Political Factors in Realignment

In yesterday's opening post of the blog, I contended that several factors were involved in conference realignment, including money (primarily), geography, academics, etc. In today's entry, I'd like to discuss political factors. Yesterday, columnist David Teel of the Daily Press (Newport News, Virginia) reported feeling a sense of deja vu over political involvement in athletic affairs. Writes Teel:

Many of us were stunned seven summers ago when then-Gov. Mark Warner wielded his influence to assure Virginia Tech's inclusion in ACC expansion...

With the Pacific 10 Conference poised to pilfer half of the Big 12, Texas politicos are following suit.

Of concern to some here in Texas is that Baylor be included (instead of Colorado) with Texas, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech in their (possible) exodus to the Pac 10. In fact, Baylor (and Texas Tech) were part of apparent political machinations back in the early-mid 1990s, when the old Big 8 conference was planning to expand by taking in schools from the now-defunct Southwest Conference. Texas and Texas A&M were safely in, but it remained to be determined who among Baylor, Texas Tech, and Texas Christian would merge with the Big 8. Ultimately, it was Baylor and Tech, yielding what we now know as the Big 12. In 2006, Brian Davis of the Dallas Morning News wrote a historical analysis of how the Big 12 came together. As Davis notes, different people have different recollections, but here's the money quote (both figuratively and literally):
 
The late Bob Bullock, the state's lieutenant governor, had degrees from Tech and Baylor. Pete Laney, a Tech grad, was the House Speaker in 1994, the year everything came to pass...
 
UT and A&M officials "came in and said here's what are we going to do, and I said, 'Not without Tech,' " Laney said. "Then, they went across the hall, and Bullock said the same thing about Baylor.

"When they came by to visit with us about that, they remembered that they got a lot of revenue from the state for education. You could say they were reminded of that."

Texas is not the only state with politicians getting involved. Iowa Governor Chet Culver has been speaking out on behalf of Iowa State, a current Big 12 member who has not been invited (to our knowledge) to any other conference's prom. Both in terms of geography and its rivalry with the University of Iowa, Iowa State would seem to be a good fit for the Big 10. This possibility is discussed in the linked article, but only a little bit. However, ISU probably would not bring in many new television viewers who are not already drawn in by the University of Iowa. Gov. Culver is nothing, if not determined:
 
Culver said he wasn’t sure what specific role he would play, but said he would “let the athletic directors and presidents know that I stand ready to go anywhere and do anything to make darn sure that Iowa State and Iowa come out on top.”