On June 11, 2010, the B10 announced that NU would join the conference. Looking back on what happened a decade ago and everything since, you can’t help but think about what once was. Old B8/12 memories remain strong. But nostalgia gets undercut by the reality that the B12v1 was a bad fit of an arranged marriage. With Texas involved, the clock on its demise was probably always ticking.
NU-to-the-B10 might not have happened had the B12 had adult chaperones, to contain UT’s selfish maneuvering. But it didn’t, so here we are. Dan Beebe, the B12’s in-over-his-head commish, was like a bad parent who openly favored one kid over the others, encouraging UT’s self-centeredness and escalating the family dysfunction. You saw Harvey Perlman’s & TO’s reactions after working the deal with Jim Delany – fed up with Texas’ act, they knew NU would belong to a stable organization with a sense of collegiality, run by grownups. They recognized and seized a unique opportunity to act in the Univ. of Nebraska’s long-term interest. Despite some flawed decisions affecting NU’s football program, HP made a great one affecting the university as a whole – his primary obligation as chancellor.
Given UT’s recent slide, maybe NU might’ve ridden out the storm had it stayed (though there’s still no B12 Network and the Longhorn Network remains). But Texas could sow chaos, resentment, and distrust like no other. Having shopped itself to multiple conferences, always looking for a better deal, it was essentially a college football mercenary. About to bolt to an expanding P10, thinking it’d pay more (it didn’t, which is why it stayed), it floated disinfo about its intentions, raising other B12 schools’ uncertainty to crisis level amid fear of impending B12 collapse. What a conniving way to treat your colleagues (at least those not accompanying you to the new P16). Having been given safe haven in the B8’s home after the SWC rescue, it was now prepared to torch it. UT’s P10/16 courtship left TO & HP no assurance there’d still be a B12 for NU to belong to even if it opted to stay. If Texas left with other B12S schools in tow, as seemed likely, NU faced being left out in the cold. Beebe didn’t help matters with a tone-deaf ultimatum that NU reaffirm its B12 vows as Texas was plotting to run off with the pool boy. Staying put on hope alone was no strategy for a secure future. They had to make the move.
Major change involves tradeoffs. Old rivalries and traditions, easy and inexpensive road trips, and other comfortable past familiarities now belong to a bygone era. Unless you’re one of those who don’t mind a favorite restaurant closing or Willie Mays Hayes being played by a different actor in Major League II, there’s still a sense of loss. Though it somehow dodged the conference-killing Big One, the B12 had become a shifting fault line; NU is now on firmer ground financially and academically. With COVID-19 threatening athletic budgets, NU’s B10 $ has provided some cushion for a likely huge revenue hit. As a university, NU will continue to benefit from its B10 association regardless of COVID-19’s impact.
The way NU’s ex-B8 partners aided and abetted Texas is still hard to stomach. Longstanding colleagues quickly became enablers in empowering UT to commandeer the B12. Myopically aligning with their new frenemy in its early era to counter then-at-its-peak NU, they gave the new league an SWC feel, laying the groundwork for what eventually happened. And money always tops loyalty. Lured by greater TV revenue, Okla. & Okie St. were ready to jilt their fellow ex-B8ers and go with UT to the new P16 – they didn’t only because Texas didn’t. Always torn between the P10 & B12, Colo. had second thoughts about staying with its old conference mates after the B8 ended; CU-to-the-P10 was no surprise. OU/OSU/A&M/Texas Tech were part of a package deal – if the P10 couldn’t get the main attraction, it wasn’t interested in the backup singers. Just goes to show: There are no permanent alliances; only permanent interests.
NU-to-the-B10 might not have happened had the B12 had adult chaperones, to contain UT’s selfish maneuvering. But it didn’t, so here we are. Dan Beebe, the B12’s in-over-his-head commish, was like a bad parent who openly favored one kid over the others, encouraging UT’s self-centeredness and escalating the family dysfunction. You saw Harvey Perlman’s & TO’s reactions after working the deal with Jim Delany – fed up with Texas’ act, they knew NU would belong to a stable organization with a sense of collegiality, run by grownups. They recognized and seized a unique opportunity to act in the Univ. of Nebraska’s long-term interest. Despite some flawed decisions affecting NU’s football program, HP made a great one affecting the university as a whole – his primary obligation as chancellor.
Given UT’s recent slide, maybe NU might’ve ridden out the storm had it stayed (though there’s still no B12 Network and the Longhorn Network remains). But Texas could sow chaos, resentment, and distrust like no other. Having shopped itself to multiple conferences, always looking for a better deal, it was essentially a college football mercenary. About to bolt to an expanding P10, thinking it’d pay more (it didn’t, which is why it stayed), it floated disinfo about its intentions, raising other B12 schools’ uncertainty to crisis level amid fear of impending B12 collapse. What a conniving way to treat your colleagues (at least those not accompanying you to the new P16). Having been given safe haven in the B8’s home after the SWC rescue, it was now prepared to torch it. UT’s P10/16 courtship left TO & HP no assurance there’d still be a B12 for NU to belong to even if it opted to stay. If Texas left with other B12S schools in tow, as seemed likely, NU faced being left out in the cold. Beebe didn’t help matters with a tone-deaf ultimatum that NU reaffirm its B12 vows as Texas was plotting to run off with the pool boy. Staying put on hope alone was no strategy for a secure future. They had to make the move.
Major change involves tradeoffs. Old rivalries and traditions, easy and inexpensive road trips, and other comfortable past familiarities now belong to a bygone era. Unless you’re one of those who don’t mind a favorite restaurant closing or Willie Mays Hayes being played by a different actor in Major League II, there’s still a sense of loss. Though it somehow dodged the conference-killing Big One, the B12 had become a shifting fault line; NU is now on firmer ground financially and academically. With COVID-19 threatening athletic budgets, NU’s B10 $ has provided some cushion for a likely huge revenue hit. As a university, NU will continue to benefit from its B10 association regardless of COVID-19’s impact.
The way NU’s ex-B8 partners aided and abetted Texas is still hard to stomach. Longstanding colleagues quickly became enablers in empowering UT to commandeer the B12. Myopically aligning with their new frenemy in its early era to counter then-at-its-peak NU, they gave the new league an SWC feel, laying the groundwork for what eventually happened. And money always tops loyalty. Lured by greater TV revenue, Okla. & Okie St. were ready to jilt their fellow ex-B8ers and go with UT to the new P16 – they didn’t only because Texas didn’t. Always torn between the P10 & B12, Colo. had second thoughts about staying with its old conference mates after the B8 ended; CU-to-the-P10 was no surprise. OU/OSU/A&M/Texas Tech were part of a package deal – if the P10 couldn’t get the main attraction, it wasn’t interested in the backup singers. Just goes to show: There are no permanent alliances; only permanent interests.
