Big 12 Tensions Enough to Cause a Split?

[star2city]

Denver Post: Divided, Big 12 bound to fall

There's a feud in the Big 12 Conference between the North and South. It's a civil war in which nobody wins and Colorado too often loses.

This league - held together by little except greed and a championship game that's regularly as flat as a too-long-open can of Dr Pepper - is a clash of cultures as different as the Birkenstocks in Boulder and the ten-gallon hats of Texas.

In a conference in which the haves and have-nots are divided by geography, what has gone wrong?

Sporting News Inside Dish: Big 12 power struggle?

Dallas Morning News: Revenue sharing ongoing issue for Big 12

The money at stake is probably way more than the Big 12 North would walk away from, but the concept of a reborn Southwest Conference is theoretically possible. Arkansas has often been rumored to want in a conference with OU and Texas. Although highly unlikely, here's what a new SWC could look like:

Texas

Texas A&M

Texas Tech

Baylor

Oklahoma

Oklahoma St

Arkansas

Memphis

TCU

The Big 12 North could regroup with the following:

Kansas

K State

Missouri

Iowa St

Nebraska

Colorado

Colo St

Utah

BYU

N Mexico

The domino effect of such a split would be massive.

[MplsBison]

I wouldn't count out Colorado going to the Pac10 competely.

I think the Pac 10 looked at adding Colorado and Texas at one time.

Agreed that the Domino would be huge. Larger than the ACC raid of the Big East.

[4siouxnow]

As a long time Big 8 now Big 12 fan, I can see this happening, there has not been alot of happy people since this merger occured many years ago now. There simply are more differences than similarities between the Texas schools and the rest of the North. I do however see CU being interested in the Pac 10 and if that happens I'm not sure Nebraska would be happy with the rest of the North. Money is such a huge factor it is hard to imagine this happening anytime in the near future.

[MplsBison]

Nebraska's football program will never have a problem, regardless if they're in a conference or not. They've sold out a bajillion games in a row.

It'd be interesting to see if the Big 10 would be interested in grabbing Iowa State, Missouri, or Nebraska (and if any of those would want to go).

I could also see something like:

Texas

Texas AM

Texas Tech

Texas CU

Ok

Ok St

Ks

Ks St

Arkansas will never leave the SEC, the money they get is ridicoulous.

[NDSU grad]

I agree with MplsBison on two things: Arkansas will never ever ever ever ever ever leave the SEC, for cultural reasons as much as financial ones. And CU and TU could very well end up in the PAC-10 if the Big 12 ever has any defections.

[Smoggy]

I wouldn't count out Colorado going to the Pac10 competely.

I think the Pac 10 looked at adding Colorado and Texas at one time.

Agreed that the Domino would be huge. Larger than the ACC raid of the Big East.

I don't see it happening. The Pac-10 loves that they play every team to decide football. It's the same for bball. Plus, they have perfect travel pairings when it comes to other sports like bball. Very similar to what the old NCC system was where you play a team one night and then bus to the other game the next night (actually I think they do Thursday/Saturday).

[star2city]

I agree with MplsBison on two things: Arkansas will never ever ever ever ever ever leave the SEC, for cultural reasons as much as financial ones.

Fayetteville (NW Arkansas) is much more culturally attune to Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri than it is to any SEC school, and it has an old rivalry with Texas that beats anything they have in the SEC. Arkansas really doesn't have a rivalry game in the SEC (LSU, Ole Miss, and Miss St at least don't consider them as such.)

And CU and TU could very well end up in the PAC-10 if the Big 12 ever has any defections.

Texas already has attempted to get in the Pac-10 (and Big 10) and were declined, which what prompted the formation of the Big 12.

[aff]

Fayetteville (NW Arkansas) is much more culturally attune to Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri than it is to any SEC school, and it has an old rivalry with Texas that beats anything they have in the SEC. Arkansas really doesn't have a rivalry game in the SEC (LSU, Ole Miss, and Miss St at least don't consider them as such.)

Texas already has attempted to get in the Pac-10 (and Big 10) and were declined, which what prompted the formation of the Big 12.

Things may be different now for Texas in the Big 10, since the addition of Penn State. Notre Dame isn't going to be joining, and the addition of Texas would give the Big 10 its football championship game, as well as another traditional power in football. Add that Texas would likely be in a division opposite OSU and Michigan, not to mention the academic reputation of the school, and it could be possible. Missouri is also a possibility due to its academics and location. I seriously doubt Nebraska would fit the academic mold that the Big 10 schools are looking for, so I see them as unlikely to gain admission.

I've always thought that the Big 10 addition order for a 12th spot would be: 1. Notre Dame 2. Texas 3. Missouri 4. Iowa State 5. Penn 6. Syracuse. I think the most likely scenario though, is nobody is added, and the conference will wait until hell freezes over to get Notre Dame in.

[MplsBison]

I wouldn't count out Rutgers to the Big 10 either.

They have the academics and the NYC media market.

Also, Arkansas has rivalries with LSU (Ark and La are border states) and they had one with Kentucky in bball.