Another "Insider"

[BearlyHere]

Again, take these with a large modicum of salt-BH





I got an email about conf structure & protected rivals

As I have mentioned before, I have no big time sources but I have a good friend who does know important people inside the Texas athletics department.

He emailed me some info that is encouraging but different from what we are hearing from other folks around here.

First off, Texas & OU REALLY don't want to go beyond 12 teams. He emphasized this is a HUGE deal to both of those schools. I sent him an email asking why (how the revenue is split, perhaps?) but he has yet to reply.

Folks at Texas feel very confident that FSU and Clemson are coming to the Big12. In fact, it is expected to be a fait accompli by the end of June. They will play football in the Big12 in 2013.

How the conference will be structured and having protected rivalry games between divisions is a huge part of all of this. One Division is gong to be Texas, Tech, Baylor, TCU, OU and OSU. The other Will be ISU, KSU, Kansas, WVU, Clemson and FSU. He mentioned 3 protected rivalry games across the divisions: Texas & FSU, Clemson & OU and WVU & TCU. These games will happen every year. I am assuming the other teams will have annual rivalry games across division but they were not mentioned.

http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=159&f=4582&t=8957203

[NewVision]

Damnit, we're going to be stuck with a cross divisional "rival" in Kansas or Iowa...that'll be a barn burner.

Also think it's a short sighted view to only go to 12 teams, though if we take FSU and Clemson all but the SEC will be at 12.

[CSIBear]

He mentioned 3 protected rivalry games across the divisions: Texas & FSU, Clemson & OU and WVU & TCU. These games will happen every year. I am assuming the other teams will have annual rivalry games across division but they were not mentioned.

http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=159&f=4582&t=8957203

If they pair us up with ISU for that rivalry game then their hate for us will finally have some merit.

[BearlyHere]

Cross over with Kansas would be great. A budding BBall rivalry and a yearly win for football.

[VideoBear]

Gotta think OSU would get KSU, leaving KU and ISU for us and Tech. It would give us an easier schedule though, so I am not opposed to that at all.

[baylorBrandon]

I'm guessing WVU is the one that was pressing for tcu so it would help them recruit DFW.

[BearlyHere]

i'm guessing wsu is the one that was pressing for tcu so it would help them recruit dfw.

wsu?

[Chamberman]

Wichita State is re-introducing football and the Missour Valley is planning on a cross conference rivalry with the Big 12.

[PatrickMcHorn]

Man, I don't want no FSU "rivalry" game. That's some bull****. I guess the other 5 would be on some weird rotating basis that doesn't make any sense either.

[SkrnLkerBear]

UT and OU are afraid to have more than just them to worry about. wusses

[S11]

Damnit, we're going to be stuck with a cross divisional "rival" in Kansas or Iowa...that'll be a barn burner.

If by Barn Burner, you mean easier path to bowls and a one game boost in the league standings than UT, OU, or TCU... then yes.

Honestly playing ISU instead of FSU or Clemson is what I prefer. Schedule will be tough enough. Let Froggy, Bevo, and Okie run one more gauntlet per year than we have to. It will work out better for us.

[EZduzit]

FSU gets UT into Florida for recruiting at least every other year. Once again, BU would be in the harder division, but if it secures the future of the Big 12, so be it, and last year proved that we can win it since the only team out of that group that we did not beat was OSU.

[NewVision]

If by Barn Burner, you mean easier path to bowls and a one game boost in the league standings than UT, OU, or TCU... then yes.

Honestly playing ISU instead of FSU or Clemson is what I prefer. Schedule will be tough enough. Let Froggy, Bevo, and Okie run one more gauntlet per year than we have to. It will work out better for us.

By barn burner I mean the type of game that will get us on national television and help turn us into a national brand. ISU won't cut it, nor will it help put butts in the seats.

[S11]

By barn burner I mean the type of game that will get us on national television and help turn us into a national brand. ISU won't cut it, nor will it help put butts in the seats.

Winning turns you into a national brand more than anything else. I'd rather play FSU in the league title game than at Doak Campbell. Frankly there are things you overlook-

1- Much like our games against CU and NU the Clemson or FSU game would likely fall to fox unless it's an elite year for one of us

2- Assured games vs TXOU is probably a stipulation of FSU and Clemson theoretically joining. Best we'd get is WVU in a 12 team setup. Maybe more expansion teams if we go bigger.

3- We'd play one of WVU, Clemson, or FSU every year anyway and sometimes two in a 12 team setup. If we went to 14 we'd get one of fsu, Clemson, Miami, or wvu.

4- I'd rather see us in more bowls as winning those will build more of a brand than a couple extra matchups vs a power. What helps more - our games vs NU or our Alamo bowl win? Alamo by a mile.

Tech beat NU more often than not but still benefitted more from bowl wins. The holiday win vs cal was very big for the program. Much bigger than the 70 point beating of NU that year.

Look at Snyders scheduling at KSU- long made fun of for easy foes he turned them from crap in 88 to a national brand by 2000.

Winning is what builds a brand.

[Bear15]

Does anyone else find it a little crazy being that all of these "inside sources" come off of a WVU board? You can spare me the "It's being talked about everywhere else" because all of those places have direct links to this as well.

You can put me in the camp of nothing will be talked about until we get a new commissioner. Unless that comish is Oliver Luck and he is "The Dude" on those sites, then all of this is hearsay and wishful thinking right now. I do believe that there is smoke because I know that the football powers in the ACC hate the Carolina mafia because they do not want to be in a basketball conference. I just do not think it is going to be as easy as some have made it seem.

[bugramps]

Does anyone else find it a little crazy being that all of these "inside sources" come off of a WVU board? You can spare me the "It's being talked about everywhere else" because all of those places have direct links to this as well.

You can put me in the camp of nothing will be talked about until we get a new commissioner. Unless that comish is Oliver Luck and he is "The Dude" on those sites, then all of this is hearsay and wishful thinking right now. I do believe that there is smoke because I know that the football powers in the ACC hate the Carolina mafia because they do not want to be in a basketball conference. I just do not think it is going to be as easy as some have made it seem.

I completely disagree. The presidents and ADs are going to be talking now if they're wise. You don't sit on the sidelines waiting to hire a commissioner while other conferences start looking over the carcass your licking your chops over. They're going to have discussions and communications with Clemson and FSU. They'd be pulling a Beebe if they weren't already. These kinds of things don't just come together in a month. These discussions take place over several months with groundwork already laid at this point.

WVU "insiders" are going to be given a good deal of grace right now due Luck's involvement. If their "insiders" are around Luck, then they have some weight. Further, with the practical nature of what is being "leaked," it leads you to take it more seriously than not.

By the time we hear anything official, it will be well after conversations have been had and details hammered out. The official statement is always just a dog and pony show. The real work was already done. Just like the stadium. The regents and McLane knew what they were going to do before sending out the survey and gauging "interest." By the time anything official was said, the train had long left the station and had too much momentum to be stopped or redirected.

[bigdmtneer]

Luck has said he's not interested in the B12 commish job.He and his wife like Morgantown and he has a son who just started high school in Morgantown.

I find it hard to believe some of Luck's close associates are leaking info...after what happened with Bill Stewart last year he has had the entire athletic dept. on old school mafia style lockdown.With that said, there are probably some insiders who slip up and mention some info (wink wink).I have been saying that I thought the B12 was going to add some teams this summer...the devil is in the details and I would say a lot of details are being ironed out right now.When the new commisioner takes over the deals will already have been made.As bugramps said the train will have already left the station!

[quidam65]

In 24 hours the link has 11 pages. It seems like West Virginians don't do anything but start Internet rumors and burn couches.

[57Bear]

In 24 hours the link has 11 pages. It seems like West Virginians don't do anything but start Internet rumors and burn couches.

And what do UT-Arlingtonians do?

[bugramps]

Luck has said he's not interested in the B12 commish job.He and his wife like Morgantown and he has a son who just started high school in Morgantown.

I find it hard to believe some of Luck's close associates are leaking info...after what happened with Bill Stewart last year he has had the entire athletic dept. on old school mafia style lockdown.With that said, there are probably some insiders who slip up and mention some info (wink wink).I have been saying that I thought the B12 was going to add some teams this summer...the devil is in the details and I would say a lot of details are being ironed out right now.When the new commisioner takes over the deals will already have been made.As bugramps said the train will have already left the station!

Luck doesn't have to be a commissioner candidate to have info. He's been an advocate for expansion, and even before entering the league he's one of the most respected ADs in the country. He's not going to be out of the loop, and it's not far outside the realm of possibility he has helped orchestrate some if not a lot of this.