TCU TO JOIN THE BIG-12 ACCORDING TO SEVERAL SOURCES & WHAT ABOUT BOISE?
Several sources have reported the Big-12 will extend an invitation to TCU in an effort to return the league to 10-teams for the 2012 season. In other conference news, interim commissioner Chuck Neinas has persuaded Texas to drop all high school content from their Longhorn Network. It was generally believed the LHN gave Texas an unfair recruiting advantage. Not only will they drop their plans of televising high schools games, they have given in to Neinas' request to also exclude any high school highlights. This would basically limit the network from televising any live football. They could show all the highlights they want, but no live games. This means the network would be able to televise any other sport the university competes in, from basketball to golf.
The Big-12 is also on the verge of going back to a 12-team league if they can pick two schools of a list of BYU, SMU, West Virginia & Louisville. This could happen quickly, within 10-days.
As far as Mizzou's chances of moving to the SEC, it's important to know a couple of things.
The American Association of Universities, an "excellence in academics" group, has only two members in the SEC, Florida & Vanderbilt. Mizzou is a member as are most BIG TEN schools & more than half of the Big-12.
The SEC needs 9 votes to pass anything, right now, the move to invite Mizzou is only getting 7 verbal votes. Commissioner Mike Slive could press a couple of dissenters for their vote, but it could be the reason the conference has refused to speak about Mizzou or any other team being added to balance out the current 13-team league.
For the two people who keep sending me emails about the possibility of adding Boise State to the Big-12, let me give you my reasons I believe will preclude them from moving into this conference. There are several criteria used for making decisions regarding new conference members.
1. Academics supposedly play a part, but since the SEC has but 2 schools in the prestigious AAU, I wonder how important this really is in a decision.
2. What TV markets can the prospective member bring to the table? The Boise/Idaho markets aren't much of a draw with a state population of barely 1.5 million
3. What new recruiting area can the conference draw from? Once again, not much, the current Boise State roster of 103, has but 26 kids from Idaho, 6 of them walk-ons.
4. What can Boise bring to the conference in regards to other sports? Ever hear of anything out of Boise besides football & potatoes? I didn't think so.
5. Travel is also a consideration, how much more will it cost to take teams to Boise? Answer, a helluva lot more. More too for students, parents & fans which is also a consideration.
For all of the reasons above, Boise State will never become a member of the Big-12, SEC, PAC-12 or any other major conference. For those who constantly rundown the Bronco program by saying "let 'em join a real conference & see how they do." I've listed the reasons that will never happen, so give it a rest. Their hands are basically tied. The Mountain West will probably be their best spot. They just aren't able to bring enough to the table. Listen, no one has been a bigger supporter of Boise State than me, but I understand how things work. I just like to bitch when I feel they aren't getting any credit for the program they field year after year. But please don't confuse the lack of a conference invitation with scheduling Boise State. Schools don't schedule Boise State because they fear getting whipped by a program that has a budget that's 5-times smaller, a team that has never recruited a 4 or 5-star prospect, there's simply too much risk for a bigtime BCS program scheduling Boise State as an out-of-conference opponent. The Broncos play on Friday night at Fresno State, this time slot has brought the Broncos a decent national following, they're fun to watch. Well fun if you can get past the blue field, some can't. This will probably be their best niche on the national scene, not as a member of a major conference.
The Big-12 is also on the verge of going back to a 12-team league if they can pick two schools of a list of BYU, SMU, West Virginia & Louisville. This could happen quickly, within 10-days.
As far as Mizzou's chances of moving to the SEC, it's important to know a couple of things.
The American Association of Universities, an "excellence in academics" group, has only two members in the SEC, Florida & Vanderbilt. Mizzou is a member as are most BIG TEN schools & more than half of the Big-12.
The SEC needs 9 votes to pass anything, right now, the move to invite Mizzou is only getting 7 verbal votes. Commissioner Mike Slive could press a couple of dissenters for their vote, but it could be the reason the conference has refused to speak about Mizzou or any other team being added to balance out the current 13-team league.
For the two people who keep sending me emails about the possibility of adding Boise State to the Big-12, let me give you my reasons I believe will preclude them from moving into this conference. There are several criteria used for making decisions regarding new conference members.
1. Academics supposedly play a part, but since the SEC has but 2 schools in the prestigious AAU, I wonder how important this really is in a decision.
2. What TV markets can the prospective member bring to the table? The Boise/Idaho markets aren't much of a draw with a state population of barely 1.5 million
3. What new recruiting area can the conference draw from? Once again, not much, the current Boise State roster of 103, has but 26 kids from Idaho, 6 of them walk-ons.
4. What can Boise bring to the conference in regards to other sports? Ever hear of anything out of Boise besides football & potatoes? I didn't think so.
5. Travel is also a consideration, how much more will it cost to take teams to Boise? Answer, a helluva lot more. More too for students, parents & fans which is also a consideration.
For all of the reasons above, Boise State will never become a member of the Big-12, SEC, PAC-12 or any other major conference. For those who constantly rundown the Bronco program by saying "let 'em join a real conference & see how they do." I've listed the reasons that will never happen, so give it a rest. Their hands are basically tied. The Mountain West will probably be their best spot. They just aren't able to bring enough to the table. Listen, no one has been a bigger supporter of Boise State than me, but I understand how things work. I just like to bitch when I feel they aren't getting any credit for the program they field year after year. But please don't confuse the lack of a conference invitation with scheduling Boise State. Schools don't schedule Boise State because they fear getting whipped by a program that has a budget that's 5-times smaller, a team that has never recruited a 4 or 5-star prospect, there's simply too much risk for a bigtime BCS program scheduling Boise State as an out-of-conference opponent. The Broncos play on Friday night at Fresno State, this time slot has brought the Broncos a decent national following, they're fun to watch. Well fun if you can get past the blue field, some can't. This will probably be their best niche on the national scene, not as a member of a major conference.
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