The BOMC

I remember when we Horn fans were concerned about this very issue when the SEC signed their contract with ESPN. I think though as ESPN has more agreements with more conferences/teams it will all even out. When Texas plays someone from the SEC or Big 10 there won’t be much bias. The issue is when we play anyone else. The answer? Get in with ESPN as quickly as possible.

Pat Forde: “….ESPN is part and parcel in creating an uneven playing field…..”. I don’t watch CNN because they are too liberal. I don’t watch Fox News because they are too conservative. I don’t listen to rap because it is too black. I don’t listen to Michael Buble because he is too white. Good luck on that even thing Pat.

Sportscenter 2012:

“And now to the Longhorn Network studios for a report on…”

BTW, ESPN is the one paying the SEC teams most of that $20 million a year. A&M is getting in bed with them (see SEC on ESPN apparel) just like big brother.

Let them eat chockapockets.

And if Texas blows teams up this year or next, ESPN will be right on top of it.

The implicit assumption that the world is fair is a cause of much societal grief.
 
Do Dads not tell their kids, “Tough shit, world isn’t fair” anymore?
 
ESPN the entertainment structure and ESPN the journalistic enterprise are more or less separate entities though there’s not question that the former can influence the latter.
 
That written, ESPN would be all over a Texas scandal. It’s good copy.
 
But yeah, ESPN is going to be pumping us up. And Michigan will get more play than Akron. And Florida will get more play than UCF. And USC will garner more attention than Fresno St.
 
Welcome to Planet Earth, Pat Forde.

I like Mandel, but SI criticizing ESPN is like CNN criticizing FOXNEWS…

Yeah cause the playing field was so even before the LHN— ask Boise how fair they think the college football landscape was or Utah.

IMO, Dodds & Co. should just make a deal with the remaining members to split conference TV revenue equally. As it stands we’re only bringing in 5 mil more than Iowa State and 1-2 mil more than Aggy. Leveling the TV money would barely touch UT’s bottom line. Heck, we could forego our conference TV money entirely and rely only upon LHN bucks, which would give everyone else in the conference a modest TV money advantage. Wouldn’t matter in the slightest.

The whole unequal TV revenue issue has fed the UT=Darth Vader meme, when our revenue advantages elsewhere - merch, advertising, donations - are overwhelming yet completely ignored. I’m not sure any of the TV money fuss is worth the ground we’ve ceded in the public debate; it’s given the Buffs, Corn and Aggy excuses to put their own interests above the conference, which could stick us with a bad conference situation for years.

Dagga -
 
It would be irrelevant. The average fan understands none of that and most journalists and commentators understand it even less.
 
Most of them believe that A&M was in favor of a revenue split. Most AGGIE fans believe that.
 
Once any level of math or actual sophistication is involved, the average person is out. They just want some talking points to scream.
 
UT needs to pursue its self-interest and our fans need to stop being pussies about the degree to which our rivals overreact. We don’t throw our weight around half as much as we’re actually accused of doing. It would actually be kind of fun if we did.

And as far as the BOMC is concerned, I’m rolling my eyes. ESPN is an entertainment network. Football is not politics and a level playing field isn’t a moral necessity. In fact, in a 119-member football division, unfairness is a feature and not a bug. The biggest schools with the most involved fanbases should have serious advantages or the game becomes unmarketable and unwatchable.

Scip is dead on - people who whine about this are acting like spoiled children. And in particular, the Aggy bosters who are behind the recent SEC shenanigans should just look in the mirror. By far, the biggest revenue difference between UT and A&M is alumni donations.

“IMO, Dodds & Co. should just make a deal with the remaining members to split conference TV revenue equally.”

If A&M isn’t gone already, that would seem to push them out the door. I would also worry about whether OU is going to want to take less money.

Yeah, proposing equal revenue splits at conference meetings seems to be the sign that you want to bail out of the conference.

Scip - I’d generally agree, and more to the point, your position is clearly the UT admin’s position. They don’t seem to care much about how it all looks to anyone outside the UT universe.

But still, part of the reason people don’t “get it” isn’t innumeracy per se; it’s a heuristics issue. They hear one thing that seems to have a kernel of truth to it, and then they take that wherever they want to go with it. Politicians know this and the good ones carefully manage their image to make sure their critics and opponents can’t easily blow things out of proportion. Mack Brown knows this intuitively when it comes to news about his team. So it strikes me as kind of strange that the UT brass doesn’t seem to care. And I do think that if TV revenues were evenly split in the first place, Aggy would have a much harder time covering their tracks. The unequal TV revenue is the kernel of truth that gives the massive lie traction.

Texas Wahoo - it’s literally like 2 million dollars or so from UT and OU’s bottom lines to make revenues equal. Not a big deal if it helps those schools keep the conference partners they want to keep and attract the ones they want to attract. In the current environment, any team that wants to be in the Big 12 has to justify to their fan base why they’d join a conference that apparently also serves as UT’s penis stand.

“it’s literally like 2 million dollars or so from UT and OU’s bottom lines to make revenues equal. Not a big deal if it helps those schools keep the conference partners they want to keep and attract the ones they want to attract.”

Won’t those numbers go up with the new TV deals and the fact that it will only be split 10 ways? As for keeping the schools we want to keep - it’s likely that OU, TX, A&M, Mizzou, and Kansas would be getting more with unequal revenue sharing. Do we really need to worry about Iowa State, Baylor, Kansas State, and Tech leaving? Why would A&M agree to full revenue sharing when they threw a hissy fit about the 20 million promise and refused to agree to share the CU/NU buyouts evenly?

I’m numb to whatever happens at this point. What I can’t figure out is why UT decided to kill its easiest path to title town. Revenue and exposure has never been a problem for UT. Other regional teams playing by a different set of rules has been and the Big 12 solved that issue. I assume UT will make a run at the Mormons and Catholics to create the 4th super conference. When that inevitably fails, the only feasible option is to fold the LHN into the PAC 12 network. The ironic thing here is that it’s a free market issue. Recruiting quality members to a conference with network freedom (which we all know is a joke of an offering) isn’t competitive to what the rest of the marketplace is offering. Security in a super conference and guaranteed big money to cover the peaks/valleys of sustaining a winning program? Or, uncertainty on both fronts? No way you can get to 16 with this business model. A quality 16 that is.

Dagga, you seem like one of the most inherently fair-minded people I’ve ever come across - I wasn’t sure they allowed people like you on message boards ;)

I for one have embraced the idea that the Longhorns will be widely hated as long as we’re a national brand and successful on a national stage. It’s just an inevitability in sports.

For all of Pittsburgh’s 6 Lombardis and New England’s 21st century success, the Cowboys are still the marquee franchise in the NFL. They are the most widely loved and most widely hated team. As a Cowboys fan, I share the love with those who love them and revel in the hate of those who hate them. The only way others’ hate of the Cowboys would have any material impact on me is if I decided to wear an Aikman jersey to a Cowboys/Eagles game in Philly and took a battery-filled snowball to the dome. The Yankees are the marquee franchise of MLB. I enjoy hating the Yankees, and I’m sure most (legitimate) Yankee fans would happily revel in my hate. Mine and others’ hate probably HELPS the Yankees as I’m more likely to watch a playoff series they’re involved in with the hopes of seeing them go down.

While Texas doesn’t enjoy as singular a perch in the CFB landscape as the Cowboys or Yankees do in theirs, we are unquestionably one of a select few truly marquee, nationwide college brands. It is inescapable that we shall be both widely loved and widely hated. Wherever we ultimately hang our hat conference-wise and however widely we are broadcast through the LHN or some future conference’s network, this will be the case.

For those who have problems with ESPN (and I certainly have several), it’s unnerving that they can have a material impact on college football far more than on any other sport due to A) the impact of nationwide hype and publicity on the recruiting landscape and B) the potential harm to the postseason destiny of more deserving and lesser-hyped teams due to the horrifying BCS structure and lack of a playoff.* While I’m a fan of college football as a whole, the only team whose consistent, ongoing success matters to me is Texas (there are several teams whose consistent, ongoing failure would please me greatly). To the extent that a positive association with ESPN helps us in recruiting (very likely) and helps secure our postseason destiny (we ain’t missing the title game if we’re undefeated and are a likely BCS bowl team with most 2-loss seasons, which is all you can hope for in the current format) I’m happy as a damn clam.

I do agree with Scip that there won’t be any nuanced views among the populace at large regarding Texas’ revenue-sharing tactics or any other aspect of our financial or conference dealings. The only sports journalists in America work for Yahoo and they seem to be busy with other stuff, and the remaining wasteland of bloviating blowhards in the media couldn’t distinguish a revenue stream from the stream running down their leg when they pass out drunk in the pressbox. As for society at large, Nostradamus never nailed any prophecy half as unerringly as Mike Judge did in the opening three minutes of Idiocracy, so I’m not sweating them all that much.

Life ain’t fair - just be happy on this score that you’ve picked a winner.

*As an aside there does seem to be one other sport that ESPN materially impacts from an outcomes standpoint, since apparently highly-paid coaches and GMs are willing to spend absurd draft choices on scatter-armed SEC QBs based largely on ESPN hype. I will continue to laugh uproariously at this phenomenon until Jerry does it in a few years, at which point I will swear vilely.

since apparently highly-paid coaches and GMs are willing to spend absurd draft choices on scatter-armed SEC QBs based largely on ESPN hype. I will continue to laugh uproariously at this phenomenon until Jerry does it in a few years, at which point I will swear vilely.

Quincy Carter says hello.

Do Dads not tell their kids, "Tough shit, world isn’t fair" anymore?

Talking history, I tell them “Don’t shit on the 1933 World’s Fair.”

Do Dads not tell their kids, "Tough shit, world isn’t fair" anymore?

Nope. We tell them “The world isn’t fair. No one will give you anything without wanting something in return. Never ask anyone for anything: Do what you will, take what you will, but always know the probable consequences, and be ready to deal with them. Remember, nobody likes a whiner or a crybaby, not even his Dad.”

Always remember what Robert Anton Wilson said: :Reality is whatever you can gert away with."

Why would A&M agree to full revenue sharing when they threw a hissy fit about the 20 million promise and refused to agree to share the CU/NU buyouts evenly?

Delusional Aggies have typed to me that Texas was setting an example. In other words, the Devil made them do it.

I feel a bit like a Chelsea Fan must feel now that we have ESPN on our side running our network.

Wahoo: The structure of the contracts should actually bring those numbers closer together if A&M leaves. The Fox money and half the ESPN money is split equally, with the rest split up by number of games on ESPN, ESPN2 & ESPNU. Those are second-tier games.

So it’s not the number of total TV appearances that make the payouts differ - it’s the number of second-tier TV appearances. UT plays on TV every week, but a lot of those are first-tier games on Fox.

If a team that gets good second-tier run (like A&M) leaves the conference, it stands to reason that schools like Baylor and Iowa State are more likely to get some of their games aired on ESPN channels, to fill those vacated second-tier spots promised to us by ESPN. The number of UT games on ESPN likely stays the same, since virtually all of our games that aren’t on Fox are already picked up by ESPN, plus now we’re moving games to LHN which isn’t part of the conference TV deal. So those schools should definitely narrow the gap if A&M leaves, in terms of conference TV revenue.

ESPN could change the terms of the contract if Aggy leaves, but I’d imagine all that would change would be the total payout amounts; the distribution mechanism was the outcome of a very tough multi-party negotiation that no one wants to revisit, even if it suits their political strategy to grumble about it in public.

nobis60 - OK, between you and Scip ya got me. Haters gonna hate.

I guess it just aggravates me that of all the legit reasons to think UT has a huge advantage, the press and the non-UT fans harp on the one issue where UT’s advantage is somewhere between irrelevant and inconsequential.

And they choose it because the legit reasons are, well, legit. We have a superior combination of brand, location and alumni base over every other school in the FCS. By a long shot, even. Look at the other top brands: Florida shares its home state with lots of good programs, Alabama and Auburn are in a small and poor state, Oregon is a thousand miles from anywhere, USC has a smallish alumni base consisting mostly of film-students-cum-waiters, and ND, Michigan, Penn State and Ohio State are in the ultra-depressing Rust Belt.

But those advantages are not evil-sounding enough, I guess. The press can make UT sound a lot more dastardly (and get a lot more page hits) by lazily casting DeLoss Dodds as The Terminator instead.

But whatever, we can take it. Hasta la vista, Aggy.

I’m drunk and I still don’t like Erin Andrews

“ESPN and Texas are now one and the same”

WOW

We are now the Joneses, and the Fordes, and the Maisels, and the Schlabachs, etc.

Longhorn:
“If you can’t beat’em, buy’em.”
Aggy:
“If you can’t beat’em, run away.”

The world isn’t fair…matter of fact, the first law of the jungle applies in college athletics. The Big ’uns eat the little ’uns.

UT is one of the biggest ones out there. ESPN wouldn’t do a 300 million dollar deal with UT if the Horns were just a regional brand.

What people keep missing about the deal with agricultural leaving for the SEC is this. There is NOTHING UT can do that will placate those yokels. Their concerns about the LHN are a smoke screen. Their fans’ thing of wanting to get away from UT’s shadow, to establish their own brand in the SEC, has been force-fed to them by the real power brokers over there, who’s only motivation in this divorce is money. Anytime somebody says it’s not the money…it’s the money. The funny thing about this is the cult is too narrow-sighted to realize they’re leaving a sizable amount under the table by leaving for the SEC. By the way, bow tie is lying through his teeth by saying no decision’s been made yet…nice move for a college president.

agricultural is out of here primarily for one reason…they hate us ‘cause they ain’t us. They’ve even conveniently forgotten a big part of their name, the part that goes “A&M”. “Texas” aggies…really??? It’s wasted effort on the part of anybody to try to talk sense into them, to make concessions to keep them in the Big 12. They’re outta here, and the conference needs to be in serious team-search mode. I have no problem with talking to Notre Dame, but I think BYU is a more reasonable target, and if the conference gets them, they’ll be an obvious step up from agricultural. At least their football program’s been relevant a good bit more in the last decade.

I agree with others who say I don’t want to see any concessions made in LHN programming beyond reasonable ones just to placate other teams in the conference. The world’s NOT a fair place, and it’s still a free market place, which means UT has a right to make as much money off of the network as it can. Anybody who doesn’t like it should do like K-State did, and get their own network. As for agricultural…Bye.

ded - I totally agree. But that’s why I don’t think the Big 12 is the end goal, no matter what people say. Presumably UT is trying to set themselves up in the best position for when the Age of Superconferences comes. And while Texas would prefer it if the Big 12 made the final cut of superconferences, the writing’s been on the wall for a couple of years now. The final four will be Big Ten, Pac 12, SEC and ACC/Big East; if there’s a fifth, the ACC and Big East would be as likely to land one as the new Big 12-3. So the Big 12-3 has to go. If Nebraska, Colorado and Aggy were still around AND we got ND & BYU, that would be different. But it’s too late for that.

I think the likeliest route is for UT, TTU, OU and OSU to go the Pac 12. Problem is, that can’t happen until the LHN and Pac 12 network get off the ground and earn some flying time, so the parties can learn what works and figure out how to best approach the merger on the TV end.

But that’s the only choice. UT won’t be able to go anywhere alone unless it goes independent and shells out a TON of money to TTU and Baylor. We can live with removing Baylor but the cost of abandoning TTU would be huge; the Lege won’t like it one bit if the shiny new Tier One school suddenly had a minor-league football team. The Big Ten isn’t interested in either TTU or BU, so no deal. The Big East/ACC or the SEC would be silly at this point. So we have to figure out a way to patch the Big 12 together until the time for the Pac 16 is right. Give it 2-3 years before the final arrangements are made, I figure.

Dead-on, Dagga, and the money trail will be easy to follow. Once the LHN and Pac 12 networks figure out the respective net dollar amounts, merger talks begin in earnest and a deal gets done.

I hope we look to form a new conference with BU, TTU, ND and BYU. The epic battles between the Baptists, Papists and Mormons should provide great theater. Throw in Kansas and OU and you have the start of something fun. The academics would be relatively strong, notwithstanding the Sand Aggies and the ’clips.

“That written, ESPN would be all over a Texas scandal. It’s good copy.”

Interesting point, Scip. A relevant (not just theoretical) question, how would ESPN/LHN handle headline news regarding the situation/scandal with Cleve? I could see LHN not covering it at all, but what about mainline ESPN? Would they try to paint the news in the best, worst, or neutral light? Would there be any chance that LHN staff would gather juicy tidbits (but not air them on LHN), and then relay all the scoop to mainline ESPN so that they could have the best story on it?

If Texas and ESPN are one in the same, when can we fire Merrill Hoge for talking so much shit about VY?

I, for one, think the “controversy” around the LHN is a tad overblown. For one thing, it’s not the first time a broadcast team has been dediacted to one tem/program:
 - NBC has been the Notre Dame network since 1991, or so.
 - Isn’t every single radio broadcast team employed by the University or the team? How about every athletic department website?
 - ESPN has signed lucrative deals with just about everybody (that’s in a BCS conference) in the last few years (I’ll detail those below.)
 - Pro teams have been forming their own networks for how long now? Haven’t any college fans heard of YES? How about the new Astros/Rockets Network?

Basically, TV networks in the 2010’s are like luxury suites in the 1990’s: a vehicle for the rich to get richer.

As for ESPN’s journalistic independence, doesn’t anyone in college football have a memory longer than 2 weeks?!?
 - Nov 2008: ESPN signed a 4-year deal (2011-2014) to broadcast the BCS games for $500 million. (Not real fair for the mid-majors) (This works out to $12.5 million per bowl participant.)
 - Jul 2009: ESPN signed a 15-year deal for the “SEC Network” (which is really syndication of SEC games) for $2.25 BILLION! (This works out to $12.5 million per team per year.) The purpose of this seems to have been to prevent the SEC from forming a Big Ten Network-style channel and also to replace some og the Big Ten programming the SEC lost.
 - May 2010: ESPN signed a 12-year deal for the “ACC Network” (syndication again) for $1.86 BILLION! (This works out to $12.9 million per team per year.)
 - Jan 2011: ESPN signed a 20-year deal for the Longhorn Network fo $300 million. (This works out to $10 million per team per year.)

I’ll say this again:
 - BCS: $12.5 million per bowl participant
 - SEC Network: $12.5 million per team per year
 - ACC Network: $12.9 million per team per year
 - LHN: $10 million per year

Notre Dame is independent.

Pro teams =/= “amateur” conference participants.

Keep telling yourselves we’re running away - by playing obviously tougher competition in the SEC. That lie may get run in horn circles but anyone with a brain and no allegiance to tu-austin will see through it.

“UT needs to pursue its self-interest and our fans need to stop being pussies about the degree to which our rivals overreact. We don’t throw our weight around half as much as we’re actually accused of doing. It would actually be kind of fun if we did.”

Bingo.

We can’t control what our rivals think. We are going to get accused of things whether they are true or not. I still hear idiots say we caused the breakup of the SWC. Neb took their corn and went elsewhere and now the ags will as well. Greedy Horns were the cause… right? Next up: Bevo’s methane is changing the climate. Well we probably won’t hear that one from the ags.

We need to focus on improving our university and athletic programs while continuing to play by the rules.

But “We’re leaving to play tougher competition” hasn’t been the theme. It’s been “Texas is lying,” Texas isn’t playing fair," “Texas runs the conference,” “Texas shouldn’t have set up the LHN.”

A&M made a tremendous miscalculation on the LHN, rejected a chance to be a part of it. Problem for them is that the LHN is still going to be here.

Aggies who are thrilled about the move as though it’s found treasure should ponder what the SEC is getting out of it.

damn, people. the expression is not ‘one in the same’. it’s ‘one AND the same’. english is a goofy language, but it’s a cool one. give it a shot.

For all of Pittsburgh’s 6 Lombardis and New England’s 21st century success, the Cowboys are still the marquee franchise in the NFL. They are the most widely loved and most widely hated team. As a Cowboys fan, I share the love with those who love them and revel in the hate of those who hate them.