Why are Neb fans on a high horse

[Pavlovsdog]

With regards to the Big Ten being the most prestigious, I think Aaron would probably admit that the SEC is currently the best football conference in college football and its not even close. But with regards to revenues, academic standing, exposure, etc then the Big Ten is arguably the best (or most prestigious).

I'm a Nebraska fan (living in Cheyenne) and I was thrilled with the move. The Big 12 was a mistake from the start....I understand that economically the old Big 8 was probably doomed too, but at least that was a real partnership with at least one marquee game (OU vs NU, obviously) each year and was still going strong in the 90's, even with OU being down. Nebraska was winning national championships, Colorado was still a legit top 10 program and Kansas State was beginning its rise to national prominence. And with Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri all having basketball success it was a strong conference in the two major sports. If the Big 8 had made it clear from the start that they were expanding to 12 with the addition of the Texas schools and had made the Big 12 a conference of equals perhaps things would be different.

But from the start there were changes that hurt the northern schools and shifted the power and focus of the conference south. And Texas did a very good (or bad, depending on your perspective) job of leveraging its huge fan base and media markets to take control. What really surprised me was how the old Big 8 schools couldn't put up any real resistance.

At any rate, I'm so glad Nebraska managed to get out when it had the opportunity. Being able to follow the latest realignment drama from the security of the Big Ten was a nice change of pace after the previous year's excitement when it seemed NU could be left with nothing.

 

[alyssa]

What have we done in the past 15 years? We've played and won a National Championship Game, which makes 5 in our collection. We have had Heisman candidates. We have played in Big XII Championship games. We have left a historically good football conference and were accepted into the MOST prestigious football conference in America, the Big Ten. And what makes you think we're on a high horse? Do the thoughts of Nebraska fans, most of whom represent a speck of our overall fan base, convince you to stereotype the rest of Nebraska fans. And do those stereotypes tick you off that much that you had to write a scathing, albeit mostly inaccurate, post about Nebraska? Come on, you're better than this.

That username brings a smile to my face.

I give that conference 2-3 years before it dies....5 max.

Did y'all read the article on the mercury.com site. A Kansas State article from September 21, 2011 titled "A look at how the Big 12 was formed" by Cole Manbeck. He interviewed Jon Wefald, the former K-State president.
It's still not honest enough.

 

[Pavlovsdog]

I just did...nothing truly new though it certainly confirms what I think most Nebraska fans think...that from the start, the conference pandered to Texas and that it was never a league of equals. Sure every conference will have its heavyweights...but I'm not sure any other conference has had to deal with one school saying that it had to be this way or we'll leave and the conference giving in time after time.

It just reaffirms my belief that NU did the right thing by going to the Big Ten. From the start, we've been treated like equals, even before we had a vote. The Big Ten definitely isn't the best conference on the football field, but Husker fans can rest easy knowing that we won't have to worry about being left out in major college athletics at any point in our lives. I would have preferred to stay in a strong Big 12 (I have fond memories of the Big 8), but it's been clear for the last couple of years that the Big 12 is ready to fracture and that the conference is a prison with Texas holding the keys. I feel badly for OU that the guards caught on to their escape plan. Even if they didn't stand up for Nebraska in the Big 12 days, they have a good school and a great football program and don't deserve to be beholden to Texas.

 

[alyssa]

I just did...nothing truly new though it certainly confirms what I think most Nebraska fans think...that from the start, the conference pandered to Texas and that it was never a league of equals. Sure every conference will have its heavyweights...but I'm not sure any other conference has had to deal with one school saying that it had to be this way or we'll leave and the conference giving in time after time.

Yes. It was called the Southwest Conference. Texas called the shots. Texas couldn't stand getting whipped by some teams like my SMU, a small private school. And then it gets deeper and I don't want to name names on a message board, but Texas used it's connections with the NCAA to turn in cheaters but to make sure they would not get in trouble for cheating too. It was not only the SWC who had cheaters. The Big Eight had them too. Many I know got taken care of by Big Eight programs. (I hate the Big 8 by the way).
The Big Eight and the 4 from Texas made sure they cut out Houston, Rice, SMU and TCU, which has hurt us even today. We all lost what would today be AQ status etc.
SMU has a website up now, SMU2BCS.

It just reaffirms my belief that NU did the right thing by going to the Big Ten. From the start, we've been treated like equals, even before we had a vote. The Big Ten definitely isn't the best conference on the football field, but Husker fans can rest easy knowing that we won't have to worry about being left out in major college athletics at any point in our lives. I would have preferred to stay in a strong Big 12 (I have fond memories of the Big 8), but it's been clear for the last couple of years that the Big 12 is ready to fracture and that the conference is a prison with Texas holding the keys. I feel badly for OU that the guards caught on to their escape plan. Even if they didn't stand up for Nebraska in the Big 12 days, they have a good school and a great football program and don't deserve to be beholden to Texas.

When the Big 12 was formed Nebraska got special treatment just like Texas, Oklahoma, and Texas A&M got special treatment too. Oklahoma and Texas have their own type of relationship. It's one to stay out of. Can't stand Oklahoma. They are pretty much a Texas team in Oklahoma because 1/2 their players come from Texas etc. The paper in Dallas feature Oklahoma and Oklahoma State like they are in the city of Dallas and really shitting on it's local programs SMU, North Texas and TCU.
I know several guys who got "stuff" to play in the Big 8, SWC, SEC etc.

 

[Pavlovsdog]

I would say that Nebraska got some preferential treatment...certainly in terms of revenue. But right off the bat Texas took away one of Nebraska's advantages...the Prop 48 students. I think there's a lot of misunderstanding about what that involved. The prop 48 kids (or partial qualifiers) didn't meet the minimum NCAA requirements to be eligible to play. What Nebraska did was get them on campus and use their great facilities (a really strong tutoring program in particular) to help these guys get on the right track academically. They weren't allowed to play (and I don't remember how involved they were with the team) and they pretty much had a year to improve their grades in order to qualify. I believe the year was effectively a redshirt year as (and its been awhile so I could be wrong) I think they still had 4 years of eligibility once they qualified.

Anyway, Nebraska invested heavily in tutoring services and study areas for the student-athletes and used it to bring in kids who were otherwise headed to junior colleges. It helped offset the relatively sparsely populated recruiting region. Combined with NU's ability to recruit nationally and the large walk-on program it was what allowed Nebraska to hold its own with schools like Texas, Florida, USC, etc in the talent-rich areas.

NU didn't really adapt well when the Big 12 took that away from us...especially when Bill Callahan came in and de-emphasized the walk-on program, though he did rely more heavily on JUCOs to compensate which is part of the reason Nebraska was so mediocre over the last decade (not the only reason, but it played a part). Bo Pelini has largely revived the walk-on program and continued bringing in some JUCOs in order to keep up with the other prominent programs. Hard to say if it will be enough to compete for national titles again, but it seems to be enough to put us back in the 9-10 win catagory again...after the painful experience in the 2000's, I'm not really complaining.

 

[MrTitleist]

There's something to be said about a strong walk-on program. Up here at Montana some of the best Griz players (who are now in the NFL) were walk-ons.

 

[Pavlovsdog]

It's proved very valuable for us over the years. With so many small schools in the state there isn't a great deal of high level competition (lots of 8 man teams and such). Some of these kids are talented, but they aren't able to prove it to get scholarship offers...not to mention its not like the warm-weather states where they can play in the spring too to further develop their talent.

Anyway, with the really low tuition rates for in-state students and a cult-like following throughout the state towards Big Red football there are always kids who are willing to walk-on. Most don't get to play on Saturdays, though they do help fill out the roster and scout team and it gives the coaches more bodies for practice. My understanding is that the coaches can get spread pretty thin, but it allows them to have multiple stations to run drills and give the entire team more reps. But aside from the practice benefits, there are always a few walk-ons each year that can contribute on the field. Plenty of success stories over the years from guys who came as walk-ons and ended up as All-Conference and even some All-Americans. Obviously most of those guys end up with scholarships down the road, but having a strong walk-on program has been a huge advantage for us to help identify otherwise-overlooked talent. For small states like ours (Nebraska and Wyoming), I'd say its vital if you intend to compete with the major universities that have large populations to draw from.