Sam
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Got bored, did some thinking, decided to make some of the thoughts into a long post about some of the possible things that could happen because of it.
While football and the revenue it generates is the driving force behind the massive shift in the college athletics let’s not forget about the impact this could have on Sooner basketball. While there are still many questions swirling around the program involving the coaching and possible NCAA sanctions that could very well have a profound effect on Sooner Basketball as we know it. But for the sake of this scenario and its argument let’s just assume OU basketball will weather this storm and play at a level similar to the past 25 years and not the 2009-10 season.
Scheduling
There are others way for it to be done but following the Big East basketball template seems to make the most sense. In the Big East (which also has 16 teams) the scheduling itself is done in a simple manner. Each team plays each other once, with three teams squaring off twice a year for 18 games each season. For the Sooners two of those double headers are natural options in the form of instate rivals Oklahoma State University and of course the Texas Longhorns.
The last pick for the third double dip is somewhat cloudy. It depends on which university becomes the 16th team to join the PAC 10 (Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State will be numbers 11-15). The three most common scenarios that could happen based on my opinion are:
Texas A&M
If the Aggies are able to secure the 16th spot in the PAC-10 they would become the third two game conference series for Oklahoma. It would work well for a travel standpoint and logistically as well. As it allows Tech, OSU and CU to combine to fill out their three team commitment along with CU receiving some help from the Arizona schools
Utah
If the Utes take advantage of A&M’s flirting with the SEC it would be the best case scenario for PAC-10 schedule makers. OU would get Texas Tech as their final two games a year opponent as the four Oklahoma and Texas schools would form a four team pod. The same with Utah, Colorado and the Arizona schools having a nice and tidy four team pod. The scenario would again play out with the four California schools, along with the four schools in the Northwest.
Kansas
The Jayhawks are another team who could very take advantage of A&M dropping the ball. If they join the PAC-16 they would most likely become the third team in OU’s home and home conference scheduling. It would be a geographical win for both teams and could possibly recreating some of the OU-KU rivalry lost in the move to the Big 12.
Travel
OU would still have to make cross country trips to California, Washington and Oregon. These trips will be costly and also put a strain on the academic aspect of being a student athlete. To minimize these strains the PAC-16 would adopt one of the two scheduling options.
Thursday-Saturday West Coast trips
In this scenario OU would fly out to the west coast twice a year in one trip to California and a joint Oregon and Washington trip. Their first game would be on a Thursday night and then fly to their next game and stay in that town Friday night and play on Saturday. While this still does place a strain on the academic and the budget it does cut down on cross country flights a year to only twice instead of a possible four.
Saturday-Monday West Coast trips
This would be the same lodging scenario as above but with the first game taking place on Saturday with a Monday night game capping off this trip. The pros is they would miss one day at class but it would lead to some tired players attending Tuesday morning classes after flying back on a red eye to Norman.
Each way has it faults as they both will cause missed class time and put strain on the athlete’s stamina. On paper they are better options than multiple west coast flights each season.
Tradition and Pecking Order
Going off of ESPN’s prestige rankings from the summer of 2008 the pecking order would look something like this
1. Arizona
2. UCLA
3. Oklahoma
4. Texas
5. Stanford
6. Oklahoma St
7. Texas Tech
8. California
9. Oregon
10. Washington
11. USC
12. Texas A&M
13. Arizona St
14. Colorado
15. Washington St
16. Oregon St
While the prestige rankings are a few years old, only account for post 1984 performance and not any recent upturns or downturns; they are a good starting point in my opinion.
A couple changes though, Texas Tech and Texas A&M would be switched. As Tech continues to struggle just to make the NIT while A&M has regularly been in the NCAA tournament. Washington would also be higher up as Romar is starting to show an ability to recruit well and get his team into the tournament on a consistent basis. Also Stanford has been in somewhat of a slide lately so they would be a little lower
(Couple of notes on this
I used A&M as the example because I think they will end up being the 16th team.
If Utah gets the 16th spot they would be 5th using the prestige rankings as they would jump ahead of Stanford.
If KU gets the 16th spot they would be 1st using the prestige rankings.)
Playing the ever optimistic approach that Jeff Capel will right this ship, avoid any major sanctions and what not, OU would be in position to be in the top tier of the conference. The states of Texas and Oklahoma would continue to produce talent and be fertile recruiting grounds for OU. An occasional junior college kid or two when needed would still be an option to Capel as well. Add in the possibility of grabbing a few more west coast kids due to some trips out there and on paper there is no reason to expect a drop off in recruiting or being a consistent NCAA tournament team.
Just my random thoughts and ramblings after doing a little research.
While football and the revenue it generates is the driving force behind the massive shift in the college athletics let’s not forget about the impact this could have on Sooner basketball. While there are still many questions swirling around the program involving the coaching and possible NCAA sanctions that could very well have a profound effect on Sooner Basketball as we know it. But for the sake of this scenario and its argument let’s just assume OU basketball will weather this storm and play at a level similar to the past 25 years and not the 2009-10 season.
Scheduling
There are others way for it to be done but following the Big East basketball template seems to make the most sense. In the Big East (which also has 16 teams) the scheduling itself is done in a simple manner. Each team plays each other once, with three teams squaring off twice a year for 18 games each season. For the Sooners two of those double headers are natural options in the form of instate rivals Oklahoma State University and of course the Texas Longhorns.
The last pick for the third double dip is somewhat cloudy. It depends on which university becomes the 16th team to join the PAC 10 (Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State will be numbers 11-15). The three most common scenarios that could happen based on my opinion are:
Texas A&M
If the Aggies are able to secure the 16th spot in the PAC-10 they would become the third two game conference series for Oklahoma. It would work well for a travel standpoint and logistically as well. As it allows Tech, OSU and CU to combine to fill out their three team commitment along with CU receiving some help from the Arizona schools
Utah
If the Utes take advantage of A&M’s flirting with the SEC it would be the best case scenario for PAC-10 schedule makers. OU would get Texas Tech as their final two games a year opponent as the four Oklahoma and Texas schools would form a four team pod. The same with Utah, Colorado and the Arizona schools having a nice and tidy four team pod. The scenario would again play out with the four California schools, along with the four schools in the Northwest.
Kansas
The Jayhawks are another team who could very take advantage of A&M dropping the ball. If they join the PAC-16 they would most likely become the third team in OU’s home and home conference scheduling. It would be a geographical win for both teams and could possibly recreating some of the OU-KU rivalry lost in the move to the Big 12.
Travel
OU would still have to make cross country trips to California, Washington and Oregon. These trips will be costly and also put a strain on the academic aspect of being a student athlete. To minimize these strains the PAC-16 would adopt one of the two scheduling options.
Thursday-Saturday West Coast trips
In this scenario OU would fly out to the west coast twice a year in one trip to California and a joint Oregon and Washington trip. Their first game would be on a Thursday night and then fly to their next game and stay in that town Friday night and play on Saturday. While this still does place a strain on the academic and the budget it does cut down on cross country flights a year to only twice instead of a possible four.
Saturday-Monday West Coast trips
This would be the same lodging scenario as above but with the first game taking place on Saturday with a Monday night game capping off this trip. The pros is they would miss one day at class but it would lead to some tired players attending Tuesday morning classes after flying back on a red eye to Norman.
Each way has it faults as they both will cause missed class time and put strain on the athlete’s stamina. On paper they are better options than multiple west coast flights each season.
Tradition and Pecking Order
Going off of ESPN’s prestige rankings from the summer of 2008 the pecking order would look something like this
1. Arizona
2. UCLA
3. Oklahoma
4. Texas
5. Stanford
6. Oklahoma St
7. Texas Tech
8. California
9. Oregon
10. Washington
11. USC
12. Texas A&M
13. Arizona St
14. Colorado
15. Washington St
16. Oregon St
While the prestige rankings are a few years old, only account for post 1984 performance and not any recent upturns or downturns; they are a good starting point in my opinion.
A couple changes though, Texas Tech and Texas A&M would be switched. As Tech continues to struggle just to make the NIT while A&M has regularly been in the NCAA tournament. Washington would also be higher up as Romar is starting to show an ability to recruit well and get his team into the tournament on a consistent basis. Also Stanford has been in somewhat of a slide lately so they would be a little lower
(Couple of notes on this
I used A&M as the example because I think they will end up being the 16th team.
If Utah gets the 16th spot they would be 5th using the prestige rankings as they would jump ahead of Stanford.
If KU gets the 16th spot they would be 1st using the prestige rankings.)
Playing the ever optimistic approach that Jeff Capel will right this ship, avoid any major sanctions and what not, OU would be in position to be in the top tier of the conference. The states of Texas and Oklahoma would continue to produce talent and be fertile recruiting grounds for OU. An occasional junior college kid or two when needed would still be an option to Capel as well. Add in the possibility of grabbing a few more west coast kids due to some trips out there and on paper there is no reason to expect a drop off in recruiting or being a consistent NCAA tournament team.
Just my random thoughts and ramblings after doing a little research.
