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I've posted bits and pieces of this in different threads over the last week, but it seems it'd be better served if I put it all out there for mass consumption. I've had the opportunity to gain insight into the going-ons of conference expansion over the past month or so. No, I myself am not an insider, nor do I know all of the nitty gritty. But, I know someone who is, and what I do know is hopefully enough to be able to paint a picture of where Texas and the Big XII are in relation to all of this expansion talk. Hopefully y'all find this helpful.

As to the topic at hand.....

Despite reports to the contrary, Texas will absolutely listen to any offer that comes their way. But, if there's an opportunity to craft something that's better suited for them, they won't hesitate to do so. As it stands, there is a real fear that Nebraska & Missouri could get plucked by the Big Ten. If they do, it will certainly break the conference. Nebraska & Missouri rank #3 and #4 respectively in terms of conference revenue generation. There is no replacing them.

Contrary to speculation based on pure fantasy, the Big XII will not add any Texas teams to the mix if/when there are defections. There is absolutely nothing gained by adding TCU, SMU, Houston or any other Texas team. And, though some seem to have a hard time grasping this concept, the Big XII will not be adding LSU, Arkansas, Notre Dame or any other program from the SEC, Big Ten or any other conference (or independent) that takes in $10M more per team in revenue than the Big XII. Those teams would have to take a massive revenue pay cut to join the Big XII. It's totally illogical. It'd be cool if it happened, but there's a 0% chance it does.

If Nebraska & Missouri bolt, the conference will look to start a NEW CONFERENCE with members of the Pac-10 (hence the term "Western Alliance". As it stands, there will be no "joining the Pac-10" b/c the Pac-10 is in a worse financial position than the current Big XII. The word is, an effort would be made to take the cream from the Pac-10, Big XII and Mountain West, and form an Alliance of teams that span the Pacific, Mountain and Central timezones. I've said it previously, but if Nebraska & Missouri bolt and Texas isn't on the train, you'll probably see this conference emerge.

West:
* USC
* UCLA
* Stanford
* Cal
* Oregon
* Oregon State
* Washington
* Utah

East:
* Texas
* Texas A&M
* Oklahoma
* Kansas
* Colorado
* Arizona
* Arizona State
* BYU, Texas Tech or Iowa State

That right there would bring in Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and probably Nevada & possibly even New Mexico (and Iowa if they opt for ISU over TT & BYU). That would give the new conference a footprint of 96M (101M w/ New Mexico & Iowa). The new alliance would start their own network, much like the Big Ten. With a geographic footprint of 96M minimum, they'd have that as a foundation to bring in ungodly sums of revenue from TV deals. To put the 96M into perspective, currently the Big Ten has a footprint of 67M and is receiving an average of $112M per year for 25 years (the actual number escalates from year to year, but the average is $112M/yr). A Western Alliance with a 96M strong footprint could conceivably bring in 50% more than the current Big Ten Network.

If the Big Ten adds Nebraska, Missouri, New York & New Jersey (via Rutgers, Pitt, Syracuse, Nebraska & Missouri), they'd be at a footprint of 103M. Due to the overall lack of interest in college football in NYC, I don't think they'd get max dollar in the city. So, it's conceivable a Western Alliance with 96M strong could become the top dog in terms of TV revenue. That alliance would also benefit from strong weekly matchups w/in the conference, which would greatly increase any deals w/ ABC, CBS or NBC. I was told there would also be a concerted effort w/in the alliance to schedule OOC teams from the Eastern & Central time zones, specifically the ACC, SEC & Big Ten, in an effort to gain greater exposure there and mitigate any residual "western/pacific bias".

Now, if Nebraska is spared, you'll more than likely see the Big XII simply try to add one of the Utah teams and move forward. Or, they could make a run at Arizona & Arizona State b/c we actually have more $$$ to offer each team from TV revenue than the Pac-10 does. That could force USC & UCLA into a position where they either stay in a diminished Pac-10 and earn even less $$$ or join the Big XII + UA, ASU & Utah/BYU to form a new 16 team Big XII.

There are a number of options currently being floated around at Belmont. I've long been a big proponent of a Big Ten move, but I'm starting to think a Western Alliance could be a profitable endeavor for Texas. It'd suck for Washington State, K-State, Oklahoma State, Baylor and anyone else left on the sidelines, but they'll end up merging w/ the Mountain West and may even be able to gain BCS status. The fans in the Pac-10 are pretty ho-hum, but it's conceivable an influx of new blood and rivalries could spur greater interest w/in the conference......especially w/ USC no longer being the predetermined king of the conference each season.

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So that you guys better understand the current TV situation.....and to stoke the fires of anger towards Beebe, here's a little background on each conference's current TV deals. Each conference has 2 main contracts. For the Big XII, ours are with ABC/ESPN and Fox Sports Net (FSN). The Big Ten has ABC & the Big Ten Network (BTN). And, the SEC has CBS & ESPN. Here's the payouts for each. These deals include both football & men's basketball, and in the case of the BTN, all conference sports.

Big XII
* ABC/ESPN: $60M/yr, 19 gms/yr, 8 year deal
* FSN: $19.5M/yr, 4 year deal
* Total: $6.625M per team per year

Big Ten
* ABC/ESPN: $100M/yr, 41 gms/yr, 10 year deal
* BTN: $112M/yr, 25 year deal
* Total: $19.272M per team per year

SEC
* CBS: $57M/yr, 15 gms/yr, 15 year deal
* ESPN: $150/yr, 15 year deal
* Total: $17.222M per team per year

The totals above don't include post season revenue for football & basketball, so that's why the payouts aren't as high as you've heard reported. But, as you can see, the Big XII gets royally screwed on their FSN deal. That's why Beebe is hopeful they can dramatically increase revenue through the next contract. Of course, if Nebraska & Missouri bolt, there goes that negotiating power, b/c no one wants to see Kansas State take on Baylor, etc. Plus, ESPN has already let it be known they have no room to pay another max deal for rights to the Big XII or any other conference.

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Dallas sucks.

Interesting perspective.

BYU

You need your head ****ed unicorn style?

who wrote that? That's actually the most informed piece I've seen. I will not believe it if fatass Ketch wrote something that informed.

Especially the part about the Pac-10 being in worse shape about the Big XII...that's absolutely true. It WOULD take a new conference being formed for us to align with the Pac-10. Of course, then we are basically doing what we did to form the Big XII in the first place, throwing together the best teams from a doomed conference with an existing conference that doesn't have much leverage right now...which I'm not sure is the smartest thing in the world.

Washington State gets the shaft in that analysis? They are the only Pac-10 team left out.

The FSN deal is absolutely what has killed this conference in its current format. I haven't understood it from Day 1.

East:
* Texas
* Texas A&M
* Oklahoma
* Kansas
* Colorado
* Arizona
* Arizona State
* BYU, Texas Tech or Iowa State

Why did you put Texas first on your list? You racist t-shirt sip fheggot!!

Trips to Arizona St., I think I can deal with that.

Land mass foot print is not a big a deal as population pick up. What are the population numbers? What would the sec add if it picked up the state of Texas?

Nd is mizzou really 4 in revenue generating? I don't see how......