I think someone's being a bit too literal in their interpretation of "forced". It's less a Jean Claude van Dumb kinda force and more like a fait accompli kinda force--the absence of quality choices.
as someone who almost went to UT for their doctorate, I can tell you texas has a lot more magic power in their wands than little ol' NU. that school is Ivy League Endowment levels of rich. And cash matters in the business of american education. and presumably that transfers to said schools' athletic departments.
it was a clash of interests in the end in which NU was ill-equipped to play on a level field. Texas was being Texas, and we had to be us. Not a fair fight.