Cal & Stanford to the Big XII? No… Tech, Baylor, OSU, ISU and the rest of the current Big XII have finally gotten rid of Texas. Why would they invite that same, stuffy, superiority mentality back into their cadre.

OK, that appears to be a knock on Texas (the purpose of this board), but, no. And, yes. Texas has the charisma and the political clout the rest of the XII would love to project. They can’t. Now, the problem over the past couple of decades is that Texas has been so busy asserting that clout that they haven’t been paying attention to their product. Once you go into the SEC, that’ll all change.

Texas will have to play the game on the field rather than in the board rooms. Their politicos are far superior to the rest of the XII (with the possible exception of OU). And, they so regularly ticked off the rest of the League with their behind-the-scenes actions that the League members (including OU) made it a point to insure Texas didn’t succeed.

Now, all those politics has to be set aside as Texas takes its place among the Alabamas, Georgias and Tennessees who are their equals (well, maybe not Tennessee…) in politics off the field. And, to the benefit of Texas, those schools don’t have that preconceived prejudice against Texas. They will be spending as much time undercutting each other as they do Texas and the playing field among the best will be more level.

Go Texas! (And, I went to Texas Tech, my wife went to Texas A&M and our daughter went to Oklahoma!) But, I still root for Texas teams against all others.

So, now Brett Yormark has noted his League has to be cognizant of the culture of their League. And, Stanford and Cal do not fit that profile. Colorado probably doesn’t fit that profile. Colorado has accused the XII of being a JUCO league (all the while lifting their pinkie from their drink sitting in their white slacks and sweaters and wondering why their viewership keeps tripping over the mollusks and other debris at the bottom of the ocean of NCAA Football).

Arizona and Arizona State? They’d probably thrive in the XII. Arizona, Kansas, Baylor and Texas Tech in the Final Four as regular attendees would be fantastic. Arizona State would be out of the moribund "who needs football" mentality that has pervaded the PAC the past 10+ years and could take on a more assertive perspective in the XII. Both would love getting out of that stuffy environment.

The question comes down to Utah. Would BYU allow Utah into the XII?

Did you see the way BYU represented itself in the Baylor game? The Baylor fans were raving about the reception they got when they arrived. Did you see the way BYU went about rooting out that racial issue with Duke volleyball? They were considerate and non-threatening. They took the time to take a look at all the film (as the game was being televised) and interviewed both teams (including the rest of the Duke team) and found – nobody said anything of the sort.

They didn’t attack the girl. They just reported their findings unadorned.

BYU is proud of their heritage as Mormons. Mormons are considerate, hard-working, diligent and honorable. Even getting stabbed in the back by Utah when their neighbor blocked them from coming into the PAC, I would doubt such a people would return tit for tat. If Utah wants in, I would be shocked if BYU stood in their way. I would also be shocked if the Cougars didn’t remind the Utes of past transgressions… but, I doubt they’d be vindictive.

So, Arizona, Arizona State and Utah would all, likely, be invited into the XII. Oregon and Washington are stories with a number of chapters all in and of themselves. Wherever one goes, the other will likely follow.

That still leaves an odd number, either way. Either 3 or 5. So, how about San Diego State? Yeah, they’re not faring very well, right now. But, they have a history of competitiveness; they have a brand-spanking-new stadium that isn’t tiny (like Boise State’s or SMU’s) and they control that part of the Southern California market that the B1G (with USC/UCLA) doesn’t. San Diego, on it’s own, is a large market. And, it would draw LA viewers, as well. That makes it a massive market.

My guess is that Washington and Oregon are not offered admission into the XII. It wouldn’t be wise to invite members who are grudgingly partnered with you and are simply still waiting on that invite to the bigger house up on the hill. They likely, if not offered entry into the B1G, will go Independent and try to follow the example BYU established over the past 10+ years.

Cal, Stanford, Oregon State and Washington State will probably either go Independent (Stanford is the only one who could) or join the MWC.

This would make the XII the clear #3 conference in the land. And, if Georgia and Florida really want to shoot themselves in their collective feet, when the ACC dissolves (if the XII gets the $$$ in their TV negotiations to make them regret theirs), Florida State and Miami would have to join the XII (along with Pitt and Virginia Tech) giving us two more massive brands.

Does that upset the XII culture? Probably not. FSU and the U are not Texas. They’ve had to share the political horizon with UF for some time. And UCF and USF have both flourished in that state. I think they’d fit fine here.

And, I think Texas will have a hey day in the SEC. I think they’ll now have the opportunity to just focus on the sports and they will be magnificent. And, you have the right coach to get all that started.

Now, one final question: Will the Big XII change their name once they get to 16-then-20 teams?