The summer heats up and the random Juke Box is in form. While many of you know The Kinks from their classic rock days, this one still has great appeal.
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I read Oklahoma president David Boren’s statement to the Daily Oklahoman from last week about how he believes the Big 12 is hurt psychologically because it is the smallest of the five Power 5 conferences with 10 members. If you didn’t see it, here it is:
"Commissioner [Bob] Bowlsby said publicly yesterday, as reported in The Daily Oklahoman that our television contracts are written to expand proportionally if we add additional schools. In other words, the pie gets proportionally larger if it is cut 12 ways instead of 10. There could be some slight loss of revenue from bowl games and other sources, but if the conference carefully selects additional members, based upon their media markets and fan base support, the amount should increase rather than decrease. We should; however, be very selective. I do not favor adding two more members unless they meet very high criteria. When we look at football playoffs and our conference is bumping up against conferences with 12 or 14 members, I believe that we are psychologically disadvantaged because we are a smaller conference.”
So here we go again with another flagship university of a conference rattling its sabre and making the case that the conference should expand. But in the same statement Boren back peddles and wants its newest members to meet the highest criteria. And this happens at the University's Board of Regents meetings. Hmmm. So what is Boren really saying? Does Boren really know what he’s saying?
Unless the Big 12 conference is in a position to attract other schools from other conferences, the suspects are going to remain BYU, Cincinnati, UConn, Houston (maybe SMU if that school can ever get it going in football) or Central Florida. I don’t see where any member of the Mountain West conference really adds anything. And to be honest, SMU and Houston are longshots anyway because the league doesn’t need their market. The league is doing fine in Dallas and Houston because of the large alumni bases from several of the conference members. Plus, you already have member school TCU in Fort Worth.
You all know where I stand on BYU. Not a chance. I grew up out West and witnessed how that university leadership would pretty much dictate the terms of the league in what I viewed as bully-type fashion. I’m talking about the days of the old WAC where BYU shared it with Utah, UTEP, Wyoming etc. And BYU thought so highly of itself that it believed it could go out and be its own version of Notre Dame by becoming an independent, creating its own TV deal for football and placing its other sports in a different league. The school did that but when head coach Bronco Mendenhall said not long ago that he thinks the school needs to find a league within three years, it pretty much tells you that this new era isn’t gaining the traction that it wants.
Obviously, the Big 12 would like a do-over on Louisville which was practically begging to join the league. I’m really not sure why the conference resisted. It’s an overall strong athletic program. If you think the Louisville market isn’t strong enough, then you’re judging the member on the wrong criteria. The ACC didn’t have a problem and that marriage seems to be doing fine.
Since I’m playing pseudo commissioner here, I’m putting on my hat and suggesting that the two best additions would be Cincinnati and UCF. Cincinnati is making the commitment from a facilities standpoint to be a P5 school. Football has been pretty consistent over the years. Can it beat P5 schools? Yes and no. Basketball is always a solid program. Baylor already knows UCF’s story from the Fiesta Bowl of 2014. The Golden Knights are playing a brand of football that isn’t wow but it can beat good people. Plus, the school has a fairly new on-campus stadium in Bright House Networks that holds 45,000 – practically the same size as McLane and TCU’s Amon Carter Stadium.
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Back to Boren, I know he was playing off commissioner Bowlsby’s statements to the Daily Oklahoman. However, I have to wonder what the real motivation is. Maybe going 8-5 in 2014 where the Sooners tanked their regular season finale to Oklahoma State in Norman and then a major flat tire performance against Clemson in the Florida Citrus Bowl (40-6) drew the comments. It wasn’t a good year. How soon we forget the year before the Sooners knocked off Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. Personally, I think if Oklahoma had been coming off a Big 12 championship season and playing in the Final Four, you wouldn’t have heard a peep from Boren.
And if Boren is saying something without saying something – all politicians are really good at that – then he also needs to zip it. If the suggestion is that the conference is hurting Oklahoma recruiting, my response would be that maybe the Bob Stoops coaching staff needs to stop missing on QB choices. OU used to have its way of getting some really great players out of Texas. But Texas is now a crowded house with schools from the SEC, Big 10, ACC and PAC 12. We can blame Texas A&M for opening the doors to the SEC. However, more schools just aren’t limiting themselves to their region. Ohio State lives down here. Michigan just held a satellite camp in Grand Prairie. UCLA is finding its way on to more and more offer lists. Arizona State is as well. Even with Chad Morris at SMU, Clemson is still going into Texas. Florida State is always in this state.
Oklahoma is no longer the only out-of-state choice. To be fair, the Sooners appear to expand their base into other parts of the country including California. That said, when you’re not at the peak athletically, frustration builds, pride is bruised and people want to point the finger. The Sooners will NOT be the preseason No. 1 team when the media poll is released at the Big 12 media days in three weeks. They’ll probably be No. 3 behind Baylor and TCU. That will also sting.
Should this be a veiled thread with behind-the-scenes politicking to try and join another conference, that ship sailed three years ago. Let me suggest that if OU really wants to find a way to go to a place like the Pac 12, Oklahoma needs the Pac 12 more than the Pac 12 needs Oklahoma.
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In short, I really think this issue with Boren stems from flagship schools not holding up their end of the deal. That’s the same with Texas. That program hasn’t won a Big 12 title since 2009 and is in the middle of a period of mediocrity and now trying to find its voice. Never has a university done so little with so much. My biggest problem with Texas is that its biggest enemy is itself. When you can’t get everybody wanting the same things for athletics – or at least taking the same path to get there – you’re going to have a problem. I would suggest to you that the Mack Brown Era from 1999-2009 is about as good as it’s going to get for Texas for years to come. I really like Charlie Strong as a coach and think he could do a good job there. Yet when you watch the offensive recruiting efforts from afar, I just wonder what the heck is going on down there.
There were three major 2017 QBs that committed last week. Texas wasn’t even close in the running. San Antonio Reagan’s Kellen Mond commits to Baylor. Denton Guyer’s Shawn Robinson commits to TCU. Mesquite Horn’s Chris Robison commits to Oklahoma. Now, if you’re Mack Brown, you’re finding a way to get one of those kids. That’s the same thing with wide receiver Hezekiah Jones from Houston Stafford. Baylor was so far out in front for him, Art Briles’ staff was going to have to find a way to mess this up in order to lose him. The staff didn’t. Texas’ consolation prize is Tyler John Tyler wide receiver Damion Miller. He’s a Rivals100 to watch player. But there’s a reason why Baylor didn’t even consider him to any great extent.
In its current state, I really don’t find Texas to be the recruiting threat to Baylor that it used to be. It’s still a threat but Baylor now owns the high ground. Those tables are turned. When Baylor gets on a kid, Texas is playing from behind. I know many of you have commented with frustration that it becomes irritating that when Baylor offers, Texas offers within 2-3 days. But the above example validates where this is at. Now, Baylor has some work to do on the defensive end because it couldn’t get Malik Jefferson or Eric Monroe. But it’s in a better place with the June commitments of Bravvion Roy and Deonte Williams.
As for finger pointing in general toward Texas, many of you who have been through contract negotiations know they’re as good as their out clause. I know the outrage over the Longhorn Network remains. It can be considered the financial albatross for preventing the league from expanding into this realm. I can’t fault Texas for doing the deal. ESPN threw a bunch of money at this and UT couldn’t say no. But ESPN is probably learning the $$$ way that this is a major kick in the shorts and probably would love to find a way to get out of it. Hard to see how that happens in the short term.
However, I’m not sure if these league television networks are everything they’re cracked up to be. I’m sure the revenue windfall is the main attraction. If the Big 12 ever gets in a position to get one, it will jump at the chance. I have the Big 10, SEC and PAC 12 networks on my dish provider. I know I’m an isolated case, but I don’t think I’m alone when I say that outside of watching football or basketball games, none of those networks are really on my day-to-day viewing radar. I don’t doubt I’d do the same thing with the Big 12 network. Looks great on paper. But the substance of watching an hour long show on the great Heisman Trophy season of Barry Sanders in 1988 doesn’t do a lot to move my needle. Sorry. These channels attract the fanatics. Even the most intense fans have their limits when it comes to watching this stuff. These networks aren’t asking you to watch for 4-5 hours (they’d love it if you did) but there are so many programming limitations.
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Now to some quick hitting thoughts.
>If you missed my Friday segment with ESPN 1660 on Friday, I told Paul Catalina I think Baylor will probably be at around 15 commitments for the 2016 class by the time the season kicks off on Sept. 4 at SMU. Remember, this class is going to be at about 20 (give or take) so should that commitment number reach that total, the staff will be in a good position for some of the major races that probably won’t be decided until the end of the 2015 football season or even Feb. 3, 2016.
>What a great Friday for Baylor sprinter Trayvon Bromell to be a World Qualifier in the 100. He ran a 9.96. In my opinion, he’s the greatest track athlete to come through Baylor since Michael Johnson. By the way, we’re all getting old. Michael Johnson is now 47.
>New Baseball coach Steve Rodriguez is building his staff. He recently added Houston assistant Mike Taylor to his staff.
>Really looking forward to seeing what happens with Keller 2017 guard R.J. Nembhard and his visit to Baylor on Tuesday. Should he make it down there, I would be stunned if he doesn’t come away with an offer. This kid is so smooth. He can take over a game. What I love about him is that he’s pretty sharp with the mid-range jumper.
>Rangers may be coming back to reality. Their offense looks flat. Astros continue to add more believers. I’m not there yet. But I think all of baseball is currently experiencing extreme mediocrity. There are 11 teams that are either five games above .500 or five games below .500.
>In case you’re wondering, I haven’t filled out my Big 12 preseason ballot yet. I plan to do it this week.
Let’s make it a great week.
****
I read Oklahoma president David Boren’s statement to the Daily Oklahoman from last week about how he believes the Big 12 is hurt psychologically because it is the smallest of the five Power 5 conferences with 10 members. If you didn’t see it, here it is:
"Commissioner [Bob] Bowlsby said publicly yesterday, as reported in The Daily Oklahoman that our television contracts are written to expand proportionally if we add additional schools. In other words, the pie gets proportionally larger if it is cut 12 ways instead of 10. There could be some slight loss of revenue from bowl games and other sources, but if the conference carefully selects additional members, based upon their media markets and fan base support, the amount should increase rather than decrease. We should; however, be very selective. I do not favor adding two more members unless they meet very high criteria. When we look at football playoffs and our conference is bumping up against conferences with 12 or 14 members, I believe that we are psychologically disadvantaged because we are a smaller conference.”
So here we go again with another flagship university of a conference rattling its sabre and making the case that the conference should expand. But in the same statement Boren back peddles and wants its newest members to meet the highest criteria. And this happens at the University's Board of Regents meetings. Hmmm. So what is Boren really saying? Does Boren really know what he’s saying?
Unless the Big 12 conference is in a position to attract other schools from other conferences, the suspects are going to remain BYU, Cincinnati, UConn, Houston (maybe SMU if that school can ever get it going in football) or Central Florida. I don’t see where any member of the Mountain West conference really adds anything. And to be honest, SMU and Houston are longshots anyway because the league doesn’t need their market. The league is doing fine in Dallas and Houston because of the large alumni bases from several of the conference members. Plus, you already have member school TCU in Fort Worth.
You all know where I stand on BYU. Not a chance. I grew up out West and witnessed how that university leadership would pretty much dictate the terms of the league in what I viewed as bully-type fashion. I’m talking about the days of the old WAC where BYU shared it with Utah, UTEP, Wyoming etc. And BYU thought so highly of itself that it believed it could go out and be its own version of Notre Dame by becoming an independent, creating its own TV deal for football and placing its other sports in a different league. The school did that but when head coach Bronco Mendenhall said not long ago that he thinks the school needs to find a league within three years, it pretty much tells you that this new era isn’t gaining the traction that it wants.
Obviously, the Big 12 would like a do-over on Louisville which was practically begging to join the league. I’m really not sure why the conference resisted. It’s an overall strong athletic program. If you think the Louisville market isn’t strong enough, then you’re judging the member on the wrong criteria. The ACC didn’t have a problem and that marriage seems to be doing fine.
Since I’m playing pseudo commissioner here, I’m putting on my hat and suggesting that the two best additions would be Cincinnati and UCF. Cincinnati is making the commitment from a facilities standpoint to be a P5 school. Football has been pretty consistent over the years. Can it beat P5 schools? Yes and no. Basketball is always a solid program. Baylor already knows UCF’s story from the Fiesta Bowl of 2014. The Golden Knights are playing a brand of football that isn’t wow but it can beat good people. Plus, the school has a fairly new on-campus stadium in Bright House Networks that holds 45,000 – practically the same size as McLane and TCU’s Amon Carter Stadium.
****
Back to Boren, I know he was playing off commissioner Bowlsby’s statements to the Daily Oklahoman. However, I have to wonder what the real motivation is. Maybe going 8-5 in 2014 where the Sooners tanked their regular season finale to Oklahoma State in Norman and then a major flat tire performance against Clemson in the Florida Citrus Bowl (40-6) drew the comments. It wasn’t a good year. How soon we forget the year before the Sooners knocked off Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. Personally, I think if Oklahoma had been coming off a Big 12 championship season and playing in the Final Four, you wouldn’t have heard a peep from Boren.
And if Boren is saying something without saying something – all politicians are really good at that – then he also needs to zip it. If the suggestion is that the conference is hurting Oklahoma recruiting, my response would be that maybe the Bob Stoops coaching staff needs to stop missing on QB choices. OU used to have its way of getting some really great players out of Texas. But Texas is now a crowded house with schools from the SEC, Big 10, ACC and PAC 12. We can blame Texas A&M for opening the doors to the SEC. However, more schools just aren’t limiting themselves to their region. Ohio State lives down here. Michigan just held a satellite camp in Grand Prairie. UCLA is finding its way on to more and more offer lists. Arizona State is as well. Even with Chad Morris at SMU, Clemson is still going into Texas. Florida State is always in this state.
Oklahoma is no longer the only out-of-state choice. To be fair, the Sooners appear to expand their base into other parts of the country including California. That said, when you’re not at the peak athletically, frustration builds, pride is bruised and people want to point the finger. The Sooners will NOT be the preseason No. 1 team when the media poll is released at the Big 12 media days in three weeks. They’ll probably be No. 3 behind Baylor and TCU. That will also sting.
Should this be a veiled thread with behind-the-scenes politicking to try and join another conference, that ship sailed three years ago. Let me suggest that if OU really wants to find a way to go to a place like the Pac 12, Oklahoma needs the Pac 12 more than the Pac 12 needs Oklahoma.
****
In short, I really think this issue with Boren stems from flagship schools not holding up their end of the deal. That’s the same with Texas. That program hasn’t won a Big 12 title since 2009 and is in the middle of a period of mediocrity and now trying to find its voice. Never has a university done so little with so much. My biggest problem with Texas is that its biggest enemy is itself. When you can’t get everybody wanting the same things for athletics – or at least taking the same path to get there – you’re going to have a problem. I would suggest to you that the Mack Brown Era from 1999-2009 is about as good as it’s going to get for Texas for years to come. I really like Charlie Strong as a coach and think he could do a good job there. Yet when you watch the offensive recruiting efforts from afar, I just wonder what the heck is going on down there.
There were three major 2017 QBs that committed last week. Texas wasn’t even close in the running. San Antonio Reagan’s Kellen Mond commits to Baylor. Denton Guyer’s Shawn Robinson commits to TCU. Mesquite Horn’s Chris Robison commits to Oklahoma. Now, if you’re Mack Brown, you’re finding a way to get one of those kids. That’s the same thing with wide receiver Hezekiah Jones from Houston Stafford. Baylor was so far out in front for him, Art Briles’ staff was going to have to find a way to mess this up in order to lose him. The staff didn’t. Texas’ consolation prize is Tyler John Tyler wide receiver Damion Miller. He’s a Rivals100 to watch player. But there’s a reason why Baylor didn’t even consider him to any great extent.
In its current state, I really don’t find Texas to be the recruiting threat to Baylor that it used to be. It’s still a threat but Baylor now owns the high ground. Those tables are turned. When Baylor gets on a kid, Texas is playing from behind. I know many of you have commented with frustration that it becomes irritating that when Baylor offers, Texas offers within 2-3 days. But the above example validates where this is at. Now, Baylor has some work to do on the defensive end because it couldn’t get Malik Jefferson or Eric Monroe. But it’s in a better place with the June commitments of Bravvion Roy and Deonte Williams.
As for finger pointing in general toward Texas, many of you who have been through contract negotiations know they’re as good as their out clause. I know the outrage over the Longhorn Network remains. It can be considered the financial albatross for preventing the league from expanding into this realm. I can’t fault Texas for doing the deal. ESPN threw a bunch of money at this and UT couldn’t say no. But ESPN is probably learning the $$$ way that this is a major kick in the shorts and probably would love to find a way to get out of it. Hard to see how that happens in the short term.
However, I’m not sure if these league television networks are everything they’re cracked up to be. I’m sure the revenue windfall is the main attraction. If the Big 12 ever gets in a position to get one, it will jump at the chance. I have the Big 10, SEC and PAC 12 networks on my dish provider. I know I’m an isolated case, but I don’t think I’m alone when I say that outside of watching football or basketball games, none of those networks are really on my day-to-day viewing radar. I don’t doubt I’d do the same thing with the Big 12 network. Looks great on paper. But the substance of watching an hour long show on the great Heisman Trophy season of Barry Sanders in 1988 doesn’t do a lot to move my needle. Sorry. These channels attract the fanatics. Even the most intense fans have their limits when it comes to watching this stuff. These networks aren’t asking you to watch for 4-5 hours (they’d love it if you did) but there are so many programming limitations.
****
Now to some quick hitting thoughts.
>If you missed my Friday segment with ESPN 1660 on Friday, I told Paul Catalina I think Baylor will probably be at around 15 commitments for the 2016 class by the time the season kicks off on Sept. 4 at SMU. Remember, this class is going to be at about 20 (give or take) so should that commitment number reach that total, the staff will be in a good position for some of the major races that probably won’t be decided until the end of the 2015 football season or even Feb. 3, 2016.
>What a great Friday for Baylor sprinter Trayvon Bromell to be a World Qualifier in the 100. He ran a 9.96. In my opinion, he’s the greatest track athlete to come through Baylor since Michael Johnson. By the way, we’re all getting old. Michael Johnson is now 47.
>New Baseball coach Steve Rodriguez is building his staff. He recently added Houston assistant Mike Taylor to his staff.
>Really looking forward to seeing what happens with Keller 2017 guard R.J. Nembhard and his visit to Baylor on Tuesday. Should he make it down there, I would be stunned if he doesn’t come away with an offer. This kid is so smooth. He can take over a game. What I love about him is that he’s pretty sharp with the mid-range jumper.
>Rangers may be coming back to reality. Their offense looks flat. Astros continue to add more believers. I’m not there yet. But I think all of baseball is currently experiencing extreme mediocrity. There are 11 teams that are either five games above .500 or five games below .500.
>In case you’re wondering, I haven’t filled out my Big 12 preseason ballot yet. I plan to do it this week.
Let’s make it a great week.
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