UT would flop around like a banked fish if they went independent. UT is definitely the villain in all of this, but they don't deserve the blame. The blame lands on the rest of the schools in the big8/12. Despite what anyone says, UT needed the Big 8 just as much as the Big 8 needed UT. In the beginning they could of held their ground as a CONFERENCE, instead other schools got greedy as well and let other agendas get in the way. People always talk about doing what's best for the school, but the successful conferences put conference first and then reap the individual rewards as well, not just athletically but academically.
UT isn't bigger than the other 11 members of the conference collectively. They never were.