Harv already had his bags packed to the greener pastures of the West Coast, but something funny happened on the way. According to the Denver Post:
After 'months of discussions'... Hmmm.... 'Months' Nah... Couldn't be true. I thought they wanted to keep the conference together. The Pac 10 balked at their demands for more money and their own network.A source close to the Pac-10's expansion negotiations told The Denver Post that Texas insisted on better revenue sharing and its own network, which essentially killed the deal.
"In the 11th hour, after months of telling us they understand the TV rights, they're trying to pull a fast one on the verge of sealing the deal in the regents meeting," the source said. "They want a better revenue sharing deal and their own network. Those were points of principle. (The Pac-10) wants to treat everyone fairly. It's been that way for months of discussions."
So instead of the huge Pac 10 mega conference with Texas as its king, we have the T10 with everything that Texas wanted. They got A&M to toe the line. They got OU to follow them around like a kicked dog. They get more money. They get their TV network.
Any bets on how long this conference lasts? When it comes to the leagues votes on these matters, will the other teams finally have the balls to stand up to Texas or will it be way too late? By that time, Texas will have their TV network on the air and they won't want to share. So you'll have Texas probably making 20+ mil per year while the lower teams making less than half that. I'm sure that won't come up when the league has to vote on these things.
As much as I hate to see series with CU, KSU and MU (as I loved hating them and I'm sure the feeling was more than mutual) end, I think NU got out at the right time. You reap what you sow and I think the Big 12 teams have just signed over their souls to Texas, who will be extracting interest for years to come.
I'm not gloating. I may soon hate hearing Pam Ward's sultry voice. It'll certainly be different getting used to playing Indiana or Northwestern every year. I do feel bad for the old Big 8 schools though. They deserved better leadership.