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 alnorth:
The networks have already basically told the Big 12 that if TA&M were to be replaced with BYU, they would have no problem with that at all. Central and East Missouri is not a bad market, but you have no national following, at all. OU, Texas, and a school like BYU does. (Kansas in basketball, but not football) They can sell those teams outside the midwest.
So yeah, Mizzou is replaceable.
"Basically", huh? Where did you read that?
No one is comparing Mizzou to OU or Texas, so not sure what the point of that comment was for, but okay.
And again, your comments have all been to support why you think they will maintain the current contracts, when the comment you originally got your panties in a bunch about was when I suggested replacing A&M and Mizzou with rag tag teams like Louisville to get to 12 would not call for increasing tier 1 and 2 contracts meaningfully so as not to dilute the current teams. You've danced around this but have yet to provide any compelling reasons for this illogical viewpoint. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DeezNutz:
I'd be thrilled to sit back and let fans of other schools worry about how easily replaceable Missouri is or is not to a conference...after the institution leaves.
Deuces (I hope).
Exactly.
And that's why I've decided that most of the Nubs fans are pretty much pricks. They sit around and get their rocks off on the struggles of the XII.
I don't really give a good god damn what happens to this conference if Mizzou leaves it. If they make more money without us than they would have with us - bully for them.
I only care about Mizzou. I'm not going to sit around and say "I hope we can bring KU along" or any of that mealy-mouthed crap. What I want to do is see Mizzou go to a stable program that will help this University, this community and our athletic programs take a step forward. That's it and that's all.
The XII can make as much money as it wants after we're gone, but I'm still going to be happier where we land. [Reply]
Originally Posted by |Zach|:
But you didn't answer my question. Who exactly to you replace Missouri with. TV markets....solid programs.
I am not saying Missouri is a juggernaut that will bring the conference down but you are saying...they are easily replaced. Ok. With who?
I'm actually going to backtrack and admit I'm wrong. I don't know why I thought Mizzou wasn't important, probably something I mis-read a while ago. Missouri is more important than I gave them credit for.
The Big 12 can probably replace Texas A&M and still command close to SEC/PAC12 money in 2016 when tier 1 comes up. They probably can not also lose Mizzou without taking some kind of a hit. [Reply]
And that's why I've decided that most of the Nubs fans are pretty much pricks. They sit around and get their rocks off on the struggles of the XII.
I don't really give a good god damn what happens to this conference if Mizzou leaves it. If they make more money without us than they would have with us - bully for them.
I only care about Mizzou. I'm not going to sit around and say "I hope we can bring KU along" or any of that mealy-mouthed crap. What I want to do is see Mizzou go to a stable program that will help this University, this community and our athletic programs take a step forward. That's it and that's all.
The XII can make as much money as it wants after we're gone, but I'm still going to be happier where we land.
Preach on. While I certainly wouldn't begrudge anyone else success, I would be lying if I said that I wouldn't laugh just a bit when the next round of Big East/Mountain West rumors cause urine to trickle all over the midwest. [Reply]
If I were a Missouri fan I'm not sure I would wish to join the SEC. I'm going from being the fourth or fifth best team in the Big XII to being the tenth or eleventh best team in the SEC but perhaps its time for Missouri to go back to its natural level which is bad to mediocre instead mediocre to good. Lets not forget that this is now the golden age of Missouri football. [Reply]
Originally Posted by bandwagonjumper:
If I were a Missouri fan I'm not sure I would wish to join the SEC. I'm going from being the fourth or fifth best team in the Big XII to being the tenth or eleventh best team in the SEC but perhaps its time for Missouri to go back to its natural level which is bad to mediocre instead mediocre to good. Lets not forget that this is now the golden age of Missouri football.
And that's why I've decided that most of the Nubs fans are pretty much pricks. They sit around and get their rocks off on the struggles of the XII.
I don't really give a good god damn what happens to this conference if Mizzou leaves it. If they make more money without us than they would have with us - bully for them.
I only care about Mizzou. I'm not going to sit around and say "I hope we can bring KU along" or any of that mealy-mouthed crap. What I want to do is see Mizzou go to a stable program that will help this University, this community and our athletic programs take a step forward. That's it and that's all.
The XII can make as much money as it wants after we're gone, but I'm still going to be happier where we land.
Amen brother. I care about what happens to Mizzou. Whether the Big XII goes belly up, or becomes the richest conference in the country, it does not really matter to me. Especially considering that no matter how "stable" the Big XII becomes, it only takes someone calling on UT or OU to start the implosion again. [Reply]
