Last week, Texas A&M University announced its intention to leave the Big 12 Conference and earlier this week announced its intention to join the Southeastern Conference. After the A&M's SEC bid was announced, Baylor filed a lawsuit blocking A&M's move to the SEC.
Did Baylor do the right thing? In the short run, yes (perhaps), but in the long run no. Baylor's move obviously is an effort to keep the Big 12 together. Last weekend, Oklahoma announced that it is looking at its options in terms of moving to another conference. It is being widely reported that OU will join the Pacific 12 Conference, and take Oklahoma State, Texas and Texas Tech with it. What does mean for Baylor? Obviously, it would mean the end of any affiliation within a BCS conference. Baylor has enjoyed its status as "BCS" school and benefitted greatly, particularly financially. The Big 12/BCS affiliation has led to a big upgrade in football facilities and new facilities for numerous other sports, most notably baseball.
Baylor is behaving like a cornered animal. With all the talk of conference realignment, Baylor has been left out. Other major BCS conferences do not perceive that Baylor brings them any benefit, so BU is left out in the cold (a rather odd word choice to describe anything in Texas these days). So Baylor is taking any and all steps it can at this time to preserve its status as an affiliate of a major conference. Really, what other choice does Baylor have? So it fights with the only weapon it has at its disposal. The loss of BCS status would greatly affect Baylor's athletic revenue, and likely hurt its overall General Fund revenue as well.
How did it get so bad? There are two reasons for this: The University of Texas and Dan Beebe. Texas is perhaps the most arrogant university in the country and certainly the most destructive university, at least when it comes to athletics. Meanwhile, Dan Beebe's lack of leadership and vision, combined with his complete ass-kissing of Texas is simply appalling. Seriously, what other conference has the problems the Big 12 has? You don't see Ohio State strong arming the rest of the Big 10. You don't see Florida strong arming the rest of the SEC. Where else are schools in major BCS conferences desperately looking to leave?
As soon as the ink dried last summer to save the Big 12 as a 10 team conference, A&M went shopping. The Longhorn Network was a bone of contention, as this would result in UT realizing $300 million in revenue over the next 20 years. No one else had anything like this, and Comissioner Beebe simply allowed this to happen in order to save the Big 12. Does Ohio State have its own network? Or does Florida have its own? No, there is an SEC network and a Big 10 network and these conferences share equally. Ohio State gets the same money as Northwestern in the Big 10 network. Major network TV contracts are shared equally in all other conferences. Yet Texas is allowed to keep a larger share of the network TV contracts than the other schools in this conference. No wonder Colorado and Nebraska left!
For a school like Baylor, there is no choice but to go along with the unfair arrangement. For a Texas A&M, there are other options. They were smart to recognize that a better option existed and they jumped. I do not blame them. The University of Texas, with the blessing of Dan Beebe, destroyed the Big 12. The problems go way back to the founding of the Big 12 in the mid 1990's and never got better. Texas has always enjoyed being the "big fish in the small pond" and does not seem to play well with others.
Where does Baylor go from here? Filing the lawsuit was a long-term death sentence. I do not believe it will stop A&M from going to the SEC, nor will it stop the others from leaving for greener pastures. Of the current Big 12 schools, I can say with 100% certainty that Baylor and Iowa State will not end up in BCS conferences. Kansas State does not appear likely to either and Kansas hangs in the balance, but might be saved by its basketball program. Baylor might not end up in any conference because of the lawsuit. Baylor now is known as someone who does not play nice and throws a tantrum when it does not get its way. The politicians will not demand that Texas let Baylor tag along like they did in the formation of the Big 12. This means that in the short run, Baylor's lawsuit might preserve the Big 12 for another year. Long run, it might cripple the athletic program. Makes me sad for Baylor. The University is between a rock and a hard place.
Finally, why in the hell does Dan Beebe still have a job? Seriously? He completely lacks vision, is completely reactionary, and just basically does the bidding of Texas. When rumors that A&M was going to leave first surfaced, officials at Texas were quoted as saying they were making a list of possible replacements. That's Mr. Beebe's job! Where the hell is he? Why is everyone looking to bolt this league? Lack of leadership at the top! No one is looking to leave the Big 10, the Pac 12 or the SEC. In fact, Big 12 schools are begging to join these leagues! Dan Beebe needs to leave town ASAP and never show his face again. He has taken what should be a great league, a league that has been extremely competitive on the field, and driven it into near extinction (and that is only a matter of time). Hey Dan, I hope Bevo's ass tastes good!
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Reflections of September 11 - Ten Years Later
Sunday marks the 10th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States, and I cannot help but reflect on such a tragic, surreal day. I remember my day, which now seems so absurd. And I reflect on the courage of heroism of so many who helped save countless numbers of lives.
I am sure we all remember where we were when we first heard the news. I was sitting in my car at the intersection of 79th Street and Metcalf, waiting for the light to turn green. The DJ on the radio reported that a plane had struck one of the World Trade Center buildings in New York. I figured it was just a prop plane, piloted by an inexperienced pilot who did not know what he was doing. The clock in my car said 7:56, so this was approximately 10 minutes after the first plane struck. A few minutes later, someone in the office reported that a second plane had struck the second tower. I knew at that point that it was intentional.
My job at the time entailed traveling downtown for Tuesday morning investment meetings, so I headed down shortly, and on my way in, the news on the radio reported that a plane crashed into the Pentagon in Washington DC. This was unreal. Finally, I don't when, but I heard about the plane crash in Pennsylvania. This was becoming a blur. Shortly after arriving in downtown Kansas City, I saw the headline flash across a Bloomberg screen that the FAA grounded all flights and ordered all planes to land immediately. The investment meeting was canceled and I was told to get back to my office and call clients.
Those were the oddest calls I ever made. There was no script, and I barely had a clue as to what to say. My bosses barely had a clue. No one had ever seen anything like this before. I spent my day reassuring customers that the financial system was still sound and that their money was safe. Paled in comparison to the tragedy unfolding. First call I made, the client told me that we were at war. With whom I asked. Whoever attacked us! I remember a call I made to a client around 1:30pm. I went through my pitch, then he said to me, "Chuck I have no idea what you're talking about." He had not heard the news yet. The story I told had to sound so unbelievable that he probably thought I had lost my mind. How could the events of that day possibly be real?
In the end, it was a day that showed the best and worst of humanity. We saw the worst that day. What emerged later was the best. Watching a special the other night that spotlighted two heroes, among many that day, Frank DiMartini and Pablo Ortiz. They rescued people from the 88th, 89th and 90th floors of the North Tower and got them out before the building collapsed, yet they died when the building collapsed. More than 300 New York firefighters died as they attempted to rescue people caught in the buildings. In all, approximately 3,000 people died that day as a result of the terrorist attacks. Yet, as we reflect on that day, I choose to remember the heroes, the people who died while saving others. The firefighters and police officers who were doing their duty when it all caved in on them.
For once, on that day and the several days that followed, we were all Americans. Just Americans. In fact, the whole civilized world became Americans that day. Ultimately we learned that America isn't about monuments or buildings. It is about freedom. And we learned that freedom is not free. Sometimes we pay a dear price for our freedom. But I love that America is about an idea. That the spirit of the people can be bent, but not broken. That the greatness of America lies in its people. Its resilient, ever optimistic people, people with a can-do spirit. The terrorists destroyed two buildings, and yes, they massacred unbelievable amounts of people. People whose lives will never be the same. But they did not destroy the spirit of any of them. All 3,000 people who died that day died as heroes. They did not die in vain. The terrorists died as cowards. As I look back, ten years later, the truth rings out: The Heroes Won.
I am sure we all remember where we were when we first heard the news. I was sitting in my car at the intersection of 79th Street and Metcalf, waiting for the light to turn green. The DJ on the radio reported that a plane had struck one of the World Trade Center buildings in New York. I figured it was just a prop plane, piloted by an inexperienced pilot who did not know what he was doing. The clock in my car said 7:56, so this was approximately 10 minutes after the first plane struck. A few minutes later, someone in the office reported that a second plane had struck the second tower. I knew at that point that it was intentional.
My job at the time entailed traveling downtown for Tuesday morning investment meetings, so I headed down shortly, and on my way in, the news on the radio reported that a plane crashed into the Pentagon in Washington DC. This was unreal. Finally, I don't when, but I heard about the plane crash in Pennsylvania. This was becoming a blur. Shortly after arriving in downtown Kansas City, I saw the headline flash across a Bloomberg screen that the FAA grounded all flights and ordered all planes to land immediately. The investment meeting was canceled and I was told to get back to my office and call clients.
Those were the oddest calls I ever made. There was no script, and I barely had a clue as to what to say. My bosses barely had a clue. No one had ever seen anything like this before. I spent my day reassuring customers that the financial system was still sound and that their money was safe. Paled in comparison to the tragedy unfolding. First call I made, the client told me that we were at war. With whom I asked. Whoever attacked us! I remember a call I made to a client around 1:30pm. I went through my pitch, then he said to me, "Chuck I have no idea what you're talking about." He had not heard the news yet. The story I told had to sound so unbelievable that he probably thought I had lost my mind. How could the events of that day possibly be real?
In the end, it was a day that showed the best and worst of humanity. We saw the worst that day. What emerged later was the best. Watching a special the other night that spotlighted two heroes, among many that day, Frank DiMartini and Pablo Ortiz. They rescued people from the 88th, 89th and 90th floors of the North Tower and got them out before the building collapsed, yet they died when the building collapsed. More than 300 New York firefighters died as they attempted to rescue people caught in the buildings. In all, approximately 3,000 people died that day as a result of the terrorist attacks. Yet, as we reflect on that day, I choose to remember the heroes, the people who died while saving others. The firefighters and police officers who were doing their duty when it all caved in on them.
For once, on that day and the several days that followed, we were all Americans. Just Americans. In fact, the whole civilized world became Americans that day. Ultimately we learned that America isn't about monuments or buildings. It is about freedom. And we learned that freedom is not free. Sometimes we pay a dear price for our freedom. But I love that America is about an idea. That the spirit of the people can be bent, but not broken. That the greatness of America lies in its people. Its resilient, ever optimistic people, people with a can-do spirit. The terrorists destroyed two buildings, and yes, they massacred unbelievable amounts of people. People whose lives will never be the same. But they did not destroy the spirit of any of them. All 3,000 people who died that day died as heroes. They did not die in vain. The terrorists died as cowards. As I look back, ten years later, the truth rings out: The Heroes Won.
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