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 mnchiefsguy:
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`
Why should they?
MU is the one leaving.
Like others are saying. Who gives a fuck about tradition?
Like others are saying. Who gives a **** about tradition?
We're MU, we're going to the SEC.
KU is saying, "have fun".
/end
No, KU is saying, "have fun" and then whining like a little bitch. You guys are shackled to Texas, and are bitter beyond belief that Mizzou is not willing to be happily shackled there with you. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Brock:
Why would they care about that? Tradition is dead, get used to it. The old Big 8 is dead and buried. It's every school for itself.
ClayTravisBGID Clay Travis
Interesting. RT @ChipBrownOB: Sources: TCU, BYU & Louisville leading candidates to join B12 with West Virginia also in mix. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Crush: ClayTravisBGID Clay Travis
Interesting. RT @ChipBrownOB: Sources: TCU, BYU & Louisville leading candidates to join B12 with West Virginia also in mix.
All of which are improvements over aTm and Missouri. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Wickedson:
The team I root for has never been "wronged" by Texas.
They (UT) are already pulling back on their dumb LHN programming.
KU makes tons of $$ on their third tier network.
I keep looking to find reasons to get mad at Texas but I just don't see them.
I love it when they spend, build, and pay everyone in their program more than all the other schools then field a 5-7 football team.
I enjoy that kinda thing.
There will always be someone on your block that has more then you do. You don't get mad at it and leave, you fight back and win.
This is where I find complete solidarity with K State.
There isn't a school out there with less resources than K State and they achieve so much more then what they're expected to.
I hate to say it but that's pretty awesome.
If Texas had what they wanted, they would be playing in the Pac 12 right now and most of the Big XII would be out on life rafts trying to find a boat to cling onto.
I don't even root for any of these Big XII teams... but to me it looks like you all had a hot girlfriend, she tried to leave you... the other guys wouldn't put up with her excrement, and she came running back to where she started acting like she's changed. I think we all know how that story usually ends. [Reply]
