The sports world is abuzz this week with talk of changes in the big-time college conferences. Naturally, it’s driven by money. The Big 10 wants more eyeballs for its profitable cable network, and non-Texas universities in the Big 12 are unhappy with the distribution of money within the league.
Rumor has it that Texas will go to the PAC 10. What happens then? For one thing, legislative hearings. From Sports Illustrated:
U.S. Rep Chet Edwards urged Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Texas Speaker of the House Joe Straus to call immediate hearings in the Texas legislature to investigate the breakup of the Big 12. “These decisions are too important to be decided solely by a small handful of people behind closed doors without public input from the citizens of our great state,” Edwards said. “The Texas legislature has a responsibility to our taxpayers to review the impact of any conference realignment on our state’s economy and historic relationships between our state’s universities and their respective communities.”
Not to be outdone, Texas State Rep. Jim Dunham wrote a fiery op-ed piece for the Austin American-Statesman. “The Baltimore Colts can slink out at night to Indianapolis, and Jerry Jones can fire Tom Landry. They own the teams. But our public universities are owned by all Texans,” Dunham wrote. “If the boards who are supposed to protect the interests of today and tomorrow’s generation of Texans want to consider moving to California, we at least deserve public debate and discussion.” Dunham sure sounds like he loves public universities, which is interesting, because Dunham has an undergraduate degree and a law degree from the same private university: Baylor.
Dunham has a point, though I’d also think that legislators have other matters to attend to that are closer to the purposes of government than running minor-league teams for the NFL.
Baylor, by the way, got into the Big 12 due to the work of one graduate of Baylor who never played football: Ann Richards. If that name sounds familiar, it’s should. She was the governor of Texas before George W. Bush.