Hot off the ... pixels ... from Dave Matter:
http://www.columbiatribune.com/weblo...ssouri-domino/
Is there a Missouri domino?
By Dave Matter
Posted June 9, 2010 at 9:27 p.m.
"There's no need for argument
There's no argument at all
And if you never hear from him
That just means he didn't call
Or vice versa
That depends on where ever you're at
And if you never hear from me
That just means I would rather not
Oh oh Domino
Roll me over Romeo, there you go"
— Van Morrison, "Domino"
That’s right, Van. The first domino might have been tipped. Some outlets are reporting, in one fashion or another, that Nebraska has been invited to the Big Ten Conference.
Or not. The Lincoln Journal Star indicates those reports might be premature. Bob Phares, chairman of Nebraska’s Board of Regents, told the newspaper: "First of all, there are several factual errors. No. 1, there’s been no vote by the board at all. No. 2, as I understand it, there are no invitations that are extended. You decide if you wish to make an application and then they react to your application."
On the heels of that comment, Nebraska issued a release taking some teeth out of the other reports.
"A report being circulated this afternoon among sports media stating that the University of Nebraska Board of Regents 'met informally' today and have 'agreed to move to the Big Ten' is not accurate. Members of the Board's executive committee met via conference call to discuss the agenda for Friday's meeting. Such meetings routinely take place prior to Board meetings. At its meeting on Friday, the Board will be briefed on UNL athletic conference alignment and consider a resolution. No action was taken during today's conference call, and none will be taken prior to Friday's meeting."
Meanwhile, Chris Dufresne of the Los Angeles Times reports that the Pac-10 Conference is poised to invite six members of the Big 12: Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State and Colorado.
If these reports are accurate, and the Big 12 as we know it is crumbling apart, what does that mean for Missouri? Here’s what I've gathered from various sources:
● I’m told Missouri Athletic Director Mike Alden has been calm during this potential storm. Some folks close to the athletic department are convinced he has an ace up his sleeve … even though all the Big Ten attention has been centered on Nebraska the last 48 hours. I’m told that the major players in Missouri athletics — starting at the top with Alden and football Coach Gary Pinkel — have taken a serious oath not to leak a single word of the school’s plans and any communications with the Big Ten. "Not to their family, their lawyers, friends. Nobody," one prominent booster told me. Frankly, the tight seal around this topic is rare for Missouri. Someone at the highest level of the state government made the comment to me on Wednesday that, "Is it just me, or is Missouri exercising rare discipline in keeping quiet on this topic?" I absolutely agreed. And as Joe Walljasper pointed out in his column on Wednesday, often the school talking the least is the one that generates the least media buzz. "Reporters tend to champion the causes of those who call them back," Joe wrote. "Journalism abhors a vacuum."
● What does all this mean? Interpret at your own risk. There are a lot of theories out there as to how many schools the Big Ten intends to add … the role Notre Dame plays in all of this … the Big Ten's genuine interest in Missouri and Rutgers ... . Some of those theories and leads I’m hearing contradict each other, so there’s a lot of smoke billowing through phone lines and laptops. I’ll be at the UM Board of Curators meetings Thursday and Friday hopefully to shed some light on Missouri's scenario.
● What about the Big 12? I learned through a league source that last Friday, two top executives from Fox made what was described as an impressive presentation to the league presidents in Kansas City, a multi-network TV deal that would involve Fox, Fox Sports Net and F/X. The deal was described as competitive with the Southeastern Conference’s current deal with ESPN, worth "nine-figures" with a lifespan of more than 10 years. The proposed deal was essentially Commissioner Dan Beebe’s last resort to salvage the conference, and after the meeting, I’m told there was a strong sense that the league would be preserved, depending primarily on Nebraska’s decision to stay or go. As of Wednesday morning there was still hope within the league that Nebraska Chancellor Harvey Perlman and Athletic Director Tom Osborne would favor a return to the Big 12 contingent on the new Fox deal, rather than accept an offer from the Big Ten.
