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.
Originally Posted by KcMizzou:
This weekend is on ABC @ K-State. You're thinking of next week. Homecoming vs. ISU.
Which totally sucks dick for me because it'll be PPV or nothing. I pay one low monthly price for the Fox Channels, but the unholy alliance of ABC and ESPrickN doesn't let anybody who isn't local ride for free.
And this is a big game, too, so I'm going to have to pay it. :-) [Reply]
If the Tigers do decide to bolt for the SEC, however, they will do so aware there’s the chance they’ll never play KU in hoops in the regular season again.
“To me it’s a great rivalry, one of the best in college basketball without question, but I don’t think I would be interested in having a once a year game like I did when I was at Illinois, playing Missouri,” Self told the Journal-World on Tuesday night.
He was speaking after learning Missouri’s Board of Curators announced it has delegated power to MU chancellor Brady Deaton to explore options for future conference affiliation.
“I could probably change my mind (but) trust me, we would have no trouble finding another nonleague game to play. I love the rivalry (uninterrupted since 1907 with KU leading 171-94). Playing home and home in the league is great and all those things ... (but) I can’t imagine, why would we continue playing?
“If they choose to be somewhere other than with us and with the other schools that they’ve been a part of and could jeopardize the future of the other schools ... I’m not going to make a commitment now that we’d ever play again. I’m not saying we won’t. I’m certainly not going to pretend that we would.”
Self grew animated when it was suggested the media would likely ask for a continuation of the series with perhaps a once-a-year meeting between the Border War combatants in Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo.
“I’m not saying it would be bad or won’t be bad (playing once on neutral court). I will say this ... the media is not going to dictate who we play. I’ll dictate who we play as long as I’m coaching here,” Self said. “I have no ill will toward Missouri at all, but to do something at a time that could be so damaging and hurtful to a group, I can’t see us just taking it and forgetting. I think that would be something that’d be talked about with our administration and we’d make a decision that’s best for our place. They are making a decision that’s best for theirs. We’ll make a decision on a schedule that’s best for us.
“I am not going to schedule Missouri just to schedule Missouri. I’m going to schedule what’s best for us, period. That’s how it’s going to be.”
There’s already precedent for KU not going out of its way to schedule teams that flee the league.
“We’re not playing Nebraska,” Self said of the Huskers, who like Missouri, are within close geographic proximity to KU. “There are other schools we could certainly try to find games with. That will be sad for a lot of fans if it comes to that,” he added of the end of the KU-MU rivalry. “Hopefully it won’t. Hopefully they’ll want to stay and be part of the Big 12.”
Self stressed that any future scheduling decisions would be made after seeing “how our league plays out. Our league schedule will determine what we do nonconference. I don’t think we would feel we owe anybody or any other school in our league would feel we owe anybody anything that leave. That doesn’t mean we couldn’t continue a relationship. To think we HAVE to do it, there’s no ‘have to’ at all. Only way we do it is if it’s what’s best for us.
“We will do what’s best for us from a scheduling standpoint. And that will create absolutely no controversy at all.”
Self has no idea what would happen in KU’s other sports if the Tigers leave the league.
“I don’t know how the football program feels. I am not into scheduling (football). Unless it’s mandated from above, I want to play who I want to play,” he said. “I’m not saying it wouldn’t be them (Tigers), I’m certainly not. We can’t assume they’d play us.”
One thing is for sure ... “Of course I want them to stay. I want to play them twice a year in the league. They want to play us twice a year in the league. It’s great,” Self said.
Originally Posted by track:
If MU leaves...have to agree with Self.....permanently take them off the BBall schedule..and all other sports too.
Of course they would.
The other schools are standing strong with each other and will continue to move forward and achieve.
I liked the rivalry with MU mostly because of the history and proximity and it is sad if it has to end.
Kansas is completely happy and makes all the money they need in this conference. They have no reason or desire for things to change so in that regard they are hardly without blame. [Reply]
Originally Posted by UCF Knight:
It will hurt basketball a bit, but it will completely wipe out football support, especially in Kansas City.
Hardly. The football team will be fine.
You see lacking numbers at KU games now for multiple reasons.
1. Many did not support the TG hire and are showing it by staying away.
2. People are going through tough times financially. It's hard for any school in America to have huge fanbases in both major sports. KU fans will pay for bball first. Not a matter of commitment more than it is a matter of their wallet. [Reply]
I'm not making light of the fact that there's bad blood between KU and MU, because I witness it here constantly. But I think that KU is going to miss the "rivalry" a lot more than MU does, at least in basketball. Of course, earlier in the thread, I sang the praises of getting the joy of playing Alabama in football, so I'm being a bit hypocritical. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Saulbadguy:
Mizzou and West Virginia fans both seem convinced they are going to the SEC.
The WV rumor has been flying around a lot. I really, really hope its MU instead of WV, simply for selfish proximity reasons. WV certainly makes sense to add to the East, though. [Reply]
