Rewind seven months.
Nebraska and Colorado had announced they are leaving the Big 12 Conference only 14 years after its inception. The fate of the conference was in jeopardy as the Pac-10 attempted to lure half of the remaining teams.
Let’s be honest — if it weren’t for Texas, Oklahoma would be gearing up for a run at the Pac-16 title instead of a chance to repeat as Big 12 champions.
During realignment, it became obvious that the Big 12 needed Texas more than Texas needed the Big 12. Without the Longhorns, the Big 12 would’ve collapsed as teams flocked to other conferences to avoid being left behind.
At the time, it seemed the conference would be safe as Texas would stay, only under the condition they could start their own television network.
The University of Texas and ESPN announced Wednesday a partnership to start a new network showing Longhorn sports, as well as other original, academic and historical programming.
The deal is worth $30 million over 20 years according to ESPN.
However, UT president William Powers said the school is still fully committed to the Big 12 Conference. Uh huh.
This new “Longhorn Sports Network” or “ESPNUT” or whatever it will be called does not bode well for the rest of the conference.
It was Texas that kept the Big 12 together during realignment, but by creating its own network, it has separated itself from the nine remaining schools. The Longhorns have taken on an identity as something bigger than the Big 12 itself.
Other schools like Notre Dame and BYU may have their own television deals, but no one else has a partner with the national strength and recognition as ESPN.
With the extra national reach Texas will receive, the Longhorns will increase their fan base across the country. Fans on both coasts will see burnt orange as the prominent color in not only the Big 12 but all of college sports.
With UT as the first and only school to partner with ESPN, it will only be a matter of time before Texas will become too much for the Big 12 — or any conference, for that matter — to contain.
Oklahoma is known as a national powerhouse but does not have the same national appeal to fans as Texas. OU relies on Texas and the rest of the Big 12 to keep its prestige high to fans around the country.
For schools like OU to continue to compete with Texas financially, similar courses of action need to be taken.
This could be the start of a trend in collegiate sports in which major schools rely on themselves rather than their conference, much like Notre Dame has done throughout its history.
Self-owned networks have worked at the professional level, with the New York Yankees’ “YES Network” and the New York Mets’ “SNY” seeing success on cable.
If this success transfers to the collegiate ranks, Texas may only be the first of many to have their own channel.
OU will need to act fast if this trend starts to take shape or other powerhouses could leave them in the dust.
Who knows? We may have the “Sooner Sports Station” before we know it.
I just hope it doesn’t come too late.