The Unraveling of the Big 12

Looking around the Big 12 it’s hard to find much good news lately unless your team hails from Austin.

Texas’ program is obviously humming on all cylinders and Pelini has awoken the Blackshirts in Lincoln while maintaining a principled disregard for offense. But other than A&M’s near miss on an anniversarial moral victory, things are headed in the wrong direction for almost every team in the conference. Take out Texas and it becomes Sun Belt bad — the 2009 combined record of the other 11 teams is 71-61. Apparently when two shitty teams play each other somebody still has to win.

So what better time to rekindle the movement to form a super conference with the Pac 10? I realize it’s a wish unlikely to be granted given the joint realities of Deloss Dodds winding down his career as AD and the fact that his successor, Mack Brown, is a college football traditionalist. But if you think NBC or Fox wouldn’t be interested in signing a mega TV deal for The BigPac 16 that would drag millions of ABC/CBS/ESPN eyeballs West, srr50 would like to have a chat with you in private. And those never go well.

Abandoning the Big 12 would be a messy divorce but the wealthier party that strikes first always wins. (Sorry Dad.) You can’t be shortsighted here – there is huge long-term potential both in terms of dollars and fan interest by joining up the strength of the Big 12 with the Pac 10′s heavyweights while each conference sheds some dead weight. That bunch could collectively form their version of a Conference USA. Tough shit, as they say. And spare me the time zone and travel distance argument between Texas and the West coast. Boston College and Miami are in the same conference.

That’s not to say we won’t relish winning another Big 12 title on Saturday. They’ve certainly been hard for us to win despite our 5-0 record in BCS games. But this was a gaping wound of a year for the Big 12 as a whole, even if Texas goes on to win it all.

With these thoughts in mind, lets take a look at each team’s mental health (or in K. State’s case, Bill Snyder’s lack thereof) heading into the bowl season and 2010.

Kansas

2007: 12-1
2008: 8-5
2009: 5-7

I like Mark Mangino. He created a football program at a hoops-crazy school with selective recruiting, aggressive fundraising and by simply eating his way through the hard times. The results have been … enormous. The ingredients: 1) Pluck hidden gems from Texas like Todd Reesing and Dez Briscoe. 2) Convert average QB into an all Big 12 receiver (Kerry Meier) while locking down in-state studs (Darrell Stuckey) with brute force. 3) Increase buffet offerings at training table. 4) Install a spread package to feature said talent and scheme around deficiencies. 5) Hope basketball fans show up.

It all worked out pretty damn well in 2007 and 2008 before the wheels fell off halfway through this season. After a 5-0 start, seven straight losses have Jayhawk fans wondering how they ever fell in love with Todd Reesing, whose popularity is now on par with KU’s 3rd string point guard.

Just as the bad PR from Mangino-Gate was dying down, new allegations surfaced today that Mangino punished a former player for missing WEIGH-IN by making him crab crawl across searing hot fieldturf, causing 2nd degree burns on his hands. Then Mangino threatened to burn his other hand if he didn’t play better. Nice work, Mark. It’s safe to say that Lew Perkins can’t fire Mangino fast enough and the boosters are probably ready to roll the fat man into a brick oven on a bed of basketballs. Hoops-first schools like KU don’t like false expectations about other sports. As the attention shifts toward the top-ranked Jayhawks on the hardcourt, KU’s football program could circle the drain unless Perkins can pull off a quick, big-name hire. The odds are he can’t and that brief run at competence by the football program just becomes an inside joke.

Boosters threw a ton of cash into the program last year knowing a Big 12 North Championship was a real possibility this season given the paucity of legitimate contenders. With a last place finish in the dismal Big 12 North and the imminent departure of Briscoe and Reesing, a Phog has permanently descended over the football program and it won’t soon be lifted. Sherron Collins? Rock Chalk Nation turns it’s beady eyes to you. Don’t fuck it up.

Oklahoma

2007: 11-3
2008: 12-2
2009: 7-5

Ahhh … the myriad ways to relish the cesspool of shit the Sooners have swam in all season. Stoops lost all his ~~1st~~ 2nd round draft picks to injury after promising them higher draft grades and national championships if they returned. He’s about 0-4 on that count. A few got hurt and others like Trent Williams just happen to suck this year. Wait, now he’s hurt too. Do the Sooners even have five healthy linemen left?

Since Big Game Bob isn’t physically capable of taking one on the chin, he briskly deflected all criticism towards his players’ lack of execution or ability to stay healthy. Rather than face the kind of embarrassment that comes with, uh, performance issues, he hit speed dial and told his agent to start working the phones. There’s more smoke coming out of South Bend about the imminent hiring of Stoops than the billowing plume that erupted from Merrill Hoge’s ass after VY’s game-winning TD. At the very worst, Stoops’ sniffing around always parlays more money out of his already inflated contract. But I’m not sure how much more Boren is willing to pony up after a 7-5 season and repeated BCS bed-shitings. Bob strikes me as a guy who has always been ready to leave Norman (what partially sane person wouldn’t?) given the right opportunity, but OU kept throwing more money at him and the right opportunity never came up. Well now it has and OU is done paying. Having lost four of five to Texas, Stoops has seen the writing on the wall and it’s in blood, san serif, signed Will Muschamp. Bob may be an asshole but he’s no idiot. Somebody tell Touchdown Jesus that you’re trying to make a deal with the devil.

So if Bob bolts from the Sooner Schooner, where does that leave OU? Despite the squalor detailed above, OU remains our closest competition in the Big 12 and things are never as bad as them seem when discussing our fetid rival. A smart hire could kick-start recruiting and potentially steal away a few guys Texas covets, not necessarily this year but for 2011 which looks to be another loaded class. They’ll certainly have plenty of spots on the two-deep available as OU loses a ton of guys to the draft and graduation this year. The good news is that the next cadre of Sooner 3-star ATH’s are just one summer spent with Jerry Schmidt away from pre-season All-Big 12 honors, assuming they can digest their own puke and become stronger from it. HenryJames still drinks his own urine (because it’s 20% undigested beer) and he’s doing fine so you never know.

A&M

2007: 7-6
2008: 4-8
2009: 6-6

It’s early November and just when things were looking up for the Aggies after stomping Tech in Lubbock, they reverts to the mean and lose to woeful Colorado. You don’t want to be one of the three schools Dan Hawkins beat this year, or any year. As the Ags showed in their annual play-out-of-our-minds Jihad game against Texas, they have some good young talent on offense. But everyone on the defense not named Von Miller needs to go, and unfortunately he’s the only one going. Sherman’s job remains secure only because the Aggies can’t afford to buy him out (four million thanks to Dennis Franchione) and the success of their Archery and Bass Fishing teams just hasn’t brought in the revenue that Bill Byrne predicted. That, and whoever balances the budgets over in the A.D.’s office has been sniffing bat guano. Can Huckleberry help you with this?

A 6-6 season bought Sherman another year and a winning season is not unimaginable for the farmers next year. This is one of the few programs in the conference with even a mildly upward trajectory. Whoop?

Texas Tech

2007: 9-4
2008: 11-2
2009: 8-4

Mike Leach is working on a book with ESPN’s Bruce Feldman and one has to believe it will be a tell-all after last year’s tête à tête between the pirate and his outlaw A.D. Like Trips Right stumbling out of the Across the Street Bar with a half-conscious bar-maid on the Friday before Texas/OU, Leach and Myers quickly realized they couldn’t do any better than eachother.

All was going well for Tech this season until QB injuries took their toll. The difference between a functioning QB in the Tech offense versus starting a sloth like Seth Doege or Kindled Taylor Potts is about a 50 point swing. Thus the loss to Houston, who promptly loses to UTEP, which inspired Trips to throw a Quinceanera for all the latin girls in his neighborhood who never had one.

Then A&M rolls in and downright Shermanates the Red Raiders. That’s when your bad play calling, poor tackling, and Six Sigma motivation tactics rub off on the other team during the coin flip. It’s the football equivalent of Freaky Friday but Sherman can’t always remember what he did to invoke the spell. What’s the code word?! Metamucil! uh…Paxil? … no … VON MILLER’S THIRD LEG! Bingo. Ags win every time.

Now you’re hearing rumors from the western slope (not to be confused with Scipio’s live-in boy servant) about Leach going to Louisville/Pac 10/pirate Grad School and dedfischer suddenly starts selling call options on his Tortilla Retort pre-IPO shares. Or is he buying puts? You never fucking know with that guy. But this crossroads is where Tech decides whether it wants to be a perennial 8-4 team, where you need a come back win to beat Baylor, or aspire towards something greater. Like 9-3. The floor and ceiling aren’t far apart in Lubbock, but guys like Will Ford and Baron Batch (6.7 ypc wtf1?) give guys like dedfischer hope. And that’s good enough for me. So much so that I’ve invited him along to be our tour guide inside the DeathStar on Saturday.

Colorado

2007: 6-7
2008: 5-7
2009: 3-9

Voice of Tex: “This program did not clear the relevance hurdle.”

The good news for Buff fans is that nothing makes you forget about Dan Hawkins’ ridiculous contract extension after a 3-9 season like sinking into a few feet of pow after some dank nugs on the lift at Breck. Whoa. It’s like already March, dude.

Congrats to CU for at least competitively losing over the second half of the season. You had Okie State, Iowa State, and Nebraska on the ropes and couldn’t close the deal. But the way you moved the ball on the Huskers should make Texas fans smile. Nebraska’s secondary can be exploited.

We’ll check in with Buff nation again after ski season. In the meantime, watch the Best. Gary. Busey. Interview. Ever.

Kansas State

2007: 5-7
2008: 5-7
2009: 6-6

Rather than recap the Wildcats up and down season, a better barometer for assessing the overall health of the program is to spend a day with Bill Snyder.

7:30 a.m.

Bill gets lost on way to stadium.

7:40 a.m.

Is that a Walgreens? Uhh … yes. But is it MY Walgreens? Sharon would know. Oh heck, what’s her number gosh dernit!

7:45 a.m.

Sits in purple Crown Vic for 20 minutes trying to remember how he got here. Abandon mission.

8:05 a.m.

The GPS! Best player’s gift I ever got.

“Uh yes hello, thanks for your support. Can you tell me how to get to Bill Snyder Stadium”

“Thank you for calling OnStar. I would be most happy to help you. Can I get your name, Sir?”

“Yes. Bill Snyder.”

“The SAME Bill Snyder?

“There’s only ONE Bill Snyder in Manhattan, Kansas mister!

“Oh hello Mr. Bill! We talked last week. I’m Raj, remember? Sorry about the ga-”

Bill hangs up, fuming at technology. Vows to never travel to India. Or anywhere outside Kansas.

8:30 a.m.

Calls assistant coach for directions to stadium. Big bonus coming for the coach that can keep this all quiet. A sum is agreed upon, directions are given. Slowly.

9:00 a.m.

Bill Snyder parks in Bill Snyder’s designated parking spot. Wait, is there another Bill Snyder? Darnit! Calls University Registrar and waits on hold for 20 minutes before dozing off.

9:30 a.m.

Drool dripping down neck wakes him up. Where am I? Looks like a parking lot … It must be gameday! Wait. There are usually at least 30 cars in the lot on Saturday and I see only six. No, that’s a tractor. Five. Hmmm … must be a weekday. Time to go to work!

9:40 a.m.

Gets distracted by the goalpost peaking out of the stadium. Wanders in to give it a long embrace, addressing each post as Sir Bishop and Lord Sproles. We couldn’t have done it without you all these years! Did he just lick the goalpost? Wow.

10:00 a.m.

Gets lost on way to office, takes a nap in the player’s lounge.

10:30 a.m.

Gets carried to office by reliable 2nd string OL. Scribbles reminder to start him on Senior Day. Wait, what year is it?

11:10 a.m.

Reviews fax of updated JUCO depth charts. Solid crop this year! The future is looking bright in Manhattan. Four days of recruiting max = more time for Matlock re-runs and Thursday Bingo. Changes dentures while laughing at that supreme time-mismanager, Mack Brown.

12:00 p.m.

High noon! The day is almost over. Checks date on last will & testament, makes sure it’s current. Last stamp: yesterday.

12:15 p.m.

Checks genealogy database for any new Snyder’s to join the extended family. Hit! William Snyder, Sarasota, FL. Adds him to living will and sends recruiting letter with purple wildcat stuffed animal.

1:00 p.m.

Dominates a few games of online Euchre. Mocks his defeated opponents: Bitter Aggies!

1:45 p.m.

Changes diaper. Without help!

2:00 p.m.

PowerCat nap.

3:00 p.m.

Watches video of A&M game on a loop until …

3:30 p.m.

Aaand it’s nap time again.

4:00 p.m.

Writes weekly letter to Warren Buffett.

4:30 p.m.

Alarm sounds as reminder to head home for dinner.

5:00 p.m.

Gets lost on way home. Calls assistant coach back for directions after ripping OnStar out of the dashboard and tossing it out the window onto Bill Snyder Blvd.

5:30 p.m.

Dinner of turnips, collard greens, Brussells sprouts, beets, and boiled venison. Chef’s Metamucil. Geriatric gourmet!

6:45 p.m.

PowerCat Nap.

7:30 p.m.

Glenn Beck time! Is it too late to adopt him?

8:00 p.m.

Slips into his monogrammed purple PJ’s. Yep, they’re his alright. Get your own damn pair, Sonny!

9:15 p.m.
10:45 p.m.
1:00 a.m.
2:45 a.m
4:15 a.m.

Wakes up to piss.

5:30 a.m.

A purple dawn awakes Bill Snyder for another day of winning at life.

We’ll finish off this sexy beast tomorrow with Texas, Nebraska, Okie State, and Baylor. Mmmm… Baylor.

Article Tags:

Big 12, Big XII, Bill Snyder, College Football, Geriatrocities, Keeping Up With The Joneses, Messy Divorce, Super Conference, Texas Longhorns, The Big Picture, The Shermanator

62 Responses

HenryJames said:

December 3rd, 2009 at 2:10 pm

The good news for Buff fans is that nothing makes you forget about Dan Hawkins’ ridiculous contract extension after a 3-9 season like sinking into a few feet of pow after some dank nugs on the lift at Breck.

Ski pricks, imo.
Minnesotahorn said:

December 3rd, 2009 at 2:14 pm

“…despite our 5-0 record in BCS games.”

Hmmm..
Vasherized said:

December 3rd, 2009 at 2:18 pm

That’s called ‘forecasting’. With Huckleberry’s tools I can now predict the future.
eloy said:

December 3rd, 2009 at 2:26 pm

that bill snyder shit is tits brah, by the way its called pow pow if you truly shred
Minnesotahorn said:

December 3rd, 2009 at 2:27 pm

Western Slope is greatness.
Trips Right said:

December 3rd, 2009 at 2:30 pm

9:15 p.m.
10:45 p.m.
1:00 a.m.
2:45 a.m
4:15 a.m.

Wakes up to piss.

I chortled. Great stuff. Looking forward to part deux.
nordberg said:

December 3rd, 2009 at 2:32 pm

Jesus, a&m has lost 20 games the past three seasons. A loss in the bowl would give them an even 7 losses per year since 2007. Good times!
Ag_in_TX said:

December 3rd, 2009 at 2:32 pm

I have spoken of the potential unraveling of the Big XII for years. But it will be a financial case, not a competitive one. And I cannot see Texas and A&M going to the same conference in the next one.

The appeal of the SEC (who will want to expand themselves when the others start to do so) will be too strong. The addition of A&M, Miami, Florida State and Virginia Tech to the SEC will make it the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah.
Vasherized said:

December 3rd, 2009 at 2:37 pm

Selassie-Ag.
Trips Right said:

December 3rd, 2009 at 2:37 pm

Evidently this is Mangino on the flight home after being fired. The dude in the middle seat has my type luck with flights.
magnusbleuveigner said:

December 3rd, 2009 at 2:46 pm

All these super conferences would create are more shitty undefeated teams from lesser conferences. It would be nearly impossible to run the Super Pac Whateveritsnameis or the SEC equivalent.
Bob Loblaw said:

December 3rd, 2009 at 2:50 pm

If A&M went to the SEC they may never win another game. Baylor and the Big XII North are the only thing keeping them at their 6 win a year pace.
Phenomenal Smith said:

December 3rd, 2009 at 2:52 pm

Ahem.

I have spoken of the potential unraveling of the Big XII for years.

I’ve been on that horse since 1995.
Horncasting said:

December 3rd, 2009 at 2:52 pm

Voice of Tex: “This program did not clear the relevance hurdle.”

Big Tex from the State Fair, or TEX, the telephone enrollment exchange for the University of Texas at Austin?

TEX is currently enrolling classes for the ………………….Spring…………. 1992…..semester.
BEHorn said:

December 3rd, 2009 at 2:52 pm

“Now you’re hearing rumors from the western slope (not to be confused with Scipio’s live-in boy servant) about Leach going to Louisville/Pac 10/pirate Grad School and dedfischer suddenly starts selling call options on his Tortilla Retort pre-IPO shares.”

That parenthetical should not go unapplauded.
uthookem said:

December 3rd, 2009 at 3:01 pm

I enrolled with TEX my first semester. Fall. 1998.

“Physics……….301k…………..was NOT added………..because…………the class was full.”

Fuck! Now I have to wake up at 8:00 am EVERY FUCKING DAY OF THE WEEK MY ENTIRE FRESHMAN YEAR!
magnusbleuveigner said:

December 3rd, 2009 at 3:01 pm

i liked the Phog reference. Clever indeed.
srr50 said:

December 3rd, 2009 at 3:03 pm

All these super conferences would create are more shitty undefeated teams from lesser conferences.

It is my belief that we will eventually end up with some version of four 16-team Super-Conferences, with a BCS or playoff system. Sort of a Triple-A version of the NFL.

Which means “parity” will be the watchword, and unbeaten seasons will become almost extinct.
ballrific said:

December 3rd, 2009 at 3:05 pm

“The addition of A&M, Miami, Florida State and Virginia Tech to the SEC will make it the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah.”

can’t make this stuff up….one does not belong here, um, man..
Huckleberry said:

December 3rd, 2009 at 3:18 pm

Fuck! Now I have to wake up at 8:00 am EVERY FUCKING DAY OF THE WEEK MY ENTIRE FRESHMAN YEAR!

Heh, I actually set it up like that on purpose my freshman year. 8:00 classes MWF and 8:30 TTh.
UT_BKC said:

December 3rd, 2009 at 3:25 pm

You are bunch of old fucks. No one born after 1982 know about TEX. I say that because I was born 1982, and I believe my Freshman year was the last year it was really used much (it was still in operation, might be, just not used). My wife, who started 2 years after me, never used the thing and thought it was some myth. Like the myth of standing in line at the drum to register for classes using some clay tablet system.
Dunstan Pearl said:

December 3rd, 2009 at 3:26 pm

“Mathmatics four-oh-eight dee with a grade of………………………………………..this grade has not been recorded.”
Dunstan Pearl said:

December 3rd, 2009 at 3:27 pm

“Goodbye and good luck.”
mitch cumsteen said:

December 3rd, 2009 at 3:27 pm

“Fuck! Now I have to wake up at 8:00 am EVERY FUCKING DAY OF THE WEEK MY ENTIRE FRESHMAN YEAR!”

Dude. Just go to the Erwin Center for adds and drops. Now that was really fucking productive.
UT_BKC said:

December 3rd, 2009 at 3:28 pm

Dunstan – TEX reported grades as well? Holy shit. Never new that.
srr50 said:

December 3rd, 2009 at 3:28 pm

“The addition of A&M, Miami, Florida State and Virginia Tech to the SEC will make it the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah.”

Arkansas joined the SEC in 1992. In the 19 seasons since, the Razorbacks are 123-103-2 for a sizzling 55% winning percentage. Counting this year they will have gone to 10 bowl games in 19 years, and have finished nationally ranked (15,16,17) exactly three times.

Be Careful of What You Wish For, Because You Just Might Get It.
UT_BKC said:

December 3rd, 2009 at 3:28 pm

I never knew that either…
UT_BKC said:

December 3rd, 2009 at 3:30 pm

Then it all crashes down.
Gene Claude said:

December 3rd, 2009 at 3:31 pm

Um…we can hear you. We are right here….
nordberg said:

December 3rd, 2009 at 3:34 pm

I remember thinking that getting up at 9:30 to get to a 10:00 class was getting up early. So yeah, I didn’t have a lot of classes before 10:00.

Nowadays sleeping in on the weekends is 8:00.
magnusbleuveigner said:

December 3rd, 2009 at 3:36 pm

Don’t fear Gene, you guys go to the Big 10 and keep that rivalry going with Illinois.
uthookem said:

December 3rd, 2009 at 4:13 pm

“Nowadays sleeping in on the weekends is 8:00.”

After getting up at 6:30 to piss out some whiskey and shake off the cobwebs, only crawl back in bed while bitching about waking up so damn early.
Woody Bombay said:

December 3rd, 2009 at 5:14 pm

aggies have been pining for the SEC for years now because they represent the ‘Deep South’ part of Texas and want to be with kindred spirits in Alabama, Mississippi, etc.

But as mentioned above, have a look at Arkansas, aggies. You’ll be fighting it out with the Kentuckys, Miss States and Vanderbilts to stay out of the basement.
Bateshorn said:

December 3rd, 2009 at 5:42 pm

Vash- Dude, if you can carve ice in Sunday River, you crush those bitches out west. Check out this Northern Lights….

Huck- For the love of christ. Half the reason I majored in Political Science was due to the fact that I didn’t have to take a course before noon my entire junior year. See reference above.
Bateshorn said:

December 3rd, 2009 at 5:43 pm

Nord- My first three days in Mexico, sans kids, I still got up at 7:30 EST ever day. FAIL.
bigdukesix said:

December 3rd, 2009 at 6:14 pm

Evidently this is Mangino on the flight home after being fired.

Dude has head coach money (and maybe a buyout?) and an extremely large carriage, and he’s flying coach? What a cheap fuck.
Austin said:

December 3rd, 2009 at 6:23 pm

NBC should get Notre Dame, OU, Texas, USC, Michigan/Ohio State, and Florida and set up a round robin non-conf schedule and get the BCS to guarantee a spot for the best finisher in the round robin that doesn’t end up a conference champion:

Six teams. Fifteen games. One a week. Saturday in prime time on
NBC. A Super-Mini Sub Conference

Week 1: Notre Dame vs. OU
Week 2: Texas vs. Notre Dame
Week 3: USC vs. OU
Week 4: Texas vs. OU
Week 5: Notre Dame vs. USC
Week 6: Notre Dame vs. Penn St.
Week 7: OU vs. Penn St.
Week 8: Texas vs. Florida
Week 9: USC vs. Penn St.
Week 10: Texas vs. Penn St.
Week 11: Texas vs. USC
Week 12: OU vs. Florida
Week 13a: USC vs. Florida(Day after Thanksgiving)
Week 13: Notre Dame vs. Florida
Week 14: Penn St. vs. Florida
bob said:

December 3rd, 2009 at 7:09 pm

Registering at the Drum (yes I’m that old) had it’s benefits. You could always follow hot chicks and sign up for the same classes or follow the athletes to the gimme classes.
yojimbox said:

December 3rd, 2009 at 10:43 pm

Dump the Big 12 North and invite Houston in. Make it just one division. Everyone plays everyone. Problem solved.
java said:

December 4th, 2009 at 12:24 am

I, too, believe there will eventually be super conferences. Ultimately, a CCG is a playoff game, but too often the records are not evenly matched. This year and 1996 are two very good examples.

In whatever way super conferences are organized, I believe it should be done so that there is not a conference championship game. The in-conference record should stand and determine play-off position.

Just 2 cents from the peanut gallery.

Hook ‘em!
srr50 said:

December 4th, 2009 at 8:16 am

Dump the Big 12 North and invite Houston in. Make it just one division. Everyone plays everyone. Problem solved.

Barry Switzer would be named head coach at Texas before we are in any league that includes the Cougars.
ColoradoAg said:

December 4th, 2009 at 8:24 am

Fucking good shit. One of the best posts of the season. Good work.

“Sherman’s job remains secure only because the Aggies can’t afford to buy him out.”

I certainly am not sold on Sherm as the longterm answer, but you can’t can a guy that took over the fucking mess Fran left. No o-line. No defense. Disgraceful. It is a full rebuild.

“sinking into a few feet of pow after some dank nugs on the lift at Breck. Whoa. It’s like already March, dude.”

I’m homesick. Breck blows ass though.
Mike said:

December 4th, 2009 at 8:41 am

Wait, so what came first?

I used to register and do add/drops at the Undergraduate Library lobby (UGLy). Then came that Tex automated phone system. When did they start doing this stuff at F. Erwin? And what’s the UGL called now? I can’t find it on a list of libraries.

Damn I feel old.
Hooked said:

December 4th, 2009 at 9:51 am

Don’t feel too old, Mike – I did my adds/drops at Belmont. I think my student ID was created by hand-caligraphy with my picture drawn by a sketch artist.
Horncasting said:

December 4th, 2009 at 10:01 am

I couldn’t use TEX for the spring semester my freshman year because I had OVERPAID my UT long-distance (another blast from he past) bill by a few cents. Seriously, I had to go get a refund check for under a buck so that the balance would be zero.
spider said:

December 4th, 2009 at 10:23 am

If Texas goes anywhere, it should be independence.

Why join another conference?
spider said:

December 4th, 2009 at 10:24 am

And what’s the UGL called now? I can’t find it on a list of libraries.

Damn I feel old.

It’s the Flawn Academic Center, and no longer a library.
Vasherized said:

December 4th, 2009 at 10:25 am

Bates,

I’ll see your Sunday River and raise you a Jay Peak / Mad River Glen excursion.

I don’t miss the cracked ribs on black ice.

Coloradoag,

Breck is where the D Bags flock to no doubt.
I prefer A Basin or Steamboat.

Someday we will get HenryJames on skis and sell it to TMZ for a small fortune. Ruidoso, imo.
The Dog Pound said:

December 4th, 2009 at 11:10 am

Bates, Colorado Ag and Vasherized:

Eastern Skiing sucks–out here that sport is called hockey hence the magazine resort rankings have to create a whole new category for Eastern resorts so they can get some run.

Although there is some good skiing at Breck, you generally have to hike for it. Also you’re pretty damn likely to spend half the day in lines and freeze your ass off.

Steamboat is my favorite place to ski as well, and now that its finally been sold to a company that might spend some money to improve the place rather than send all the revenue to prop up some shit hole back east I’m very encouraged.

The Winter Park, Copper, Steamboat pass is gold–now all we just need is a bit more snow. . .
ColoradoAg said:

December 4th, 2009 at 11:23 am

My folks live in Steamboat now. Great town, great skiing.
soonerfan15 said:

December 4th, 2009 at 12:54 pm

Why would Texas want to be in a strong conference? The only time Texas gets a shot at the national title is when the rest of the conference is awful. Face it, you guys benefit from being up when everyone else is down. Take an honest look at your team and tell me if they wouldn’t have dropped at least one game if you were part of the Pac-10 this year. Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, Arizona, USC, and Cal are all better than the trash you got to play on the road this year. Put your team in Autzen last night, and you would have lost. You guys have a shot at a national championship because you are part of a weak conference this year.
Vasherized said:

December 4th, 2009 at 12:59 pm

Coloradoag,

Mine do as well. Awesome town.
The Bobs said:

December 4th, 2009 at 1:16 pm

The only time Texas gets a shot at the national title is when the rest of the conference is awful.
well, that and when the stoops clan doesn’t get a vote on it…

and btw – the minute you referenced the “trash” we played, I immediately thought of you. funny how that works…
TaylorTRoom said:

December 4th, 2009 at 1:38 pm

The thing I don’t understand is why OU only gets a shot at the Sun Bowl when the rest of the conference is awful…
soonerfan15 said:

December 4th, 2009 at 1:41 pm

Ah yes, its always some Stoops conspiracy with you people. Let’s go ahead and assume that 2008 was a vast conspiracy by Stoops and his cronies to screw UT out of a national championship shot. That still doesn’t explain the rest of the years this decade where you haven’t walked out of Big 12 play still in the national championship picture, and it doesn’t explain how playing in a tougher conference would be better for you.
Sugarpants said:

December 4th, 2009 at 1:49 pm

Dumping the Big 12 is a shitty idea. Arkansas left the SWC because they were on a program high and figured they were better off with better competition. That did not work out well.

Yes we could go to another league, but the truth is it would be dumb. If we went to the PAC-10, we would be at a travel disadvantage to everyone else in the league. Moreover, we would not be the #1 program in football anymore – that would probably go to USC for the time being. Basketball, we would have to contend with UCLA and Arizona. Baseball I guess would be a wash – lots of good teams in both leagues. Yes, I know we’re currently better than these folks but not by a lot. Yes, we have the strongest overall program by far, but that could change.

Better to be the lead dog than to risk the view being like all the rest.
srr50 said:

December 4th, 2009 at 2:59 pm

The point isn’t about going to another league just because we are pissed off. The point is that if the Big 12 continues to be reactive rather than proactive on the media front we all will be in the shit can, and some of us believe that Texas shouldn’t hang around for that.
sports jesus said:

December 4th, 2009 at 3:27 pm

bob – re: Erwin Center

Spoken like a true, and lucky, non-engineering major.
trkhorn said:

December 4th, 2009 at 6:58 pm

srr-

What do you think about us going independent in football?

Let’s say we did a deal w/NBC much like ND – that also included playing them every year which would be a ratings blockbuster. Keep OU, A&M, Tech, Baylor and Rice on a yearly basis, plus a game each against a team from each major conference. Think UCLA, Ole Miss, Penn State, North Carolina, UConn and a C-USA team. Is this completely out of the realm of possibility?
srr50 said:

December 5th, 2009 at 12:10 pm

Is this completely out of the realm of possibility?

Yes, because there is no incentive for teams in other BCS conferences to play an elite independent team — conferences are going the other way, trying to make their non-conference schedules easy enough to ensure that the mid leve teams are bowl eligible (have at least 6 wins) and most elite teams show no desire to schedule other elite teams regularly in non-conference play.

Plus it would kill the overall excellence of the program, and we aren’t willing to do that.
Rodney said:

March 20th, 2010 at 3:43 am

Am I the only person up my tree… sure seems like it
Lana Schliep said:

July 1st, 2010 at 10:25 am

I am a family law attorney and learning so much from reading your website. Thanks again!

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