.vresize.36.36.medium.0.png){kind=small}
.vresize.36.36.medium.0.png){kind=small}
Why Houston's win over Oklahoma could hurt its Big 12 bid
Houston should be a shoo-in to join the Big 12 conference.
Houston has a large market, administrative support, Power Five-level facilities and, as of Saturday, a win over the preseason favorites to win the Big 12 in 2016.
Houston’s win over Oklahoma on Saturday in Houston was comprehensive — the Cougars manhandled the Sooners in all three aspects of the game and outcoached them as well.
Houston is no ordinary Group of Five school and Saturday was the latest example of that fact.
But Saturday’s beat down was hardly a play-in game. The win might be exactly why Houston won’t get a Big 12 bid.
Hey, @Big12Conference, are you watching? #proud ? #GoCoogs pic.twitter.com/2pPfbUnLsf
— UniversityofHouston (@UHouston) September 3, 2016
Conference realignment is about one thing and only one thing: money.
Houston might have all the characteristics of a Big 12 school, but it has two things going against it in its bid: It won’t deliver a new marketplace (not making any money for the conference), and it might be too good at football (taking “money" out of other schools’ pockets.)
Yes, being too good is a problem.
The marketplace, which is the most important issue to the Big 12: The Houston metroplex might not have a proximate team in the Big 12, but any television network it might start would certainly be picked up in Southeast Texas with or without the Cougars. It’s about money, and Houston wouldn’t add to the coffer as much as it would take away — you’d be cutting another slice from the same-sized pie.
Then come the politics.
If Houston is added to the Big 12, coach Tom Herman reportedly is going to get $5 million — he’s going to stay at Houston and continue to be a pain in Big 12 coaches’ behinds.
As long as Herman is at Houston, the Cougars are going to recruit well and steal players from Big 12. They’re going to keep winning.
Why would any Big 12 coaches want that?
Kansas State offensive coordinator Dana Dimel certainly doesn’t want the Cougs, and he used to be the school's head coach. He told the Wichita Eagle:
"If they get into the Big 12, they will be tough to beat in recruiting because of the proximity. ... I can’t believe anybody would want Houston."
Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and TCU would be foolish to invite the wolf — or, in this case Cougar — into the house. They need the advantage of having a stronger conference when competing against Houston for players. If that’s the case for those two teams, what’s it like for Iowa State, Kansas and K-State?
Texas is in favor of Houston joining — the governor and lieutenant governor have both tweeted support for Houston to join the Big 12 — but the Longhorns have the least to lose as the financial powerhouse of the conference. They can compete with Houston straight up and win in all scenarios (except, at the moment, on the field.)
Would the other eight voting members not directly affiliated with UT give the Longhorns what they want, after everything that’s happened with that conference arguably because of Texas’ strength?
You can see some stink being made.
Houston should be a shoo-in — it’d help keep the flag planted against an infringing SEC sentiment in the Houston market, it’d bring arguably the best-run Group of Five athletic department into the fold and it’d add a legitimate playoff contender to the mix.
But when there’s money, there’s pettiness, and while Houston should ultimately get in, Saturday’s win might just make it harder for the Cougars to join the Big 12.
