Quote:
Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy
Sorry, but every column I've read indicated that Big 12 survival hinged on NU. Texas is the other powerhouse, they publicly stated that their preference was to remain in the Big 12 but that NU leaving would spell the end of the conference.
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The Big XII has already voted 11-1 to keep the game in the Arlington Death Star with Nebraska being the only dissenting voice (of reason), and Texas has already picked up their ball and went home with it re: television, having started investment in their own TV studio for a Longwhorn network. When you take one of the three big programs (UT, NU, OU) off the table re: TV channel negotiations, how do you expect to obtain a deal better than what currently exists?
This goes back to the very beginning, to how the Big 12 was formed. After all folks, how you end up very often depends on how you start. Consider that the Big 8 invited four schools from the defunct Southwest Conference to form the Big 12. But it was as if the group of four swallowed the eight.
Imagine what the following must have been like for Osborne - then the NU head coach - to stomach. The Big 8 records did not continue. Everything started from zero. This came at a time when the Nebraska was in the midst of an historically great run.
Also, the Big 8 tradition meant nothing. Oklahoma and Nebraska would not play each other every year. That rivalry, it seemed, was deemed only suitable for Texas to have. Never mind that NU-OU games defined an entire generation of the conference's fan base, or that Texas was more historically suited to play Arkansas (now an SEC member).
It certainly had to feel sickening to Osborne, a man who's career was defined by both his failure and success when it came to the Sooners. No doubt, the Big 12 had to feel like a rotten deal from the beginning. Now, Osborne is in position to do something about it.