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 HemiEd:
The decision has been made, they are not still trying to decide. This is their third effort to try and find some other conference that wants them.
They are milking this, keeping everyone else hanging.
Like the article said, they are neither South, nor East. But good luck to them, now get going please.
Parts of the state are pretty Southern. There is significant Southerness to Missouri. [Reply]
Originally Posted by HemiEd:
The decision has been made, they are not still trying to decide. This is their third effort to try and find some other conference that wants them.
They are milking this, keeping everyone else hanging.
Like the article said, they are neither South, nor East. But good luck to them, now get going please.
Originally Posted by UCF Knight:
I was talking about where the conference power lies. It is a Southwest conference. Texas and Oklahoma completely control everything.
What, you think you're going to a conference where you're going to get exactly 1/14 of the power?! What a stupid argument. Conferences are ruled by football prowess. If KU, KSU and ISU were football powerhouses, it wouldn't make it any more "midwest" than it is. Now you're going to a conference where the powere is all "deep south" rather than "southwest". Why you think this is going to be better for you I have no idea. Your major cities border B!G and Big XII states. But, if you want to think of yourself as "southern", you go right ahead. [Reply]
Originally Posted by mnchiefsguy:
Don't be so dense yourself. Do you actually think that having the tournament in KC increases Mizzou's funding? If the tournament leaves, is Mizzou's funding level going to be cut? I don't think so. Most of that tax money stays locally and you know it.
Let me put it this way: KU is not interested in helping the Missouri economy directly or indirectly if they want to be an SEC state. We're not interested in improving your schools, your roads, or your hotels. We're not interested in bringing national attention to your state, it doesn't benefit us in any way other than convenience. [Reply]
Originally Posted by HolyHandgernade:
What, you think you're going to a conference where you're going to get exactly 1/14 of the power?! What a stupid argument. Conferences are ruled by football prowess. If KU, KSU and ISU were football powerhouses, it wouldn't make it any more "midwest" than it is. Now you're going to a conference where the powere is all "deep south" rather than "southwest". Why you think this is going to be better for you I have no idea. Your major cities border B!G and Big XII states. But, if you want to think of yourself as "southern", you go right ahead.
I am from the south. I have no ties to MU at all. I was just pointing out the KU AD's misuse of the term "Midwest conference." [Reply]
Originally Posted by UCF Knight:
I am from the south. I have no ties to MU at all. I was just pointing out the KU AD's misuse of the term "Midwest conference."
It isn't a "misuse". You decided to articifially limit how a conference's regionality is determined. Iowa, Kansas and even Oklahoma are all "midwest". There are other sports than football. "Southwest" teams still have to travel to the "North-Midwest" schools to play them every other year. Texas is in the "middle" of the country and in the "central" time zone. You just made up a limitation and want to call that the universal reason for labeling. [Reply]
Originally Posted by HolyHandgernade:
It isn't a "misuse". You decided to articifially limit how a conference's regionality is determined. Iowa, Kansas and even Oklahoma are all "midwest". There are other sports than football. "Southwest" teams still have to travel to the "North-Midwest" schools to play them every other year. Texas is in the "middle" of the country and in the "central" time zone. You just made up a limitation and want to call that the universal reason for labeling.
My definition of Midwest is among the broadest acceptable definitions, and even it doesn't consider Oklahoma a Midwestern state. [Reply]
Originally Posted by HolyHandgernade:
Let me put it this way: KU is not interested in helping the Missouri economy directly or indirectly if they want to be an SEC state. We're not interested in improving your schools, your roads, or your hotels. We're not interested in bringing national attention to your state, it doesn't benefit us in any way other than convenience.
Originally Posted by SPchief:
You spoke so definative about ku's stance on not playing in arrowhead I thought you were a KU spokesperson.
Sorry, its a carry over from speaking as a person often in a position of authority. If you want someone more "connected", maybe you can divine for yourself what the AD and Coach Self have intimated, what the city of KC fears. I can only speak as someone who lived in Kansas at one time and attended KU. I don't think my sentiment is out on much of an island, but you are free to conclude what you want. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Reaper16:
My definition of Midwest is among the broadest acceptable definitions, and even it doesn't consider Oklahoma a Midwestern state.
Originally Posted by Reaper16:
Colorado is Midwestern too, then?
Certainly eastern Colorado has more in common than the mountain region. Some states don't fit neatly into any one definition, but yes, when they were Big 8, I considered them midwest. [Reply]
Originally Posted by HolyHandgernade:
Certainly eastern Colorado has more in common than the mountain region. Some states don't fit neatly into any one definition, but yes, when they were Big 8, I considered them midwest.
Agreed that some states aren't easily defined as far as region goes.