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 kstater:
Petty infighting doesn't happen in any other conference. See Missouri to the East.
Yes, because the SEC made a statement about a key topic that was then publicly contradicted by the athletic director of one of the schools, who said the statement probably was just intended to create some buzz.
SEC athletic directors schedule press conferences OVER the press conference of the chairman of the SEC, and contradict what the chairman is saying.
SEC presidents get involved with state senators about who is coming to the SEC, and then GO ON RECORD about those conversations.
These must be the ones Wickedson feels really sad for...
Mellinger talks to some Missouri fans while he is in STL.
Just for kicks, and because rain gave us another day to appreciate what’s been a fantastic baseball postseason, I asked three people here what they thought of Missouri and the SEC.
None of them cared.
The strongest opinion came from Dave, who works at the hotel where I’m staying.
“Why would anyone want to stay in that league (the Big 12)?”
McMurphyCBS Brett McMurphy
Because of messy, awkward situation, Big 12 will let WVU in Big 12 in odd years & UL in even years. Or something like that [Reply]
On Tuesday, the Big 12 Board of Directors met on a conference call, and the expected result was to approve West Virginia’s invitation into the conference.
The Big 12 was prepared to send a delegation, led by interim commissioner Chuck Neinas, to Morgantown, W.Va., for a ceremony.
But during the call, some sentiment was expressed for Louisville — like West Virginia, a member of the Big East.
A source familiar with the call told The Star that Oklahoma supported Louisville, while most others, including Texas, favored West Virginia. And the board went into the meeting with the idea of inviting only one.
Also on the table, according to a source, was grant-of-rights. Texas favors six years, Oklahoma at least 10. Boren was willing to give in on the reduced grant-of-rights in exchange for support for Louisville.
Pitino actually makes a good point here. It is stupid to try and save the football image of the Big East. Why not embrace what the conference truly is and push for great basketball programs?
All along I've though ku would be a very good fit for such a conference. Would ku fans be interested?
Originally Posted by :
Louisville oach Rick Pitino is actively lobbying the Big East Conference and its member schools to add Memphis and Temple for basketball, regardless of whether the Big East adds Central Florida, Houston or SMU.
Pitino said Wednesday that he has expressed his opinion to Big East commissioner John Marinatto and wants the league to seriously consider raising the basketball profile of the conference during the turbulent period of realignment.
Pitino said the Big East has to combat the ACC's move of taking away two of the league's best basketball programs in Syracuse and Pittsburgh, and then possibly the Big 12's desire to take West Virginia, if the Mountaineers end up replacing Missouri -- a potential SEC member -- in the Big 12 Conference.
Originally Posted by eazyb81:
Pitino actually makes a good point here. It is stupid to try and save the football image of the Big East. Why not embrace what the conference truly is and push for great basketball programs?
All along I've though ku would be a very good fit for such a conference. Would ku fans be interested?
So Pitino's idea is to make the Big East a powerful basketball conference with lousy football? Isn't that what the Big East has been for years? [Reply]
Originally Posted by Saul Good:
So Pitino's idea is to make the Big East a powerful basketball conference with lousy football? Isn't that what the Big East has been for years?
I think the point is to mail in football and focus on adding basketball kings to help add league value. [Reply]
Originally Posted by kstater:
Petty infighting doesn't happen in any other conference. See Missouri to the East.
It took a day and got resolved.
Near as I can tell, it didn't involve the United States Senate or contradicting public statements by key members of the respective Universities.
You fellas really should just bow out right now - the XII is a fucking mess. Maybe you can come back in 2 years and show how awesome it is and how great things are without us, but you folks are trying to prop up a 2-legged stool at this very moment. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Saul Good:
So Pitino's idea is to make the Big East a powerful basketball conference with lousy football? Isn't that what the Big East has been for years?
Why Connecticut, Cincinnati & WVU have made BCS bowls. [Reply]
Originally Posted by frazod:
I'm assured by every beaker in Kansas that this makes these teams TRULY GREAT POWERHOUSES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1!1111
No, you're not. We just laugh at you because you never got into one, much less won one. :-) [Reply]
