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 Wickedson:
Well they've been business partners for about what? 16 years now?
And Kansas has an endowment of over a billion dollars?
So yea, I guess I would trust them to continue making my school money which helps educate students, build facilities, and invest in technology.
Texas has been a pretty good business partner.
I think you are trolling. This statement is absurd. They tried to leave your conference. If they had their way, they would have left your school out in the wind to fend for itself. There is nothing about that is remotely definable as "pretty good business partners." That doesn't mean you can't co-exist amicably in a professional setting, but otherwise your definition and my definition of a decent business partner is widely different. [Reply]
Originally Posted by mnchiefsguy:
You do realize you are the only one, even among KU fans, that thinks Texas is a good partner, right?
Well then those KU fans aren't looking at numbers.
It's Kansas. There are millions of people with millions of opinions.
The Big 12 is dealing with this issue because UT is just simply so much more massive in scale then any other school in the league.
Admittedly its hard for them to do anything without it looking like;
"woah! What's UT up to now?!?"
I'm not saying you just blinding go into the future. Obviously the laws and terms of this league need to be reevaluated and rewritten.
And if it took UT getting told by another league that you better fix your shit or no one would want you then so be it.
They are an extremely powerful ally to have in college athletics. I don't think you just push and push to get out unless you have some REAL specific reasons for doing so. Reasons MU does not have at this time. [Reply]
Originally Posted by tk13:
I think you are trolling. This statement is absurd. They tried to leave your conference. If they had their way, they would have left your school out in the wind to fend for itself. There is nothing about that is remotely definable as "pretty good business partners." That doesn't mean you can't co-exist amicably in a professional setting, but otherwise your definition and my definition of a decent business partner is widely different.
I agree tk. I certainly wouldn't be business partners with Texas. They have tried to screw their business partners multiple times. I don't get why anyone would trust them.
Which is really what the MU going to the SEC is all about...Trust. MU doesn't trust Texas and they feel like the first chance Texas gets they will screw everyone over and blow everything up. Who would want to be in business with somebody like that? [Reply]
Originally Posted by duncan_idaho:
Not without the concessions on LHN and Tier 1/2 length.
This isn't about the teams in the conference so much as it is about the instability caused by the LHN.
Well, they just made some more concessions tonight.
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Longhorn Network Won't Air Any High School Athletics, According To Report
Oct 05 10:07p by Russ Oates
Read More: Texas Longhorns
Texas' Longhorn Network wasn't going to air any high school football games after the NCAA barred them from doing so in August, but there were still questions on what coverage of high school athletics would be allowed. The NCAA had allowed a highlights show, but on Wednesday night it appears that the Longhorn Network won't even air that. According to Orangebloods.com, Texas has decided to avoid any high school content (for six years) as a means to bring peace to the Big 12.
With the Big 12's livelihood settled now that Oklahoma and Texas have decided to stay in the conference, the latter is attempting to make nice by making concessions. This is part of a broader television rights deal for the Big 12. Texas had to agree to the 13-year television rights deal that the conference already had in place last April.
It is possible this television rights deal could keep Missouri from leaving the conference, but the deal isn't likely to be finalized until Thursday. [Reply]
