Last year, after Texas and Oklahoma announced their move to the SEC, it was natural and even necessary for the Pac-12 to explore expansion options. One school which came up a lot is Houston. The Cougars are located in a major metropolitan area and a big national television market. Getting Houston’s eyeballs on Pac-12 football broadcasts gave the conference a chance to make its football package a lot more lucrative in future media rights negotiations.
The window for getting Houston to the Pac-12, however, has come and gone. The Cougars are off to the Big 12, giving them the power conference home they have lacked since the Southwest Conference died in the mid-1990s. That’s one reason you’re not going to see Texas-based schools join the Pac-12.
The other reason? Jon Wilner of the Wilner Hotline laid it out:
A decade ago, media revenue was directly tied to the number of cable TV homes in the conference footprint — hence the realignment wave that brought Colorado and Utah into the Pac-12.
These days, media revenue correlates with ratings, and ratings are typically tied to the number of brand-name programs in your conference.
Without Texas and Oklahoma, there are no major brands available in the Central Time Zone.
The addition of second-tier programs simply would not generate enough cash to offset the hurdles created by such a move, including the dilution of the Pac-12’s geographical alignment and the potential for competing institutional agendas …
*snip*
The Pac-12 derives substantial brand value in being the only Power Five league based on this side of the Rockies.
A conference can become too big, too sweeping, for its own good.
The dream of expansion into Texas needs to be allowed to die.
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Football | Trojans Wire…