And ends up losing the girlfriend. You have to hold on loosely and be willing to walk away.

If, at any point along in the last 20 years, the Big XII had been like "Kick rocks, Texas. We're responsible for the interests of ALL the schools, not just you. If you don't like it, you can leave," Texas might have left. But they would have left years ago, and the Big XII would still have some combination of Nebraska, Oklahoma, Missouri, A&M, and Colorado.

Instead, the Big XII was so obsequious when it came to Texas that all the other brands with the ability to leave, left. And then Texas left anyway.