(10-05-2018 07:11 PM)MissouriStateBears Wrote:  Big 8 schools would have added Arkansas in a second if they wanted to go there.

Not according to Broyles.


And then there was the prospect that the SWC might fall out from under him.

"I knew there were going to be changes," he said. "We had to protect our status, our reputation."

With his president's blessings, Broyles said he discussed his plans with Texas and A&M, which both showed "great interest," then initiated talks with the SEC in 1987 or '88.

Only Texas and A&M didn't follow his lead. Broyles was told that political pressures kept both from leaving without Baylor, which seems likely.

But what if Arkansas had remained in the SWC and become part of the Big 12?

"I was told by people in the Big 12 after the fact that we would not have been included," he said. "Baylor and Texas Tech had political power. We didn't. The Big 8 was only going to take four teams from the SWC.

"I was told there was no way they'd have taken us."


https://sportsday.dallasnews.com/college...rised-9212