Texas couldn't (and wouldn't) do that. LSU & Arkansas wouldn't walk away from a sure thing in the SEC for a gamble just because it's Texas.

Besides, why would Texas go to the trouble of creating a conference like that when it could keep its own TV revenue all to itself as an independent?

That scheduling formula reminds me of Notre Dame. They can "cherry pick" whoever the heck the want to play. But I don't think Texas wants that. The Big Ten is able to offer more money per team than Notre Dame, the ultimate national brand, can earn with an NBC contract.

If UT could convince the Big Ten also to invite A&M; to join, this move may make more sense for the Longhorns than I would like to admit.

UT would still play OU annually out-of-conference as it did in the pre-Big 12 days. (As a non-AAU member, I don't see OU getting approved to join by Big Ten presidents. Plus, I think that political pressure in Texas would essentially prevent UT from leaving the Big 12 without A&M.;)

Now, if A&M; were to get an invite along with UT, then I think UT's decision would boil down to this question: Is UT willing to trade second-tier rivalries against Tech, Baylor, Nebraska, and Ok State for premier matchups against Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, and Iowa? Horns fans would have to evaluate the pros & cons on that one long and hard, as would the administration.

I'll go out on a limb and say UT would be more than willing to trade games vs. the Big 12 North teams for games vs. the other Big Ten teams. After all, games vs. Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan State, and Purdue should be no less appealing than already-long distance games vs. Kansas, Colorado, Missouri, and Iowa State. Plus, as a Big Ten teams, UT wouldn't lose any viewers in Texas but would gain a whole lot in the well-populated Midwest.

In basketball, Texas would trade Kansas for Michigan State, Missouri for Indiana, Ok State for Purdue, and Tech for Ohio State. At worst, that's a lateral move.

Periodically, UT and A&M; could still play Tech, Baylor, old Big 8 schools, and old SWC schools, but I bet most years the non-conference slate would be cupcakes, other than UT-OU.

Forget Rutgers, Pitt, Syracuse, etc. Notre Dame, even with its NBC contract, would really find the Big Ten's TV money, now with Texas and A&M; in the mix, almost too hard not to ask for an invitation as the 14th member. And of course the Big Ten would grant it.

This may actually happen, and that's unfortunate. It would be great for the Big Ten, which would become even more flush with cash, but it would be terrible for college sports. Money-wise, the Big Ten would further distance itself from every other league, with only the SEC able to rake in comparable revenue. Furthermore, it would be awful for the Big 12, and because of the ensuing domino effect, it would be terrible for the Mountain West, WAC, and C-USA.

This goes back to the fact that the Big XII is not on ESPN very much. If the Big XII were to be smart in the next round of TV negotiations, they would have more games on the ESPN family of networks. Texas is, I repeat, not going anywhere. This is probably forced the Big XII to do what I said previously, and that is to have more of a connection with ESPN as far as football goes. ESPN has everything locked as far as basketball is concerned.