Here is where we currently stand in the 2010 conference expansion race: The Big 12 now has 10 teams; the Big Ten now has 12 teams; the Pac-10 has 11 teams and the Mountain West picked up Boise State. Every other conference is, for the moment, taking a deep breath.
It was Texas — and ESPN — that in the end saved the Big 12 from blowing up because keeping the conference alive was in the best interest of both powers. Texas gets what it always wanted — more money and the ability to remain king of its conference. ESPN gets quality programming at the expense of FOX and does not lose a BCS conference, which would have devalued its long-term BCS bowl deal. This simply is good business.
As part of the new 10-year deal, the Big 12 will distribute $139 million in TV revenue to its member schools for the 2009-10 academic year — an average of $11.58 million per school. ESPN will increase its rights fees so each school will receive between $14 and $16 million over the next 10 years as new contracts are worked out. ESPN Regional Television (ERT) will help all schools develop their own local broadcast deals.
In that same time, Texas will earn money at the high end of the spectrum because the league’s policy of revenue sharing is based on the number of TV appearances. The Longhorns would be able to earn an additional $4 to $6 million once their network — developed by ERT — is up and running in a few years, thus pushing them over their goal of $20 million .
ERT already runs the Big 12 Basketball Network and the Kansas Jayhawk Television Network so it should have no problem helping Texas get started.
The Big 12 has no plans of expanding. A conference must have 12 football teams in order to stage a championship game. When the Big Eight and the Southwest conferences came together in 1996 both Texas and Oklahoma were against a conference championship game. Now that Texas is in control, a title game won’t be played.
With his plan for luring Big 12 heavyweights now off the board, Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott will turn his attention to Utah, hoping to add it as the conference’s 12th team as soon as this week.
Jim Williams is a seven-time Emmy Award-winning TV producer, director and writer. Check out his blog, Watch this!
