UH: Big 12, Big East, Some Newly Created Conference Or Oblivion?
TCU has deservedly gotten the bid to join the Big 12 that the University of Houston was so desperately hoping for.
The musical chairs continue
So what's next for the Coogs? Four scenarios:
4. The Big 12
Some supporters, like State Rep Bill Callegari of Katy, are still holding out hope for entry into the Big 12. The Katy rep issued a statement:
The Big 12′s decision today clearly indicates that the question of expanded membership appears open. If the Conference is to live up to its advertised name -- Big Twelve -- then it needs two additional schools. I urge the Conference's decision-makers to include the University of Houston in either of these remaining slots.
One thing we've learned, of course, is that conferences could not care less whether their names make sense when it comes to the number of teams. UH getting into the Big 12 seems a longshot for now.
3. The Big East
The Big East is reeling and desperate to stay relevant in football. Does that mean reaching out to UH? Possibly.
Whether joining the Big East will be an overall good move is another matter. The conference may lose its automatic BCS-bowl status as teams leave it, and then UH is stuck in an east-coast version of Conference USA. Plus their hoops team would get their ass kicked regularly.
2. A new conference
People are throwing all kinds of crap at the wall these days in college football, and what might stick is some sort of Frankenstein-monster creation combining parts of C-USA, the Big East and the Mountain West, which makes sense only in this insane period of realignment happening now. If anyone had proposed such a deal five years ago, it would have been laughable. It still seems farfetched.
1. Oblivion
So what's left for UH? Buidling a program that dominated C-USA, makes the Liberty Bowl each year and registers on no one's radar? Yeas, Houston is a major TV market, but it's a major TV market that largely ignores the Coogs.
Still, with improvements in football and basketball -- including major facilities upgrades, if they go ahead as scheduled -- UH would still be an attractive pick for some conference. Right?
It's just that these days, absolutely no one knows what's going on. So for the average Coog fan, there's little to do but sit back and keep your fingers crossed.
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