn't agree to participate). As long as those five schools and A&M are on the same page, it really doesn't matter what the folks in Austin or Norman have to say on the subject. I wouldn't get too worked up about the deal, at this point. Let's see what happens with the TV negotiations first.

[BUBobinHtown]

It was my understanding that it was a one time payment that essentially amounted to other schools passing on the disbursment of the NU CU exit penalties. Is there some other 20 mil that has been discussed?

As much as I despise everything Aggie, its not that they want to try and initiate some sort of financial dominance over the league as much as it is that they are in possibly the worst financial predicament of all Big 12 schools except perhaps CU. Back a blind homosexual one legged drunken mule into a corner and it will come out swinging. Respect the predicament.

[twk]

One other thing I wanted to point out--the $20 million guarantee was as to conference distributions from all sources, not just TV. A&M's conference distribution figured to go up, anyway, for a number of reasons, such as, fewer teams will result in a higher bowl figure, and A&M's string of NCAA basketball appearances will increase their NCAA payout (which comes through the conference distribution) since payout points are based upon a five year window. If A&M doesn't get up to the $20 million figure, it likely will not fall very short, and the guarantee probably won't be that much of a burden on the five schools in question.

[Mr Tulip]

The A&M Athletics Department currently owes the Texas A&M University $16million.

Remember, the Big 12 was formed as the first real test of conference realignment and the idea that a bunch of good teams from one conference could graft into another traditional conference and end up as a mega conference that played a championship game. It was experimental at the time.

The TV deals more or less reflected that. That's ancient history in TV world. Since then, we've had proliferation of DVRs, satellite, premium TV, and other things that have killed advertising. Right now, live sports is the last great bastion of "yes, you'll watch the commercials as we air them" TV. ABC doesn't care if you watch their shows, so long as you watch the commercials and the advertisers keep paying them. That's their perspective.

I'm pretty sure that Beebe and his team went to Fox and ABC and said, "Hey guys, the Big 12 is gonna die unless I can get them more cash. When the contracts are up, I'm gonna need at least $x-million per year, otherwise you're not gonna have a product."

Fox and ABC didn't have to think long about that. The minimum term is commensurate with what the other conferences are getting. Fox in particular could quickly be left showing "Bedknob and Broomstick" reruns on Saturdays in the fall. Fox knows this, and Beebe knows this. Heck, Fox knows Beebe knows this.

I'm pretty sure those numbers aren't just likely, I'm pretty sure they're the minimums. When the Big 12 actually negotiates their deal, the sums will likely be larger. The round robin conference schedule will improve the dynamic. Less NU and CU means more TV time for everyone else. Frankly, I'm not sure NU was better than CU was crummy - ratings wise. This may actually be a net gain for the Big 12.

[BUBobinHtown]

What I remember reading was that the forgotten 5 had offered their share of the CU and NU departure dough to UT, OU, and A&M and that would amount to a minimum of $20M until the new TV contracts were negotiated. If the CU and NU departure money don't equal enough to get A&M to $20M I wonder where that leaves us. If you read the CU and NU message boards, they all seem to think they won't be paying the full departure fees which means less money to pay off A&M's debts.

NU and CU don't really need to worry about it. Conference money comes into the Big 12 first and is then disbursed to the schools. It's NU and CU that will have the legal fight to get those funds. Could make for an interesting football year. I suppose conceivably they could go on strike and refuse to play but then they would lose their own ticket sales as well.

[utswaco]

It doesn't matter what aggy does, the Little 8 Plus 2 is not sustainable without major expansion and/or realignment.

Beebe is grasping at straws trying to get Texas/OU to move to December to be up against the conference title games. Without a marquee game on that weekend, the Little 8 Plus 2 gets lost in the shuffle in the TV ratings wars (money). Where else are they going to find a marquee game in this dog ass conference?

Let my aggy go! Nobody cares, and we're ready for realignment anyway. Oh, and Bear fans, enjoy CUSA.