'Your papers, please' must never be heard in America
Independent voices from the TWT Communities
Texas, the behemoth of the Big 12, is in a serious funk.
University of Texas regents Sunday ordered a review of policies regarding inappropriate relationships between employees and students after a two-hour, private telephone meeting to discuss incidents involving assistant football coach Major Applewhite and former women's head track coach Bev Kearney.
When ESPN and the University of Texas announced their 20-year, $300 million partnership for the Longhorn Network a year ago, they created the wedge that nearly split apart the Big 12.
Big 12 leaders will meet Thursday, trying to find ways to stabilize the conference, including changing the leadership.
Texas officials said Wednesday they are open to a new revenue-sharing model in the Big 12 and have already suggested that top-level television and cable money be shared equally.
Turned away by the Pac-12, the Big 12's most powerful members are trying to find ways to live together again after weeks of hurtling toward a break up.
A person with knowledge of the situation says Texas and Oklahoma officials met over the weekend amid speculation that the Sooners are considering leaving the Big 12.
The official Texas A&M fight song includes a line that bids farewell to Texas, "so long to the orange and white." By this time next year, Texas A&M may have said goodbye to a lot more than its storied, century-old rivalry with Texas.
The Longhorn Network, the much-hyped and controversial partnership between ESPN and the University of Texas, launches Friday with a significant question: Will anyone be watching?
All the eyes are still on Texas in the slimmed-down Big 12 Conference, though for some different reasons this time.
Their high-profile positions give them access to gifts and services not available to everyone else. They know they're not supposed to accept the extra benefits, but they do so anyway, often bringing shame to their institutions when caught. Despite numerous examples of prohibited perks leading to a downfall, the cycle continues, with new reports surfacing on a regular basis.
Several Texas senators on Thursday criticized the recent $200,000 raise for Texas basketball coach Rick Barnes, calling it "nuts" and "tone deaf" during a state budget crisis that threatens deep cuts to higher education.
The audacity of the final score was staggering: UCLA 66, Texas 3.
Despite those results, Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds has said Barnes' job is safe.
"Football is fine," Dodds said, calling last season's 9-4 finish "the end of the world to some folks but it's not the end of the world.
