What a Tangled Web We Weave!

It starts with a single drop of a pebble into the water and we watch the ripple affect.

That’s what is happening with the Big XII… or TEN or whatever you wish to call the conference these days.

The Texas A&M Aggies have informed the conference of its intentions of leaving the conference in June of 2012, and in doing so, possibly going to the Southeast Conference (SEC), and no sooner is that announced, the Pac 12 has said, they are entertaining the offer of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas and Texas Tech to join their conference to make it the Pac 16.

NOW, that leaves teams such as Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State, Missouri, and Baylor to fend for themselves.

Speculation is that the Iowa State, Kansas and Kansas State might go Big East or ACC. Missouri to the Big 10/12 (whatever) and that leaves Baylor- dog paddling to find a home.

This also leaves SMU, and Houston, that thought about joining the Big XII remaining in Conference USA, or maybe another conference. So what would happen if—the Big XII were to maintain Baylor as the corner stone, and bring (now hold your breath) SMU, Houston, Rice, UTEP, maybe Tulsa, Tulane, and Arkansas State into a conference of 8 teams, and call it (wait for it) The Big 8 or Southwest Conference—OH perish the thought!!

REALLY! Those who are much brighter than me, have stated that would give those schools a fighting chance to have some sort of opportunity for recruiting, and keep those schools in major markets (i.e. Dallas/Ft. Worth being the biggest, followed by Houston) How much would that help? I have no idea, other than I can’t see this working, but Bob Stoops and Mac Brown have both stated that this is about money, and making Super Conferences, and when you consider that if that happens, College Football will have to truly consider the possibility of a playoff system to crown a National Championship.

In my own opinion, I think that the temptation that the Pac 12 is offering needs to be held off, that the 10 year plan that the Big XII had put in place needs to be maintained, and bring in two more teams (and make your choices as they are), but in the end, the SUPER CONFERENCES will make the sport more convoluted, and watered down. I think that the power house teams will find out that they are going to be the top schools year in and year out, and that the also ran in the conferences will be left out in the cold.

Schools such as Vanderbilt, or Cal, that haven’t sniffed a National Championship will never make it to that tier. That they will always be looking up, and what does that get you in your conference, other than when you find them on your schedule, you mark it as a WIN. It happens year in and year out!

Look at schools such as Northwestern in the Big 10, they have gone to the Rose Bowl once in the last dozen years, or Indiana, when was the last time they played in a major bowl, what about Arkansas—how’s that really working out for you Razorbacks, when was the last time they were close to the National Championship—1969? Really? Baylor? The same—Texas A&M 1930 something? And you have a better opportunity to run the table and be in a major BCS Bowl this year than any other year—Texas is not the same team as they were two years ago, Texas Tech is getting there—Oklahoma will most likely be playing for the a Championship, maybe LSU out of SEC, and who in the Pac 12 will lead them to the promise land—USC is on probation, and in the Big 10? Take your pick…

Super Conferences might be the way of the future according to Stoops and Brown, but the facts are, it will be the same schools just different conferences, and the lesser schools will still be fighting for their lives.

The ripple affect is spreading and, it doesn’t have a ending, or if it does, it might not be a good one.

“Oh what tangled web we weave when we first practice to deceive”—Walter Scott

Just a thought….