http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/stewart_mandel/07/13/russell-wilson-wisconsin-mailbag/1.html

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It tells you something about just how much ESPN is investing in this thing that it not only gave up a network window, but, according to reports, basically made a trade with the conference's cable partner, Fox, that will allow Fox to move a 2012 Big 12 game to its mother channel.

And that's the part that should really be troubling not just to Big 12 fans, but to college football fans everywhere. From the moment this 20-year, $300 million deal was announced, it's been astounding just how deeply the company is getting into bed with one of the schools it covers journalistically. Granted, conflicts of interest are unavoidable in sports media these days. This website is owned by a company (Time Warner) that holds the rights to NBA, PGA and NASCAR programming. But ESPN isn't just testing the separation between church and state with Texas; there isn't one. Case in point: The ever-popular GameDay crew (Chris Fowler and Co.) will be appearing live from Austin for the channel's Aug. 26 debut. ESPN and Texas are now one and the same, and you can't tell me it won't affect the way GameDay, SportsCenter, Outside the Lines, et. al., cover Mack Brown's program. In a sport where many fans already live in a constant state of paranoia that the media is propping up someone else at their expense ... well, ESPN is flat-out doing it. It should make for some interesting signs the first time GameDay goes to Norman.

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But of course, it's only we Aggies who have a problem with the LHN...

Start your own.

Why we are leaving, the LHN will fail miserably and our skid marks on them while living well elsewhere will be amusing at all kinds of new levels.

Absolutely disgusting to think about.

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Start your own.

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I don't think an individual network is bad for college football, but I believe the way this one is being orchestrated definitely is. So I think A&M starting its own in the same manner would be just as detrimental to the sport, as do many non-affiliated commentators.

[This message has been edited by ChiAggie (edited 7/13/2011 12:54p).]

Randall,

We don't want to start our own because in order to sustain it you would have to televise high school games and doing so is simply not fair and is not ethical.

I know that ethics and fairness doesn't compute when winning means everything. But winning isn't everything to Aggies.

Honor is everything. And there is no honor in winning when you compete unfairly.

So win all the shinny brass trophies you want. We will keep our self respect.

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Start your own.

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the arrangement that ESPN and tu have is not fair for all of collegiate sports programs not just Texas A&M ...

[This message has been edited by czar_iv (edited 7/13/2011 12:57p).]

are you related to Emma Watson? if so, can i please have her number?

It will force the NCAA to kill the NBC relationship with Norte Dame....so NBC will have to give up Norte Dame if ESPN gives up Texas.

I don't think the NCAA will do anything because of this which will mean teams will just not want to be in a conference with Texas in football.

And A&M will leave as soon as possible.

Texas is the evil empire, **** them.

Its important for people like Mandel to talk about this issue, because we all know for damn sure that NO ONE in the ESPN network, wether its announcers, or reporters, are going to bad mouth Texas or its network. It really is a monopoly.

What I see ending up happening is that the SEC will climb into bed with CBS/CBSSports, the Big 10 with NBC, the PAC-howevermany may form their on complete network, and Fox aligning with the leftovers. Any sports reporting intergrity will go out the window and you will end up with the CNN/Fox News type arrangement in politics.

Software;
Sadly, Randall didn't comprehend a word you wrote. All tu fans are incapable of comprehension, much less reason and morality as it applies to the realm of ethics. As for self awareness, they barely even acknowledge last year's 5 & 7 season and their incomprehensible loses to ou, osu, iowa state, ucla and us. Leave him alone and let him wander about aimlessly. He's harmless.

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It will force the NCAA to kill the NBC relationship with Norte Dame....so NBC will have to give up Norte Dame if ESPN gives up Texas

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NBC only has a relationship with Notre Dame during football season, and only about 6 games/year. Everything else dealing with Notre Dame is Big East and hyped by ESPN.

When are the lawsuits going to get filed? The first one I'd throw out there would be against the NCAA for allowing this network to get started (competitive advantage over everyone else), then I'd sue the UIL to make sure they don't air any high school events. Next, I'd lob one at Nike and whoever else puts on the 7-on-7 events and any other camps, same reason, competitive advantage 'sips. Finally, I'd go after ESiPN, but they would be the last resort. After all, if the NCAA gives this thing their blessing, ESPN is just taking advantage of the opportunity. I don't blame tu in this(even though I loathe the f#@kers, if A&M had the opportunity, I'd say take it), they are just out to serve their own interests, which is how they have operated for years, so anyone suprised by this is just ignorant. But make no mistake, $15 million a year for 20 years is a HUGE advantage to the whorns.

I'm not sure what you could possible sue over. What cause of action would you possibly pursue?

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But make no mistake, $15 million a year for 20 years is a HUGE advantage to the whorns.

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That money is nothing ... the multi-billion dollar marketing machine called ESPN is the advantage.

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That money is nothing ... the multi-billion dollar marketing machine called ESPN is the advantage.

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This. tu for all intents and purposes isn't a state university anymore. It is basically a brand managed by ESPN with a university attached to it.

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But make no mistake, $15 million a year for 20 years is a HUGE advantage to the whorns.

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IMG gets a cut of it and then half of the rest must go to the university - in the end, we're talking about $5 million a year. That's what we make off of our summer camps. It's not pocket change, but that, and given the time-value of money, it's not like it's a game changer. As posted above, it's the other stuff.

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Randall,

We don't want to start our own because in order to sustain it you would have to televise high school games and doing so is simply not fair and is not ethical.

I know that ethics and fairness doesn't compute when winning means everything. But winning isn't everything to Aggies.

Honor is everything. And there is no honor in winning when you compete unfairly.

So win all the shinny brass trophies you want. We will keep our self respect.

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Yet we want to go to the SEC, the dirtiest conference in America.

Reality is, A&M would change places with Texas in a second.

Our admins dropped the ball, no one to blame but ourselves.

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I'm not sure what you could possible sue over. What cause of action would you possibly pursue?
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Competitive advantage granted by NCAA to tu in the form of their own network aired by ESPN. Make no mistake, college sports is a huge business and the competitive advantage this arrangement grants tu will adversely affect many schools' athletic departments. Like I said, I'm not an attorney but if I were, I'd be looking at case law dealing with that line of pleadings.

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Our admins dropped the ball, no one to blame but ourselves.

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This.

I think what EsipN now has to look out for is whether any other big schools and conferences in college football start complaining about this deal. I think EsipN may starting trying to buy off of other powers with similar type deals in order to keep them happy.



[This message has been edited by Bilbo Aggins (edited 7/13/2011 1:29p).]

Yeah, I don't see anything there, sorry bud. Nobody could sue tOSU for the free tats coverup or Oregon for the Will Lyles payments either. The law doesn't solve all disputes.

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A&M would change places with Texas in a second.

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Doesn't make it right. I have no issues with Texas starting its own LHN; I don't like the sneaky way of violating the spirit of NCAA rules on contact with recruits. I think this is ruining college football - no it's not the only thing ruining college football, but it's definitely one of them. That's why non-associated people like Mandel also have a problem with it.

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Our admins dropped the ball, no one to blame but ourselves.

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So you're saying we shouldn't go to the SEC, but our admins dropped the ball? On what? It's not like ESPN was going to get into bed with us. Like it or not our brand has nowhere near the revenue production possibilities that Texas does. If our admin dropped the ball on anything, it was not blowing up the Big 12 when we had the chance.

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Doesn't make it right. I have no issues with Texas starting its own LHN; I don't like the sneaky way of violating the spirit of NCAA rules on contact with recruits. I think this is ruining college football - no it's not the only thing ruining college football, but it's definitely one of them. That's why non-associated people like Mandel also have a problem with it.

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"Right" and winning in major college athletics don't go hand and hand, and its naive to think otherwise (and to think that A&M doesn't wallow in the mud along with the other major powers).

We don't mind playing the AAU coaching game in hoops, but we're going to complain about other schools gaining competitive advantages? We would take those competitive advantages in a second - we're just mad that someone else (especially our rival) got them first.

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So you're saying we shouldn't go to the SEC, but our admins dropped the ball? On what? It's not like ESPN was going to get into bed with us. Like it or not our brand has nowhere near the revenue production possibilities that Texas does. If our admin dropped the ball on anything, it was not blowing up the Big 12 when we had the chance.

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Our admins dropped the ball when they didn't move to the SEC. I think all but a few feel this way. The writing was on the wall - and while few pictures ESPN and UT getting in bed together like this, there was still very VERY little upside for A&M to stay in the Big 12.

I'm not sure of the real reasons or who was pulling the strings, but from strictly an athletic and financial viewpoint, the SEC was the smart move to make.

It's as simple as not playing a game you can't win. You tradition hounds long for the day when the game was much different.

A&M will not be able to compete with Texas over the long term if the LHN goes through without being affiliated with a serious top notch conference or being the top dog in their own conference.

You people just don't understand....the game is different. We are losing recruits from our own backyard.

They are going to telvise the LHN in Brenham for God's sake. You just don't get it.

The game is different. If you love A&M, get over the tradition crap and fight for what is best for the school.

Being affiliated with a team that hurts you is not good for us....

God we are thick headed I think.

SEC time

no one has answered my question damnit. Does anyone have emma watson's number?

Ah, ok mhayden. I was confused by your post. I agree.

We can STILL blow this thing up if the SEC is, indeed, still on the proverbial table. The biggest difference is that NOW none of us Aggies believe that our leadership has the least spine to do so.

They have chosen to keep us subservient to the Sips, and there's no indication that it's going to change. That deflates a fanbase. Winning will be a balm in the short run, but the first sign of trouble in football success will take what wind remains in our sails.

If this is about pressure from invisible powers-that-be, then where is our whistle-blower, the supposed Aggie with the courage of his/her convictions? This stinks of cowardice and Texas is feeding us our own spin in loads. We are in failure - now. The next Aggie hero will be the ONE who has power to do something about it - and does.

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We would take those competitive advantages in a second - we're just mad that someone else (especially our rival) got them first.

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Disagree. Not everyone feels that way. Look at the Big Ten. Mich and tOSU could have run all over the other members if they wanted to - but they have a conference network with equal sharing.

Michigan's AD Dave Brandon had this to say about starting a university network, after stating that Michigan would never start its own network:

[The Big Ten Network] was built on the same basic premise that has afforded the Big Ten Conference to be so successful for so long, and that is one of complete collegiality and teamwork. We all share and share alike in the Big Ten, we always have. We don't create this competitive world where everybody's trying to grab what they think they're entitled to. We all work together well for the greater purpose, and we all share in the benefits that are created. That model, to me, makes a world of sense.


[This message has been edited by ChiAggie (edited 7/13/2011 2:39p).]

Am I the only one that has noticed that TA is an ESPN affiliate? I usually don't go on the front page but I noticed this the other day.

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They are going to telvise the LHN in Brenham for God's sake.

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I assume this implies that Blinn is complicit as well.

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We all share and share alike in the Big Ten, we always have. We don't create this competitive world where everybody's trying to grab what they think they're entitled to. We all work together well for the greater purpose, and we all share in the benefits that are created. That model, to me, makes a world of sense.

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i think i've heard this before.



[This message has been edited by busterks (edited 7/13/2011 2:39p).]