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.
UT was not given what OU received. OU's president has the green-light to do anything, he no longer has to come back to the board.
UT's board gave UT the permission to do only two things: publicly reaffirm that UT is staying in the Big 12, or say nothing and keep talking to schools and conferences behind closed doors. They decided not to give UT's president the freedom to change conferences without coming back again later to ask for permission. [Reply]
Originally Posted by alnorth:
Yeah, Bohls from the Austin-American statesman is SUCH a rumormonger :-)
Everything is rumor and/or speculation at this point, or was there something decisive in your post that clears up all of the conference questions? [Reply]
Big 12 schools going to the ACC doesn't make sense from a geographic or rivalry standpoint. The Big East/Big 12 combo would make an effective basketball conference even without Pitt and Syracuse. They would still trump the ACC in football. It will be a pretty spread out conference though. [Reply]
Originally Posted by alnorth:
UT was not given what OU received. OU's president has the green-light to do anything, he no longer has to come back to the board.
UT's board gave UT the permission to do only two things: publicly reaffirm that UT is staying in the Big 12, or say nothing and keep talking to schools and conferences behind closed doors. They decided not to give UT's president the freedom to change conferences without coming back again later to ask for permission.
Granted, Boren has absolute power,but UT regents will follow along with Powers if he sees fit in moving to a new conference. [Reply]
Originally Posted by ArrowheadMagic:
Granted, Bowen has absolute power,but UT regents will follow along with Powers if he sees fit in moving to a new conference.
Maybe, maybe not. If they were going to follow Bowen blindly, why didn't they give him the authority to make the move? The fact that he has to come back and ask the regents to approve a move means the regents are expecting any conference deal that Texas makes to be lopsided in the Longhorns favor. I think they might have a tough time finding a better deal than what they have now. [Reply]
Originally Posted by vailpass:
Everything is rumor and/or speculation at this point, or was there something decisive in your post that clears up all of the conference questions?
In this case, it is not a rumor because it is a freaking public meeting. They can meet in executive session all they want which leads us to wonder what they discussed, but Bohls only reported what they officially empowered Texas to do. Or, rather, what they did NOT empower Texas to do.
So no, it is not a rumor. Sometimes you have real hard news in this mess. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Garcia Bronco:
Virginia Tech has obviously been the best in conference and one of the top teams in the nation for over the past 15 years. In fact last season they completed their 7, 10 plus win season in-a-row.
Miami is a tought team to beat. If they got a QB they and FSU would be unstoppable. And Gerogai Tech is a tough team too with that triple option. Shit if FSU had a QB worth a crap they would have beat OU the other night.
Originally Posted by mnchiefsguy:
Maybe, maybe not. If they were going to follow Bowen blindly, why didn't they give him the authority to make the move? The fact that he has to come back and ask the regents to approve a move means the regents are expecting any conference deal that Texas makes to be lopsided in the Longhorns favor. I think they might have a tough time finding a better deal than what they have now.
Sorry, Boren, typo, and Powers, both schools know they need each other and will either stay or go to the Pac-12 together. Both schools would rather stay in the Big 12 but changes have to be made. Pac 12 wont turn down the Texas TV market. Longwhorn Network will morph into the Pac 12 tv deal and UT wont lose money. UT does not want an OU less Big 12. [Reply]
Originally Posted by ArrowheadMagic:
Sorry, Boren, typo, and Powers, both schools know they need each other and will either stay or go to the Pac-12 together. Both schools would rather stay in the Big 12 but changes have to be made. Pac 12 wont turn down the Texas TV market. Longwhorn Network will morph into the Pac 12 tv deal and UT wont lose money. UT does not want an OU less Big 12.
But that does not fit in with OU wanting to leave because they are pissed at Texas. Why bother moving if Texas is just coming along with ya? [Reply]
