Texas Longhorns hold key to NCAA conference expansion

Longhorns reportedly being courted by Pac-10 and Big Ten

In 2003, the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) stunned college football fans across the nation when they announced they would be expanding from nine to eleven teams (they would eventually expand to 12).

By 2005, they had raided the Big East to add Virginia Tech, Boston College, and Miami to their conference lineup. The Big East was left scrambling to look for suitable football and basketball replacements and eventually raided Conference USA to add Louisville, Cincinnati, DePaul, Marquette, and South Florida. In all, the last conference expansion go-around saw a total of 23 teams end up in a different conference to call their home.

That may all seem like a small bump on the road compared to today’s expansion talks.

Orangebloods.com’s Chip Brown is reporting that the Pacific 10 Conference (Pac-10) is considering extending conference invites to six schools currently in the Big XII Conference. The schools added would include Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Colorado. This move would bring the Pac-10’s total membership to 16 schools, making the conference extremely attractive to television networks looking to broadcast to 7 of the top 20 TV markets.

This report comes a few months after the Big Ten Conference (which has 11 members) announced plans to expand its membership. Originally believed to be a one-school addition to bring their total to 12 and give them the ability to create a conference championship game, speculation has since intensified that they are looking to add anywhere between three and five teams.

Through a public-records request, The Columbus Dispatch reported on Friday that Ohio State University President E. Gordon Gee had contacted Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany in April to inform him he had spoken with University of Texas President William Powers. “I did speak with Bill Powers at Texas, who would welcome a call to say they have a ‘Tech’ problem,” wrote Gee in one of the e-mails obtained.

Representatives from Ohio State refused to explain the “Tech” problem, although it has been reported that Texas would not consider switching conferences without Texas A&M or Texas Tech included as a package deal. This is troublesome for a conference known for their academic prowess. Every school in the Big Ten Conference is a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU). While Texas and Texas A&M are AAU schools, Texas Tech is not.

Texas is now in what seems like a very good position. With the Pac-10 and Big Ten both showing interest, it appears the Longhorns have options that could not only affect their future, but the futures of dozens of universities around the country, including UCF. The Knights have long been rumored to be the top candidate for conference expansion to the Big East or ACC.

With the Pac-10 and Big Ten both showing signs that they may turn into 16-team mega conferences, what will that do to the Big East, ACC, or the remaining members of a raided Big XII?

Even the Southeastern Conference (SEC), arguably college football’s strongest conference, has shown signs that they would like to be proactive rather than reactive in the current conference expansion scenario. Home to the last four college football national champions, the SEC is not planning on sitting back and relaxing while mega conferences form in other ends of the country. Look for them to at least consider adding several schools to their already-strong arsenal.

Many thought Notre Dame would be the driving force behind the new expansion talks, but it looks like the Fighting Irish have taken a back seat to Texas, who led the nation in total athletics revenue at $138.5 million in the last two years. That was up 32% from their 2007 levels. In addition, donor levels at Texas have skyrocketed in the past five years, mainly due to their multiple appearances in BCS bowl games, including two BCS National Championship games.

Only time will tell which conference every school will end up in, or whether schools will change conferences at all.

One thing is certain, however. The move will have “Hook ‘Em” written all over it.