If you take a step back, the impending NCAA conference realignment makes sense. Texas and Oklahoma are tired of hearing about the Southeastern Conference being the best in the nation. Enough time has passed that people have forgotten how Texas reacted when Texas A&M left the Big 12 conference for the SEC. The SEC is more than happy to welcome a couple of cash cows into the herd (no offense, Bevo). And neither the NCAA nor the other Big 12 schools have the power to stop the move.
We get it. A team’s going to do what’s best for it, even if it means decommitting, a word coaches hate. We also realize there are a lot of forces at play here, including a whole heap of money. (It didn’t escape our notice that the fine these two schools could face for breaking their Big 12 commitment is equal to the contract the Aggies signed to hire Jimbo Fisher.) And we realize more changes are likely imminent.
Rather than sorting through the broadcast rights and conference contracts, we’d like to offer a few suggestions on what the goals should be. We hold out hope for an outcome that is good for the state of Texas, for North Texas and for fans. When all this shakes out, we’d like to see a solution that preserves (or restores) historic rivalries, and doesn’t leave significant Texas schools behind.
We would like to see a system that guarantees that Texas A&M plays Texas, Texas plays Oklahoma, SMU plays TCU, and Texas Tech plays Baylor. Up north, the bedlam game between Oklahoma and Oklahoma State should continue. And for good measure, please don’t mess with the Grambling State-Prairie View A&M rivalry, either.
There are state and regional factors to consider, too. What’s good for North Texas football is good for the state. Dallas-Fort Worth is the fifth-largest media market in the nation, according to Nielsen ratings. It won’t do to replace Texas and Oklahoma with Group of Five schools, though we would support SMU moving to a revamped Big 12.
And it won’t do for North Texas and West Texas to produce high school football powerhouses while shortchanging college football programs. Dallas-Fort Worth by itself, has more five-star high school recruits than most states in the nation. It would be a shame for all that talent to go elsewhere.
What’s good for North Texas football is also good for the athletes who play it. Fully 89% of student athletes at SMU graduate, which puts them ahead of all but three Big 12 schools. At TCU, the rate is a respectable 87%.
Whatever happens next, we’re sure of three things: Boomer Sooner will still be the most annoying song in sports, Permian High School will still field a better team than any university in Houston, and Aggie Twitter will still keep us entertained.
Dallas Morning News
