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 Mizzou_8541:
I’m dead at all the Mizzou hate in this thread. You say we are irrelevant, but all you do is bring us up. Ku clearly has an obsession. Mizzou has climbed the mountaintop. We are on top of the world. Ku is left wishing they are where we are.
Originally Posted by Mizzou_8541:
I’m dead at all the Mizzou hate in this thread. You say we are irrelevant, but all you do is bring us up. Ku clearly has an obsession. Mizzou has climbed the mountaintop. We are on top of the world. Ku is left wishing they are where we are.
A well paid jobber is still just a jobber. [Reply]
Originally Posted by lawrenceRaider:
Can only happen if the B1G raids the PAC.
I think it’s in the B1Gs court on which conference they give the death blow. Do they add Iowa State and Kansas and the PAC invites whenever and probably the ACC as well to all get to 16. Or does the B1G invite PAC schools the the Big12 get some leftovers. If the B1G raids the PAC they are likely going past 16 to 18 or 20 which opens the door for other conferences to follow. It just depends on how strong their verbal alliance is lol.
Originally Posted by RustShack:
I think it’s in the B1Gs court on which conference they give the death blow. Do they add Iowa State and Kansas and the PAC invites whenever and probably the ACC as well to all get to 16. Or does the B1G invite PAC schools the the Big12 get some leftovers. If the B1G raids the PAC they are likely going past 16 to 18 or 20 which opens the door for other conferences to follow. It just depends on how strong their verbal alliance is lol.
Or does everyone decide to stay at P5.
This is what I see now since the B12 didn't go to B16 when the chance for doing so now presented itself. I expect things will all calm down now for another 10-15 years. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Eleazar:
Big 12 raiding the PAC… :-)
Honestly if the PAC and the Big 12 combined and dropped the dead weight they would all make more money.
Why lug around Oregon State, Cal, Washington State, K-State?
The juggernauts of a Pac 12 and Big 12 would make more money per school and it would expand their media footprint.
Other than Texas and Oklahoma, Kansas makes the most revenue in the Big 12 followed by West Virginia. That is just revenue. They are HUGELY profitable due to CBB as well. [Reply]
Originally Posted by ROYC75:
This is what I see now since the B12 didn't go to B16 when the chance for doing so now presented itself. I expect things will all calm down now for another 10-15 years.
They’ve said they haven’t ruled out adding more teams closer to media negotiations. I think there will definitely be more movement in the next 2-3 years. That’s about the timeline other conferences would look to expand as well.
It sounds like the Big12 is going to be a 14 team conference for a few years and they may add two more to replace OuuT when they officially leave.
Or they leave early, but they can’t say they that now. And it helps the Big12’s case against them to “plan” on them being here. [Reply]
Originally Posted by RustShack:
It sounds like the Big12 is going to be a 14 team conference for a few years and they may add two more to replace OuuT when they officially leave.
IMHO it would be a mistake to wait. If there are valuable schools out there to be had, better to get them now and not risk them going to a more secure conference. [Reply]
Originally Posted by sedated:
IMHO it would be a mistake to wait. If there are valuable schools out there to be had, better to get them now and not risk them going to a more secure conference.
Um wat?
There's no value to be found anywhere that won't lie with Division I FBS's alignment once UT and OU shift to the SEC.
That game of musical chairs ended 10 years ago -if not even earlier-. OU and UT would ultimately be fine in any of the ACC/BIG/B12/PAC/SEC. Adding both probably only adds surplus value to BIG or SEC. [Reply]
Originally Posted by sedated:
IMHO it would be a mistake to wait. If there are valuable schools out there to be had, better to get them now and not risk them going to a more secure conference.
I don’t think the Big12 has to worry about that lol. If anyone else moves it will be to poach the Big12 or PAC. [Reply]
The thought of Arizona and Arizona State leaving the Cali schools to go slumming with Gay State, Okie Light and the Rust Shacks is too hilarious to even consider. [Reply]
