Link: The Demise of the Southwest Conference, 25 Years Later

[TexasBama]

Good read

'I don't wish either of them well': The demise of the Southwest Conference, 25 years later

Twenty-five years ago, the Southwest Conference played its last game. But the SWC will never be forgotten, thanks to its innovative offenses, penchant for scandal and pettiness to the very end.

www.espn.com

 

[squib]

I was at the Texas v. AtM game that day in 1995. I thought that game was the pinnacle of spectacle and college football as a 22-year-old who had never been to any college game other than those held in Texas. I was raised on the mantra that the rest of the world envies the football played in Texas.

Three weeks later, I packed up and moved to Tuscaloosa to begin my MA studies. I knew a bit about Bama but really didn't care because, well, Alabama football was not Texas football.

That next fall, I went to my first Bama game. And I left that game feeling I had been duped my whole life. I had no idea how BIG football was away from the Lone Star State. Bama games and SEC games more broadly blew my hair back. I came back to Texas that following Christmas for a short break and told everyone that Texas games were the county fair and that Bama games were Disney World; AtM games were Tunica and SEC games were Vegas.

I am back in Texas now. And I still shame my fellow Texans every chance I get. I won't walk across the street to watch a Big 12 game. I live and die by Bama.

And yes, being in Pasadena when Bama beat Texas is one of my favorite days.

 

[OSUTideFan]

It was an interesting article. I read it earlier this morning. I wonder if the Big Ten can end up going the way of the SWC.

 

[DzynKingRTR]

Baylor getting into the Big 12 and not Houston is still the biggest bunch of garbage ever in conference realignment.

 

[TexasBama]

Baylor getting into the Big 12 and not Houston is still the biggest bunch of garbage ever in conference realignment.

Ann Richards was the governor, and a Baylor Alum

 

[DzynKingRTR]

Ann Richards was the governor, and a Baylor Alum

I know. I read the article. Plus I believe @selmaborntidefan or someone else has mentioned it before.

 

[TideEngineer08]

Fascinating read. After all these years I think Arkansas would have been better of had they remained, and then also been invited to the Big 12 when it was formed. While they enjoyed a bit of success here and there, they've never truly found their footing in recruiting because they cut off their lifeline in Texas. It's hard to build that back now, even as Texas A&M has entered the league.

I also have a clearer view of why the Big 12 ultimately split... there was apparently never any real leadership to bring both sides together. It truly was a shotgun marriage.

 

[Tidewater]

Good read

'I don't wish either of them well': The demise of the Southwest Conference, 25 years later

Twenty-five years ago, the Southwest Conference played its last game. But the SWC will never be forgotten, thanks to its innovative offenses, penchant for scandal and pettiness to the very end.

www.espn.com

Who?

 

[TexasBama]

Fascinating read. After all these years I think Arkansas would have been better of had they remained, and then also been invited to the Big 12 when it was formed. While they enjoyed a bit of success here and there, they've never truly found their footing in recruiting because they cut off their lifeline in Texas. It's hard to build that back now, even as Texas A&M has entered the league.

I also have a clearer view of why the Big 12 ultimately split... there was apparently never any real leadership to bring both sides together. It truly was a shotgun marriage.

I recall reading somewhere that U of H was considered for the SEC when Arkansas came aboard. But U of H had gone into a dive then (teams had figured out how to defend the Run and Shoot).

The SWC wasn't very collegial back when Paul Bryant was at TAMU.

 

[4Q Basket Case]

I think all that stuff has its roots in the disproportionate share of conference revenues that UTw got in the SWC. I think that’s still the case in the B12, but I’m not 100% sure on that.

The SEC, on the other hand has a equal split among all schools (except, I do think there is some sort of allowance for travel expenses to post-season play).

And I also believe that’s why UTw would never be in the SEC, and probably why they couldn’t strike a deal with the Pac 10/12/whatever their number is now. The SEC will never budge on the equal distribution of money, and UTw won’t be without a decidedly un-equal distribution in its favor.

I really don‘t like those guys.

 

[DzynKingRTR]

I honestly don't know why texas doesn't just go independent.

 

[GrayTide]

Good read, thanks TexasBama. The old SWC was the haves vs the have nots, the haves were the public universities and the have nots were the private, church affiliated schools. I do think having that many schools in one state created problems, but think like 4Q said, UTw's greed and state politics ultimately lead to the conference downfall.

 

[The Ols]

I think all that stuff has its roots in the disproportionate share of conference revenues that UTw got in the SWC. I think that’s still the case in the B12, but I’m not 100% sure on that.

The SEC, on the other hand has a equal split among all schools (except, I do think there is some sort of allowance for travel expenses to post-season play).

And I also believe that’s why UTw would never be in the SEC, and probably why they couldn’t strike a deal with the Pac 10/12/whatever their number is now. The SEC will never budge on the equal distribution of money, and UTw won’t be without a decidedly un-equal distribution in its favor.

I really don‘t like those guys.

They still get a much bigger piece of the pie...If I was OU I'd be like...What?

 

[4Q Basket Case]

They still get a much bigger piece of the pie...If I was OU I'd be like...What?

I agree. Never understood why Oklahoma put up with that.

OU fans have told me that they need Texas. I replied that they do need the State of Texas (for recruiting), but not the University of Texas.

Conversation ended with us agreeing that I just don’t understand.

 

[crimsonaudio]

Crowe: Frank asked me, "Jack, what would you think about us going to the SEC?" I told him, "Let me tell you something, Frank: We have a hard time beating Texas here. There's five Texases over there. Five."

Barry Switzer, Hall of Fame Oklahoma coach, played at Arkansas in 1956-60: Hell, in the SEC, all those stadiums seat 100,000. They're all the University Ofs, you know?

 

[selmaborntidefan]

I'm gonna remind all of ya (I'm not through the article yet) that this man is the one who was absolutely convinced Nick Saban could be brought to Austin:

DeLoss Dodds, Texas athletic director, 1981-2014: They were a great rival and it probably hurt them more to leave than it hurt us to have them leave.

I mean, what an absolute IDIOT this guy is. STILL. After all these years.

Arkansas leaving meant not one single person outside the state of Texas (other than alums) gave a damn about your football conference, which is exactly why you boys went begging the Big 8 to consolidate. Arkansas makes a BUNCH more money now than they did, and they don't have to bend over and kiss Texas's rump anymore, either.


THIS is what I live with on a daily basis around here.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

Crowe: Frank asked me, "Jack, what would you think about us going to the SEC?" I told him, "Let me tell you something, Frank: We have a hard time beating Texas here. There's five Texases over there. Five."

Barry Switzer, Hall of Fame Oklahoma coach, played at Arkansas in 1956-60: Hell, in the SEC, all those stadiums seat 100,000. They're all the University Ofs, you know?

My favorite being the University of Mississippi State University.......

 

[selmaborntidefan]

I honestly don't know why texas doesn't just go independent.

Because they have to take the Aggies with them wherever that go.

Go look at how many AGGIES are in Texas state politics. (Even though neither was an Aggie, the Bush 41 family is buried on the ATM campus). They have inextricably bound ATM with Texas - to the point UT couldn't go to the Pac 10 without taking little brother. It was all a survival thing forever ago. But, of course, that was only a one-way street - you don't see Texas in the SEC now, do ya?

 

[Tidewater]

They still get a much bigger piece of the pie...If I was OU I'd be like...What?

That's because the Longhorns have won all those national championships over the last couple of decades.

 

[TexasBama]

That's because the Longhorns have won all those national championships over the last couple of decades.

I lived in Austin 03-05 and their national championships was usually my conversational coup de grace