UH won’t be in the mix begging for a Big 12 spot
Gentlemen, start your groveling.
The Big 12 Conference has announced it is beginning expansion exploration and could take on two to four new members as soon as the 2017 football season.
You might have already seen the dust and din raised by the stampede to get in line for one of the coveted spots. For schools mired among the low resource conferences such as, well, the Mountain West that the University of Hawaii calls home, this is a 24-karat opportunity to move to the other side of the tracks.
The Big 12 says it had already heard from about 25 wannabes for those few, choice slots and you can bet at least three of them from the MWC.
For all the well-crafted words you might hear about about the joys of MWC membership and solidarity, be assured that those who think — delusional or otherwise — they have a prayer of escaping are scurrying behind the scenes, beseeching the Big 12. In the coming days a lot of knees will be bent in supplication and prayers offered.
Not that it is hard to see why. The divide between the haves and the have-nots has never been greater and is widening by year. There are 65 schools in the mansion and 64 with their noses pressed against the glass.
With the other so-called Power Five conferences (Southeastern, Big Ten, Pac-12 and Atlantic Coast plus Notre Dame) having posted “no vacancy” signs a while ago, the Big 12 represents what may well be the last remaining opportunity to get a seat at the big table.
A former UH president once observed, “college (officials) might be the least collegial group there is, especially when it comes to athletics and money.”
And this gold rush is definitely all about the moolah it takes to be relevant.
Consider that, instead of the record $5.3 million Boise State took home a year ago in MWC distribution, full-share Big 12 teams currently have shares of upwards of $25 million, each. That is projected to rise to $35 million, each, next year and $43 million in 2024.
That helps pay for a lot of stadium expansion and renovation, coaching salaries, recruiting and cost of attendance stipends. All things that fuel the athletic arms race. Not to mention help driving booster contributions for successful schools.
Which is part of why Boise State and San Diego State jumped at the chance to join the Big East for 2013. When it imploded beneath them before they were able to play a game, they beat a hasty retreat back to the MWC. All the while keeping their eyes peeled for the next opening.
Meanwhile Colorado State is among those that have been campaigning for months, the Associated Press reported.
UH, burdened by geography that has it 3,493 miles from the nearest Big 12 member and 4,663 miles from the most distant, need not waste energy on prostrating itself. Even if it weren’t coming off five consecutive losing seasons.
Meanwhile, for everybody else, genuflecting practice is advised.
Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.
23 responses to “UH won’t be in the mix begging for a Big 12 spot”
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Someone needs to pull together another super conference or two to make it the Big Six or even Big Seven.
ACUPLA SEASONS AGO, J.J. SAID THE OUTSIDER SCHOOLS SHOULD JUST BREAK COMPLETELY AWAY FROM THE BCS AND THE NCAA AND FORM THEIR OWN CONFER3NCE; ONE RESULT WOULD BE THAT THE EXISTING GROUPS WOULD FALL APART.
If I’m not mistaken JJ also suggested changing the season from Fall to Spring.
The outsiders looking in need to create their own association with their own championship and TV contracts. It will not be even close to what the 5 Biggies are getting, but this will help them to be in control of their destiny and not at the affect of the 5 Biggies.
Restructure the game a little and create an identity of their own. A percentage of the TV revenue to go to the association which is used to help provide schools with money to pay for the student athlete stipends, so that they receive equal amounts. The individual schools are allowed to give more up to a maximum.
Should a student athlete become disabled or death occurs due to participation, benefits to be rendered. (Work with an insurance carrier to provide these benefits on a group basis for 5 years while they are student athletes with rights of conversion, should they want to continue an individual policy after they complete their student athlete tenure.) I am sure actuaries can work out a program to be viable for both parties and profitable for the insurance carriers.
Start the season of each sport 2-3 weeks earlier. Which gives them that much more TV time alone and allow the association to have their championship tournament before the 5 Biggies.
Don’t allow the schools to play with the 5 Biggies. Doing this will make the 5 Biggies have the same percentages of winners and losers as the new association of schools. Let them play amongst themselves cause interest will be no better and could be less cause the 5 Biggies will not be able to use the smaller schools to their advantage.
The new association will have growing pains however in the long run they can create an association that can have revenues for their members to continue competing, which can create a long term success for the schools, the athletes as well for the fans and supporters. Again be able to create and control their own destiny.
Bumby, I like your ideas, especially playing before the others atart and not playing any of them. Makes for more competitive games. I wonder how this idea can gain traction. Maybe secret meetings among the schools NOT pursuing the Big 12 and not in the power 5 conferences.
UH-Manoa is a joke and doesn’t offer any conference anything of substance. Nothing more and nothing less.
THANK GOD YOU’RE A MINORITY W/ THOSE FEELINGS …
LIVE ALOHA / PLAY WARRIOR / DEFEND THE ROCK … GO ‘BOWS !!!!!
It’s people like,you that makes Manoa a joke. Contribute or shut up.
Since UH is already in a conference or two and are conference champions in at least three sports, the only thing of no substance is your post.
I bet that the PAC12 will consider expending as well as they feel hemmed-in by the BIG12 knocking on their door steps? The PAC12 needs to protect their viewer/fan base.
Yes, especially when you consider the fact that the BIG10, ACC & SEC are already at 14 schools, the PAC has room to grow. Hawaii & BYU would be good choices if the Big 12 doesn’t pickup BYU. Logical additions for the PAC would possibly be Utah State and Colorado State, but UH makes plenty of sense since it practically defines “Pacific”.
According to small article in the Dallas Morning News, Texas Tech throws hat into the ring to admitt, UH(University of Houston), into the Big12. and a whisper which quotes BYU spokesman as saying BYU would entertain a footbal only invite.
Middle of nowhere makes no sense at all except for all the fish. Too bad but they are not paying fans nor big donors.
If the BIG12 were to expand and pull in schools like Boise and SD State that would open the door, albeit slightly for UH to be invited into the PAC12 if they were to expand. UH has to get a lot better before anyone takes a hard look at them. Being in the middle of the Pacific doesn’t help matters but such it is.
BIG 12? Hahahaha! UH can barely can survive the MWC with their cheap as.s athletic budget!
Nonsense column! Both sides are not and were not interested!
Alright!, just beat CU/Michigan/Arizona, the rest is a cake walk; nah,nah, was just joking, but it felt good to say it.
I believe we have a chance against CAL but Michigan and AZ are another story. Just hope the guys play hard for 60 mins and give it their all …
Any “Mid Major” school accepting an invite to the Big 12 will have a Monster to feed … Baylor found that out the hard way w/ winning football games being more important than doing the right thing.
MWC is a good fit for UH in football … Boise State / San Diego State would bolt if invited but they will have to get mega bucks every year to keep up …
ditto.
None of the big 5 conference would be interested in Hawaii.
True, although UH has a half way decent athletic program, the big money generators – football and basketball are not among them. No major conference will be dumb enough to spend extra time and money to play here or to bring UH there when UH is not a big draw. UH is consigned to being a big fish in a small pond and the hugely clueless bandwagon jumping dodos who think they are fans don’t deserve anything more.
I agree with you oxtail01. What the Big 5 conference schools have is the backing, not only from alumni, but boosters/fans that are willing to contribute through thick or thin. Guess what? Aint happening here. Not unless UH cleans itself up and proves itself worthy.
I could follow/agree with everything you said except until the last sentence regarding, “cleaning themselves up and proving themselves worthy.” kinda confused me that maybe you thought they could be considered for inclusion in the big 5???, when you already stated that it’s not happening.