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 Wickedson:
The 2nd best football conf. The 3rd best bball conf.....(maybe the best when you combine the two) Not to mention track, baseball, etc... Why let these inferior groups try and pick you apart? It doesn't make sense.
I admire your homerism, but what makes the Big XII the 3rd best basketball conference?
In the last 20 years teams that are in the Big XII have:
1 NCAA Tournament Championship
3 NCAA Tournament Finals appearances
9 NCAA Tournament Final Four appearances
By comparison, in the same time frame SEC teams have:
5 NCAA Tournament Championships
8 NCAA Tournament Finals appearances
13 NCAA Tournament Final Four apperances [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaKCMan AP:
I admire your homerism, but what makes the Big XII the 3rd best basketball conference?
In the last 20 years teams that are in the Big XII have:
1 NCAA Tournament Championship
3 NCAA Tournament Finals appearances
9 NCAA Tournament Final Four appearances
By comparison, in the same time frame SEC teams have:
5 NCAA Tournament Championships
8 NCAA Tournament Finals appearances
13 NCAA Tournament Final Four apperances
If we took out Kansas and Texas for the Big XII and Kentucky and Florida for the SEC, what do those numbers look like? [Reply]
Originally Posted by Garcia Bronco:
You supposedly have to have 12 teams to have a championship game.
Correct, but 10 teams doesn't revoke a BCS bid. However, like the Big X and Pac-10 in previous years, the lack of a Conference Championship game can hurt your BCS NC game hopes. [Reply]
Originally Posted by HolyHandgernade:
If we took out Kansas and Texas for the Big XII and Kentucky and Florida for the SEC, what do those numbers look like?
Originally Posted by DaKCMan AP:
I admire your homerism, but what makes the Big XII the 3rd best basketball conference?
In the last 20 years teams that are in the Big XII have:
1 NCAA Tournament Championship
3 NCAA Tournament Finals appearances
9 NCAA Tournament Final Four appearances
By comparison, in the same time frame SEC teams have:
5 NCAA Tournament Championships
8 NCAA Tournament Finals appearances
13 NCAA Tournament Final Four apperances
Pretty much. If I were nit-picky I'd note that the 20 year time frame is convenient since the Texas schools have only recently cared about, and tried to improve on their basketball. I'd wonder what the last 10 years looks like.
Anyway, over the long haul the SEC has done very well. However, if the SEC doesn't pick up their game soon they will have trouble repeating their success. SEC was #6 in conference RPI last year with 2 top-10's, 3 tourney-level teams, and a whole bunch of garbage (including the entire west division) [Reply]
Originally Posted by alnorth:
Pretty much. If I were nit-picky I'd note that the 20 year time frame is convenient since the Texas schools have only recently cared about, and tried to improve on their basketball. I'd wonder what the last 10 years looks like.
Anyway, over the long haul the SEC has done very well. However, if the SEC doesn't pick up their game soon they will have trouble repeating their success. SEC was #6 in conference RPI last year with 2 top-10's, 3 tourney-level teams, and a whole bunch of garbage (including the entire west division)
Little cherry picking.
Make it 25 years and there's another NC (Kansas of course) and a couple more final fours.
But yes, the Big 12 has had some very underwhelming performances in recent years. [Reply]
I still hope Alden & Company grow some stones and press ahead with the move, but sadly I don't see it happening. I wonder if they'll dust off their pathetic conference unity statement from last summer and just change a couple of words?
Originally Posted by frazod:
I still hope Alden & Company grow some stones and press ahead with the move, but sadly I don't see it happening. I wonder if they'll dust off their pathetic conference unity statement from last summer and just change a couple of words?
Is there even any real hope for this though? It sounds like the B12 is staying put with now OU and UT having firm control. I can't imagine MU leaving with the sterotypical midwest loyalty to fault that they exhibit.
Also, the SEC continues to deny that they have offered MU a spot so MU doesnt have a home if they do leave unless they pull an aTm. [Reply]
Originally Posted by epitome1170:
Is there even any real hope for this though? It sounds like the B12 is staying put with now OU and UT having firm control. I can't imagine MU leaving with the sterotypical midwest loyalty to fault that they exhibit.
Also, the SEC continues to deny that they have offered MU a spot so MU doesnt have a home if they do leave unless they pull an aTm.
SEC also denied they wanted to expand at all, and then denied they wanted A&M. I wouldn't take anything literally at this point.
Still, I fully expect Mizzou to stay in the Big 12 at this point. For some insane reason, Brady Deaton truly believes the Big 12 Zombie Conference is preferable to the SEC. [Reply]
Originally Posted by eazyb81: SEC also denied they wanted to expand at all, and then denied they wanted A&M. I wouldn't take anything literally at this point.
Still, I fully expect Mizzou to stay in the Big 12 at this point. For some insane reason, Brady Deaton truly believes the Big 12 Zombie Conference is preferable to the SEC.
That is the only reason I have ANY hope that MU goes to the SEC, but I give it a 5% chance. [Reply]
Originally Posted by alnorth:
Here's a thought. If the PAC 12 would have made up their damned minds a week ago and a consensus was reached that the Big 12 would not collapse... Would Syracuse have decided to leave if conference apocalypse was no longer upon them? does the ACC still go after Syracuse and Pitt?
They are now in an awkward situation where they grabbed two schools who they may not now need, and it is awkward to schedule for 14.
It allows the ACC to renegotiate their TV contract to the tune of an additional $3 million or so per school per year. So, yes, I think they would have done it anyway.
I think the ACC holds at 14 until they know what Notre Dame is doing. Rutgers and UConn would jump to get into the conference, but I sense that the ACC is willing to wait until they know they can't get the bigger fish... [Reply]
