Conference realignment: Colorado over Baylor
Baylor has tried to play politics to usurp Colorado and be included in the Big 12 exodus to the Pac-10. I don’t think the Bears will succeed.
First, the Pac-10 is partial to Colorado. Always has been. The Pac-10 seems to sense a kindred spirit in the Buffs. Boulder is sort of Berkeley East; a funky, liberal bastion. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
And no way is Baylor attractive to the Pac-10. The Pac-10 always has been allergic to Brigham Young, another church-based school. Baylor is the nation’s largest Baptist university. A Baptist friend of mine says Baylor actually is quite liberal in Baptist eyes, but I don’t think that’s a concept Berkeley recognizes, liberal Baptist.
Baylor guard Lacedarius Dunn, right, looks to move the ball against Colorado guard Cory Higgins in the second half of Colorado's 78-71 victory in an NCAA college basketball game in Boulder, Colo., on Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2010. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
So for Baylor to grab Colorado’s spot would require an amazing political spin, and I don’t see it. Texas U. would have to go to the mat with the Pac-10, calling Baylor a deal-breaker.
But a Big 12 source told me Wednesday that Texas actually has no desire to bring Baylor along to the Pac-10, that the Longhorns would much prefer Colorado. I suppose Texas figures that if Baylor ever got good, it could siphon some recruits. Or maybe Texas just prefers public schools for its conference brothers.
I thought Texas might try to include Baylor just to build a voting bloc; Baylor is much more likely to vote with Texas on key issues than is Colorado. But the source said UT has very little use for Baylor.
Athletically, Colorado and Baylor are very interesting comparisons. That seems nuts, considering Colorado has won a national championship and has been a Big 12 force, even in what is perceived as down times winning the North Division four times in five years (2001-05).
But Gary Barnett was fired, and Dan Hawkins has gone bust as the Colorado coach, 16-33 in four years. CU is flat broke; if it had any money, the university probably would have bought out Hawkins.
Baylor, of course, hasn’t fallen. It’s always been on the Big 12′s bottom. Baylor has had a losing record all 14 seasons of the Big 12 in football and hasn’t been to a bowl game since the Southwest Conference days.
But Baylor seems to be getting better in football under Art Briles. The same can’t be said about Colorado. If you asked me who would be better in five years, I couldn’t give you a confident answer.
And in basketball, Baylor is soaring, reaching the NCAA regional final in March. Meanwhile, Colorado has been horrible in hoops for most of the last 40 years.
Baylor trumps Colorado in virtually every other sport, though that hardly matters in the big-business world of conference realignment.
Television market is a huge plus for Colorado. Baylor basically has none; Colorado has Denver, which would be a huge sell for the Pac-10.
So clearly, Colorado is a better fit culturally and a better fit financially. And if someone can get Buffalo football turned around, a better fit athletically.
-------------Berry Tramel can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including AM-640 and FM-98.1. You can e-mail him here and follow him on Twitter @BerryTramel. Visit Berry's website here.
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Comments
@Abiaka – I think it has more to do with women pastors that makes people think BU is liberal. Whatever.
Baylor will go to a bowl game every year if it’s not playing UT, OU, OSU, and Tech. A&M has been our ‘rival’ lately because we trade wins. People need to realize A&M is just as bad of a football team as Baylor. But then again A&M stinks at everything whereas Baylor just has problems in football
Both will be on welfare for awhile. The difference: Colorado has at least the potential to contribute.
Colorado averaged just over 50,000 fans at its football games last year (a 3-win season). Baylor averaged 36,000 in a 4-win season. The Denver market sits waiting for Colorado to return to national prominence. Waco: not so much.
It’s all — 100 percent — about television, which translates to money. And Denver is a top television market. Period.
I went to a OSU game in Boulder the last time we played there and it was a blast. Boulder and CU seemed very prosperous. It is hard to believe they are on hard times.
The CU fans seemed very laid back. Like there is more to do there than football, and there is. Football is just one more form of recreation to them and not a way of life. Kind of like it is in L. A. You note that L. A. Doesn’t mind if they have a professional team or not.
By the way, the cowboys beat the tar out of them.
Baylor wants all the Texas schools to “stick together” in conference realigntment? LOL. Tell that to TCU, SMU, Houston and Rice. I hope Baylor comes in 4th in the Big 4.
Maybe they can land a spot in the Southland Conference.
This is the kind of in depth post readers appreciate and are looking for. I was thinking as I read this wouldn’t it be funny if the Pac 10 invited Baylor and didn’t invite Texas Tech. Would Texas care?
Its mighty scary to know that Pac-10 is all about revenue rather than competition.
Athletic wise colorado is a naught … Kansas would have been a better fit.
Barry, your Baptist friend is half right. While Baylor is a liberal school, it is no longer a Baptist school. They left the Baptist General Convention of Texas several years ago. They still for some strange reason get money from the BGCT buy they are an independant school. The BGCT has no say in anything Baylor does. They are an independant school in every way.
@Justin A&M may suck like the bears but they tradition, the bears have none. No in no way am I a fan it’s Oklahoma all day here. And @ Dave the buffs will be chopped up in this new PAC.
Fact; Oklahoma and Texas will run the show. I would bet the run the show even more with USC in the situation they’ve gotten into
Baylor is getting its come-up-ins at long last. I hear SMU and Houston have agreed to block any notion to admit Baylor to C-USA after the political stunt they pulled when late gobernor Richards bullied them into Big 12 over far more deserving programs.
They will be a relevent factor in the Sun Belt Conference, however and can probabaly make the Nw Orleans Bowl every ten years or so. The bars on Bourbon Street will look forward to hordes of Baptists unloading therir wallets (not).
Good for CU and good for BU. CU got the spot and BU got the
shaft. BU belongs in the C-USA or Mid-American. Mrs. Richard
is not around to politic them in. When you haven’t been
competitive in Div.1 since the 80′s it cost you cred.
If all goes through the Pac-10 Southeast division might look like this:
1. Arizona.
2. Arizona State.
3. Colorado.
4. Oklahoma.
5. Oklahoma State.
6. Texas.
7. Texas A&M.
8. Texas Tech.
Pacific Divsion:
1. California.
2. Stanford.
3. Oregon.
4. Oregon State.
5. UCLA.
6. USC.
7. Washington.
8. Washington State.
The Big-12 rivalries would continue and the increased TV contract money would be huge for the Big-12 schools.
Might be less controversy if they came out with a new name for the conference. No more Pac-10 and no More Big-12 something like the Big-16 Conference.
Even if Texas A&M decides for some strange reason to join the SEC I still don’t want to hear about Baylor to the new Pac 16. The baptist school has no place in
the Pac 16. Lets start considering Utah much like the existing Pac Ten schools
were doing three months ago. That brings in Salt Lake City and the state of Utah.
All a coup for the new league.
How about get rid of Texas Tech and invite Utah. No one has told me why they deserve a spot, other than Texas can bring a second kid brother (A&M is the first kid brother, and be real: OSU is a tag-along) because they’re Texas. Utah would add more TVs, more money, more academics, and better athletics. Plus Utah would be a blow to the MWC; don’t forget about kicking your rival in the shin so you can get more TV money.
[...] causing their original Pac-16 plan to be destroyed by Texas politics) in large part because they saw a kindred spirit, a university and community that is similar to the others on the west [...]
I enjoyed the article. My best wishes to both schools in their conference homes, wherever those homes turn out to be.
A footnote: one reason Texas Baptists regard Baylor as ‘liberal’ is because the school really teaches geology. One of the best primers for laymen you’ll ever see on the state of earth science appears on the web site of Baylor University.
http://www.baylor.edu/geology/index.php?id=61728