Nebraska looked at rejoining the Big 12

[WestTexasHusker]

Buried in the pages of Bill Moos's book, we find that Moos had at least preliminary discussions with Bob Bowlsby of the Big 12 about rejoining the conference. He told Ted and Ronnie he was exploring things. He met with Bowlsby in Dallas. Ronnie wasn't gung ho on it, but Ted was apparently all-in. There isn't a time stamp on this in the book, but it appears to be in the range of 2017 or 18. Obviously, it never came close to happening or it would have been leaked, but you never know what all is going on behind the scenes.

 

[19D Cav]

Good thing Moos was put out to pasture and the Admiral took his ship to another port of call !! and people wonder why Nebraska football has been down in the dumps for a while now

 

[wcbsas]

I would think some of these kind of discussions happen all the time. Most of the time it probably doesn’t amount to anything.

 

[TFrazier]

As I said in the Bill Moos thread…

There is zero chance Nebraska would have willingly moved back to the Big 12 given the HUGE financial and research ramifications it would have had on the academic side of the university.

Here is the response Mr. Moos would have received from the Chancellor, President, and Board of Regents…

Mr. Moos,

 

[Cornjob]

It would have been an idiotic move for the university as a whole. It would have also cost the athletic department a lot of money. But if you could magically switch to scheduling old B12 opponents (less attractive with OU and Texas missing) that would be more desirable than the B10 slate. More regional games and more historic rivalries. But it would never be worth the cost.

And good heavens can you imagine the PR disaster that would ensue. We could join the MAC and lose about the same level of respect.

I’m glad Moos is gone. He was a bad AD, at best a do-nothing.

 

[TFrazier]

It would have been an idiotic move for the university as a whole. It would have also cost the athletic department a lot of money. But if you could magically switch to scheduling old B12 opponents (less attractive with OU and Texas missing) that would be more desirable than the B10 slate. More regional games and more historic rivalries. But it would never be worth the cost.

And good heavens can you imagine the PR disaster that would ensue. We could join the MAC and lose about the same level of respect.

I’m glad Moos is gone. He was a bad AD, at best a do-nothing.

The university administration and regents would not have made the move based on the feelings of the athletic department AD in that time frame. The thought of Moos even contemplating such a move is so short sighted for the overall stability of the university and its long term goals.

 

[BlueTurfHusker]

He was a bad AD, at best a do-nothing.

What's the motive to denigrate Husker leaders? I just don't get it. Moos hired Will Bolt for baseball. Moos hired Fred Hoiberg for basketball. Moos kept Husker athletics financially strong through Covid. He did 17,000 other positive things for Husker athletics that most of us never heard of. He was on the job. For us. What does it do for you to blithely dismiss his contributions like that? I just don't understand. Probably never will.

 

[Huskerfan69]

It would have been an idiotic move for the university as a whole. It would have also cost the athletic department a lot of money. But if you could magically switch to scheduling old B12 opponents (less attractive with OU and Texas missing) that would be more desirable than the B10 slate. More regional games and more historic rivalries. But it would never be worth the cost.

And good heavens can you imagine the PR disaster that would ensue. We could join the MAC and lose about the same level of respect.

I’m glad Moos is gone. He was a bad AD, at best a do-nothing.

How much would it have cost NU?

 

[EastOfEden]

There's so much positive going on now that I tend to ignore subjects like this that are so negative. Soon Spring practice will start and I can get excited about NU football again, but before that we will have other good results from other Husker athletic teams to discuss. That attitude change occurs when you turn 90.

 

[Husker In Oklahoma]

OU and Texas were still in the Big 12 when he did this. One could argue, that had the Big 12 been the first league to add expansion, back in 2009, 2010, it might have been the BIG or SEC left holding the bag instead of the Big 12. The Big 12 was late to the party. From 1996-2008, the Big 12 was the strongest league in the country. It didn’t foresee these massive changes coming. I hate the BIG, but returning was never an option.

 

[wcbsas]

OU and Texas were still in the Big 12 when he did this. One could argue, that had the Big 12 been the first league to add expansion, back in 2009, 2010, it might have been the BIG or SEC left holding the bag instead of the Big 12. The Big 12 was late to the party. From 1996-2008, the Big 12 was the strongest league in the country. It didn’t foresee these massive changes coming. I hate the BIG, but returning was never an option.

I agree. Imagine the B12 with USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington along with NU, maybe Notre Dame. Without Arizona, ASU, UCF, Cincy, West Virginia. Possibly with BYU and Utah.

Its already a premier basketball conference and that type of star power in football it could have been something.

Its like discussing a trade ... what could you get by trading Joe Burrow or Miles Garrett. You're likely not going to get the value you want or need but you never know if you don't ask!

 

[Hooked on Huskers]

Ancient news

 

[Cornjob]

What's the motive to denigrate Husker leaders? I just don't get it. Moos hired Will Bolt for baseball. Moos hired Fred Hoiberg for basketball. Moos kept Husker athletics financially strong through Covid. He did 17,000 other positive things for Husker athletics that most of us never heard of. He was on the job. For us. What does it do for you to blithely dismiss his contributions like that? I just don't understand. Probably never will.

Hoiberg and Frost were candidates that any Nebraska AD could have hired. They were perceived as high quality candidates that wanted the job. It was low hanging fruit that was gifted to the AD to finalize deal.

Will Bolt is a good example of a hire that could have gone another direction. But given the revelations in Moos book and elsewhere, it’s better harder to know what to credit Moos with and what just happened to occur when he was here…but was ultimately orchestrated by someone else.

I’m not going to apologize for criticizing his lack of oversight with Frost. Particularly if Moos anticipated maturity issues. If he did, why didn’t he do something about it. The contrast with Alberts’ more present style and clear expectations was a pretty obvious contrast even for observers outside the athletic department like us fans. But it was nothing Moos couldn’t have done.

 

[WestTexasHusker]

I don't get the Bill Moos hate.

 

[Mentally Red]

What's the motive to denigrate Husker leaders? I just don't get it. Moos hired Will Bolt for baseball. Moos hired Fred Hoiberg for basketball. Moos kept Husker athletics financially strong through Covid. He did 17,000 other positive things for Husker athletics that most of us never heard of. He was on the job. For us. What does it do for you to blithely dismiss his contributions like that? I just don't understand. Probably never will.

Agree. Nobody was going to pass on Frost at that time. It would have been professional suicide to not pursue him. We were all thrilled to have him. Nobody, except maybe Kendra, could have predicted just how bad it was going to be. On balance, I think Moos was fine. Certainly better than his predecessor.