ESPN and University of Texas Sign $300 Million Deal To Create Longhorn Network

According to several reports this morning, the much rumored broadcast deal between the University of Texas and ESPN has been finalized to the tune of $300 million over 20 years to create a network exclusive to Texas Longhorns sports.

The deal will reportedly yield around $15 million a year in revenue to the Texas athletic department, already one of the most profitable in collegiate athletics, in some years bringing in as much as $90 million in revenue as a department.

As reported previously, this deal solidifies the Texas Longhorns' reputation as a self-sufficient and business-first entity, which in light of current budget difficulties in the state of Texas, may come under harsh criticism.

Could this be Texas' first step in a drive to remove itself from dependency on the major conferences and strike out as an independent?

This broadcast deal dwarfs the previously signed arrangement between Notre Dame and NBC in 1991 for $38 million dollars over five years.

Under the deal with ESPN, the network will show both men's and women's sports and will kick-off prior to the 2011 collegiate football season. In 2011, the network will feature men's football, men's basketball and women's volleyball, the three strongest programs within one of the nation's most successful athletic programs.

Will this deal between Texas and ESPN set a precedent which other high revenue athletic departments will follow in an effort to obtain a bigger piece of the revenue pie?

Only time, and the shakeout of the major conferences and pre-existing broadcasting rights deals, will tell the tale.