Tom Keegan of the Lawrence Journal-World & News reports that the Big Ten and University of Texas Longhorns have had “preliminary exchanges” regarding the Longhorns joining the conference, as the Big Ten looks to expand.
As Keegan notes, “Getting TV sets in the massive state of Texas tuned to the Big Ten Network would qualify as a home run for the Big Ten.”
Being a Buckeye – I don’t mind this happening, but here are the pros and cons for Texas & Big Ten- it would be all pros for the Big Ten in the end.
Pros for Texas:
1. Revenue. If Texas joins, they make ALOT of money than they are now with the Big 12. Texas would get to split the money from the TV contracts that the Big 10 gets, which they currently are not getting with the Big 12. Texas gets $10 million/year from the Big 12, the worst Big 10 team gets $16 million – and that number only goes up if Texas joins because they would increase the network of viewers ALOT. They have a great monetary incentive to join. Right now, Texas is carrying the Big 12 – they don’t need to be there.
2. Academics & Prestige. Athletics is only about 5% of the University’s budget. Big 10 is far better in academics than the Big 12. They would receive more funding through the Big 10, which would increase their research sources and would force them to compete academically. Also, they would become part of the Big 10 Academic Research Program which includes University of Chicago. This would be a big deal for Texas academically.
3. More funding for the other sports programs in Texas. Texas would be joining a Big 10 program that is extremely competitive in other sports as well.
Pros for Big Ten:
1. Revenue. Texas would just bring in a lot of money, viewers and network contracts.
2. We can finally divide the conference to West and East, and have a conference championship game. West would include Texas, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, and Northwestern. East would include Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue, Indiana, Ohio State, and Penn State.
3. Recruiting. Big Ten would get more access to recruit in the state of Texas, which produces ALOT of football stars.
4. Big Ten would officially become a powerhouse and finally obtain the respect it currently deserves even though Big 10 did well in the bowl games this past season.
Cons for Texas:
1. Rivalries. They would lose their rivalry with Oklahoma, that they have had for many, many years. Fans and the state of Texas would be extremely upset with this.
2. They’re at the top of the Big 12. The Big 12 would fall apart if Texas leaves.
3. Proximity and Logistics? Some people would say that it wouldn’t make sense logistically. I disagree. Proximity means nothing anymore. The ACC goes from Florida to Massachusetts. The Big East extends from Milwaukee to South Florida. Even smaller conferences don’t care. The Sun Belt extends all across the country, from Denver to Florida. There’s also the Summit, which has members in Utah, North & South Dakota, Indiana, Illinois, Louisiana, Missouri and Oklahoma.
My opinion, besides fans and the people of Texas being upset – I believe the Pros extremely outweigh the Cons if Texas goes to the Big 10. Most importantly, Texas would really BENEFIT academically if they join the Big 10. This would benefit all their programs regardless of the athletics, and this would be a wise decision for the University not considering sports. For the university, academics will be more important than the athletics program. Regardless, the athletic program would also benefit as well monetary wise, and I don’t see them losing fans.
The only thing that would worry me is that The Ohio State won’t easily be on top of the Big 10, but I do love some competition.
What do you guys think?
