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.
"If these outrageous reports have any merit – and especially if a United States Senator has done anything inappropriate or unethical to interfere with a decision that the Big 12 had already made – then I believe that there should be an investigation in the U.S. Senate, and I will fight to get the truth. West Virginians and the American people deserve to know exactly what is going on and whether politics is interfering with our college sports." [Reply]
Originally Posted by dirk digler:
Joe Manchin is pissed
Manchin also issued a statement, which reads:
"If these outrageous reports have any merit – and especially if a United States Senator has done anything inappropriate or unethical to interfere with a decision that the Big 12 had already made – then I believe that there should be an investigation in the U.S. Senate, and I will fight to get the truth. West Virginians and the American people deserve to know exactly what is going on and whether politics is interfering with our college sports."
Dissension in the ranks between the President of a flagship member of the Conference and a school that hasn't even been formally invited yet.
Yeah - this is going to work out really well... [Reply]
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut:
Dissension in the ranks between the President of a flagship member of the Conference and a school that hasn't even been formally invited yet.
Yeah - this is going to work out really well...
Totally functional family unit. Why would Missouri want to leave? Tigers are clearly:
1) Greedy
2) Butthurt
3) Just wanting attention [Reply]
West Virginia politicians are now pissed. Sen. Machin called a press conference this evening.
Sen. Manchin: "If these outrageous reports have any merit – and especially if a United States Senator has done anything inappropriate or unethical to interfere with a decision that the Big 12 had already made – then I believe that there should be an investigation in the U.S. Senate, and I will fight to get the truth. West Virginians and the American people deserve to know exactly what is going on and whether politics is interfering with our college sports."
Sen. Rockefeller: "“The Big 12 picked WVU on the strength of its program—period. Now the media reports that political games may upend that. That’s flat wrong,” Rockefeller said. “I am doing and will do whatever it takes to get us back to the merits.”
Tweet from a WV Representative: @RepShelley #WVU deserves to be in the Big 12. If there is political interference going on, it needs to stop now. #WV
Originally Posted by Saul Good:
I love tablerock. Have some friends with a badass houseboat there. Little cold in November, though.
Everything is relative. Compared to here, we are counting on it being balmy. :-)
This will be our first winter, so we are wanting to see what it is like. I am hoping some of the trees still have some leaves, but I doubt if they will. If not, the view of the lake will be better, so it is all good. [Reply]
Originally Posted by HemiEd:
Please don't forget the fireworks, walnut bowls and caverns. The Mrs. and I really do plan on stopping at one of those caverns one of these days.
We never stopped at the worlds deepest hand dug well in Greensburg, so we hope to learn from that lesson.
There are a few cheese shops between KC and Columbia now. I love me some fancy cheese. [Reply]
Originally Posted by beer bacon:
There are a few cheese shops between KC and Columbia now. I love me some fancy cheese.
I have read that on here, and look forward to making that trip one of these days in the future. I love the stuff myself, and have a gut to prove it. [Reply]
