if the Big 12 dies,can UT handle not being the alpha in the next conference?

I am pulling from two oral histories; one by SI about the founding of the Big 12 LINKand the other about Mizzou going to SEC LINK. Both of which are worth the read.


The TL;DR is that ESPN/ABC wanted the full big 8 plus Texas and A&M. Tech was the best left and Baylor got in purely on politics.

From day one, Nebraska and Texas fought for power. The other schools were just happy to be there especially the Texas schools and little 6 schools.

quote:

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Slocum: Nebraska came in with a great program and a great history, and I think they were offended all along. Tom Osborne told me that at the time that they resented the way they were treated at some time in the conference. They were like a little stepchild from the north.
Walden: I won't say who [told me], but one of the major reasons why Nebraska left to go to the Big Ten [in 2010] was they were tired of Texas. That's just an opinion. Maybe 100 people will deny that, but that's what I surmise.

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As Mizzou leaves they act like children, even though they openly looked for spots in the pac-12.

quote:

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ALDEN: “Texas’ worst years are like Missouri’s best years. Who makes those kind of comments? You know who makes those kind of comments? Arrogant people in arrogant institutions. And that’s exactly, in my opinion, that’s what we saw throughout the whole process.”

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Now, they basically run the big 12. OU is the only school that can be completely sure they will land on their feet if the big 12 is done in 2025.