Big 12 Civil War

Some of my recent posts have dealt with the horrible conference TV deal we've become stuck with. This has gotten some discussion among fans of the conference, and one strain I've seen is based on the following belief...

The Big 12 sucks.

If you notice the title of my recent post, I share that sentiment to some degree. But here in Texas, the sentiment is that the conference is terrible because the North is dragging the conference down. Now, that's undoubtedly true, especially in football, for the last three seasons or so.

But down here, it's more than that. It's because the conference is 2/3s (I count OU and OSU, because they were original Big 8 members) part of hemorrhaging Plains states that nobody cares about. 'Tis true that a lot of the schools are located in flyover territory, but there was a time when those schools were prominent. Remember Nebraska in the 1990s? Remember K-State between about 1998-2003? Colorado won a national title in the 1990s. In basketball, KU figures prominently in almost any national discussion, Iowa State won a couple conference titles, and Missouri (before Quin reduced the program to ashes) was a solid program. None of the Plains states are losing population, and as I mentioned before, the North has as many top 50 TV markets as the South (more, if you count St. Louis).

Part of this is due to the allure of the Big 12 South programs. Clearly, the most talent-rich state in the conference region is Texas. Recruits from that state would like to stay in state to play, if possible, just as recruits from anywhere want to stay home if they have a program that's worth playing for. That's undoubtedly true these days, considering UT's recent national title, and the resurgence of Texas Tech and (somewhat) Texas A&M (I'm withholding judgment at this point because I'm far from convinced Franchione is going to significantly improve that program from here on out). Now fans in Texas care about basketball at least at little more than they used to (it's hard to care less than zero) because of Rick Barnes and Billy Gillispie and Bobby Knight. And I will admit having schools in the state of Texas has helped the original Big 8 members by giving us a much larger TV presence.

But you Texans have a lot to be grateful to the original Big 8 for. I know humility and thankfulness aren't traits that run in a Texans blood, though, so I don't expect any thanks. But I will say this...

You're welcome for us bailing out your sorry-ass, scandal-ridden conference back in 1996. You're welcome for the exposure you got from playing some of the top teams in the nation in football during the early part of the conference's existence. And A&M fans, you're welcome for that goddamn conference title K-State gift-wrapped for you in 1998. UT fans, well, you're welcome for that 48-7 beatdown in 1997.

We appreciate your thankfulness, Texas schools. You're welcome for the conference having a noodle like Kevin Weiberg at the controls, who will do anything and everything to make sure you're happy. What does he do to make sure you're happy? Well for one, you can pretty much be assured you'll never have to play a North team when it's a little nippily outside. That's because since this conference began, out of 226 conference games played by South teams in the month of November, a whopping 15 of them were played at a Big 12 North school. And Baylor played five of those. Tech has yet to play in the North in November, and three of UT's five trips to the frozen tundra were played at KU.

Not a big deal, you say? I'm calling you on that one. I've lived amongst you Texans long enough to see how you deal with cold weather. Water freezes at 32 degrees, mercury freezes at -38 degrees, and a Texan freezes at 60 degrees. Hell, Oklahoma bitched about playing in Kansas City for the conference title game last year. Boys, football isn't a game that's supposed to always be played in beautiful weather. One of the best games I ever went to was Nebraska-OU in Lincoln, in the leftover snow and freezing cold temps (circa 1993).

You can also pretty much count on playing your conference opener at home. Out of 11 conference openers, K-State has played two in Manhattan. Yeah, two. The conference office claims that's coincidence, and that they do the schedules by computer. Not buying it. I don't have the time to do the statistical analysis, but considering it would be normal (given a 50/50 chance the opener will be at home) to have played five or six home openers at this point, I'm guessing two is a little beyond the standard deviation. KU has played all of three home openers. Only one North schools has played seven conference openers at home (Missouri), while three South teams have played at least seven (Tech has eight).

Maybe a conference opener at home isn't a big deal. I know this, it's a lot easier to win at home than on the road, and there are some tough venues in the Big 12. Making a statement that sets the stage for your season is a lot easier at home than it is on the road.

So go ahead, Texans. Tell us how much the Big 12 sucks, and is bringing you down, and how you deserve so much better. Fact is, you're here because of the North (plus OU and OSU). When the SWC imploded under the weight of its own corruption (SMU ring a bell?), you didn't have many places to go. The SEC might have been interested in UT and A&M, but it already had 12 teams. The Pac 10 could have showed some interest, but it doesn't make much geographical sense to skip across New Mexico to bring in a few teams. Basically, the Big 8 needed you, and you needed the Big 8. You gave us TV sets, we gave you a respectable conference to play in with better TV exposure than you could have hoped for otherwise.

Now you've aggrandized yourself at the North's expense. We sometimes play the conference basketball tournament in Dallas in front of 17,000 empty seats, rather than in KC where it sells out every single year. I'm not against rotating the sites, especially in football, but what financial sense does it make for the conference to play in an empty arena in Dallas or San Antonio, cities that don't give a damn about Big 12 conference tournament basketball games. Boo-hoo, so you have to travel to KC every once in a while if you want to watch your team play. Most of you will be shocked, but there actually is life outside of Texas.

I think deep down, most of you realize you could have ended up in the shoes of schools like SMU, TCU or UH. But those of us folksy northerners extended a helping hand. We're not expecting much, just a fair shake and a little gratitude.

I'm not holding my breath on the gratitude.