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 mikeyis4dcats.:
You guys are the ones who seem to think you're too good for the rest of us in the Big 12....
I'm just saying, given the choices, it's no surprise MU-ISU got left out of tv.
In fairness, I'm pretty sure Mike Slive has Kirk Schulz's number as well.
It would seem that MU isn't the only one that thinks the Tigers have a bit of a leg up on the EPAWS.
But again - congrats on getting a couple more drops of blood out of Grandpa Snyder's corpse. It should keep you guys going when you hit the lean seasons here in about 3 years. [Reply]
Originally Posted by mikeyis4dcats.:
You guys are the ones who seem to think you're too good for the rest of us in the Big 12....
I'm just saying, given the choices, it's no surprise MU-ISU got left out of tv.
No, we're the ones hoping that there's an opportunity to unsubscribe from LHC, which any sensible university would do. Otherwise, we'll, like the rest of the chumps, continue suckling. [Reply]
The WVU tweeters..Blueandgold or whatever it is, seem to think that Mizzou is staying, not sure if they have any sources, or if they are just wishful thinking because they want the spot in the SEC. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DeezNutz:
No, we're the ones hoping that there's an opportunity to unsubscribe from LHC, which any sensible university would do. Otherwise, we'll, like the rest of the chumps, continue suckling.
yeah, that's what the Big10 fiasco was about too, right? [Reply]
Originally Posted by :
"John Q. Fan, he can get in the car and drive to Big 12 games. Besides, Missouri is Midwestern, not Southern."
What Neinas should have said is that John Q. Mizzou Fan can get in the car and drive to Ames, Manhattan and Lawrence. Which interestingly enough, are the three worst road trips in the conference.
Otherwise, fan travel is pretty similar.
Fayetteville is closer than Lincoln was.
Oxford, Nashville and Lexington are similar distances from Columbia as Norman and Stillwater.
The entire SEC, sans Florida and SC are closer than all of the B12 schools in Texas.
I think Neinas is underestimating the Mizzou fanbase. If I were a Tigers fan, I'd drive 600 miles to see Mizzou play in Tuscaloosa or Knoxville before driving 300 to see them play in Ames. [Reply]
Originally Posted by mikeyis4dcats.:
yeah, that's what the Big10 fiasco was about too, right?
To get away from an unstable and Texas-centric conference? Yeah. LHC = Longhorn Cack.
The current LHN just perpetuates the problem and ensures that all this bullshit will resurface in the future the first time another university has the opportunity to get the **** out of this mess. [Reply]
