BCS leagues expanding - yeah?

The Big 12 currently distributes just north of 40 million and the Pac 12 a little than 30 million. But even with the addition of four new schools the Big 12 is probably looking at a big haircut in the next television contract with the loss of Texas and Texas A@M. The rationale for Houston and TCU leaving is that they would be clustered with much bigger television markets and get more money. Outside of Dallas and Houston the largest Big 12 television market is Orlando, which is 17th. The Pac 12 has five markets larger than Orlando.

It is also unclear what the Big 12's status will eventually be in the BCS. I think TCU and Houston would run to join the Pac 12. I think the reason they are not in is that the local ratings for their games are not that good. The perception is that Houston and Dallas viewers will prefer to watch A2M and Texas play SEC schools rather than the local schools play Pac 12 teams.

 

There were 40,048 students enrolled at Texas in 2020, and 71,709 at Texas A&M. Those kinds of enrollment numbers obviously translate into huge numbers of alumni who end up in Dallas and Houston, and yeah, they're gonna want to watch their alma maters play rather than Houston or SMU or TCU.

 

That is obviously part of it. But I think the "non-aligned viewers" who did not go to any of the schools will overwhelmingly watch Texas or Texas A@M. And I think the "non-aligned viewers" in Orlando will watch Florida rather than UCF. Which is why college football is a oligopoly at the top.

 

Non-aligned viewers are somewhat rare, certainly among the locals. Texas is not as bad about this as Alabama ("Are you Alabama or Auburn?") but if you grow up there generally you have to find a loyalty. Even if you don't, you may have enough contact with obnoxious fans that you come to hate one.

 

Or you marry into a family of Aggies and grow to hate the team that way. I’m not saying I did that, I’m just sayin’.

 

Where will Little Rock go? As a non-football school in the south, their options are extremely limited. The A-Sun is a decided step or two down. The AAC is the peak, but there are 10 to 15 schools in line ahead of them. Looks like the Valley is the best place for UALR and UTA to land.

In actuality, Arkansas State is a better cultural fit for the Valley than Little Rock, even though A-State is FBS in football.

 

The Sun Belt produced a 16 seed for the play-in round this spring. Even a 25-win team in that league probably isn’t pulling better than a 13 seed. I think the Southland is looking for teams if it still exists.

 

UTA football is undefeated since '85 ...

 

In your view has the absence of a football team hurt the school academically, financially or in some other way? Should the decision to dump football be revisited?

 

Yep, that's what I was thinking. Southland makes a ton of sense. They're on life support.

 

No. UTA has a damn fine basketball arena for a school of its athletic stature and has trotted out a couple of pretty nice teams these past few years. And there are always whole sections of empty seats even against long-time rivals such as Texas State.

The guy who dropped football is HATED among the older alumni, but bringing it back would be a monumentally costly and, in my view, stupid decision.

Which means they'll probably do it!