Big 12 meetings update: Texas apparently has a 'Tech' problem

Reports that the Pac-10 Conference plans to invite six Big 12 schools turned the Big 12 meetings from tension-filled to tenacious Thursday afternoon.

Of the six schools reportedly considered for Pac-10 membership -- Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Colorado, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State -- only one surprises me: Texas Tech. The school doesn't bring market size (164th, slightly behind Lincoln, Neb., and slightly ahead of Cedar Rapids) or heavy athletics revenue ($46.6 million in fiscal year 2008, 11th among Big 12 schools ).

On the surface, inviting Nebraska or Kansas would make more sense. Nebraska's athletics department generated nearly $75 million in fiscal year 2008. It has a powerhouse football program that sells out every home game. A regular-season game between Nebraska and USC is much more valuable in television circles than Texas Tech and USC or any other Pac-10 school.

Kansas made $70.6 million the same year, and boasts one of the great college basketball programs. Kansas City is next door to Lawrence, Kan., which would give the Pac-10 another major market for a potential television network.

So why Texas Tech? The answer could lie in this Columbus Dispatch story. The paper filed through the Freedom of Information Act for access of correspondance between Ohio State President Gordon Gee and Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany. Gee wrote an e-mail to Delany saying he had spoken with University of Texas President William Powers, who spoke of a "Tech problem." Ohio State officials declined to elaborate about the e-mail's context.

So is UT's "Tech problem" a political issue? Would the Texas Legislature deny or impede any effort by Texas to leave for another conference without Tech's inclusion? The story partially answers that question. When Big 12 officials host a news conference later this morning, maybe we'll get another answer.

Meetings are ongoing right now between the Big 12 and its Board of Directors. It's safe to say the league's future could be decided in the next few hours.