What about the Cowboys?
Taking a look at the potential landing spots for OSU in terms of the Power 5 conferences that might be willing to take (or, in the case of the Big 12, keep) the Cowboys,
STILLWATER — Oklahoma State is set to enter the great unknown of the college football universe.
The deal taking OU and Texas out of the Big 12 Conference and into the SEC appears all but done.
That leaves eight Big 12 schools in OSU's spot, not knowing what might lie ahead. What does the future Big 12 look like? Would a conference move of their own be best? It's all uncertain.
First, let's take a look at the potential landing spots for Oklahoma State in terms of the Power 5 conferences that might be willing to take (or, in the case of the Big 12, keep) the Cowboys.
And let's start at right here at home:
Pros for staying in Big 12
❚ Familiarity: Life in the Big Eight/ Big 12 footprint is what the Cowboys have come to know. They know the locales, even if a few have changed over the years, and a regionally based conference is a better fit than one that is more geographically askew.
❚ Power:OSU would be the big dog at the table.
❚ In the short-term, money: OU and Texas are going to have to give up some cash if they’re going to negotiate their way out of the conference before the grant of rights is up in 2025, and it certainly seems like that will be the case. That leaves more money for the eight remaining schools in the conference.
Cons for staying in Big 12
❚ In the long-term, money: Eventually, OU and Texas — and cash they bring to the table — will be gone. No other programs that the Big 12 could add would bring in money to match what’s being lost. The days of the conference doling out $37 million a year to its members are numbered.
❚ Instability: Will the conference try to forge ahead and become stronger? How many schools might be added, and more importantly, which schools would those be? It’s hard to project a new Big 12 that would stack up as a Power 5 conference.
Pros for joining Pac-12
❚ Similar money: For the 2019-20 school year, the Pac-12 distributed $33.6 million to its schools, just a little shy of the $37.7 million the Big 12 gave out. If the Pac moves into the central time zone, it would cover a lot of territory in the western United States and could increase TV revenue.
❚ Unique road trips: Think of all the places OSU fans could visit. Desert, Rocky Mountains ( remember how great Boulder, Colorado, is?), all of the West Coast.
Cons for joining Pac-12
❚ Instability: Before the OU/Texas move out of the Big 12, you could’ve made an argument that the Pac-12 was the least stable of the Power 5 conferences, with the lack of a dominant football force in recent years — despite having a few programs with strong brand recognition. Can the Pac continue to stand on its own feet, with the addition of some Big 12 leftovers? Or is it simply the next conference to get raided for its blue-bloods?
❚ Culture clash: How well would an Oklahoma-based institution blend with all those schools on the Left Coast?
❚ Pac-12 after dark: Sure, it’s fun football to watch after your team’s game is over. But here in the central time zone, who’s getting excited for a 9 p.m. kickoff?
Pros for joining Big Ten
❚ Big money: For the 2019-20 school year, schools receiving a full payout from the conference were cut a $55.6 million check. At least for now, the Big Ten is ahead of the SEC in revenue.
❚ November nights: The Big Ten is constantly looking for night games in November, when the northern schools have been hit by frigid weather. That could mean plenty of opportunities for prime-time TV slots in Stillwater late in the season.
Cons for joining Big Ten
❚ Academic roadblocks: The Big Ten holds high its academic standards for entry into the conference, which could halt an Oklahoma State move.
❚ Cold winters: Remember the last time the Pokes played a game in subfreezing temperatures, or snow? Those conditions are happening all over the Big Ten late in the year.
❚ The other OSU: In Big Ten country, OSU means Ohio State.
Pros for joining ACC
❚ Immediate stature: The Cowboys would be a top-three football program in the ACC as soon as they signed up.
❚ Decent money: For 2019-20, the ACC gave out between $27.6 million and $34 million to its member schools, plus $6.8 million to Notre Dame. Not quite at the Big 12’s level, but not far off.
Cons for joining ACC
❚ Zoned in: Whereas the Pac-12 could benefit by adding teams in the central time zone, the ACC wouldn’t see such benefits with a move west into the middle of the country without a major-market program on the table.
❚ Luck of the Irish: The ACC will always be holding a spot for Notre Dame football to join. It might never happen, but the ACC wants to be the landing spot when Notre Dame decides to join a conference in football.