Let me be the first to say that a lot of the information in the linked Wikipedia article isn’t well-sourced, but it contains a lot of information I hadn’t read before and includes other informative links with it.
Highlights:
—The Big 8 really needed to do something just as much as the SWC did. After the Supreme Court ruling in the 80s broke the NCAA’s hold on TV rights, the Big Ten and Pac-10 negotiated a TV deal and the CFA negotiated a separate one for everybody else. By the late 80s, the SEC was already threatening to leave unless the CFA could deliver them as much money as they could make on their own plus a certain percentage of the TV selections.
When Notre Dame got their own TV deal and the SEC expanded with Arkansas and South Carolina, it was pretty clear the SEC was planning to go off on their own after the contract expired, and they did. Next, the ACC with new addition Florida State negotiated their own deal, the new Big East football conference with Miami and the former East Coast independents got a deal, and the SWC and Big Eight both needed to do something to negotiate a competitive deal because they didn’t have the TV markets to do it on their own. Others, like the lesser independents (Tulane, Louisville, Cincinnati, etc.) ended up forming Conference USA.
—Texas and Texas A&M had no problem with Arkansas leaving the SWC. They wanted out and they felt that Arkansas leaving would destabilize the conference. The private schools in the league kind of had their heads in the sand and wanted to replace Arkansas with another private school BYU or Tulane. They felt like having five private schools versus four public schools would give the private schools leverage. Texas and Texas A&M opposed expansion because they ultimately wanted out and weren’t interested in trying to save the league.
—Texas pursued the Pac-10, the Big Ten, and the SEC before settling on the Big 12. The Pac-10 was interested in Texas and Colorado. Some reports said Texas wanted to take A&M along instead of Colorado. The Pac-10 thing fell apart, with some rumors saying Stanford was opposed. Meanwhile Texas A&M and Houston were pursuing the SEC. The Big Ten wasn’t an option for Texas because they had put a moratorium on expansion after taking Penn State. Supposedly, Texas turned down the SEC because they didn’t have enough commitment to academics.
—The Big Eight was afraid of losing teams if they didn’t do something to get a better TV deal. There was concern about Colorado going to the Pac-10, Missouri going to the Big Ten, and/or Oklahoma leaving for the SEC. In addition to the SWC schools, BYU was seen as an expansion candidate.
—The Big Eight and all of the SWC schools but one were interested in a full merger. The one school that opposed it was Texas. After examining the political scene in Texas, the UT President told the Big Eight who ought to be part of the new conference. Texas Tech and Baylor had a lot of influential alums in the legislature and executive branch. Contrary to popular believe, Baylor alum Governor Ann Richards didn’t play much of a role at all.
—The Big 12 was considered a new conference rather than a continuation of the Big Eight. The SWC commissioner and administration essentially took over, moving the conference office to Dallas.
—The Big 12 trademarked “Big 14” and considered adding BYU and New Mexico. Louisville and Memphis would have been the top candidates if we expanded to 16 teams.
en.m.wikipedia.org
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Highlights:
—The Big 8 really needed to do something just as much as the SWC did. After the Supreme Court ruling in the 80s broke the NCAA’s hold on TV rights, the Big Ten and Pac-10 negotiated a TV deal and the CFA negotiated a separate one for everybody else. By the late 80s, the SEC was already threatening to leave unless the CFA could deliver them as much money as they could make on their own plus a certain percentage of the TV selections.
When Notre Dame got their own TV deal and the SEC expanded with Arkansas and South Carolina, it was pretty clear the SEC was planning to go off on their own after the contract expired, and they did. Next, the ACC with new addition Florida State negotiated their own deal, the new Big East football conference with Miami and the former East Coast independents got a deal, and the SWC and Big Eight both needed to do something to negotiate a competitive deal because they didn’t have the TV markets to do it on their own. Others, like the lesser independents (Tulane, Louisville, Cincinnati, etc.) ended up forming Conference USA.
—Texas and Texas A&M had no problem with Arkansas leaving the SWC. They wanted out and they felt that Arkansas leaving would destabilize the conference. The private schools in the league kind of had their heads in the sand and wanted to replace Arkansas with another private school BYU or Tulane. They felt like having five private schools versus four public schools would give the private schools leverage. Texas and Texas A&M opposed expansion because they ultimately wanted out and weren’t interested in trying to save the league.
—Texas pursued the Pac-10, the Big Ten, and the SEC before settling on the Big 12. The Pac-10 was interested in Texas and Colorado. Some reports said Texas wanted to take A&M along instead of Colorado. The Pac-10 thing fell apart, with some rumors saying Stanford was opposed. Meanwhile Texas A&M and Houston were pursuing the SEC. The Big Ten wasn’t an option for Texas because they had put a moratorium on expansion after taking Penn State. Supposedly, Texas turned down the SEC because they didn’t have enough commitment to academics.
—The Big Eight was afraid of losing teams if they didn’t do something to get a better TV deal. There was concern about Colorado going to the Pac-10, Missouri going to the Big Ten, and/or Oklahoma leaving for the SEC. In addition to the SWC schools, BYU was seen as an expansion candidate.
—The Big Eight and all of the SWC schools but one were interested in a full merger. The one school that opposed it was Texas. After examining the political scene in Texas, the UT President told the Big Eight who ought to be part of the new conference. Texas Tech and Baylor had a lot of influential alums in the legislature and executive branch. Contrary to popular believe, Baylor alum Governor Ann Richards didn’t play much of a role at all.
—The Big 12 was considered a new conference rather than a continuation of the Big Eight. The SWC commissioner and administration essentially took over, moving the conference office to Dallas.
—The Big 12 trademarked “Big 14” and considered adding BYU and New Mexico. Louisville and Memphis would have been the top candidates if we expanded to 16 teams.
History of the Big 12 Conference - Wikipedia
All Shook Up
It will be years before college football seismologists can fully evaluate the tremors that have rocked the sport in the past couple of years, leaving it in a
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