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 Saul Good:
When's the last time you heard KK say something and thought, "that's a really good point"?
I only catch bits and pieces on my lunch (because my car radio is set to 810 in the morning) and he just makes me cringe. I quickly change to 610 because I would rather listen to the dumbass that is Nick Wright claim he was never really on the S4L bandwagon after the Chiefs manage to beat two atrocious teams. [Reply]
Originally Posted by talastan:
Their football team is 0-6 this year in the MVC. Yeah I'm sure that they are ready for the Big XII. :-) They might be able to compete on the basketball front and the baseball front though.
Is this because the exit penalties would be less or is it some other reason? I can't see MU going through everything they've done already to stick around for another year.
Interim Big 12 commissioner Chuck Neinas said Tuesday that the league is set with 10 teams for 2012 with the addition of TCU, even though Missouri is exploring a possible departure to the Southeastern Conference.
"If Missouri was going to change horses, it wouldn't be for 2012 anyway," Neinas said.
The Big 12 has given no deadline for a decision from Missouri, though Neinas said there would need to be some determination by the end of the current academic year. The school has not ruled out remaining part of the Big 12.
Neinas said the Big 12 needs to know what Missouri plans to do before the league can fully evaluate whether to stay at 10 members or expand back to 12.
"We can't address the 10 vs. 12 until we determine that Missouri is going to be one of the 10," he said. "There's no consensus at the present time between the conference members as to 10 or 12."
TCU accepted an invitation Monday to join the Big 12. The Horned Frogs will replace Texas A&M, keeping the league at 10 members when the Aggies leave for the SEC next July.
While TCU will be the first new member since the Big 12 started play in 1996, Texas A&M will be the third school to leave. Nebraska (Big Ten) and Colorado (Pac-12) left this year.
There were some indications after Big 12 athletic directors met last month that some might be in favor of staying at nine members. That has apparently changed.
"I don't think anyone is holding that position now. I think the idea would be 10 or 12," Neinas said, adding: "It won't be 16."
A 45-page document presented to Missouri curators earlier this month suggests the school would hope to get as much as $12 million more each year in additional revenue with a move to the SEC if TV deals are renegotiated. The document, which was obtained by The Associated Press, was shown to the curators after they gave chancellor Brady Deaton authority to explore a departure from the Big 12.
Asked about the report and the financial projection, Neinas responded, "I don't think that's accurate." Such projections would suggest the SEC would have to redo current deals and increase its annual TV income by $168 million based on a 14-team league, he said.
Big 12 leaders recently agreed to switch to equal revenue sharing after years in which the schools that made the most television appearances received the most money. The proposal, which would require schools to give their top TV rights to the Big 12 for six years, requires approval from the governing boards of Big 12 schools.
With equal sharing and a 13-year TV deal with Fox Sports worth more than $1 billion, Neinas indicated that the potential money per team could be similar in the Big 12 and SEC.
"We'll give Missouri time to evaluate its situation, and have an opportunity to look at the Big 12 Conference and perhaps get a better understanding of where we're going," Neinas said. "I think we're on the verge of making some good progress.
"We're in process of solidifying the conference, and I think that's already been proven," he said. "There are a lot of positives the curators of Missouri have a chance to listen to."
Neinas said he recently had a cordial conversation about Missouri with SEC commissioner Mike Slive, who he has known for a long time.
"I said basically, if you're going to extend an invitation to Missouri, let me know," Neinas said.
According to Neinas, Slive said no invitation had been extended to Missouri and that the SEC commissioner "didn't indicate one way or another" if that would happen. SEC leaders met Monday for their regularly scheduled fall meeting but took no action on expansion. [Reply]
