Ranking Texas Football Programs

The state of Texas has 10 FBS schools. Even with all the high school talent in the state not all universities can be competitive year in and year out. Unfortunately most of the schools are rarely, if ever, competitive.

With that said I have decided to rank each school according to its prestige and success on the football field. This is the type of list that recruits should find interesting.

1) Texas Longhorns
When a school is willing to allocate so much money to athletics that the school has the largest athletic budget in the nation what else would you expect. Texas does a nice job at attracting top talent. Unfortunately Texas also does an EXCELLENT job at turning their football team in to felons. BOOK 'EM Horns!

2) Texas Tech Red Raiders
Not nearly the budget of UT but they get more bang for their buck than just about any school in the country. Coach Tommy Tuberville is one of the best coaches in the nation and Tech is a program that is on the rise. The Red Raiders have the brightest future of any university in the state. Tubs is going into his first season as the Tech head coach but expect big things in the years to come.  Tubs should get great recruits because he is the type of guy parents want their kids to play for.  If a kid comes from a Christian family then Texas Tech is a perfect fit.  Lubbock is a good conservative town with plenty of things for college kids to do.  Lubbock is the second largest city in all of the BIG 12.  On top of that Tuberville is a strong Christian that will be the best role model a young adult could ask for.  Kids that play for Tubs will be prepared for success not only in football but life as well.

3) TCU Horn Frogs
A private school with strong academics that is still a football power. Baylor University wishes it had this type of football program. Heck Baylor wishes it had the strong academics of TCU but Baylor is far behind the Horn Frogs in both areas. Gary Patterson is an excellent coach and does a great job at identifying talent. TCU is much more deserving of being in the BIG 12 than lowly Baylor....unfortunately the BIG 12 is stuck with the Gaylor Bears.  TCU offers a great college football experience and an excellent education.  There truly is no down side to this school.

4) Houston Cougars

5) Texas A&M Aggies
If you have dreams of never living up to your potential and being an overall failure then Aggieland is the place for you! This program has been on the decline for some time and shows no real signs of returning to its former glory. The school is full of social misfits and they brain wash every student that steps on campus. A&M has a large budget for football but that doesn't seem to help. There is something in the aggies DNA that has doomed them to failure and being the butt of all jokes. If you DON'T consider yourself a loser, steer clear of this crap hole.

6) SMU Mustangs

7) Rice Owls

8) UTEP Miners

9) North Texas Mean Green Eagles

10) Baylor Bears

Mean Green Potential

The University of North Texas is sort of a hidden gem in a lot of respects. For starters the city of Denton is one of the coolest places you will ever find to hang out. The music scene in Denton is at least equal to that in Austin. If you don't believe me click here and see for yourself. If that tweaks your interest then check out Denton Live on a regular basis to see what is going on around town.

In addition the University of North Texas has really made huge strides in the last decade. The academic reputation continues to increase and the amount of new building going up is impressive to say the least. The College of Business is getting a new building that cost roughly $60 to $70 million to construct. When it is completed it will be state of the art! With over 36,000 students UNT is one of the largest universities in the state and warrants such top notch buildings.

On top of all the academic buildings going up the athletic department is doing some construction of its own. The Mean Green already have nice facilities and are getting a new Athletic Center that any university would love to have. 2010 will be the last year the football team plays at Fouts Field as a new stadium is under construction and will be ready for the 2011 season. The new stadium will be the focal point of a new area on campus called Mean Green Village.

Once Mean Green Village is complete UNT will be able to show recruits facilities that are just as nice as any other school in the country. If the Mean Green could get out of the Sun Belt and land in a conference such as The WAC, Conference USA or The Mountain West they could become a force to be reckoned with.

Things are changing at UNT and the direction the University is headed is exciting, both academically and athletically. I have a feeling that the way most think of UNT will be vastly different by the end of the next decade. In the mean time (pun intended) head up to Denton and at least check out that amazing music scene!

Missouri Leaving BIG 12?

The BIG 12 may be in trouble! The issue of revenue sharing continues to heat up as the haves and have not’s take sides. Nebraska, Oklahoma and naturally Texas don’t want to do revenue sharing when it comes to the conferences TV contract.

Missouri sounds ready to pull the trigger and leave for the BIG 10 and who could blame them. The BIG 10, like the SEC, does revenue sharing. Step back and take a look at TV revenue between the BIG 12 and BIG 10. When you compare Texas, which benefits the most from the current TV deal, to say Illinois it’s not even close. Illinois gets $21 million a year to Texas’ $12 million. If Missouri was a member of the BIG 10 they too would get around $21 million instead of the $9 million they currently receive.

If NU, OU and UT would do the right thing the conference should benefit and every school’s TV revenue could increase. If they would work with the other nine schools they should be able to land a much more lucrative TV deal for the conference. Instead they do only what is best for them and say to heck with the other BIG 12 schools. They don’t seem to understand that holding down the other schools does indeed have consequences. Sure it makes it near impossible for the others to compete with the big three but it also makes the little nine begin to look elsewhere.

The BIG 10 and PAC 10 have both said they are looking into possibly expanding to 12 teams each. The BIG 10 already has 11 teams so they only need one more and Missouri would be a logical choice. However the PAC 10 would need two more teams to reach 12. The question is who would they go after?

I know this would be a long shot but I think the PAC 10 should consider going after Texas Tech and Colorado. I believe that both CU and Tech would rather be in the PAC 10 if given the choice. Considering the current discrepancy in revenue between them and NU, OU & UT they would be insane not to jump ship if asked to do so. The benefit to the PAC 10 would be exposure in parts of the country they don’t normally get it and recruiting should benefit.

So if Missouri, Colorado and Texas Tech all leave for greener pastures what does it mean for the BIG 12? They could either dissolve, move forward with nine teams or replace them with weaker athletic programs. If they chose the latter I’m sure UT and company would not mind. It would mean an even easier path to championships.

After reading this if you still think that no one would be crazy enough to leave the mighty BIG 12 then click on the link below. It’s an interview with Missouri’s Athletic Director. From his tone the Tigers are as good as gone if the BIG 10 comes knocking.

http://www.tigerextra.com/news/2009/dec/20/frustration-and-temptation/