Texas AD: No Talks With Big Ten About Expansion

University of Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds has mostly been quiet as speculation has swirled the past couple weeks that the Big Ten may be interested in the Longhorns if the league expands.

Dodds' public relations people have said he will not respond to rumors or speculation, but Wednesday Dodds broke his silence with the Associated Press.

Dodds told the AP he has not had any talks with the Big Ten about becoming the 12th member and that Texas is perfectly happy in the Big 12.

"I think it's been a great conference for us and we've been good for the conference," Dodds said to the Associated Press. "Before the [Big 12], we were struggling with recruiting and struggling with all kinds of things. The Big 12 has brought us stability, kept Texas kids in Texas."

The Longhorns certainly enjoy some advantages in the Big 12 as the flagship program that it would not have in the Big Ten where revenues are spread equally among members. Texas and Oklahoma receive a larger share of the television revenue in the Big 12 because they are on television the most.

But there are other benefits to the Longhorns, the highest revenue-generating program in the country, being interested in the Big Ten. The league, which has traditionally been dominated in football by Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan, already had a lucrative deal with its own Big Ten Network. Adding Texas and as many as 20 million viewers could make it even richer.

Texas, however, does appear to be in a position of strength because if nothing else the Big Ten speculation could further bolster its position within the conference when the television contracts with ABC/ESPN and FOX Sports Net are up for renewal in 2015.

"We're always going to be looked at," said Dodds, whose Longhorns were charter members of the Big 12 in 1996 when teams from the Big Eight and Southwest Conference merged. "I don't think that's a bad thing. That's a good thing."

Should Texas bolt for the Big Ten in the end, there is a belief that it might create a mass exodus of members of the Big 12 which would effectively begin the creation of super conferences.

But Dodds told AP he doesn't believe the Big 12 would break apart if the Longhorns left for another league.

Many have speculated that, while geographically the Longhorns and the Big Ten might be a stretch, academically Texas is better fit in the Big Ten than the Big 12. But athletically, the Longhorns seem better suited to remain in the Big 12. There is no natural rival for Texas in the Big Ten.

"All the sports have been good to us. We've built up some good rivalries. It's been good for us," Dodds said.