FROM THE REAL ART SPORTS DESK
Big 12 remaining intact with 10 schools

From the Houston Chronicle:

Meanwhile UT officials will take part in a news conference on Tuesday morning to discuss the school’s decision to stick with the Big 12 – now down to 10 after Colorado and Nebraska’s exits for the Pacific-10 and the Big Ten, respectively, last week.

As recently as Sunday night, A&M sources were certain the Aggies were bound for the Southeastern Conference – that they had the votes in place from regents to ensure the shift. UT sources had already said the Longhorns intended to join the Pac-10, along with Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.

But news Monday from Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe that the league could double its payout to member schools thanks to new TV deals piqued UT and A&M’s interest – and the schools agreed it was in their best interests to make the Big 12 work. UT, too, can move forward with developing its own TV network, a big part of the lure for the Longhorns in making the Big 12 work.

More here.

It's been an annoying week.

First I hear that Nebraska was bolting to the Big Ten. Then I hear that Colorado's going to the Pac-10. Okay. That kind of makes sense. The Big Ten is a sort of Midwestern conference that Nebraska would fit well; the Pac-10 has a lot of Western schools, and Colorado is in the West. Cool, fine. But my beloved Longhorns, and the Aggies who I love to hate, playing California schools? No, no, no, no. This is just wrong. I mean, the speculation about Texas and A&M going to the SEC makes more sense, I guess, but then Texas would probably be playing LSU, where I got my master's degree, every fucking season. That's something of a worst case scenario for me. I just can't have my two schools knocking each other out of championship contention year after year.

Fortunately, it's not coming to that. Big sigh of relief.

On the other hand, it looks like the near dissolution of the Big 12 has more to do with conference payout to member schools than anything else. That is, college is getting to be as capitalistically cynical as the pros. Is big sports money going to wipe out the sense of tradition that makes, for me anyway, college ball so much more appealing than pro ball? I want to say no, but big money has an awful tendency to destroy everything of value that you can't stamp a price tag on.

Just don't start paying the players, as many have suggested. I don't think I could stomach that.

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