Mike Gundy put on his media analyst hat on Monday, when speaking to Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports and saying that the Big 12 must kill the Longhorn Network to ensure the survival of the conference.
“If we don’t eliminate the Longhorn Network and create our own network, they’re going to continue to have issues with this league,” Gundy told CBSSports.com. “You don’t have a Big 12 Network; you have a network within the league that people consider a failure.”
Texas is not the only school in the Big 12 with its own stand-alone media contract. Every Big 12 school does; Texas’ is just the most lucrative. And thus, the biggest target.
“Everything is based on marketing,” Gundy said. “Right now the Big 12 is not getting the marketing we need because of the Longhorn Network.”
Taking a turn as a comic book writer, Gundy said the very thing that kept Texas in the Big 12 will be what leads the Longhorns away from the Big 12.
“If Texas doesn’t [fold LHN] in X number of years, they’re going to be in the Pac-12 or SEC,” Gundy said. “If that’s what they want, keep riding this horse. If you don’t want that, you better make some changes or it’s going to happen whether you like it or not.”