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.
"I'm not much of an insider, but a real good friend of mine who is real good friends with Auburn AD Jay Jacobs told me a few minutes ago that Mizzou will be joining the SEC very shorlty and that Auburn will be moving to the SEC East.
This works well b/c Auburns permanent West rival will be Alabama and they will be in the East to take on UGA and UF. UF vs. AU was a growing rival during the 90's and that will work well for both schools to get to play every year again.
Anyway, not a shock here after the news over the last 24 hours, but this is straight from Auburn AD Jacobs (via one buffer who is a good source). Now lets see if it happens. BTW, none of this is secret information, just interesting b/c of who it came from. " [Reply]
Originally Posted by Bewbies:
Are there people who really think that under any circumstance the Big 12 is a better conference to be in than the SEC? Seriously?
If it's 2009, there's 12 teams and Beebe is looking for 2+ schools to join.. [Reply]
Originally Posted by :
I hear from a good source close to the Neinas organization that this is all to get a better deal out of current Big 12 negotiations. If Texas and Oklahoma are Nos 1 and 2 in this league, Mizzou figures it is No. 3 if it can flex similar muscle.
What do they want?
First, they want a 12 team Big 12. Texas and Oklahoma would rather keep it to 10 teams, which eliminates that pesky Big 12 championship game standing in the way of national title hopes. But they're not ready to lose MU over that and will agree to expand to 12.
What they are possibly willing to go to battle for is MU's other position. In a 12 team league, MU wants Texas and Oklahoma in the same division and MU in the other. Texas and Oklahoma want to be in separate divisions. MU's proposal to Neinas was to be in a division with ISU, KU, KSU, Team No. 11 (presumably Louisville) and either Team No. 12 (if Cincinatti) or Baylor.
In Mizzou's eyes, they're in the champ. game 5 out of 10 years in this kind of division, giving them a shot. Of course, this would mean BYU, Texas, OU, OSU, TTY and presumably TCU would all be in the South, a terribly unbalanced situation.
Neinas proposed adding the highest quality new Big 12 member team (BYU? TCU?) to the North for more balance. Complicating matters: OU and OSU must be in the same division and MU refuses to be in a division with Texas.
FYI- the Texas proposal to Neinas was for Texas and Kansas to be in a division together.
So... this is really about MU trying to set itself up in a lucrative perpetual winning situation in football, or bolting to the SEC, where they'll have fewer wins but much more security.
MU better go to whatever conference. After all this posturing if MU walks to the cliff and spreads wings made by ACME, leaps and does a Wile E. Coyote into the desert floor, the trail of shit you will eat will be Milky Way galaxy in length and breadth. [Reply]
Originally Posted by WilliamTheIrish:
All I can say now is:
MU better go to whatever conference. After all this posturing if MU walks to the cliff and spreads wings made by ACME, leaps and does a Wile E. Coyote into the desert floor, the trail of shit you will eat will be Milky Way galaxy in length and breadth.
Originally Posted by Bewbies:
Are there people who really think that under any circumstance the Big 12 is a better conference to be in than the SEC? Seriously?
Originally Posted by Discuss Thrower:
If it's 2009, there's 12 teams and Beebe is looking for 2+ schools to join..
