The roller coaster soap opera that is the Big 12 is taking yet another twist this morning courtesy of the most powerful school in the conference.
According to a tweet from Chip Brown of Orangebloods.com, “Texas will announce as early as today that UT will commit to a 10-member Big 12.”
Apparently a good part of the reason for Texas’ willingness to reportedly recommit to the Big 12 was that commissioner Dan Beebe was able to gain assurances from television executives that the conference will likely be able to secure a deal that would give schools between $14 and $17 million annually in TV revenue. That total now is between $7 to $10 million a year.
Additionally, and perhaps even more importantly to UT, schools that remain in the Big 12 would be able to seek their own network deals; that’s a financial avenue that would not be open to them if the rumored move to the Pac-10 comes to fruition.
It remains to be seen what Texas A&M would do if their in-state rivals remain in the conference.
If this latest speculation turns out to be true, it could put a halt to what was looking like seismic shifts in the collegiate landscape just two days ago. Perhaps the only move left would be the Pac-10 grabbing Utah to get to an even 12 teams, and then the Mountain West replacing the Utes with (start speculation here).