There is a serious effort being made, led by Missouri chancellor Brady Deaton, to try to save the Big 12, according to a high-placed administrator at a Big 12 school.
It will either be the Big 12's Hail Mary or its last gasp.
The administrator said Deaton, the head of the Big 12's five-member expansion committee, is trying to get everyone back to the table to try to see if the Big 12 can work out its differences.
A regent at another Big 12 school said he he was optimistic the conference could heal its problems.
Oklahoma State mega booster Boone Pickens was quoted by The Oklahoman saying Pickens had called Texas Gov. Rick Perry, a former yell leader at A&M, to try and fix the Big 12.
But Texas A&M spokesman Jason Cook released a statement to Orangebloods.com that "Texas A&M has made our intentions perfectly clear. We do not intend to be a member of the Big 12 past this season."
The question then becomes if Texas, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State can live together in a nine-member Big 12?
And The Oklahoman quotes an unnamed, high-ranking Big 12 source as saying Oklahoma has a list of demands to hold the Big 12 together, including replacing commissioner Dan Beebe and for Texas to make some concessions as it pertains to the Longhorn Network.
The newspaper quotes sources saying OU was angered by ESPN getting a waiver from Fox to show a second game on the Longhorn Network and surprising the rest of the conference with the news.
The sources also tell the Oklahoman OU was upset when ESPN vowed to show high school highlights even after it was deemed impermissible by the NCAA to show high school games on LHN.
In general, the sources tell The Oklahoman, the Big 12 has a big trust problem that has to be rectified.
The Oklahoman also quotes a source saying Dan Beebe only serves one school - Texas.
The newspaper reports, ironically, Texas supported Jack Swarbrick as commissioner of the Big 12 and OU supported Beebe when Beebe was awarded the job as leader of the Big 12. Swarbrick is now the athletic director at Notre Dame.
Sources across the Big 12 confirm to Orangebloods.com that there is definitely a movement to try to save the Big 12 led by Deaton that may involve some radical proposals.
We will have more details as they become available.
A high-ranking official at a Big 12 school said, "The Big 12 is going to stay intact except for Texas A&M."
We will see if that's wishful thinking and the Big 12's Hail Mary - one year after a similar rescue attempt was successful - or if it's the Big 12's last gasp.
Stay tuned.
This post was edited on 9/20 4:04 PM by ChipBrown
Chip Brown
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