If you're a Wildcat, Tiger, Cyclone, Bear or Jayhawk, the news that the University of Texas has reached a 20-year, $300-million deal with ESPN to start its own network is good. Or so we're told.
It'll be all Longhorns, all the time on the new network. So what does the rest of the Big 12(minus two) get out of it? They get to stay in a BCS conference and the Longhorns won't be bolting for the Pac-10 (or is it 12 now?) or the Big Ten or the SEC.
That's if you believe Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds : "Our commitment to the Big 12 Conference allowed us to pursue this. We want to be as strong as we can be for us and the Big 12."
UT's television rights will belong to the World Wide Leader -- and the
rest of the Big 12 will just have to wait for the new conference TV
deal.
Independence isn't something the Longhorns apparently want, although I'm not sure this doesn't pave the way for the future (but hey, Texas is going to need quality opponents to fill out a schedule). And, as Campus Corner pointed out, what other conference would take the Longhorns with this TV deal? So what if Texas gets more money. They already have more money than just about any school. The Big 12 has never shared money equally. So they get more sacks of money. No one was ever going to compete dollar-for-dollar against Texas. I don't have to like it, but I'm happy my school isn't headed for the MAC or WAC.
