Does an 11 game football season really sound like a good idea? Texas Tech seems to think it might be considering its current situation. Longhorn Network, a partnership between University of Texas at Austin and ESPN has expressed interest in picking up a game that doesn’t involve the Longhorns, Texas Tech vs Texas State to be precise. It’s understandable why Tech might have a beef with this. Not only does the network profit a competing school but it also forces viewers to a few select network providers for coverage, Verison FiOS being the only national carrier. LHN is currently not available through Time Warner, Comcast, Charter, DirectTV, Dish Network and AT&T, making watching the game tricky for many of its fans.
Gripes aside, should Tech opt out of this game? Shorting fans and players a game doesn’t really add any value to the school, students or it’s fan base. In fact, it does the opposite by costing the school money. With current regulation, Tech would have to pay a penalty fee for withdrawing from the game, an event that could be very profitable for the home team, Texas State. And while the game may have a good local draw, the national interest in a lopsided routing of another Texas team isn’t going to be that high. Tech has very little leverage here and it’s only viable option of riding away on their huffy bike ain’t great, especially if it has adverse affect on bowl game eligibility.
Obviously, this will not resolve itself quietly nor will the current clash between the Big 12 and the Longhorn Network. If we knew what the buyout price was and bowl picture looked like, we might be able to figure out if this is just a coy game of possum or a legitimate punch in the eye.