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 evenfall:
The funniest thing here is the butthurt KU (or whomever) fans acting like "standing strong" in a deflated conference is a matter of morality, acting like if their school had a football team, they would not be entertaining this. If Kansas had a football team and the SEC would even entertain the notion they'd be doing the exact same thing, clammoring to switch to an elevator that is going upward.
Care to point this out? I haven't really seen anyone except Wickedson say anything remotely close to this. [Reply]
Originally Posted by evenfall:
The funniest thing here is the butthurt KU (or whomever) fans acting like "standing strong" in a deflated conference is a matter of morality, acting like if their school had a football team, they would not be entertaining this. If Kansas had a football team and the SEC would even entertain the notion they'd be doing the exact same thing, clammoring to switch to an elevator that is going upward.
Who knows what will happen, but the idea is not ridiculous. It sounds like Missouri's propensity to shoot themselves in the foot is the biggest obstacle here.
I just think the biggest laugh of all is rival fans acting like life in the Big 12 is great when they'd be doing the same dance if they had any options.
Originally Posted by |Zach|:
B12 adds TCU yesterday. But it will be impossible to leave the conference in a week. Haha.
Lets just keep taking our sweet time to figure out what is best for Missouri.
I am sure its being worked on. We don't know what is happening behind the scenes. There could be haggling going on internal to the SEC about divisional alignment or who knows what else. I am sure they'd want to have all the details in place - to make sure current members are agreed - before moving forward. And then there is the behind the scenes stuff around inviting to apply as well.
It took a few weeks after A&M declared themselves free agents or whatever, for their joining up with the SEC to materialize. But this time around they would have to agree on rivalry matchups and if one team has to switch east/west.
Unless something horrible happens like the conference saying they won't expand or MU recomitting to the Big 12, I won't worry much. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Pants:
Care to point this out? I haven't really seen anyone except Wickedson say anything remotely close to this.
Him in large part, but also the "you guys are the fat girl at the prom" talk in the last few pages. Correct, it is minority opinion. But, why act like the very idea that it could happen at all is ridiculous when clearly it is not? Although it was botched last year and may be again, the two highest level football conferences at least entertained the idea. It's not "fat girl with pimples"... That is just hilarious sour grapes.
Also, by my count there are only two of us dumbasses from MN here. Though I see more car stickers and license plate frames than you would expect here, both for Missouri and Kansas. [Reply]
Originally Posted by evenfall:
Him in large part, but also the "you guys are the fat girl at the prom" talk in the last few pages. Correct, it is minority opinion. But, why act like the very idea that it could happen at all is ridiculous when clearly it is not? Although it was botched last year and may be again, the two highest level football conferences at least entertained the idea. It's not "fat girl with pimples"... That is just hilarious sour grapes.
Also, by my count there are only two of us dumbasses from MN here. Though I see more car stickers and license plate frames than you would expect here, both for Missouri and Kansas.
Your school is the definition of futility when it comes to Athletic Department success. Your state has 6,000,000 people living in it and only one BCS school, it takes a special dedication to suck as bad as your school does. Don't take someone saying MU is a land whale covered in zits so personally, though. You're a wanted a school. Happy? [Reply]
Originally Posted by Pants:
Your school is the definition of futility when it comes to Athletic Department success. Your state has 6,000,000 people living in it and only one BCS school, it takes a special dedication to suck as bad as your school does. Don't take someone saying MU is a land whale covered in zits so personally, though. You're a wanted a school. Happy?
