When talking realignment, keep your eyes on Texas

By Charlie Barnes, Executive Director - Seminole Boosters

Texas was a country before it was a state. You should understand that Texas' ancient sovereignty is the central article of faith taught to every schoolchild in the Lone Star State. Knowing the sentiment behind Texas' view of itself will help you navigate the long and convoluted process of athletic-conference realignment.

Back in the day - way back - the old Southwest Conference was a stout icon of college football. Anchored in the Cotton Bowl, then one of the four or so elite bowls, they comprised all the Texas schools plus Arkansas.

Explosive growth of America's college campuses in the 1960s began to exaggerate differences between the haves and the have-nots, and by the mid-1980s the SWC model became unworkable. Visiting Texas Longhorn fans literally overwhelmed Rice Owl fans at their own homecoming. The differences in scale within the conference began to tear apart the fabric of the rivalries.

The Longhorns were unhappy with the schedule, with the money and with the general atmosphere, and so the University of Texas began to seek options.

Twenty years ago the stars aligned and an earthquake wracked the landscape of college athletics. It was triggered when Penn State joined the Big 10 in 1990. Texas, Texas A&M and Arkansas entertained overtures to join the Southeastern Conference. That stopped when the Texas Legislature told the Longhorns and the Aggies that abandoning the SWC would cost them their oil money.

Arkansas did jump to the SEC, and the Texas Legislature was only able to hold the Southwest Conference together for a few seasons after that. The Longhorns continued to make overtures west to the PAC 10 and east to the Big 10 and east to the Big 10, but in 1994 the four big Texas schools turned the Big Eight into the Big 12, and the rest of the old SWC teams scattered in all directions.

It all happened quickly. Old leagues realigned and new ones formed and, suddenly, the Florida State Seminoles had options of their own.

The Seminole Boosters organization surveyed our supporters by mail, asking what they thought the Seminoles should do.

A large and vocal segment of our fans insisted that the Seminoles should remain an independent. Independent schools at that time comprised a fairly handsome collection: Notre Dame, Miami, Penn State, Syracuse, South Carolina, West Virginia, Boston College and Virginia Tech were all independents, and the three Service Academies were not too far removed from their glory days.

But the days of the Big Independents were over. Notre Dame would remain the last and only exception.

Florida State had long been an applicant to the Southeastern Conference, and the informal understanding was that an SEC invitation extended would be accepted. I supported joining that league; however the Booster survey revealed a surprising hostility toward the SEC on the part of many fans.

The Atlantic Coast Conference appeared late in the day but seemed to be a sincere suitor for the Seminoles' hand.

Five years after Florida State joined the ACC, we conducted another professional survey of our fans testing their satisfaction with the new league. Again, I was surprised at the results. There had been controversy over ACC football officiating those first five years, and not even one ACC team's fans had filled the 10,000-seat "hole" that we have in our stadium to accommodate visits from the Gators and Hurricanes. Our basketball team did well, and that was certainly a big plus, but I anticipated that there would be general fan unhappiness with our fit in this league.

In fact, something close to 92 percent of Boosters responding expressed satisfaction with membership in the ACC. Of course winning helped.

ACC television revenue in 2009 was greater than the PAC 10 and the Big East, but far behind the Big 10, SEC and Big 12. A return by Florida State to national prominence in football will be the best way for the ACC to strengthen its bargaining hand.

For an intense few weeks this spring, the question was: Where is FSU going to go now?

All that talk stopped when the Texas Longhorns elected to remain in what is left of the Big 12, and the seas were calmed for the moment.

Texas was promised their own television network, and much more. No one really knows what all Texas has been promised; the remainder of the Big 12 can only hope that it falls short of human sacrifice. But it's clear that Texas has to be accommodated at all costs or the league will evaporate.

If Texas becomes unhappy the landscape is unstable, and before too long we could see another nationwide upheaval. Perhaps next time, if the Seminoles can post a few big seasons, Florida State will find they have some fresh, new opportunities.

So, if you want to know when the next seismic wave of realignment will hit, keep your eyes upon Texas.