we were literally the first school to make such a choice.
nobody forced our hand. we were the first domino, and it was 100% by our own volition.
what planet do you live on? saying anything else is revisionist history.
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nobody forced our hand. we were the first domino, and it was 100% by our own volition.
what planet do you live on? saying anything else is revisionist history.
How do you know which conferences were in fact contacted? I'd love to see a declination letter from the SEC or statement from the Nebraska brass at the time stating they inquired about applying to the SEC. I'm skeptical they even tried.
I think they jumped on the big ten because they felt Missouri would block Nebraska from getting an invite to the big ten. I don't think the leadership at the time even considered the SEC.
The SEC just has to talent base but if you really look closely there's only 2-3 great teams. The others are basically average at best even with the superior talent..
I think the record will show that TO was butthurt that Texas was so bold as to attempt to leverage its greatest asset & create their own network so he took his ball and went home instead of rallying the league/partnering
in hindsight, Texas were ahead of their time (they were right; every league now boasts their own network), and if TO would've had any vision whatsoever the Big 12 Network just might have college football into the future
instead, what happened happened and we took the easy way out
we should've learned from their mistake (40 years and counting since their last summit)
going from independent to a major conference is slightly different, but point taken
Nebraska had it's own network in the works. You sure it was all about just that? I'm sure a culmination of all those issues that Nebraska was over voted on made it easier for sure.
I know Missouri contacted the Big Ten before Nebraska.
I know Colorado was the first school to leave the conference.
I know about 3 days before Nebraska contacted the Big Ten an article came out stating that the 4 southern schools were rumored to have contacted the Pac 10 about membership. I think it was OU UT OSU and aTm.
I remember Nebraska inquired about membership to the Big Ten after that article came out.
The rest of the Big 8 was so sick of NU that they did everything they could to dethrone us. Be careful what you wish for...now look at em.
All I remember is MO was rattling sabers about how they planned to be welcomed into the Big 10. Colorado, OU and TX were talking about going to the PAC 12. Supposedly the PAC 12 told TX they could keep their network. There was discussion that if OU went, the State of Oklahoma would insist Okie St went wherever OU went. A&M was reportedly talking to the SEC. If all that happened, it would have left NU, KU, KSU, ISU, Tech, and Baylor fending for themselves. That thought scared the hell out of me. Many, many fans and probably some or all of the regents thought something needed to be done right away.
It appears Perlman, Osborne and Delaney did a dance about their and our interest at some convention, but the way I remember it, TO told the Big 10 we were interested and Delaney asked us to "put in our resume" to join. So we were asked.
Unknown whether we checked into SEC. But when our move was announced it was portrayed as us "fitting" in the B1G and we should have joined decades ago. The feeling of people I talked to was our schools were alike (fall leaves, winter, big stadiums, all were AAU schools, etc.). And the non-sports money was way way more than any other conference.
The furthest school at the time was PSU. While WI, MN, NW, IL were not as close to our fans as KU, KSU, CO and MO, they were a lot closer than Alabama, GA and Mississippi.
So as I recall (and I don't think it is revisionist) we urgently wanted the hell out of the B12 before it collapsed, we were asked to join the B1G, it seemed like a fit at the time, the academic associations were coveted by our faculty, and the B1G schools were closer than ACC, SEC and PAC12 schools.
Was it the right choice? Maybe, maybe not, but from my POV, it was the ONLY choice that made sense at the time.
And how has that worked out for any of them...and us? We've all sucked since we left. You mention them leaving the Big 12 like it's some kind of selling point. It's not. It's just further evidence that we all made the wrong move.
Spot on. How anyone can think the move to the B1G has been a good thing is mind boggling to me.
I think the previous two coaches and staff had a lot to do with the decision looking like a bad one and frankly the past two staffs wouldn’t have looked any better vs the big 12 either. I feel like Rhule is practicing behaviors and building talent that will allow us to better compete in the B1G vs having the B1G adapt to us.
So a bunch of miserable fans complaining about what if is truly sad, but what if we were winning is somehow making your point? Got it.
And to answer your question...yes, win or lose, I personally enjoyed us playing in the Big 12 much, much, much more than the lame ass B1G we're in. I'd admit to that being just the human nature of resisting change, but I think 12 years is enough time to reach the conclusion that it just sucks.
Conference realignment has been happening for decades. How do you think the Big 12 was formed?
Why do you think CU and Mizzou moved? Because it was an unstable conference on the verge of collapse.
Really? Huh, I must have missed the announcement where we got kicked out of the Big 12.
We took our ball and left because we didn't think it was fair that Texas had their own network deal...which, oh by the way, hasn't amounted to squat for them in the way of on-field results.
I couldn't even watch all the games or had to pay for PPV. I fail to remember what was so great about the Big 12. The Big 8 schools constantly went against us. The stadiums and towns were definitely nothing to brag about. Manhattan? Columbia? Lubbock?
What if is a game Iowa fans play every day and it’s just a terrible look. I agree with your last paragraph. MR was a huge mistake and SF, who unbiased experts thought was a home run, ended up being a dumpster fire on and off the field. Pelini era winning in the bigten looks great right now especially in the shitty bigten west.
You couldn't watch all the games because it was 12 years ago before every game was televised. Not the case anymore. Yeah, the B1G Network offered a short-term solution for that, but it was a very short-term issue. Did the Big 8 schools go against us or did we go against them? We were the lone outcast in a lot of those cases. And has the B1G always been with us? And small college towns exist in every conference. At least half of them in the Big 12 were in warm weather states. And there was some history with them. And we were winning. And we were relevant. Sorry, but I fail to see what is so great about the B1G...other than the money, which has resulted in exactly squat for us.
Some of us...(me) predicted the Big 12 was never going to collapse and that if we hadn't invented new ways to choke against Texas we wouldn't have been in such a tizzy to leave. All we did was whine about Texas, and lose to them....ironic part is they didn't give us a second thought...while they lived rent free in our heads.
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That and the fact that they were never really able to capitalize on all their financial competitive advantages we were so bent out of shape about.
the Big 12 has lost - Neb, OU, Texas, aTm, CU, Missouri and replaced them with West Virg, UCF, Cincinnati, TCU, BYU, Houston
The SEC and BIG are adding power 5 teams while the Big 12 is backfilling with G5 programs -- so while not collapsing they are stabilizing at a much lower level (financially speaking)
Honestly I think that Penn State would have been a better fit in the Big East instead of the Big 10.
3 of those 6 replacements have been to the CFP and/or had undefeated seasons in recent years. Only OU from what they lost can say that 🤔
People May forget but Mizzou played in the SEC CCG in 2014 and Colorado played in the Pac12 in 2016..
A lot of people make the mistake of thinking KSU, TCU, Baylor, Cincy....etc, are still the same programs they were back in the old days. they aren't. Stack up the baseball, football, and basketball programs against each other between the two conferences and IMO (which is worth what you paid for it) the Big 12 wins 2/3 of those with football being the only one we may be better at, but it isn't a slam dunk. Fact is, until Michigan found their way 2 years ago, we were a one team football conference. Plus, who knows how realignment would have shaken out if we had stayed...people always make the mistake, when comparing the what if's...that if they change one variable, they just assume all other variable will stay the exact same. They don't.
conference realignment and membership is based on financials which is primarily driven by media deals
you can quote all the on-field data you want but the fact of the matter is that the media groups do not see anywhere near the value in the big 12 vs BIG and SEC
I don't think there is a single BIG12 school that would turn down a current invite from the BIG or SEC if extended
I don't care how big our checks are..as a fan that does me zilcho good. Zero. I care about our men's programs not being arguably the wost in all of D-1 combined....and I enjoy pointing out the Big 12 ain't going anywhere and they are a better mens sports conference than the B1G because I hated the move.
i don't disagree with you as a fan
but do you think there is a single big 12 member that would turn down an invite from the either the BIG or SEC?
there are schools from the B12 that have approached both conferences about the possibility of accepting less money to get an invite
right now the big 12 exists simply because the SEC and big ten allow it to exist
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To be honest, the only thing that I really missed about the Big 12 was our rivalry with Oklahoma. I think that it was a mistake not to have Nebraska and Oklahoma play each other every year. I don't necessarily think it would have solved all of the problems with the Big 12, but perhaps it would have made the Big 12 a little more bearable.
Oklahoma is to blame for the loss of the rivalry. At the time they were down like NU is down now, and NU was where Alabama is now. So, they didn't want to play Texas and Nebraska in the same year.
If the rivalry meant as much to OU as it did to NU, there's a good chance Nebraska never leaves the Big 12. Thank god it didn't, because NU would still be stuck there as UT and OU headed for the SEC, and it's very doubtful NU gets an invite now with how the team has sucked for the last eight years or so, and no major media markets in the state.
I really think people here posting about how much they miss the Big 12 are seeing it through rose-colored glasses and nostalgia. At least a couple people have admitted that.
Because that conference fvcking sucked for Nebraska.
Not true on TV part. If you have always lived in Nebraska it wasn't a big deal. You would have friends or family to split the PPV with and could have found a bar to watch the games on the weird channels that no one subscribed to. But try getting a PPV game at your in-laws who live in BFE. Or try getting a Husker game when you're in Minnesota on vacation and they played in the Big 12. It wasn't easy. Sometimes impossible.
We joined the Big 10 and I could get games anywhere. Just like that.
OU is the friend that only wanted to hang out when their 2 or 3 best friends were busy. They weren't really our friend.
The B12, PAC12, and ACC are absolutely F’d when athletes are declared some form of employees and athletic department funds can be directed toward payment of said employees. Right now NIL is funded outside of athletic budgets - which is allowing those conf to remain competitive. When athletic funds can be used to pay the salaries of your employees, pulling in 50 million dollars less per year than teams in the SEC and Big is going to be a problem
so long as you paid extra for the BTN for residents outside the conf footprint
or purchased the premium sports package for those inside the conf footprint
pay per view: bad!
pay annual subscription: good!
one could reasonably argue more of our games are PPV than ever before
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I didn't say I missed the Big 12. Not in the least. I missed the Nebraska Oklahoma rivalry and that's it. Glad we were smart enough to leave that dying conference but I still miss playing OU every year.
I had access to all games. For $10/month (maybe $15?) more on Dish. Then I would drop the package down to regular after the last NU game.
So for the cost of one PPV game I could upgrade my package for 4 months. I also had to upgrade for games when we were in the Big 12 to get the games on the western ski channel or whatever channels those games were on. I also straight up couldn't get PPV games if I wasn't at home or in Nebraska. Out of state bars don't tend to carry Husker PPV games unless you are in a big city.
