Phillips and the Big 12: What might've been

Yesterday, a friend made the following observation:

Bet Terry Don Phillips is glad he didn't take that Big 12 job.

Wow.

Completely forgot about that.

To refresh, three years ago TDP was pursued for the then-vacant commissioner's job at the Big 12.

My understanding is he was a serious candidate. Some folks even say it was his job to turn down.

So the decision TDP made back then has to be going through his mind as he watches his former conference disintegrate.

Dan Beebe was named commissioner of the Big 12 in September of 2007 after serving as senior associate commish and chief operating officer over the previous four years.

And now Beebe, who made the mistake of trusting Jim "The Turk" Delany, is being blamed for the rapid implosion of a once-powerful conference.

Matt Hayes of The Sporting News lays the blame squarely at Beebe's feet in this column.

The Big 12 commissioner's rudderless leadership doomed the Big 12 from the moment the Big Ten announced last December that it was exploring expansion plans. Instead of being proactive and pursuing a mega-television deal and/or building a Big 12 Network , he sat back and watched the Pac-10—with a brand new commissioner and a conference reputation of USC and the nine dwarves—meticulously and quietly build a plan to take over the Big 12.

If that doesn't blow your mind, consider this: The Pac-10 will be no different than the Big 12. Only longer road trips.
New Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott says his league will start a Pac-10 Network, and the hope is that each school could eventually make at least $20 million a year. The Big 12 could've done the same thing.

So, if Beebe is updating his resume at some point in the near future, how exactly does he write the "Big 12 commissioner" entry?

And did anyone get the Turk reference?


Just finished reading "The Godfather." Great movie, as we all know. And the book is even better.

Mistuh College Football seems to think the SEC still has a shot at Texas.

Man, I know Barnhart is one of the most respected reporters out there. But Chip Brown and our Rivals friends at Orangebloods.com has been way out front on this, and I'm going to side with his belief that Texas-to-the-SEC ain't happening, captain.

But -- and how many times have we said this in recent weeks? -- who the heck knows?

Another interesting passage from Barnhart:

The SEC will not feel threatened by a Pac-16: Even if Texas comes on board and the other Big 12 schools follow to form the Pac-16, the SEC will not feel compelled to expand. But if the Big Ten, which is expected to add Nebraska today, goes to 16 then the SEC will have some very tough decisions to make. A report by Teddy Greenstein in the Chicago Tribune said that the Big Ten could potentially double the money earned from its TV deals and Big Ten network if the right five teams are brought into the league. So if you’re an SEC fan, keep your eye on the Big Ten. Also if you’re an ACC fan, keep your eye on the Big Ten. Because if the SEC feels it HAS to expand and the Texas schools are not available, the ACC will become vulnerable.

So this expansion madness is crazy enough to draw the attention of the exalted Mitch Albom.

As we reported yesterday, the ACC has formed a task force to monitor expansion and assure that the ACC's interests are protected.

Heather Dinich confirms the report (without citing who reported it, but we won't get our feelings hurt). But she doesn't seem to think the ACC will do anything preemptively.

The ACC has no plans on being an aggressor in any of this, though, and nothing has changed since commissioner John Swofford spoke at the league spring meetings.

In another piece, Dinich also says Swofford shouldn't try to force the issue and instead be content that the ACC is at the bottom of all the expansion articles.

There are no rumors to refute -- only speculation about what the trickle-down effect might be.

Worry about it when you have to. And hope you don’t have to.

Uh, I don't know about that. That Beebe guy seemed to take a passive, "worry about it when you have to" approach as the Pac-10 was quietly and systematically ripping his conference apart.

In this interview, former SEC commish Roy Kramer seems to think the "worry about it when you have to" approach isn't the way to go these days.

"The Armageddon is already there," he said. "If the Nebraska domino falls, the Armageddon is out there. Now forget about your conscience and do what's right for your conference. … You got to look at it from 10 years from now, eight years from now, six years from now."

To emphasize the point, Kramer recounted a phone call he received from a conference commissioner as the recent expansion rumors heated up.

Said the commissioner to Kramer: "How did you keep people from being mad at you?" Said Kramer: "You really didn't."

In other words, it's every conference for itself.

Longtime Winston-Salem columnist Lenox Rawlings, one of the best in the business, isn't buying this talk of the ACC being proactive and vigilant.

Pac-10 leaders denied that they would execute an aggressive plan any minute now, but it’s obvious that expansion trucks could roll before the first football frost. Once that happens, no established conference can guarantee the permanence of its lineup, including the ACC.

Commissioner John Swofford portrays the ACC as vigilant, persistently assessing the situation and contemplating strategies depending on how the dominoes fall, if they fall. The position has proactive spin with a reactive core.


LW