Conference Realignment: Why the Texas Longhorns Hold All the Cards

All the conference mergers and teams switching homes is on hold. Well, at least for now. Maybe for the next few minutes it is. Tomorrow will be something different.

The Pac-12 has said they will not be expanding to 16 teams and with that, the Big-12 and the Big East have said they will not be joining forces. Everything looks like it is settling down and majority of the teams will stay put.

The Texas Longhorns hold all the cards to how the college football landscape is going to look in the future.

Here's how.

The ACC Still Wants Them

Yes, Texas joining the ACC is still a strong possibility for the Longhorns.

From a competitive standpoint the Longhorns are use to being on of the top dogs in their conference. Joining the ACC would give them that opportunity as there are really only a couple great teams in the conference.

But with that said there is great tradition with teams like Miami, Florida State, Virginia Tech and Boston College.

The main reason the Longhorns would join the ACC is the Longhorn Network.

So far it looks like the ACC is the only conference that would allow Texas to keep their new toy that makes them $15 million over the next 20 years. We know it's all about the money with this move and the ACC is a better option because of it.

If the Longhorns were to move to the ACC they would either bring Oklahoma with them or the Sooners would likely move to the Pac-12. Which would all but destroy the Big-12 or force them to merge with the Big East.  

Texas to the Pac-12

The move that looked most likely until recently was the Longhorns going to the Pac-12 and creating the Pac-16 along with Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Texas Tech. That move has since changed for whatever reason and has the Big-12 trying to work out their differences. Or so they say.

The Pac-12 would allow Texas to keep the Longhorn Network but there would be strings attached. If the revenue is greater than a 16th of what the entire Pac-12 receives they could keep all the money. But if it is less they would have to divide the revenue evenly with everybody in the conference.  

If talks pick up between these two conferences again and Texas does make the switch, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Texas Tech would likely follow.

Texas Could Become Independent

A move that is very likely is the Texas Longhorns leave the sinking ship which is the Big-12 and become independent and force the rest of the conference to decide what they're going to do.

It's all about money and the Longhorns would be able to keep the Longhorn Network and all of the revenue. They would control their own destiny.

Scheduling would be tough for sports outside of football, but they could simply join another conference for every other sport except football.

No longer being in a conference with a BCS bowl berth isn’t much of an issue either. They’re the Longhorns, nobody is going to forget about them if they have a deserving record.

Becoming independent has to be an attractive option for Texas right about now.

Stay in the Big-12

Isn't this what college football fans wanted from the beginning? As of right now it appears that it's going to happen but we all know it could change in a matter of minutes.

Staying in the Big-12, nothing would change much. Texas would be able to keep the Longhorn Network and all of the teams would stay put. With the exception of Texas A&M who the Big-12 would have to find a replacement for, which shouldn't be a problem.

This would then force the Big East to survive on their own and hope they can find enough teams to keep the conference afloat.