So it’s been about a month since the college football world experienced its biggest crisis since the death of the Southwest Conference, and the Big 12 nearly followed in its footsteps.
For the casual football fan, the month-long game of cat and mouse between the Pac-10, Big Ten and Big 12 probably seemed superbly unnecessary and confusing as reports surfacing of which schools were going where seemed to change daily.
But when you begin to dig a little deeper, one finds the real motivation.
Money, moolah, cold hard cash.
Following in a not-so-close second was success for the respective school’s football programs and in a very distant third, thoughts of academics.
If you think all the other sports were anything more than an afterthought, you’re fooling yourself. I don’t think anybody stood up in the Big 12 meetings and said, “Well wait, what will happen to the Kansas basketball program if our conference falls apart?” unless that person was a Jayhawk himself. Don’t get me wrong, Kansas is my favorite team in college basketball … aside from our fine team of course … and one of its premiere programs, but it’s not nearly the cash cow that the Texas, Oklahoma and Nebraska football programs are for the Big 12.
These moves were about money and football, not academic progress or geographical convenience.
The first school to bolt from the Big 12 was Nebraska, who announced it would be joining the Big Ten for the 2011 season. While the Big Ten certainly seems to be more of a geographical fit for the Huskers, the allure of the Big Ten Network money and the bump in millions of dollars per year for Nebraska played a huge role in sealing the deal, not to mention Nebraska being considerably better than most current Big Ten teams.
Sensing a sinking ship, Colorado found a home in the Pac-10, solidifying the 2010 season as its last in the Big 12. Again, a geographical fit, but broadcast revenues in the Pac-10 would be significantly more than what the Big 12 could offer.
After securing Colorado, the Pac-10 went for the jugular. Courting Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M and Texas Tech, the Pac-10 attempted to become the Pac-16 … although I would have preferred the 16-Pac … and essentially kill the Big 12.
Argue all you want, but the deciding factor was Texas, whether for its football prowess or economic potential.
The biggest earner for the Big 12, the Horns were the lynchpin for the survival of the conference. When they did decide to stay after getting authorization to launch their own network, they essentially saved the BCS Championship from being decided between the Pac-16 and SEC every year. If you think the BCS is jacked up now, the emergence of two super conferences would have killed what little parity is left in college football today. The good (Texas, Oklahoma) would get better and the bad (Iowa State, Kansas State, Baylor) would get worse.
How does our little Division II school fit into all this you ask?
At first glance, Ouachita and other former Gulf South schools recently forming their own conference seems far removed from the big money deals that went on in Division I. Instead of making blockbuster network deals, Ouachita and the five other Arkansas schools (Henderson State, Harding, Southern Arkansas, Arkansas-Monticello and Arkansas Tech) are concerned about much different issues.
Along with the three Oklahoma schools (East Central, Southwest Oklahoma State and Southeast Oklahoma State) to join the conference, the six Arkansas schools released a joint statement explaining why a new conference is necessary.
“Our most important goals in this new endeavor,” the statement read, “are to limit time away from class and limit our travel costs.”
Wow.
Two issues that are arguably complete non-factors in the Division I deals were the driving forces in the formation of the Arklahoma Conference. A contrast that, in this writer’s humble opinion, shows that big-time college football has fully completed its metamorphosis into business first, students second endeavor.
And Dr. Horne, feel free to propose that name to the other schools … just saying.
Will the money benefit the academics of Texas, Nebraska and Colorado? Absolutely.
Were they concerned about athletes missing class or looking under the couch cushions for change to cover gas? Not likely.
We may not have the best facilities at Ouachita, and we appear on ESPN about as often as they clean the bathrooms at Waffle House, but we can rest assured that the decision-makers at our school are looking out for our athletes’ best interests and are changing conferences for the right reasons.
