The University of Colorado left the Big 12 today. This move along with rumors of Nebraska and possibly Missouri jumping ship from the Big 12 as well could mean a completely different college athletics outlook this come this fall.
Colorado left the Big 12 for the Pac 10 and rumors are abound that Nebraska will be leaving for the Big 10 sometime in the next few days. With the Big 12 north in shambles pressure is on Big 12 south powerhouses Texas and Oklahoma to make a decision to stay or go.
You have to be wondering what all of this has to do with TV and satellite TV in particular. The answer is 2-fold.
- The Big 12 was formed because of TV and now it’s falling apart because of TV. One of the biggest ways for colleges to make money is TV deals for college athletics. Colorado stands to gain TV money by moving to the Pac 10 and Nebraska stands to gain by moving to the Big 10. The Big 10 has their own satellite television network and being able to feed from that trough is a big opportunity for Nebraska.
The Big 12 was initially formed about 15 years as a way to gather big names in college sports and sell TV time. Now they fall apart because of more lucrative TV deals.
- Simply put, TEXAS – The University of Texas is a huge huge huge TV draw for the entire (extremely well populated) state of Texas. UT controls most of the Texas football market. That makes Texas an extremely valuable commodity to any conference that can draw Texas out of the Big 12. Currently the front runner looks like the Pac 10. If they succeed in breaking up the Big12 and manage to snag Texas in the shakeup they stand to be TV powerhouses in the future.
Colorado is already leaving the Big 12. If no one else leaves, the Big 12 can probably survive just fine. If Nebraska or Missouri leave for the Big 10, expect to see the Big 12 schools quickly scatter to different conferences with lucrative satellite TV packages or networks. Remember that Texas is the key player here. They could probably create their own Texas satellite TV network and be successful, if someone else grabs them they will be well situated to negotiate big time TV deal.
Attribution: Assessing The College Football Scramble