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.
Tier 1 and 2 revenue applies to conference TV contracts only. If UT left they could use LHN to air their games and increase the size and scope of the network, similar to Notre Dame's contract with NBC. They wouldn't care about potential Tier 1 and 2 losses because they would make it up with their own contract. [Reply]
I think theoretically the Big XII could be stable for 10 more years for all anyone knows. But at the same time, it wasn't two about weeks ago that the teams driving the "stability" of the conference would've jumped ship for another conference had the other conferences not found them arrogant beyond belief. So that's a real fine line to walk. [Reply]
I for one welcome our new Southern football overlords, but so help me God, if there ever comes a day when you can only find sweet tea at a Missouri restaurant, someone will burn. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Dr. Gigglepants:
I for one welcome our new Southern football overlords, but so help me God, if there ever comes a day when you can only find sweet tea at a Missouri restaurant, someone will burn.
Originally Posted by eazyb81:
SEC teams made $18.5MM in tier 1 and 2 football revenue last year, and the Big 12 will make around $14MM with the new deal.
Of course this assumes that the SEC only gets equal payouts for A&M and Mizzou instead of renegotiating the entire contracts like Slive has said they have the legal power to do.
Too bad your information is incorrect.
Originally Posted by :
The revenue-sharing plan approved Sunday by the Big 12 board of directors -- a move designed to keep Missouri and other potential stray members in the fold -- would give each school an estimated $20 million in June.
And that figure is expected to grow by 2013 when the league's new 13-year contract with Fox Sports kicks in, according to two people with knowledge of the deal and ties to the Big 12. They spoke only on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the revenue-sharing plan.
University of Missouri Chancellor Brady Deaton should do everything possible to find an avenue from which to exit the Big 12.
The University of Missouri Board of Curators unanimously voted Tuesday to grant Deaton the power to explore conference alignment options. Deaton should use that power to do everything possible to lead his school to a conference with a more stable long-term future.
No matter how comfortable the flight was, passengers on the Hindenburg eventually started scrambling to find parachutes once the airship went up in flames. Deaton undoubtedly needs to find the Tigers a parachute as quickly as possible before the Big 12 is swallowed by flames of a burnt orange hue.
The Big 12's imminent collapse can be traced directly to the University of Texas' brief summer flirtation with the Pac-10 (soon to be named the Pac-12) after Colorado and Nebraska both agreed to leave the Big 12 last year. In order to woo Texas into staying in the conference, the Big 12 allowed Texas to keep the rights to operate its own local television station.
Acquiescing to Texas' television demands was intended as a panacea for the Big 12's woes, but the cure was short-lived. Texas' television rights delivered a kiss of death to the conference in January, when the university reached a 20-year deal with ESPN to launch a 24-hour, year-round television network of UT sports coverage.
The monolithic presence of the Longhorn Network opened Pandora's Box, and all hell broke loose in the conference as the start of college football season approached. Texas A&M entered a bizarre courtship with the SEC that ended in the Aggies' exodus from the Big 12.
With the Big 12 reduced to nine teams, the Pac-10 attempted to lure Texas, Oklahoma, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State to officially create college sports' first 16-team super-conference. The deal fell apart quickly, with the Pac-12 announcing it was no longer planning on expanding.
All eyes then fell on the University of Missouri and the possibility of the Tigers becoming the SEC's 14th team. At a September 22 press conference, Deaton announced the University was not leaving the Big 12, but was reluctant to offer any long-term commitment to the conference.
"Our primary responsibility is to our home institution," Deaton said. "The University of Missouri is going to continue to work with what is best for the University of Missouri."
Deaton was meticulously careful throughout the press conference to avoid expressing any explicit commitment to the Big 12. The unspoken message was that Missouri is staying with the Big 12, but only until a better opportunity arises.
The outcome of Tuesday's board of curators meeting makes Missouri's departure even more likely. Deaton resigned as the chairman of the Big 12's board of directors Tuesday to avoid a potential conflict of interest. Missouri is poised to deal a deathblow to the Big 12, and the conference deserves it.
The Big 12 bent over backwards to keep Texas last summer, and in doing so alienated the rest of the conference by allowing conditions that led to the Longhorn Network's creation. Fear of the Longhorn Network creating a recruiting and revenue advantage for Texas spurred Texas A&M to defect to the SEC, and Missouri is in position to follow A&M out of the Big 12.
From a football standpoint, Missouri wouldn't be as bad of a fit in the SEC as fans and analysts seem to think. The Tigers' run defense is stellar but the secondary struggles to contain Big 12 spread attacks. Missouri's defense would be better suited for playing in the SEC, where running is more of a priority and passing doesn't feature as many four- and five-wide formations.
On offense, coordinator David Yost would have to change some aspects of the playbook, especially when he got near the goal line. However, the emergence of running back Henry Josey and the running skills of quarterback James Franklin will make such an offensive transition very smooth. The Tigers would play much tougher opponents than normal, but would remain competitive.
In terms of basketball, Missouri would also easily survive a transition to the SEC. The level of competition in basketball in the SEC is nowhere near as tough as it is in the Big 12, and even the Tigers, who have faced turmoil in the basketball offseason, could easily compete for a SEC title.
Missouri could move to the SEC and remain competitive in both major revenue-producing sports. The Tigers don't need to fear being crushed if they leave the Big 12.
For a conference with a future currently contingent on Missouri's membership, the Big 12 hasn't placed anywhere near as much of a priority on keeping Missouri as it did Texas last year.
Columbia Daily Tribune reporter Dave Matter reported Tuesday the University of Missouri's Homecoming game against Iowa State will not be televised. The Big 12 offered to broadcast the game at either 11 a.m. or 6 p.m. on Fox College Sports, but Missouri declined in favor of starting at the traditional 1 p.m. start time, according to Matter.
The Big 12's inability to find room for Missouri's Homecoming game on the national Fox Sports Net instead of the regional Fox College Sports is inexplicable. The University of Missouri created the tradition of Homecoming, and is celebrating its 100th-ever Homecoming this year.
At such a sensitive time when Missouri holds the key to the entire Big 12's future, a conference that valued Missouri's membership would have done everything possible to accommodate such an enormous part of the school's history.
Interim Big 12 Commissioner Chuck Neinas has said the Big 12 wants to keep Missouri, but actions speak louder than words. If the Big 12 cannot even be bothered to televise the 100th anniversary of Missouri's first Homecoming, the conference doesn't want the Tigers' membership badly enough for Missouri to justify staying despite the turmoil.
The Big 12's failure to televise the 100th anniversary of Missouri's first Homecoming is exactly what Missouri football coach Gary Pinkel called the entire Big 12 realignment situation: embarrassing.
To stay in the Big 12 is to submit to embarrassment by association with a conference that cannot get its affairs in order. Deaton knows his school is better than that. It is time for Missouri to find a new conference. [Reply]
A source with direct knowledge of the Big 12's expansion plans told ESPN.com's Andy Katz that Missouri's indecision has put the expansion committee and the conference in a tough position as it waits to see how many teams it will seek to add to the conference.
The source said the five-person expansion committee expects to have a second conference call sometime within a week. The committee still doesn't know if Deaton will recuse himself since he's one of the five members of the committee with Kansas State president Kirk Schulz, the chair, as well as Oklahoma State president Burns Hargis, Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione and Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds.
The source said that the top choices remain BYU, Louisville, West Virginia and TCU, but a new school was discussed recently that hasn't been mentioned publicly: Tulane out of Conference USA. The source said the Big 12 has been contacted by a number of other schools about possible inclusion, as well.
The source said that Tulane would become a viable option for the Big 12 if it were to grab four schools to beef up the membership to 12, in a situation where BYU decides it doesn't want to leave its football independence or its new tie to the WCC in all other sports. Tulane is interesting to the Big 12 because of its location in New Orleans and in a state, Louisiana, where the Big 12 is absent, as well as the school's renewed commitment to sports and facilities after Hurricane Katrina.
A source with knowledge of Tulane's situation told ESPN.com that the Green Wave have privately been making overtures to the Big East and Big 12 about possible membership but didn't want to upset Conference USA as that league looks to form a partnership with the Mountain West.
Tulane is also a member of the Association of American Universities -- the only AAU member listed as a possible addition. The prestigious AAU tag is something that the SEC has looked at as an important criterion for expansion as evidenced by the league promoting Texas A&M as one of three AAU members in the SEC in a news release announcing the Aggies' addition. Florida and Vanderbilt are the other two in the SEC.
A Missouri addition would make four for the SEC, and take away one from the Big 12. The Big 12 would be down to three AAU schools after the departure of Texas A&M, and down to two (Texas and Iowa State) if Missouri leaves.
The source cited the improved academics at TCU and Louisville as important aspects to possible inclusion in the Big 12.
University of Oklahoma president David Boren told ESPN.com Wednesday he believes it's "50-50" Missouri leaves the Big 12 for the SEC.
"We'll be fine either way," said Boren, reaffirming Oklahoma's position of committing to the Big 12.
Asked about a timetable for adding new members to the Big 12, Boren said it could happen in a "week to 10 days."
"There are 3 or 4 good choices out there," he said. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Wickedson:
Why are you so ****ing stupid all the time?
The argument has nothing to do with football vs basketball.
MU fans are sitting around crying about "conference stability" and thats what they want. Do I blame them? no...How do you get conference stability?
By standing with your conference!
MU is doing exactly what they are claiming is what they are running from.
Bill Self knows that. All he's doing is calling MU out on it.
He's a Champion for a reason.
MU should take some notes.
I am sure once I read further someone will have already called you out on this but this is the biggest POS post I have seen you post in a while.
Bill Self is acting like a spurned girlfriend...and he's pissed that for once he isn't in the drivers seat. Sounds like an ego that's getting stepped on.
If he isn't man enough to schedule MU as a non-conference then quit bitching. [Reply]
