I haven't read through this whole thread but I it irks me that the Big 12 bent over backwards to keep Texas and OU happy last time and Texas especially gets plenty of special treatment with the Longhorn Network and now this stupid "no horns down" rule. Screw that, I would rather give them all the middle finger at this point.
Texas is not the powerhouse they were back when the Big 12 nearly blew up last time. They are on their 3rd FB coach now since pushing Mac Brown out the door after 2013 and have gone 48-39 since then which is hardly powerhouse FB when they've stacked the deck in their favor for so long in this conference. Did not make bowl games 2 of those years and have been to the Alamo bowl twice, Texas bowl twice and the sugar bowl in their 1 good year in 2018. Basketball hasn't been any better as the last time they finished a season ranked in the coaches poll was 2010-11 and have not been to the Sweet 16 since 2008. I don't know how a move to the SEC makes their life any easier when they will have to recruit harder against the big programs there.
I look at how watered down the Big 10 looks after they added Rutgers and Maryland and how Nebraska has flopped there too. I think the 10-12 team conferences is the sweet spot when it comes to balanced competition because with 10 you play a round robin schedule and there is none of this "oh well the reason why this team won so many games this year is because they didn't have to play teams X Y and Z who were better." Everyone plays everyone and there is no excuses that you lucked out not having to play the toughest team(s) to get to where you finished. It pisses me off how the Big 12 has done so much to keep OU and Texas happy so we can keep this Big 12 strong and now this crap comes out just over a month out from the start of the FB season where you have 2 teams ranked in the top 5 preseason poll and somehow Texas still riding their name to a #18 ranking with a new coach and QB. Should be all kind of excitement and hype going into this fall and now the 2 biggest names in the conference are apparently trying to shop around for a better deal. Sometimes the grass is not always greener on the other side and there are some schools that left the Big 12 last time that probably have buyer's remorse. I think both Colorado and Nebraska at least from a competition aspect did not gain anything. Nebraska gained financially going to the Big 10 and I'm not sure Colorado really gained anything in general going to the Pac 12. Mizzou probably has no regrets going to the SEC but they have not been very competitive since making the move but they were also a very up and down program in the Big 12 too.
