It’s hard to decide what’s gone right with the Longhorn Network (LHN). Reportedly in the works for years, not months, the rollout for the joint venture could hardly appear worse. Boy, talk about a black eye. 

For a network that bills itself as “the worldwide leader in sports” and a school that boasts “what starts here changes the world,” the debut of the LHN has been remarkably underwhelming.

Back in the spring, I listened as the UT and ESPN brass boasted about the grand plans for the LHN: high school games, a pair of Big 12 Conference games and Mack Brown in a couple of coach’s shows. Of these goals, only one had been reached by the advent of football season: Mack-apalooza (more on that later). 

The NCAA put the kibosh on a school-affiliated network showing high school games and even highlights. Fellow Big 12 members apparently chafed at helping the big dog on the block make even MORE money by allowing their games with the Longhorns to air on the LHN. 

Those two developments left the LHN with more egg on its face than the weekend crowd at Guerro’s. Didn’t anyone on the Forty Acres think to check with the NCAA and the Big 12 BEFORE declaring what could actually be delivered on-air? I mean, since when is there a lawyer shortage at UT? Isn’t there a law school over there?

Were DeLoss Dodds and his colleagues just blissfully thinking there wouldn’t be any conceivable snags with their bright ideas, or that the other nine schools wouldn’t raise a few (ahem) concerns about a rah-rah network showcasing Longhorn recruits? That’s either incredibly arrogant or incredibly stupid. Probably both.

But the greatest damage Texas and ESPN did was not to their respective reputations, but to the Big 12 Conference. Despite protestations to the contrary, Texas A&M’s pursuit of the SEC was spurred in large part to the instability the Hook’em Network caused in the conference.

While the Aggies are far from destitute, consider that Texas’ athletic budget was roughly TWICE the size of A&M’s. When the official contract between UT and ESPN was released on July 21, the intentions were even bolder, including the requirement that Texas help steer (pun intended) high school tournaments to the LHN. All of this was just too much for Texas A&M. 

Realizing that the Big 12 was just too Longhorn-centric, and that league commissioner Dan Beebe was yoking the league’s fortunes to the burnt orange bandwagon, and with no counterbalance remaining from Nebraska, the Aggies felt they were the only bulwark against more of the same.

Ironically, the LHN might end up being a big part of the reason this incarnation of the Big 12 collapses completely. Other schools will surely apply for membership. Houston, TCU, Air Force and BYU have all been bandied about as possible replacements for A&M. But all of those combined don’t offer the name recognition and flat-out eyeballs the Aggies bring to the TV screen.

With those considerations, along with Colorado and Nebraska giving the Big 12 the Big Adios, it is hard to see how this hasn’t weakened the league considerably. Nebraska and Texas A&M are not members you can easily replace. And Dodds wishing them well as they exit hardly covers the loss.

Brown is a well-paid, decent sort, even if sometimes his commentary on the Longhorns’ performance (see: 2010) on the field contradicts the reality. I get it: He’s got a brand to look after. But because of the ‘10 season and Brown’s unwillingness to say what any observers could clearly see, the shine’s come off his boots a bit in the eyes of the fans. 

Those are the same fans who are going to tune in for an hour of Brown talking about the game LAST week, followed by the game THIS week? Boy, that look back at Iowa State and look forward to Kansas in October should be riveting programming for the Longhorn faithful.

And that leads me to the foremost challenge for the LHN: determining programming that the casual fan will care about AFTER football season. I remember an excited LHN producer giddy about a round-table discussion with Brown, Colt McCoy, Ricky Williams and Vince Young. They’re all Texas greats, and each was a Heisman Trophy finalist (Williams won it in 1998). 

This producer was going on and on about how they’d already turned out three hours of content from it. Great! That just leaves 21 more hours to fill today and 165 this week. Sure, you can watch a two-hour volleyball match twice a week in the fall; maybe a basketball game against Lenoir-Rhyne in early December; and all the rowing you want.

But that won’t feed the bulldog. Just imagine if the Longhorns football team underwhelms again in 2011, which looks entirely possible. This grand venture could end up doing UT way more harm than good.

Sure, Texas will get its $15 million a year, and ESPN will recoup its investment over time. But at what cost? Texas’ conference home? Possibly. Longtime rivalries? Probably. UT’s reputation? Definitely.

Matt Mitchell is a sports reporter for KVUE Sports. For more information, contact him at mmitchell@kvue.com.