Dumb and dumber opine.
"The theory seems to be that as long as a man is a failure he is one of God's children, but that as soon as he succeeds he is taken over by the Devil." - HL Mencken
John Saunders has always had a weird disdain for Texas. Gilmore and Howard thank God for alternate degree programs at Michigan and Stanford. This clip is is fairly representative of quite a bit of commentary on this issue from the popular press.
Texas is greedy because it wants the revenue it creates. All of the resources in college football should be placed in a large pot and apportioned in equal measure by a kindly benefactor with a ladle dipped in revenue. If Texas creates extra value through wins, a zealous, massive fan base, public interest, and alumni with wealth, it is stealing revenue from Nebraska and Iowa State. It must be confiscated and apportioned appropriately.
Some pesky facts:
1. Texas is refusing the payout. Has from the start. A&M and OU are the fence sitters. A&M probably wants to be noble, but is broke. A Sooner can't pass up a free check for no work on principle.
2. Iowa State came up with the idea, had it ratified by the six dwarves, and passed it on to UT, A&M, OU. There was no Al Capone shakedown. Generally, one does not shake a group down with their own proposal and then refuse it, unless the gangsta is both kindly and mentally ill.
3. The remaining Big 12 teams are seeing, in all instances, a substantial revenue increase in the new arrangement and some will see their revenue payouts double (Iowa State 7 million to 15 million). Why? The threat of Texas leaving and setting the dominoes in motion forced the networks to pay out substantially over the actual value of a Kansas St/Baylor telecast.
4. You're welcome.
5. The conception of economics in the popular sports media on this matter is equal parts frustrating, terrifying, and buffoonish. This is an awesome reconfirmation of why I hate journalists, why I believe they're consistently the dumbest, least inquisitive undergraduates on a college campus, and the least competent professional class going. If you want to understand why blogs exist, that clip is a fine example.