Longhorn Network all that kept Texas football from going to the PAC-10?

How close was the Texas football program from bolting from the Big 12 to joining the PAC-10 almost a decade ago? Apparently is was a TV network away.

An interesting piece was published on ESPN on Dec. 2, talking about the breakup of the Southwest Conference in the mid-1990’s. And it often mentioned the integral role that the likes of the Texas football program, Texas A&M Aggies, and Rice Owls played in the breakup of the SWC. Texas last played in the SWC roughly 25 years ago, making it a good time to look back upon the conference’s brighter and darker days.

There were multiple key people that played a role with key teams around the breakup of the SWC interviewed in this ESPN piece. One of them was the former Texas A&M coach R.C. Slocum. The likes of the former Oklahoma Sooners and Arkansas Razorbacks legendary head coach Barry Switzer and ex-Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds was also interviewed in this piece.

But actually the most interesting of those takes pertaining to the Longhorns football program among those that were interviewed for this piece was Slocum. The former Texas A&M head coach (who held that position from 1989-2002) Slocum gave his take on the Longhorns once considering leaving the Big 12 in the late 2000’s and early 2010’s.

The one conference that it sounds like Texas had traction with was the PAC-10 (now the PAC-12). The hyped up possibility of turning it into the PAC-16 could’ve become a reality if the Longhorns made that jump from the Big 12, and took some of their conference foes with them.

Slocum’s take on why the Longhorns didn’t join the PAC-10, above all else, was the fact that the Longhorn Network locked them into the Big 12. Here’s more on what he had to say on this subject.

"In my heart, it’s my take that had it not been for the Longhorn Network, there’s a good chance Texas would’ve gone to the Pac-10. They were told, “We’d love to have you. We want you.”"

This is a bit of news that was known back in the summer of 2011, though. Larry Scott stated publicly back in July 2011 that the “Longhorn Network will keep Texas from joining the PAC-12”. Slocum’s take on this matter does help to confirm how close it came to seeing the Longhorns bolt from the Big 12.

Texas would’ve had to take someone else with them from the Big 12 to join the PAC-12 if they actually were to make that move back in the early 2010’s. Teams that made sense usually included the Baylor Bears, Texas Tech Red Raiders, and maybe even one of the Oklahoma schools.

There’s no doubt in my mind that the Longhorns staying in the Big 12 was a good move for athletic department as a whole. The PAC-12 is not in a good situation right now, granted things might be different if they had formed a super conference with 16 teams. The focus for the Longhorns right now needs to be continuing to try to elevate the football program to greater heights.