Claremore Daily Progress

Sports Columnists

June 12, 2010

Big 12 fans deserve a vote

Tim Ritter Sports Editor

CLAREMORE — Has it really come down to money and TV networks when it comes to deciding the fate of conference realignments?

Geez, Louise! Are we really that greedy to force our fans whether they are in Norman, Stillwater or Austin to spend enormous amounts of money to travel clear across the United States just to watch the beloved Sooners or Cowboys compete against USC or Stanford?

Most sports talk show broadcasters are saying this is the best move for the Big 12 Conference. I say, ‘yeah right, get a clue.’

The best move would be to keep the Big 12 Conference together and do what’s best for the fans. How many people are truly going to travel to Los Angeles, Calif., or Seattle, Wash., on a given Saturday to watch an OU or OSU football game?

I can probably count on one hand, outside of the high-rolling boosters of both of those fine institutions, that will be able to afford tickets, plane travel, meals and hotel reservations in this downward economy.

Wouldn’t OU and OSU fans rather travel to Dallas, Kansas City, Columbia (Mo.) or College Station than go out west? I’m not saying that a change of venue would be great to see every once in a while, but really, the best move is to look at the geographic fan base and the draw of your recruiting hotbeds.

It’s all about protecting your backyard or shall we say, home-turf.

Going to the Pac-10 will give schools like UCLA, Arizona, Oregon and Oregon State, among others in the projected Pac-16, an opportunity to steal high school recruits out of Texas and Oklahoma.

The last time I checked, Texas had more high schools in the Dallas/Houston/Austin area than the whole state of Oregon. And to top it off, what kind of rivalries would fans be looking at in the Pac-16?

Oklahoma-Arizona ... Battle of the Stoops brothers (at least until one of them moves on to greener pastures)

Oklahoma State-Arizona State ... Cowboys vs. Sun Devils (Not too appealing)

Colorado vs. UCLA ... the Rick Neuheisel Bowl (winner gets a free trip to Crested Butte)

Of course, if we keep the Big 12 Conference together, the rivalries will continue to thrive and fans won’t have to travel thousands of miles.

I would much rather watch Texas vs. Texas A&M, especially if the Big 12 South Division title is riding on the table, or Texas Tech vs. Oklahoma State. And, even better, Kansas vs. Missouri will carry a heavier audience than California vs. Texas Tech.

Since Nebraska is already on the verge of joining the Big Ten and Colorado has announced its intentions to leave for the Pac-10, the logical thing for the Big 12 is to add TCU and possibly Arkansas from the SEC or Houston from Conference USA.

Money isn’t everything, but when it comes to putting fans in the stands, it makes a big difference.

(Tim Ritter is sports editor of the Claremore Daily Progress. He can be reached by e-mail at tritter@claremoreprogress.com)

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