The definition of Power Conference may be changing. A bunch of contracts might have to change too.

Good morning, and thanks for your continued support of Extra Points.

Today, I pass the mic over to Andy Wittry. We've written a lot about conference realignment here at Extra Points, and I anticipate writing even more about later this month. Much of my coverage has centered around what schools and what leagues are going to do what, and why.

But Andy asks a really good question here...what happens to all of those other contracts if a school changes leagues? It turns out, being a "Power Five" team isn't just about playoff access, NCAA bylaws or budgets. It impacts a LOT of other stuff.

Let me turn the time over to him:

In August, a Texas Tech alum wrote an email to Texas Tech University President Lawrence Schovanec and Director of Athletics Kirby Hocutt to express concern “about Texas Tech’s future relevance in major college sports,” given the recently announced departures of Oklahoma and Texas for the SEC.

“Tech’s membership in a Power Conference has always been its primary selling point to recruits,” the alum wrote in the email, which was among documents obtained by Extra Points through a public records request. “If relegated to a non-power conference, Tech’s geography puts it at a significant disadvantage to its non-power conference peers.”

“I'm fearful,” he wrote, “that Texas Tech could become a slightly better version of New Mexico State.”

The alum wrote that because his son, a high school senior, wants big-time college athletics to be a part of his student experience, the family had recently planned a trip to Fayatteville so his son could visit the University of Arkansas. Both Hocutt and Schovanec responded, assuring the father that the Big 12 would remain a Power 5 conference, and Hocutt said Texas Tech would continue to invest to compete nationally.

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