25 years later, the demise of the SWC & the birth of the B12

[newnasty]

'I don't wish either of them well': The demise of the Southwest Conference, 25 years later

Twenty-five years ago, the Southwest Conference played its last game. But the SWC will never be forgotten, thanks to its innovative offenses, penchant for scandal and pettiness to the very end.

www.espn.com

 

[runningback43]

That's an interesting read. Thanks for posting it.

 

[Plainosooner]

There are several errors in the article. But the biggest issue is the pro Texas slant. Deloss Dodds gets to give the pro Longhorn view, without the obvious issues that ESPN, source of the article, and UT destroyed the SWC and destroyed the Big 12. It was less their fault in the Southwest Conference. SMU, Baylor, TCU and Rice weren't pulling their weight. They had no TV attraction, and paid attendance at home games not including a state school barely reaching 20,000.s.

Houston joined the SWC party late. They weren't invited until the mid 70s. Then they won three conference championships in their first four seasons in the conference. However, they didn't draw much. Houston had a whole lot more A&M and Texas fans than it ever had UH fans. Yeoman's veer was hard to stop for a while. Eventually, all their presence did, was dilute Texas' and A&M's recruiting. Yeoman had been recruiting black athletes for a long time, before the Longhorns or Aggies had much more than token offers.

Heck, Duffy Daugherty had great teams at Michigan State in the mid-60s because he recruited Texas hard, especially the Gulf coast part of the state. He was born in Orange and grew up in Beaumont. But when he graduated from high school, nobody in the SWC recruited any black athletes. Warren McVea went to
the University of Houston, before anybody in the SWC offered a single African American.

The SWC might have survived. There were more great African American players from Texas, playing at colleges in every other state. I still believe that the start of the demise of the Southwest Conference did not come from the death penalty, or even Arkansas leaving. It was when SMU had the greatest recruit in the country 12 miles from their campus. Their coach wanted him. He chose SMU. Then the administration at SMU wouldn't take him, even though he qualified. It was a black eye for the whole conference. Four years later, Arkansas left.

Economics was the biggest factor, but the demise started with Larry Johnson going juco, then leading UNLV to the national title game twice, splitting with Duke.

 

[newnasty]

Thanks for the re-write but I thought the article was spot on myself.

 

[Plainosooner]

If you're a UT fan, then you're right.

 

[newnasty]

If you're a UT fan, then you're right.

In my short time on this board, I've never had issues with anyone. And I hope not with you in the future either. But please understand this... you're damn right I'm right. Never forget that either. What I believe is what I believe and what you believe is what you believe. There is no wrong in either. But your hate for UT is so strong that you can somehow manage to take a pretty solid article and twist it to be pro-UT. I suggest that you remove your crimson glasses and re-read the article again. There are many references to UT that identified issues with them. And finally... because I or or someone else views things different than you does not entitle you to the belittlement of others.

Peace out.

 

[Plainosooner]

I have no problem with you.

The article had a strong UT slant. That would expected from the media outlet who owns LHN. DeLoss Dodds chips in with their view of things. The objectivity goes away, because the other point of view is obscured. Even absent.

LHN was intentionally created by ESPN to prevent FOX sports from making the XII Network. At the time there was only The Big Ten Network owned by FOX and the brand new SEC Network, owned by ESPN. ESPN loses millions on LHN. But it allows them to pump up the SEC at the expense of everybody else. That power helped create the SEC winning multiple consecutive nattys.

In the first 11 years of the Big XII, the conference won 5 national championships. Since LHN was created, none. That is not a coincidence.

It's hard to overcome the anti-conference attitude promoted by the sports juggernaut.

Your claim of my "hatred for Texas" is no different than thousands of UT fans "hatred of OU." We are bitter rivals.

I don't hate Texas. Love the state. Lived here for 56 years. Don't like the direction that comes from people in liberal states escaping what that has done to their former location, and then promoting their destructive views.

I have a very strong dislike for UT and their destructive selfishness. It's why four quality programs left the conference. Any fair minded person understands that UTexas is the sole reason for at least three.

But since LHN makes up about 75% of UT's selfish behavior, you're not going to get a fair view from ESPN.

 

[CTOkie]

In my short time on this board, I've never had issues with anyone. And I hope not with you in the future either. But please understand this... you're damn right I'm right. Never forget that either. What I believe is what I believe and what you believe is what you believe. There is no wrong in either. But your hate for UT is so strong that you can somehow manage to take a pretty solid article and twist it to be pro-UT. I suggest that you remove your crimson glasses and re-read the article again. There are many references to UT that identified issues with them. And finally... because I or or someone else views things different than you does not entitle you to the belittlement of others.

Peace out.

Ever notice how one's "hatred" is almost always towards teams that have a winning history ? : Yankees, Notre Dame, Texas, Alabama, Celtics, etc.
I don't hear of too many Vanderbilt or San Diego Padres haters.

 

[runningback43]

Ever notice how one's "hatred" is almost always towards teams that have a winning history ? : Yankees, Notre Dame, Texas, Alabama, Celtics, etc.
I don't hear of too many Vanderbilt or San Diego Padres haters.

I hate the Padres. I'm still bitter about the Cubs losing to the Padres in the 84 playoffs.

 

[newnasty]

In the first 11 years of the Big XII, the conference won 5 national championships. Since LHN was created, none. That is not a coincidence.

You of course are entitled to your opinions and to even post them as this what this board is for. Having said this, my opinion on the above refernced area is a bit different. We have had ample opportunities to win a National Title, we just didn't have the horses to do it. I guess you could claim that the LHN is the blame for this too. But I don't. Neither do the Clemson fans and their former OU DC, nor does tOSU fans. The facts show the Fox got out foxed. There is little doubt that ESPN markets the SEC, but there is little evidence that we lost because of it.

 

[CTOkie]

I hate the Padres. I'm still bitter about the Cubs losing to the Padres in the 84 playoffs.

......okay, that's ONE.

 

[LAY THE WOODY]

......okay, that's ONE.

Thanks, I think I've got a potato chip lodged in my lung now. 😅