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 |Zach|:
Everyone is free to act in their own self interests. Missouri knows there are far reaching consequences to their actions. This can't be a surprise.
Funny, but when it was perceived as Texas acting in self interest, you shout them down for it. Sounds like a lot of hypocrisy to me. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Wickedson:
Self wants a opponent to respect and stand strong with an institution that has a history of over 100 years together.
KU is willing to do that and make the Big12 work.
You all can laugh at KU about how "no one wants them" but the fact of whether or not that is true cannot be known because KU knows that it's strongest position here in a conference that is based here... not Atlanta, not San Francisco, etc etc
KU is willing to do all of those things you mention not by choice but becuase it has no other options at this point. They are also willing to do as they are told by Texas and OU and be treated as second class citizens. They are doing the same thing Mizzou did for many years. Mizzou now has a chance to step up and give Texas the finger on the way out the door and I am glad they are doing it.
I will miss the KU games but I will love seeing the likes of LSU, Bama, Florida, Auburn and others in Columbia more than I will miss KU, ISU KState and the others.
Mizzou is building a new tradional not resting on an old one. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Wickedson:
You all can laugh at KU about how "no one wants them" but the fact of whether or not that is true cannot be known because KU knows that it's strongest position here in a conference that is based here... not Atlanta, not San Francisco, etc etc
Yep. KU wants to say in a strong, vibrant conference that is based right here in Dallas, KS. [Reply]
Originally Posted by eazyb81:
How am I not surprised that ku fans have somehow found a way to interject ku basketball into a conference realignment thread?
Originally Posted by OmahaChief:
KU is willing to do all of those things you mention not by choice but becuase it has no other options at this point. They are also willing to do as they are told by Texas and OU and be treated as second class citizens. They are doing the same thing Mizzou did for many years. Mizzou now has a chance to step up and give Texas the finger on the way out the door and I am glad they are doing it.
I will miss the KU games but I will love seeing the likes of LSU, Bama, Florida, Auburn and others in Columbia more than I will miss KU, ISU KState and the others.
Mizzou is building a new tradional not resting on an old one.
Originally Posted by OmahaChief:
KU is willing to do all of those things you mention not by choice but becuase it has no other options at this point. They are also willing to do as they are told by Texas and OU and be treated as second class citizens. They are doing the same thing Mizzou did for many years. Mizzou now has a chance to step up and give Texas the finger on the way out the door and I am glad they are doing it.
I will miss the KU games but I will love seeing the likes of LSU, Bama, Florida, Auburn and others in Columbia more than I will miss KU, ISU KState and the others.
Mizzou is building a new tradional not resting on an old one.
KU is asking Mizzou to give up tens of millions of dollars in order to preserve the rivalry, but KU isn't willing to give up a non-con game against Colgate. If I needed any convincing that this was the right move, (I didn't), I've gotten it in spades today. [Reply]
Originally Posted by HolyHandgernade:
Funny, but when it was perceived as Texas acting in self interest, you shout them down for it. Sounds like a lot of hypocrisy to me.
You are wrong...as always.
Originally Posted by |Zach|:
LHN will turn into a money making machine and when they don't need the B12 anymore they will bolt.
That is fine...Texas is free to do that because they can. But if Missouri can avoid being a part of that mess they will.
Originally Posted by Wickedson:
Why are you so fucking stupid all the time?
The argument has nothing to do with football vs basketball.
MU fans are sitting around crying about "conference stability" and thats what they want. Do I blame them? no...How do you get conference stability?
By standing with your conference!
MU is doing exactly what they are claiming is what they are running from.
Bill Self knows that. All he's doing is calling MU out on it.
He's a Champion for a reason.
MU should take some notes.
When you're staying in a hotel in which several of the other rooms are engulfed in flames, you move to a different hotel. You don't stand in your room with a fire extinguisher and hope that the fire doesn't spread to your room in an attempt to stabilize the hotel. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Saul Good:
When you're staying in a hotel in which several of the other rooms are engulfed in flames, you move to a different hotel. You don't stand in your room with a fire extinguisher and hope that the fire doesn't spread to your room in an attempt to stabilize the hotel.
