The New Big 12 vs. The Old Big 12: By the Numbers

nice parting shot. kudos to you sir.

When you put it that way, TCU/WVU is a SERIOUS upgrade in competition and profile, kinda like going from a Palm Pre to a HTC Evo 3D!

and we get rid of the crybabies of the conference. I’m thrilled. Bravo!!

Now…let’s see…our first big loss was the 1-7 CU Buffaloes. Right? We are suppose to be upset about that?

Nebraska is fine for the moment, but let’s take a deeper look at the not so good Big 10 this year. NU plays the Spartans tomorrow…..then later have Penn State and Michigan away. I think the Big XII is just fine, and save the SEC I don’t think any other conference comes close. Pac is really sucking, and Big 10 is so so.

Can’t both be correct?

Further to 40AS’s football comparison, it is difficult to compare the 4 teams in a vacuum. With that said, I think the one program performance rating worth some merit in terms of evaluating the trade off is win/loss vs. BCS-AQ teams. And, in terms of the time frame for comparison it is “what have you done for me lately” which drives discussion. Performance vs. AQ talent indicates to me what each program did when given the opportunity to play against top talent.

Here’s a look at combined W-L vs. BCS-AQ.

What this chart tells me is just how awful the A&M program has been the last several seasons. Like him or hate him, It also shows what an incredible job Coach Patterson has done at TCU. And doing so in the shadows of the giant-killer, feel good Boise State Broncos and the long shadows of Big 12 football in Texas.

Given the recency bias, the trade off, in terms of performance quality, appears to give a solid edge to the addition of WVU and TCU despite of a more even performance last few years.

As for a qualitative perspective, all I can offer is it is certainly interesting times in college athletics. I’m somewhat old school wanting to hold on to those traditions but let’s face the facts. Some of you may not remember clearly because it was the days before the internet, but I remember clearly thinking to myself, “What is a Kansas State?” back when the SWC/Big 8 consolidation was being discussed. Now there was a program that I knew nothing about. They turned out alright in Big 12 competition on the gridiron and the hardwood. So, I’m good with the changes. Tough to lose A&M because of the long standing rivalry. Could care less about Mizzou because it’s kind of like, “I was looking for a job when I found this one.” Adios, Tigers. Good luck to you.

Over the last decade, A&M has made big strides on the court, but West Virginia has been better overall. West Virginia is currently a perennial top 25 team with an outstanding (if poorly dressed) coach.

A&M is moving to a very top heavy basketball conference (some top tier programs and a lot of garbage) and has a new coach, so it remains to be seen which direction their program will go. Will they continue to build, maintain, or lose ground? Time will tell.

Mizzou is also a solid program. They seem to have historically maintained well through coaching changes, but we will see how they do. Again, the SEC is a strange basketball conference. Kentucky and Florida are very strong. LSU is sort of a sleeping giant (in a very deep sleep right now). Most of the rest of the conference has little or no interest or tradition when it comes to basketball. We will see how the other UT moves forward from their scandals. You can’t totally sleep on Alabama either, as they usually have a lot of talent and run out some good teams.

TCU is a giant step down in this. They haven’t been good since Billy Tubbs was their coach. This may shock you, but in the 1997-1998 season they were actually the #6 team in the country by SRS. Billy Tubbs was a hell of a coach. It hasn’t been particularly pretty since he left.

So, given the state of the programs currently, I have WVU> A&M ~ Mizzou >> TCU. So the Big 12 gains a better team and a substantially worse team than the ones they give up.

You think you are lazy…I was too lazy to even look it up! The stats made me laugh! Great perspective.
Thanks!

aggy was talking MNC only a short month ago. Tsk-tsk; losing to Mizzou – AGAIN!!!

BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBWWWWWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAHHHHHAAAAAAHHHHAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!! Poooooooooooooooooooooooorrrrrr aggggggyyyyyysssss!!!!