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 Mosbonian:
UT and OU won't stay around that long. The Big 12 is just a placeholder till they get the deals they are looking for.
Anyone who thinks otherwise is forgetting that we say this movie once before and the end is not pretty.
You might not be aware of the implications of signing over your tier 1/2 media rights to the conference, where that holds even if you leave. That is FAR bigger than even something like a $50MM huge exit fee. There is no "oh whatever, they can back out in a couple years" here, this is the college conference version of an unbreakable marriage. The Big 10 and the PAC 12 make their members do this to ensure no one can leave.
If your T 1/2 media rights are owned by the conference, no one else can put you on TV and you become completely useless to any other conference until those iron chains around your ankles expire. If everyone signs this, then everyone is staying in the Big 12 for 6 years come hell or high water, unless they have the votes to dissolve the conference. The reason why it is 6 years is because presumably the Big 12 will land such a great Tier 1 deal 5 years from now that people will be wondering "so, why were we wanting to leave again?" [Reply]
Originally Posted by alnorth:
I have no problem with reading comprehension, but maybe you suck at writing. You basically said if there's a quiet deal and the SEC decides to back out on it, MU will screw the SEC over.
Bullcrap, deal or not, MU has no way, whatsoever, of even significantly inconveniencing the SEC at all.
Incidentally, if you don't get your point across, that is a stupid way to handle it if you are at all serious about an intelligent argument and not just some anonymous internet message board flamer. A normal mature person would say something like "maybe I didn't explain that clearly, what I mean is blah blah blah". An immature troll would lash out with the stupid classic "oh God, you can't read, lol"
Actually you do have reading comprehension issues. You read what you wanted into what I typed. But that's fine..
And the last thing I need especially from you, is a lecture about how to argue intelligently or not flame the board. People in glass houses... [Reply]
Originally Posted by alnorth:
You might not be aware of the implications of signing over your tier 1/2 media rights to the conference, where that holds even if you leave. That is FAR bigger than even something like a $50MM huge exit fee. There is no "oh whatever, they can back out in a couple years" here, this is the college conference version of an unbreakable marriage. The Big 10 and the PAC 12 make their members do this to ensure no one can leave.
If your T 1/2 media rights are owned by the conference, then you become completely useless to any other conference until those iron chains around your ankles expire. If everyone signs this, then everyone is staying in the Big 12 for 6 years come hell or high water, unless they have the votes to dissolve the conference. The reason why it is 6 years is because presumably the Big 12 will land such a great Tier 1 deal 5 years from now that people will be wondering "so, why were we wanting to leave again?"
al....do you really think that any contract is unbreakable? If so, then you need to spend a little more time in studying legalities.
As money becomes the hardest driving factor in the aligning of teams in a conference, attorney's will become better at figuring out how to exit without losing a shirt. Remember all the money the Big 12 crowed about getting when Nebraska and Colorado decided to leave? Well, the "settlement" wasn't anything close.
The Big 12 won't come anywhere close to a major deal in 5 years. What will be the impetus? Face it....there are only 2 teams in this league that draw any large interest when it would come to National exposure. No network is going to give a big contract to a conference with 2 major players, when it can go looking to the SEC, PAC 12 or Big 10 and really get their money's worth. [Reply]
And you'll see my messages...you're no different than anyone else that has someone on ignore. The temptation to look at their post is too great. Your ego won't admit it, but you peek. And then you get pissed...but then you know if you answer then you have to admit that you peeked when you said you wouldn't all along.
And FYI....you do have reading comprehension issues. My handle has changed but if you have been around you would remember even my first handle. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Mosbonian:
al....do you really think that any contract is unbreakable? If so, then you need to spend a little more time in studying legalities.
As money becomes the hardest driving factor in the aligning of teams in a conference, attorney's will become better at figuring out how to exit without losing a shirt. Remember all the money the Big 12 crowed about getting when Nebraska and Colorado decided to leave? Well, the "settlement" wasn't anything close.
The Big 12 won't come anywhere close to a major deal in 5 years. What will be the impetus? Face it....there are only 2 teams in this league that draw any large interest when it would come to National exposure. No network is going to give a big contract to a conference with 2 major players, when it can go looking to the SEC, PAC 12 or Big 10 and really get their money's worth.
Their Tier one contract is projected to be something like 350 million after the Pac just got their 250 million(?) last year. But nice try. [Reply]
Originally Posted by RustShack:
Their Tier one contract is projected to be something like 350 million after the Pac just got their 250 million(?) last year. But nice try.
I'll bite...why do you think that the Big 12, with all their problems will get a contract that large? [Reply]
Originally Posted by ChiefsCountry:
Big 12 problems is how they split all the money they make. Thats basically the bottom line in the Big 12.
Which then exacerbates the issue that is causing the problems now.
Nothing changes....right?
But that still doesn't answer why we believe that the contract for the Big 12 will be that large. Are we assuming that just because the PAC 12 got that big amount we will get a bigger chunk?
Doesn't add up...and assumes too many things. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Mosbonian:
Oh...I am heartbroken Al....
And you'll see my messages...you're no different than anyone else that has someone on ignore. The temptation to look at their post is too great. Your ego won't admit it, but you peek. And then you get pissed...but then you know if you answer then you have to admit that you peeked when you said you wouldn't all along.
And FYI....you do have reading comprehension issues. My handle has changed but if you have been around you would remember even my first handle.
I guess that means I'm still on his ignore list too. He certainly is a delicate little twat. :-) [Reply]
