Nebraska Football: Tom Osborne Gets "I Told You So" Moment with Big 12

(Doctor Tom Osborne, giggling with delight at seeing his predictions come true. Seriously, that’s what he looks like when he giggles.)

Welcome to another edition of the Husker Hotwire, the sometimes-weekly, sometimes-funny look at Husker athletics!

It takes a certain type of person to revel in being right about something. The Hotwire staff is unfamiliar with that kind of person. Not because they're above bragging about being right, of course, but simply because they're not at all used to being right about much.

When Nebraska left the Big 12 Conference for the Big Ten, one of the prime reasons cited by Nebraska athletic director Doctor Tom Osborne was the need for a stable home for Husker athletics. Given the drama of the month previous, and the ultimatum Nebraska received to make a commitment to the conference or Texas and company would join the Pac-10, Osborne decided that the Big Ten would be a much safer place for Nebraska to call home. Otherwise, Osborne feared, the existential drama of the Big 12 would play itself out over and over again.

At the time, Big 12 head honcho Dan Beebe assured everyone that the new, 10-team Big 12 was going to be just fine. And when the conference signed its new television deal, Beebe made sure the world knew that the Big 12 was super, thanks for asking.

But this week, decision-makers at Texas A&M and Oklahoma are realizing that Texas' Longhorn Network might be bad for them. It could end up getting conference games on the network, meaning fans of opposing schools in the conference would have to pay Texas to watch their games. Even more significantly, it might put them at a recruiting disadvantage if the network shows high school games that happen to feature recruits Texas is competing for.

How upset are Texas A&M and Oklahoma? Upset enough to re-consider bolting for the SEC if the issues aren't resolved. Texas, hearing the concerns, has put plans for high school and conference games on hold until the issues can be worked out.

"It's not going to happen until and unless the conference can make it happen with benefit to all and detriment to none," Beebe told the Dallas Morning News, assuming one of three things. One, the Longhorn Network and ESPN will be perfectly fine trying to fill programming time without two of their most valuable assets. Two, the network will go ahead anyway and Texas A&M, Oklahoma and the other schools will be totally cool with Texas having another massive recruiting advantage. Three, Texas won't look at all this kerfuffle and just go independent and sign its own deal with ESPN like BYU did.

Even the Hotwire staff realizes that none of those three things is particularly likely to happen, and can only imagine Osborne sitting in his office, sipping a glass of milk and enjoying a wry chuckle. At least until he has to take another call from Big Ten grand pooh-bah Jim Delaney, who wants Osborne to appear on the Big Ten Network to talk about how awesome the new division names are again.

Big Ten Conference Update

We here at the Hotwire are committed to provide you ongoing coverage of Nebraska's new conference opponents as the Huskers transition into the Big Ten Conference. Hoosier Hotwire reports that Indiana football is looking to its past with a new uniform design that is influenced by history.

In 2011, the Hoosier football squad will have shirts with no stripes on the sleeves, white facemasks and white pants with two maroon stripes down the side. So, basically, Indiana will be using Oklahoma's uniforms, with the "Sooners" on the chest covered up with athletic tape and "Hoosiers" written in with a Sharpie.

Around the Hotwire Network

Tiger Hotwire reports that LSU paid Willie Lyles' "recruiting service" $6,000 for a DVD full of basically useless video of prospective players. Of course, that money was just for the video and wasn't at all paid in an attempt to get star players like Lache Seastrunk (with whom Lyles had a close relationship) to sign with LSU. You know, like Oregon did. The lawyers, who Hotwire staff members are court-ordered to consult, say "allegedly" has to be added.

Tiger Hotwire (no, not the Tiger Hotwire we just talked about, the other Tiger Hotwire up to its eyeballs in scandals to cover) reports that head Tiger Gene Chizik tried to intimidate NCAA investigators looking into Auburn's many questionable actions by demanding to know when the investigation would be complete.

According to CBSSports.com, NCAA Vice President of Enforcement Julie Roe Lach responded by telling Chizik that "[you'll] know when we're finished, and we're not finished." Chizik did not respond by thanking Lach very much and turning around to look in the corner for the hubris that had been forcefully slapped out of his mouth.

Red Raider Hotwire reports that former head Raider and current slightly crazy-person Mike Leach is in Lubbock to sign copies of his new book, in which he criticizes Texas Tech over how he was fired. Although, at least Leach had the decency to use a book as the medium to air his disagreements with university bigwigs as opposed to a salad bar, as former Texas Tech head coach Bobby Knight did. So say what you will about Leach, but by Lubbock's standards, he's raised the level of discourse.

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