VIEWPOINTS

Adios, UT and OU; hello, Big Texas Conference

Glenn Dromgoole

With the University of Texas and Oklahoma University leaving the Big 12 Conference, effective 2025 if not sooner, other Texas universities have an opportunity to create an in-state Division 1 football conference that would:

  • Cover all major Texas TV markets.
  • Attract significant Texas corporate advertisers/sponsors.
  • Preserve or create in-state rivalries and strengths in all sports.
  • Tie in to established college football bowl games.
  • Reduce travel costs and increase attendance for all sports.
  • Open more opportunities for college scholarships for Texas high school athletes.
  • Accommodate families who want to watch their sons and daughters play.
  • Generate statewide public and alumni excitement for Texas college sports.

Let’s call it the Big Texas Conference, the BTC.

Twelve teams, divided into East and West divisions.

In the East: Baylor, SMU, Houston, Rice, Texas State and Sam Houston. Total enrollment: 138,000 (as of 2019). Three of the seven largest public universities in Texas that play football, three major private university rivals.

Glenn Dromgoole

In the West: Texas Tech, TCU, North Texas, UT San Antonio, UT El Paso and Abilene Christian. Total enrollment 139,000. Four large public universities, including Texas Tech and UNT, longtime private powerhouse TCU, and up and coming ACU.

ACU and Sam Houston, being Division 1-AA in football, would need to at least double  their stadium capacities of 12,000 and 14,000, respectively. Several other universities might need to expand as well.

Teams would play their five division rivals in football plus three teams in the other division. Division champions could play the conference championship game in Arlington’s AT&T Stadium.

The bowl tie-ins: Alamo (San Antonio), Sun (El Paso), Texas (Houston), Armed Forces (Fort Worth), First Responders (Dallas). Maybe a sixth bowl in Waco or San Marcos.

As far as other sports than football, consider Baylor, Texas Tech, Rice, ACU in women’s basketball; Baylor, Tech, Houston, ACU, UTEP in men’s basketball; Tech, TCU, Houston, Rice, Sam Houston in baseball; and others in golf, tennis, track, softball, etc.

The Big Texas Conference: a truly major Texas conference. With the deadline seeming to be 2025, there’s time for the respective university presidents and athletic directors to make it happen. But they need to get the conversation started.

Glenn Dromgoole, retired newspaper editor and author of more than 30 books, has a lot of spare time to think up things like this but doesn't want to be the first league commissioner. Email him at g.dromgoole@suddenlink.net.

The Big Texas Conference

West Division: Texas Tech, TCU, North Texas, UT San Antonio, UT El Paso, Abilene Christian

East Division: Baylor, Houston, SMU, Rice, Texas State, Sam Houston

*Teams play all five teams in their division and three teams in the other division: Four home, four away.

Championship game: AT&T Stadium in Arlington

Champion goes to: Alamo Bowl, or higher

Runnerup goes to: Sun Bowl, or Alamo if champion goes to Big 6 bowl

Next 3-4 rated teams to other bowls

Bowl games: Alamo Bowl, San Antonio; Sun Bowl, El Paso; Texas Bowl, Houston; Armed Forces Bowl, Fort Worth; First Responder Bowl, Dallas; Frisco Bowl, Frisco.