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.
Most Missouri fans would prefer to continue playing KU and possibly OU, don't give a rats ass about ISU and KSU, and want to give UT the middle finger.
If there was a way to make this work with KU remaining in the same conference as Mizzou, I'd be all for it. I'd been anti-SEC until this week. But with everything that's going on, I don't think that's possible any more. The fears I had about the move have been blunted. The Big 12 is not tenable unless the LHN dies/is morphed into what the Big 12 needs (a league-wide network that is shared revenue). UT isn't going to make that happen. It's Deloss Dodds' legacy.
There are Mizzou fans who want to stay (My Dad is one of them), but they mostly are more casual fans who don't know all the details of the situation. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Saulbadguy:
DeArmond has no clue what is going on, he only reports his opinion.
He has been tuned in much better than most. He was conveying more certainty about the SEC possibility when a lot of folks thought the tide turned to Missouri being a happy member of the Big 12.
Originally Posted by duncan_idaho:
Most Missouri fans would prefer to continue playing KU and possibly OU, don't give a rats ass about ISU and KSU, and want to give UT the middle finger.
If there was a way to make this work with KU remaining in the same conference as Mizzou, I'd be all for it. I'd been anti-SEC until this week. But with everything that's going on, I don't think that's possible any more. The fears I had about the move have been blunted. The Big 12 is not tenable unless the LHN dies/is morphed into what the Big 12 needs (a league-wide network that is shared revenue). UT isn't going to make that happen. It's Deloss Dodds' legacy.
There are Mizzou fans who want to stay (My Dad is one of them), but they mostly are more casual fans who don't know all the details of the situation.
I respect this opinion.
But you're not going to force Bill Self's hand. If he sees his conference change dramatically over the course a few quick months he will reevaluate everything he does with his basketball team. And scheduling is a big part of that.
Most KU fans will fall in line with what Self wants to do. If you bring in a Louisville, Memphis or whoever that has a bball program that will create excitement within the fanbase you can't just expect him to go out of his way to schedule Mizzou.
That's when the whole "100 year decision" really sets in.
MU has it good in the Big 12 right now and from what everyone can see it is getting better. The SEC is bright and beautiful on those late Saturday afternoons under the lights but are you sure that MU is going to be the team shining in them?...or are they going to be the Washington Generals aka Ole Miss. Someone has to be on the other side of those games.
Originally Posted by Wickedson:
I respect this opinion.
But you're not going to force Bill Self's hand. If he sees his conference change dramatically over the course a few quick months he will reevaluate everything he does with his basketball team. And scheduling is a big part of that.
Most KU fans will fall in line with what Self wants to do. If you bring in a Louisville, Memphis or whoever that has a bball program that will create excitement within the fanbase you can't just expect him to go out of his way to schedule Mizzou.
That's when the whole "100 year decision" really sets in.
MU has it good in the Big 12 right now and from what everyone can see it is getting better. The SEC is bright and beautiful on those late Saturday afternoons under the lights but there are you sure that MU is going to be the team shining in them...or are they going to be the Washington Generals aka Ole Miss.
There is no going back. just sayin
If Mizzou is willing to play KU, and KU is not willing to schedule them, then KU is the asshole and is responsible for the rivalry dieing....just sayin` [Reply]
Originally Posted by Wickedson:
The SEC is bright and beautiful on those late Saturday afternoons under the lights but are you sure that MU is going to be the team shining in them?...or are they going to be the Washington Generals aka Ole Miss. Someone has to be on the other side of those games.
There is no going back. just sayin
You seem to be happy with KU being the Ole Miss of the Big XII in football. [Reply]
Why are KU and KSU fans worried about Mizzou getting crushed in the SEC? That is Mizzou's prerogative. Remember, little insignificant Mizzou is easily replaceable with BYU or "the and only" motherfucking Tulane. The Big XII is in good shape for the next six years until Texas decides to go independent with a matured LHN. [Reply]
