Texas stays in Big 12: Stops the Dominoes from Falling.

The end seemed to be near for college football as we knew it. The departure of Nebraska and Colorado would trigger the crumbling of the Big 12. Texas was going to be the first to leave, as they joined Colorado in joining the PAC-10, and then four other Big 12 schools would follow.

There were going to be sixteen schools in a PAC-10 "super conference" hypothetically prompting the Big Ten to expand further as well, presumably by adding a Big East school such as Rutgers, and perhaps Notre Dame. College football was never to be the same again.

Well the biggest domino of them all, the one everyone expected to fall, decided not to tip over. Recent reports indicate that the Big 12 was able to convince Texas to reject the PAC-10's offer to join the conference, and remain a member of the Big 12.

While the motives for the sudden change in heart won't be clear until a Tuesday press conference, it appears that at the center of it all, is well, money. Intrigued by the success of the Big Ten Network, Texas will now try to start a network of it's own, an opportunity that did not exist had the school joined the PAC 10.

So what does this mean for the Big Ten, and the rest of college football? Well it appears that we are not in a state of an emergency, and Jack Bauer needn't be called in. With Texas remaining in the Big 12 and all other schools seeming to remain in place, the Big East remains unscathed and the biggest domino of them all, Notre Dame, can remain a football independent. The Big 12 loses it's ability to hold a conference championship game, as the conferences falls beneath the NCAA's twelve team minimum.

Aside from the obvious prestige and opportunity for a conference championship game the Cornhuskers bring to the gridiron, adding Nebraska benefits the conference across multiple sports.

A women's volleyball powerhouse, Nebraska bolsters a conference lacking in talent outside of Penn State and Ohio State. And can't forget about their basketball program, a team who so irrelevant to the college basketball landscape that they could help Ed DeChellis with a couple victories to his credit. That is, of course, if he is still around to coach against Nebraska.