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 Pants:
Well yeah. I'm just trying to see why all these MU fans want to leave so bad? Is it because of instability? Or is it just so they can say "Haha, see ya pillowbiters" like billay?
It has everything to do with stability; the fact that the quality of football is insanely high and the revenue will be very good don't hurt, but they aren't the primary reasons. MU fans don't want their school to be left out when the Big 12 crumbles, whether that's in 1, 2, or 6 years. As soon as Texas or OK decide they want to be elsewhere, the conference is as good as done. MU is simply looking around while the looking is good.
It should also be noted that they MAY stay in the Big 12, although things certainly don't appear to be currently pointing in that direction. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Saulbadguy:
Grass is greener.
Yeah, I was totally understanding MU wanting to leave to the SEC before the shared revenue and rights surrender deal came out. Seems kinda weird now. [Reply]
Originally Posted by HolyHandgernade:
I don't think you really get the whole "Sprint Center would no longer be in Big XII Territory" thing if MU leaves. KU, KSU and ISU are not going to fight to keep the secondary tournament revenues in SEC country. It'll move to OKC and you won't hear a voice of dissent from within the Big XII.
You'll be lucky if the SEC holds anything on the fringe of their territory. Perhaps once every four years St. Louis might get the BB Tournament. Why make a bunch of schools who work on eastern time go to a state in the central time zone?
No, I get it. What I posted was just pure specualation and what if. But you can't have it both ways. If KC is a KU town, then this IS BIG XII country, and KU should fight to keep the BBall tourney close to home. If KC is no longer Big XII country, then you have to cede the fact that KC is going to be a Mizzou town.
The SEC tourney in KC would be a long shot. I said that. Anything is possible, and a pitch should be made.
Eastern time to Central time is no big deal. Talking about an hour difference. Eastern time to Pacific time, that is a different story, but I don't folks won't tune into the SEC tourney in St. Louis because it is in the Central time zone. That is just silly. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Pants:
Yeah, I was totally understanding MU wanting to leave to the SEC before the shared revenue and rights surrender deal came out. Seems kinda weird now.
Yeah, as long as you choose to ignore the 30 million advantage Texas will continue to hold for themselves. [Reply]
Originally Posted by mnchiefsguy:
No, I get it. What I posted was just pure specualation and what if. But you can't have it both ways. If KC is a KU town, then this IS BIG XII country, and KU should fight to keep the BBall tourney close to home. If KC is no longer Big XII country, then you have to cede the fact that KC is going to be a Mizzou town.
The SEC tourney in KC would be a long shot. I said that. Anything is possible, and a pitch should be made.
Eastern time to Central time is no big deal. Talking about an hour difference. Eastern time to Pacific time, that is a different story, but I don't folks won't tune into the SEC tourney in St. Louis because it is in the Central time zone. That is just silly.
You can laugh Wickedson...but if the Big XII implodes and UT and OU take off, Self is gone from KU, and KU will not be able to replace him with a great coach from whatever second tier conference they land in. KU putting BBall ahead of football is going to hurt the Hawks in the end. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Pitt Gorilla:
I agree, and it wouldn't hurt KU in recruiting. Of course, it wasn't difficult to see the butthurt in Self's quote either.
What do you want him to say? That he's happy that his school's biggest rival isn't standing strong with them and looking to take any opportunity they can to leave the conference?
Like has been said, the Big 12 will be fine without MU.
The KU-MU tradition and ties with KC will not. [Reply]
Originally Posted by mnchiefsguy:
You can laugh Wickedson...but if the Big XII implodes and UT and OU take off, Self is gone from KU, and KU will not be able to replace him with a great coach from whatever second tier conference they land in. KU putting BBall ahead of football is going to hurt the Hawks in the end.
