Sheesh. I am no OU homer. I understand living in the present tense. I understand Texas-hyperventilation syndrome.

Try considering a time horizon longer than a single recruiting class. It's fashionable and trenchant to bash Stoops.

I would submit the Big 12 Champ for underperforming is Mack Brown (regardless of how much money UT throws at him).

UT has the big pockets, best recruiting classes and is recently described as the unrivaled 800 lb gorilla of the BCS universe.

How about putting your hyperbole next to your concealed weapon and consider the following list of Big 12 Football Championships culled from the "collegefootballpoll" site:

Looks like OU 6 - UT 2 (does that speak to sustained performance?) Should reality ever rear its sports head in these parts?

2000 Oklahoma 8-0
2001 Colorado 7-1
2002 Oklahoma 6-2
2003 Kansas St. 6-2
2004 Oklahoma 8-0
2005 Texas 8-0
2006 Oklahoma 7-1
2007 Oklahoma 6-2
2008 Oklahoma 7-1
2009 Texas 8-0

Ultimately, the biggest losers in all this are football fans of the plains states, who will only have one or two worthwhile games each fall to care about.

For all the interest generated by anything but OU-UT, OU-OSU, UT-A&M, and maybe the occasional TTech game, might as well be playing golf on Saturdays.

The Picker's hyperbolic diatribes will never convince me that a game involving KU, K-State, Mizzou, Iowa State or Baylor is more interesting that USC, UCLA, Oregon, Arizona, or Stanford. He has his head in the B12 sand.

The biggest loser is the NCAA as a force for integrity in the game. (I know, there isn’t much of that left.) We will soon have only four mega-conferences and Texas, along with enormous TV deals that dwarf those so far announced. Just imagine what would happen if Texas were caught as a repeat offender, and the NCAA tried to impose a death penalty, or even a multi-year ban from post-season? The networks would risk losing millions. You better believe the conferences will soon have the power to overrule the NCAA. NOBODY is going to mess with the TV deals on the horizon.

@Glenn: I just don't see how you (especially as an OU fan) can think Texas having total power and control over this conference is a good thing. Nebraska's lack of competitiveness was more than made up for by their realization that they had to get out from under Texas's thumb in order to have any say in their own future.

@Tulsan in Exile: I'm not sure super conferences will ever happen now. I think the conferences got close enough to realize that entities that big would bring Congress sniffing around. If the government would have determined these super conferences were more about money than education, every school within would have lost their tax-exemption status and soon enough, players would have to be paid. That's a whole can of worms nobody wants to open.

With Nebraska moving to the Big 10 far too many people seem to claim that it will mean the end of Texas recruiting. My question is, why?

Utah in 2010, 2009 and 2007 had only two Texas recruits less than Nebraska. In 2010 Utah had 7 Texas kids commit, Nebraska had 5. In 2009 Utah had 6 Texas kids commit, Nebraska had 8, and so on.
How is it that a team in a different state and different conference can pull in all these Texas recruits? I'll let you in on a secret...it's because Utah puts emphasis on Texas recruiting and has made head-way with the Texas high school coaches. You know, the exact same thing Bo Pelini & current staff has done.

Nebraska has *ALWAYS* had to recruit nationally and it will not matter what conference they are in, they will always have to do that. If Nebraska puts an emphasis on Texas, then they will pull kids out of Texas. If Nebraska puts an emphasis on Florida, then they will pull kids out of Florida.

Will Nebraska get every kid they want out of Texas? No. But they will get more than enough to remain successful in that state.
Everyone needs to get over these old wives tales and understand that Nebraska can and will recruit whatever states they can, because it's always been that way. 5 National Championships help in recruiting alot more than what conference you are in.