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 bowener:
Somebody (Alden?) is a ****ing idiot.
Again.
This wasn't Alden. It was a booster (for Mike's story). Likely someone who is either strongly pro-SEC and trying to push Missouri that way or someone who is strongly anti-SEC and trying to prevent it from happening.
Matt Hayes >>>>>>>>> Clay Travis
when it comes to sourcing. Check Hayes' twitter, nervous Missouri fans. [Reply]
There is a serious effort being made, led by Missouri chancellor Brady Deaton, to try to save the Big 12, according to a high-placed administrator at a Big 12 school.
It will either be the Big 12's Hail Mary or its last gasp.
The administrator said Deaton, the head of the Big 12's five-member expansion committee, is trying to get everyone back to the table to try to see if the Big 12 can work out its differences.
A regent at another Big 12 school said he he was optimistic the conference could heal its problems.
Oklahoma State mega booster Boone Pickens was quoted by The Oklahoman saying Pickens had called Texas Gov. Rick Perry, a former yell leader at A&M, to try and fix the Big 12.
But Texas A&M spokesman Jason Cook released a statement to Orangebloods.com that "Texas A&M has made our intentions perfectly clear. We do not intend to be a member of the Big 12 past this season."
The question then becomes if Texas, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State can live together in a nine-member Big 12?
And The Oklahoman quotes an unnamed, high-ranking Big 12 source as saying Oklahoma has a list of demands to hold the Big 12 together, including replacing commissioner Dan Beebe and for Texas to make some concessions as it pertains to the Longhorn Network.
The newspaper quotes sources saying OU was angered by ESPN getting a waiver from Fox to show a second game on the Longhorn Network and surprising the rest of the conference with the news.
The sources also tell the Oklahoman OU was upset when ESPN vowed to show high school highlights even after it was deemed impermissible by the NCAA to show high school games on LHN.
In general, the sources tell The Oklahoman, the Big 12 has a big trust problem that has to be rectified.
The Oklahoman also quotes a source saying Dan Beebe only serves one school - Texas.
The newspaper reports, ironically, Texas supported Jack Swarbrick as commissioner of the Big 12 and OU supported Beebe when Beebe was awarded the job as leader of the Big 12. Swarbrick is now the athletic director at Notre Dame.
Sources across the Big 12 confirm to Orangebloods.com that there is definitely a movement to try to save the Big 12 led by Deaton that may involve some radical proposals.
We will have more details as they become available.
A high-ranking official at a Big 12 school said, "The Big 12 is going to stay intact except for Texas A&M."
We will see if that's wishful thinking and the Big 12's Hail Mary - one year after a similar rescue attempt was successful - or if it's the Big 12's last gasp.
Stay tuned.
This post was edited on 9/20 4:04 PM by ChipBrown
I also heard that Pickens pressed the issue of not going to the Pac-xx even though they are part of the package. If UT and OU were willing to give a bunch of concessions to join that league, why not save the Big XII? [Reply]
Originally Posted by Stewie:
I also heard that Pickens pressed the issue of not going to the Pac-xx even though they are part of the package. If UT and OU were willing to give a bunch of concessions to join that league, why not save the Big XII?
The amount of UT/OU cock that will have to be swallowed to keep them B12 may be very large. [Reply]
Originally Posted by vailpass:
The amount of UT/OU cock that will have to be swallowed to keep them B12 may be very large.
No one wants them without major concessions. People think they're in the drivers seat, but they're not by a long shot. Let Texas go to the Pac-xx with no LHN, no monetary advantage and even distribution of funds, etc.... and then add in the abortion of a "pod" system of games. [Reply]
It sounds like OU's lists of demands is pretty ridiculous. If I had to guess, I'd bet they were making a token effort to save the Big 12 for spin purposes later (we tried to save it, honest we did!). [Reply]
Originally Posted by duncan_idaho:
It sounds like OU's lists of demands is pretty ridiculous. If I had to guess, I'd bet they were making a token effort to save the Big 12 for spin purposes later (we tried to save it, honest we did!).
They're pressing Texas and they damned well should. I'm sure the Pac-xx is loving the complete meltdown of the teams they want in their league. [Reply]
Originally Posted by duncan_idaho:
It sounds like OU's lists of demands is pretty ridiculous. If I had to guess, I'd bet they were making a token effort to save the Big 12 for spin purposes later (we tried to save it, honest we did!).
How so? Every other major conf shares revenue equally, and no conf is going to take UT with LAN as it is. UT misrepresented the scope of the network, and Beebe has been ineffective in preventing or looking out for the conf's future. When Neb wanted to leave last year he couldn't even go up there to sit down & talk with them. [Reply]
Pac doesn't want OSU or Tech. They would still take Texas and Oklahoma though. But like I've been saying from the beginning, Oklahoma and Texas still want to keep the Big12 together. [Reply]
But it doesn't sound like BYU is a lock anymore. Sounds like TCU, Louisville, and South Florida are now the teams on the Big12 radar after those other BigEast schools jumped ship. [Reply]
Maybe it's just me, but as an MU fan I would just as soon get the hell out of the Big 12. Any attempt to save it now is just another delay until Texas gets what it wants from another conference or decides to go independent. OU may stay here this year but when the PAC 12 comes calling again, at that time they will pack up and go.
To hell with this soap opera we see every year. Let's get out while we still have some sense of our dignity and a decent conference wants us. Otherwise we'll join the rest of what will be left of the Big 12 next year looking for a MWC/MAC or Big Least merger. [Reply]
