I’ve vacillated anywhere in-between Texas Tech being in an okay position with the Pac-12 to Texas Tech being left to play some sort of football with the remaining 8 Big 12 members and no longer being in a Power 5 program. The only reason why this is important is because of the money, which isn’t my money, but I also like for Texas Tech to play relevant sports against quality opposition. That’s it. I like having a seat at the adults table for lack of a better term. Either way, life would go on and I’d be fine. The unknown is so weird.

I’d also add that I’ve seen reports that Texas Tech and Oklahoma State are feverishly working towards a Pac-12 deal, but I’ve also seen reports that the Pac-12 has no interest in Texas Tech or Oklahoma State at all.

I just spent 10 hours at Pac12 media day. Not a single person in that conference wants a Big12 team in the league. So while merging with the Pac12 might be best, it doesn’t work if the conference doesn’t want any of the remaining teams. https://t.co/5OdDbnJCdI

— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) July 29, 2021

Do I know who or what to believe? Absolutely not. I don’t have a clue.

Awful Announcing’s Andrew Bucholtz broke down ESPN president John Skipper on with Dan Le Batard last week and it is increasingly clear that ESPN’s role is becoming clearer and clearer as the days go by:

“Is this all the instigation of ESPN? Is this all your fault?” Le Batard asked Skipper. “I’d like to take the fifth,” [Skipper] joked. “Do I have rights?”

…”I doubt all of that is unrelated.” [Skipper said]. “I would not assume that this is just happening, that one day the Texas and Oklahoma guys woke up, I would guess that it’s a logical sequence of events that ESPN now has all of the SEC, now they bring Texas and Oklahoma in. Think of all the good games you get.”

Texas Football’s Shehan Jeyarajah writes about how fans of the 8 remaining Big 12 teams should just root for their team:

The split is only going to get bigger. The Athletic reported that some administrators believe the SEC could even consider turning itself into a 30-team super league, maybe even with a player union and even salaries. Simply put, the SEC’s endgame could be creating a made-for-TV minor league with the richest brands in the sport. The Big Ten, ACC and Pac-12 might feel okay now. Long term? Even landing on life rafts in those conferences could just be putting off the inevitable.

And for that reason, fans of those left out in the cold by the impending mega-realignment shouldn’t worry about the split. In fact, they should embrace it.

College football isn’t supposed to be just a training ground for the NFL. It’s about the pageantry, dedicated fan bases and traditions that drive the sport. More than anything, it’s about building hyper-local connections to hundreds of communities in a way that 32 NFL teams just can’t.

Many fans actually went to school at these institutions and will forever be tied with their degrees. Others grew up in families that have rooted for these teams for generations. For even more, it’s a connection to a specific place – Waco, El Paso, Lubbock – that professional sports simply could never serve. While Twitter and other national outlets have made the sport more national, college football is far more about squabbles between neighbors and coworkers than clashes of titans.

The thing that I keep asking myself is, let’s take a team like Mississippi State (South Carolina, or North Carolina or Maryland, or Northwestern, or Washington State)? What do they add? At some point, the SEC/Pac-12/Big Ten will come for them, right? Don’t have a following like OU, UT, Ohio State, Michigan, Clemson, Alabama, LSU, etc.? Are you then out as well?

It’s amazing that ESPN wants this, at some point, the exclusive club isn’t all that great. That’s not really what college football is about and I know that ESPN is about the almighty dollar, but are colleges looking out for that (some are yes) or are they looking out for what makes college athletics great. The more teams that get squeezed, I’d like to think the bigger the revolt.

Yahoo Sports’ Pete Thamel writes about how the college football playoff going to 12 teams is likely to be put on hold:

It’s not uncommon among major professional sports, like the NFL and NBA, to have multiple networks broadcast their postseason. Also, that would take perhaps an additional half billion of ESPN’s dollars a year off the table that could theoretically be directed toward upcoming rights to leagues like the upcoming deals of the Big Ten (2023) and Pac-12 (2024).

“It’s behooves everyone not named the SEC and ACC [for the CFP rights to go to market],” said a Power 5 athletic director outside the Big Ten. “It’s in all of our best interest [of other leagues] to let the contract through and go to open market. Why would a streaming service want to bid on a league like the Big Ten or Pac-12 to carry the regular season if they are going to just hand it over to ESPN for the playoffs?”

The discomfort around the country with ESPN owning the entire playoff sets up the stakes for an undercurrent that will define the next iteration of conference realignment and the next generation of college sports — the ESPN and the SEC vs. Fox and everyone else. The biggest unknown in the TV market is if another traditional suitor (CBS, NBC) or streaming service will join Fox in the fray.

The bias that we’re about to see from ESPN to put as many teams into the CFB playoff is about to spin lots of heads.