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 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?
Pac12 called for breathing room. There will still be realignment but at a more measured and sane pace.
In the meantime UT & OU will be running a train on the B12. I like how P12 told OU/UT to back the hell off; that is not something the good people in Austin, TX are accustomed to hearing. [Reply]
Originally Posted by vailpass:
Pac12 called for breathing room. There will still be realignment but at a more measured and sane pace.
In the meantime UT & OU will be running a train on the B12. I like how P12 told OU/UT to back the hell off; that is not something the good people in Austin, TX are accustomed to hearing.
I don't think it's safe to take any of the public statements at face value. It appears to me that Pac12 was interested in taking Texas and OU and something one or both of them demanded (probably UT) was too much for them to accept. So it could be just as true that Texas told them to back the hell off as it seems to be that the Pac12 did. If the Pac12 didn't want something here, they would have never entertained the idea of taking OU/TX in the first place. [Reply]
Originally Posted by patteeu:
I don't think it's safe to take any of the public statements at face value. It appears to me that Pac12 was interested in taking Texas and OU and something one or both of them demanded (probably UT) was too much for them to accept. So it could be just as true that Texas told them to back the hell off as it seems to be that the Pac12 did. If the Pac12 didn't want something here, they would have never entertained the idea of taking OU/TX in the first place.
The Pac12 did NOT want OSU and TTech. Similarly, the SEC doesn't want to be responsible for "blowing up" the Big 12 (or whatever the hell it is). Whether or not that would happen by simply taking MU, the SEC isn't going to do it. I think MU is stuck in the Big 12 and it doesn't have that much to do with those in charge at MU (this time). [Reply]
Originally Posted by patteeu:
I don't think it's safe to take any of the public statements at face value. It appears to me that Pac12 was interested in taking Texas and OU and something one or both of them demanded (probably UT) was too much for them to accept. So it could be just as true that Texas told them to back the hell off as it seems to be that the Pac12 did. If the Pac12 didn't want something here, they would have never entertained the idea of taking OU/TX in the first place.
Agreed, we are almost assuredly not getting the whole story. Out here in Pac12 land they are presenting it as though P12 shut off the faucet for now since they are the pretty girl with her choice of which jocks to date or spurn. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Pitt Gorilla:
The Pac12 did NOT want OSU and TTech. Similarly, the SEC doesn't want to be responsible for "blowing up" the Big 12 (or whatever the hell it is). Whether or not that would happen by simply taking MU, the SEC isn't going to do it. I think MU is stuck in the Big 12 and it doesn't have that much to do with those in charge at MU (this time).
Yeah, I understand that. They probably didn't want UT's Longhorn Network either. What I'm saying is that you can't really say that the Pac12 rejected UT and OU without at the same time acknowledging that UT and OU rejected the Pac12 because it seems pretty likely that OU and UT were making demands that the Pac12 just wouldn't accept. [Reply]
Originally Posted by vailpass:
Agreed, we are almost assuredly not getting the whole story. Out here in Pac12 land they are presenting it as though P12 shut off the faucet for now since they are the pretty girl with her choice of which jocks to date or spurn.
Originally Posted by Pitt Gorilla:
The Pac12 did NOT want OSU and TTech. Similarly, the SEC doesn't want to be responsible for "blowing up" the Big 12 (or whatever the hell it is). Whether or not that would happen by simply taking MU, the SEC isn't going to do it. I think MU is stuck in the Big 12 and it doesn't have that much to do with those in charge at MU (this time).
I think the SEC has concerns about MU since Baylor filed its lawsuit over A&M, but I still see this as a dead conference, or at the minimum nothing more than being puppets for Texas and Oklahoma.
And I guess I am different here...I think Brady Deaton is to blame. He's the person tasked with leading "saving" the Big 12 and about all he has done is the same thing Beebe has done....let OU and UT take control. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Mosbonian:
I think the SEC has concerns about MU since Baylor filed its lawsuit over A&M, but I still see this as a dead conference, or at the minimum nothing more than being puppets for Texas and Oklahoma.
And I guess I am different here...I think Brady Deaton is to blame. He's the person tasked with leading "saving" the Big 12 and about all he has done is the same thing Beebe has done....let OU and UT take control.
So, we are mat Deaton for not saving the conference and when the conference seemingly gets saved we are mad at him for not taking Missouri to the SEC without knowing if they have an invite. [Reply]
Originally Posted by vailpass:
Agreed, we are almost assuredly not getting the whole story. Out here in Pac12 land they are presenting it as though P12 shut off the faucet for now since they are the pretty girl with her choice of which jocks to date or spurn.
Which obviously doesn't make any sense, since they took shitty Utah and Colorado last year. [Reply]
