Anyways, Chip Brown from Orangebloods.com reports OU may apply to the Pac-12 by the end of the month.
Oklahoma will apply for membership to the Pac-12 before the end of the month, and Oklahoma State is expected to follow suit, a source close to OU's administration told Orangebloods.com.
Even though Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott said Friday the Pac-12 was not interested in expansion at this time, OU's board of regents is fed up with the instability in the Big 12, the source said.
The OU board of regents will meet within two weeks to formalize plans to apply for membership to the Pac-12, the source said.
Messages left Sunday night with OU athletic director Joe Castiglione and Oklahoma State athletic director Mike Holder were not immediately returned.
If OU follows through with what appears to be a unanimous sentiment on the seven-member Oklahoma board of regents to leave the Big 12, realignment in college athletics could be heating back up. OU's application would be matched by an application from Oklahoma State, the source said, even though OSU president Burns Hargis and mega-booster Boone Pickens both voiced their support for the Big 12 last Thursday.
There is differing sentiment about if the Pac-12 presidents and chancellors are ready to expand again after bringing in Colorado and Utah last year and landing $3 billion TV contracts from Fox and ESPN. Colorado president Bruce Benson told reporters last week CU would be opposed to any expansion that might bring about east and west divisions in the Pac-12.
Currently, there are north and south divisions in the Pac-12. If OU and OSU were to join, Larry Scott would have to get creative.
Scott's orginal plan last summer was to bring in Colorado, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State and put them in an eastern division with Arizona and Arizona State. The old Pac-8 schools (USC, UCLA, Cal, Stanford, Oregon, Oregon State, Washington and Washington State) were to be in the west division.
Colorado made the move in June 2010, but when Texas A&M was not on board to go west, the Big 12 came back together with the help of its television partners (ABC/ESPN and Fox).
If Oklahoma and Oklahoma State were accepted into the Pac-12, there would undoubtedly be a hope by Larry Scott that Texas would join the league. But Texas sources have indicated UT is determined to hang onto the Longhorn Network, which would not be permissible in the Pac-12 in its current form.
Texas sources continue to indicate to Orangebloods.com that if the Big 12 falls apart, the Longhorns would consider "all options."
Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe held an emergency conference call 10 days ago with league presidents excluding Oklahoma, Texas and Texas A&M and asked the other league presidents to "work on Texas" because Beebe didn't think the Pac-12 would take Oklahoma without Texas.
Now, it appears OU is willing to take its chances with the Pac-12 with or without Texas.
There seemed to be a temporary pause in any possible shifting of the college athletics' landscape when Baylor led a charge to tie up Texas A&M's move to the Southeastern Conference in legal red tape. BU refused to waive its right to sue the SEC over A&M's departure from the Big 12, and the SEC said it would not admit Texas A&M until it had been cleared of any potential lawsuits.
Baylor, Kansas and Iowa State have indicated they will not waive their right to sue the SEC.
It's unclear if an application by OU to the Pac-12 would draw the same threats of litigation against the Pac-12 from those Big 12 schools.
Honestly, if Pitt and Syracuse are gone, it changes things dramatically for the Big 10, unless they are dead-set against 16. It is not as easy to come up with a 16 team Big 10 without Kansas than it was yesterday.
Originally Posted by alnorth:
Honestly, if Pitt and Syracuse are gone, it changes things dramatically for the Big 10, unless they are dead-set against 16. It is not as easy to come up with a 16 team Big 10 without Kansas than it was yesterday.
Originally Posted by alnorth:
Honestly, if Pitt and Syracuse are gone, it changes things dramatically for the Big 10, unless they are dead-set against 16. It is not as easy to come up with a 16 team Big 10 without Kansas than it was yesterday.
UND, Mizzou, then what? Rutgers?
Don't waste your breath ... Zach is the ultimate Mizzou troll and there is nothing you can say to ever get him to admit anyone would want KU for any reason. [Reply]
Originally Posted by tk13:
If they are going to start poaching the Big East, I think the Big 10 might want Rutgers over both KU and MU. But who really knows.
even so, if they really wanted Rutgers but (apparently) didn't care about Syracuse or Pitt for some strange reason, then if they want 16 and Notre Dame sees the light, Kansas and Mizzou are the natural last two. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Laz:
Don't waste your breath ... Zach is the ultimate Mizzou troll and there is nothing you can say to ever get him to admit anyone would want KU for any reason.
Anyone? No that is completely false. I know it is your schtick around here to be a whining drama queen but at least read my posts so you are not so off the mark. I think there are conferences that want KU. I just don't think the Big 10 is one of them. [Reply]
Originally Posted by mnchiefsguy:
There is no way B1G would add ISU ahead of KU. KU is not on their radar, but ISU is even further off of their radar.
BE NICE! Rustshack is very very worried about ISU athletics right now.
If the Big12-2-1-maybe 4more dies. So he has come up with some great possibilities for ISU. I feel for the guy. ISU is screwed [Reply]
Originally Posted by |Zach|:
Anyone? No that is completely false. I know it is your schtick around here to be a whining drama queen but at least read my posts so you are not so off the mark. I think there are conferences that want KU. I just don't think the Big 10 is one of them.
The Big 10 doesn't want KU right now. Only way KU would get a Big 10 invite is if they determine the superconference alignment is inevitable, and that it will lead the abolishing the NCAA for both football and basketball. This would mean that KU and basketball will be more important because the superconferences can manipulate the post season money instead of the NCAA, even then KU is pretty far down on their list.
I mean a ton of things would have to happen, but I would say it is at least POSSIBLE for KU to get into the Big 10 someday, certainly Missouri has a better shot though.
Say Cuse and Pitt get into the ACC. OSU, OU, Tech, Texas to Pac 10. WV, ND, Missouri, Kansas, Rutgers, UCONN, Iowa State, Baylor, Cincinnati, Louisville are the remaining schoools out there. So to get to 16, they would pick 4 out of those 10, and you'd have to think Kansas get a nod in that scenario only. [Reply]
Originally Posted by BWillie007:
I mean a ton of things would have to happen
You are making this seem more complicated and remote than it is. There is one, and only one thing that needs to happen: the B1G needs to decide they want to expand to 16.
There is a chance they wont, they could decide to buck the trend and hold at 12, but once they expand to 13, 16 is probably inevitable because 14 is not a good number to schedule around.
If the B1G wants to expand to 16, it is difficult to credibly put together any list that excludes Kansas, given geography and their emphasis on AAU membership. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Stewie:
I don't get Pitt and Syracuse to the ACC.
Really? Puts them in a much more stable conference which basically assures them a spot if there ends up being 4 main AQ conferences. I'm sure the Big 12 implosion has scared them shitless to go find a permanent home. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Stewie:
I don't get Pitt and Syracuse to the ACC.
The Big East is also a sinking ship.
Syracuse nearly went to the ACC back in the last expansion with Va. Tech sneaking in at the last minute.
I've heard a number of rumors for the #15 and #16 in the ACC.
Texas and Texas Tech
Texas and KU (seriously)
Texas and Notre Dame
UConn and Rutgers
other possibilities include WVU and Villanova (if they go Div. I in football)
UConn and Rutgers probably make the easiest sense as that would take the conference from Miami up through BC with natural geographic rivalries for all. Including ND or Texas would be done for money and probably with subsequent headache. [Reply]