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 Chief Pagan:
Self has under performed his seeding a bit. But still a relatively small sample size, crap shoot, and all that.
It's not like every #1 seed makes it to the final four every year...
I know, but if the argument is Calipari has underachieved, he’s really only had one massive choke job in the tournament. He usually makes it to at least the second weekend every year. [Reply]
I see the sting and embarrassment of losing to an absolute DOG SHIT team in the first round has abated enough to care about UK basketball again. Nice. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Pants:
I see the sting and embarrassment of losing to an absolute DOG SHIT team in the first round has abated enough to care about UK basketball again. Nice.
Remember when Kansas lost to 14 seed Bucknell and 13 seed Bradley in the first round in 2 consecutive tournaments?
Pepperidge Farms remembers.
Originally Posted by Prison Bitch:
K’s 5 > UK’s 8 > Wooden’s 10
Considering Wooden was being bankrolled by a realtor, I can get behind that argument to an extent. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Rams Fan:
Remember when Kansas lost to 14 seed Bucknell and 13 seed Bradley in the first round in 2 consecutive tournaments?
Pepperidge Farms remembers.
Of course I remember that. What I don't remember is fucking KU fan dunces claiming they are not fans of KU basketball anyway, which was my point about you. [Reply]
I’m guessing we don’t hear anything until August. PAC has exclusive negotiating rights with Fox and ESPN until the beginning of August, then others can put in bids. Big12’s new commissioner officially starts August first even though obviously he’s already involved.
After the PAC gets their best offers I’m sure schools will be scrambling to jump to the Big12 assuming the B1G and SEC don’t take them. I think the Big12 ends up with 4-6 PAC schools then wait until the ACC gets raided and add a few more. [Reply]
Q: What happens to the Big 12 if/when the Pac-12 raids and steals their top four teams? — @benwilkinson
A: There’s a lot of Big 12 vs. Pac-12 sentiment out there. I don’t think your scenario spells the end of the Big 12, necessarily, but would it force that conference to take on new partners that don’t bring as much media-rights value. The Big 12 TV footprint isn’t great as it stands. Access to the College Football Playoff becomes problematic, too. But I think we’re going to see turmoil and uncertainty for the next few years before things settle down.
Q: When it all comes down to it, what do you think will ultimately save the Pac 12? — @vakaviti
A: The same thing that threatens it — television. ESPN and a potential streaming partner (ESPN+ or Amazon or Apple TV+) are now the solution. Also, some good leadership. Commissioner George Kliavkoff spent his first year connecting with campus leaders across the Pac-12. That generated some good will, but now it’s time to slide into visionary mode and lead.
Q: Any chance the remaining Pac-10 ADs and presidents declare UCLA and USC ineligible for conference championships in their final two seasons? I know the answer is ‘no’ but it sure would feed my vindictiveness. — @CenterFielder3
A: The Bruins and Trojans are contractually bound to the Pac-12 through the summer of 2024. The parties could negotiate an early out, but there’s no kicking USC and UCLA out of the conference without compensation. If it makes you feel better, I suspect the football teams at USC and UCLA will be met with hostility on the road this season.
Q: What are the chances of unequal revenue sharing? — @hmckee53
A: An imbalanced split of media revenue feels like it is very much on the table. Minimally, it’s being discussed. I suspect Washington, Arizona, Stanford, Cal and ASU feel entitled to larger than an equal share because of their TV markets. I also think Oregon believes its brand merits additional compensation. They all have leverage right now.
Q: Phil Knight’s impact on UO and Duck sports specifically are massive. But while we hope he lives forever for all of the positive things he does, have he and/or the university talked about what happens after he’s gone? Will the Ducks and their brand take a big step back? — @robbieparness
A: Phil and Penny Knight have given more than $1 billion to the University of Oregon over the years. In 2021, they stepped up with $500 million more for the Knight Campus. Insiders tell me there is already a plan in place for a massive endowment from Knight that would continue to subsidize UO’s athletic department. I’ll have more on this in the coming weeks.
Q: Will hot pretzels return to Autzen this year? They weren’t part of last season’s reduced menu, and I was surprised how much I missed them. I can’t wait to watch a game in person, forget about realignment and enjoy the little things that make game day special. — @WoodburnDuck
A: I am on the “hot pretzel” beat now. I loved this question. And you’re right, it’s the little things that make a college football Saturday. If Autzen Stadium doesn’t bring the pretzels back, I will lead the crusade for their return.
Q: Amazon’s relationship with CBS/Paramount+ is intriguing. There’s a possible avenue to network-TV there, which I assume is still important. Despite the social media nonsense (I HAVE SOURCES) why would there be any other movement before other outlets can get involved after Aug 4? — @SteinerLine36
A: ESPN and Fox are in an exclusive, 30-day negotiating period with the Pac-12 that ends Aug. 4. There’s incentive for ESPN, particularly, to come with a strong Tier 1 offer and get the primary deal done without bidding against others. But I’d expect the streaming part of this could take additional time because the Pac-12 would want to talk with Amazon, Apple, etc. and let the market weigh in.
Q: What about adding Hawaii as football only to sell last time slot of the night as part of package to ESPN and then adding Gonzaga as member for all other sports? Bay Area schools not go for Gonzaga? — @ReedJones
A: Football is driving 80-85 percent of the revenue in college athletics. Gonzaga is a great basketball brand, but it doesn’t move the needle for television without football involved. Hawaii has only 445,000 television households in its market. That makes UH a long shot. That late college football TV window is probably more likely to go to a Pac-12 program in a much larger TV market kicking off at 7 p.m. or 7:30 p.m.
Q: Is there a trickle-down effect for FCS football when the FBS completely changes? Also what sport other than football gets the biggest change due to realignment? — @TylerHergert
A: I spoke to a number of Big Sky Conference sources who tell me they’re not worried… for now. There will always be a need among FBS members for lucrative payday football games. The FCS members are focused on ensuring they continue to receive revenue from the NCAA Tournament. As long as they keep access to the college basketball tournaments and that TV money, the FCS members should be OK.
Q: If the Pac-12 expands, how important is getting into the Central Time Zone? Or is it more important to lock down California? — @RoaringForkDvl
A: I took a deep dive on why television markets matter a couple of weeks ago. If you try to think like a TV executive, the strategy makes sense. ESPN needs content in the Pacific Time Zone. But if a Mountain or Central Time Zone university can add value to a TV contract, they become important.
Next Friday is Pac-12 Media Day.
I'll be on the scene in Los Angeles for a big chunk of the week. My goal is to make you smarter and elevate the conversations you’re having with friends, neighbors and family. If you’re looking for sourced, in-depth reporting and commentary… you’re in the right place. Thanks for being here. Have a great weekend.
It’s funny they think raiding the Big12 is even an option. Sure, the B1G and SEC could if there was anyone else they wanted. No one’s leaving the Big12 for the PAC or ACC though. [Reply]
Originally Posted by RustShack:
It’s funny they think raiding the Big12 is even an option. Sure, the B1G and SEC could if there was anyone else they wanted. No one’s leaving the Big12 for the PAC or ACC though.
Pac 12 is AIDS.
They just lost their top two. No one cares about college sports in their largest remaining TV markets. At least 3 of the schools (Stanford, Oregon and UW) want out. [Reply]
Originally Posted by RustShack:
It’s funny they think raiding the Big12 is even an option. Sure, the B1G and SEC could if there was anyone else they wanted. No one’s leaving the Big12 for the PAC or ACC though.
Why not? The Big 12 has to carry like 4-5 sacks of shit schools around. [Reply]
Originally Posted by BWillie:
Why not? The Big 12 has to carry like 4-5 sacks of shit schools around.
Outside of Kansas, the bottom of the Big12 is better than any conference. They are the most competitive league top to bottom and have been for awhile. The Big12’s problem is it doesn’t have Alabama or Ohio State, because the media only cares about the top school(s).
The Big12 had the benefit of being poached last year, and were able to bring in the best available. The Big12 also benefits from people actually watching their games unlike most of the PAC. The PAC has been the worst conference for awhile, and losing USC and UCLA days before entering media right negotiations isn’t going to make it better. [Reply]
The PAC wanted to merge with the Big12 and the Big12 rejected just days ago. How can anyone think the PAC is better? Fox has no interest in negotiating with the PAC, but their head honcho went out of his way to congratulate the new Big12 commissioner and said he can’t wait to work with him. There’s also rumors of CBS and Amazon wanting the Big12. Hell there’s rumors ESPN wants to over pay for the Big12 network(converting the LHN) just to get Oklahoma and Texas to the SEC earlier.
Yet there’s been no rumors of interest in the PAC so far. Just that Fox has no interest and ESPN is lowballing them. [Reply]