Big 10 Report: Conference Realignment

[Mr. Laz]

A source in St. Louis familiar with the situation told NewsCenter 16 Thursday afternoon that Missouri will leave the Big XII and soon join the Big 10. Other schools expected to follow the Tigers are Syracuse, Pitt, Rutgers and Nebraska.

Many have speculated that such an expansion would include Notre Dame but ND athletic director Jack Swarbrick told me today that the Irish prefer to stay independent in football and in the Big East for other sports. Swarbrick said maintaining football Independence is such a part of what Notre Dame is.

He went on to say the Big East is a great partner for the University in other sports.

"We do have to monitor what is going on," Swarbrick said. "There will be significant shifts. "Hopefully we can navigate them by keeping our football independent and keeping our Big East affiliation because that is what we care about."

The move of Syracuse, Pitt and Rutgers to the Big Ten from the Big East could categorically change the landscape of the Big East itself. Thus, what Swarbrick is referring to when stating the University must continue to monitor what is going on.

The interview with Swarbrick was done before the late afternoon announcement.

http://www.wndu.com/sports/headlines/92447574.html

[VonneMarie]

Originally Posted by KChiefs1

I watched it go by three times before posting to make sure I was reading it right...they've now taken it off. I think it had to be a typo because that would be HUGE NEWS not just a developing story.

It's still on ESPNews.

[Crush]

The NCAA tab on the ESPNews HD is still showing "According to reports, Nebraska and Missouri have been invited to join Big Ten, and Pac-10 is planning to invite Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Colorado."

[KChiefs1]

Originally Posted by Crush

The NCAA tab on the ESPNews HD is still showing "According to reports, Nebraska and Missouri have been invited to join Big Ten, and Pac-10 is planning to invite Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Colorado."

Glad someone else saw it, I was beginning to think I was crazy.

[TrebMaxx]

I just saw it on ESPNEWS. Said the Big 10 has invited NU and MU. Although I don't think it would happen, I wouldn't mind seeing the Big 10 ask KU, KSU and ISU to join the Big 10 too. That would give them a 16 team conference.

[KChiefs1]

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcont...aw.84150d.html

The sun still came up in the east Saturday here in the land of the Pacific-16 Conference.

Just seemed a lot hotter.

If I had to guess – or better yet, if I was to win $1,000 for being correct – whether my alma mater might be competing for the Big 12 or the Pac-16 or the Big "Whatever the Ten Might Become" conference title in 2015 ... I would go with the Pac-16.

But it's close. And that's somewhat of a reluctant call because I don't think dramatic alterations on the college landscape are likely to be a good thing.

I disregard most of the college rumors that rumble through any given off-season. If you kept track, probably 90 percent of the "This Team is Switching Conference" rumors prove to be untrue.

So I have mostly felt that Texas isn't going anywhere, especially given that the Longhorns are exploring ways to develop their own TV network within the Big 12 Conference.

But when the Website Orangebloods.com broke the story late in the week that the Pac-10 is considering passing out invitations to not just Colorado but the entire Big 12 South except Baylor (nobody likes to party with the Bears), this quickly became something that could not be easily dismissed.
And it's not all about Longhorns greed.

That's the funny thing about this story as it went national. Since Texas has become king of all college revenue producers, this has been cast as another example of the Longhorns seeking even greener pastures.

Well, athletic director DeLoss Dodds is not against making a buck – nor should he be – but I really think UT would be content to remain the big fish in the Big 12 pond. But the Longhorns just aren't certain the pond is going to remain fully stocked, if you will.

Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe went to the league meeting this week in pursuit of something close to assurances that Missouri and Nebraska aren't really serious about these Big 10 rumors.

He didn't get them. Or if he did, he certainly kept it quiet, which isn't exactly the way to play your hand when conferences around the country are seeking realignment or expansion in pursuit of those TV dollars.

So if you are Texas and you can't be sure that your conference is going to hold together – and you know that the Big 10 already has a bigger TV contract and an expanded Pac-10 could present you with the same – can you really do anything other than sift through the offers?

I don't begrudge athletes and coaches who seek maximum value for their services. The same goes for owners who want to turn a profit as long as they don't cast aside winning in exchange for those dollars.

And I'm even OK with the occasional sportswriter who stumbles upon a way to make an extra buck.

So it's impossible to sit here and tell Texas – or Missouri or Nebraska – that those extra millions that might be gained outside the Big 12 don't present a very reasonable exit strategy.

But there is one significant danger to all these teams, even the mighty Longhorns.

Far greater than rule differences and length of schedules, the two real dividing points between the college game and the pro game are tradition and money.

College football has more than a century of tradition. People cheer for schools that their grandparents attended. Most college players do not become pro athletes. They play for scholarships and pride, not next year's free agency.

Whenever lockouts or holdouts dominate the news in one of our professional leagues, I get lots of e-mails from people telling me, "This is why I only follow the college game; the pros are all about money."

Well, it's not exactly news that big money is at stake in college football. We all get somewhat surprised when we see coaches' salaries going through the roof ($4 million ... for Lane Kiffin?). It's even more mind-boggling when we see college presidents aggressively chasing dollars that will change the nature of century-old rivalries.

It's understandable that Texas doesn't play in the Southwest Conference any longer or that Nebraska no longer dominates the Big Eight. Change happens and sometimes for good reason.

But if fans reach the point with the college game where money has trumped tradition, where the Pac-16 or the Big 14 (up from 10) makes the Big 12 nothing more than a two-decade answer to a "Whatever Happened to..." question, then there's a real problem.

College sports can thrive in spite of all kinds of problems. An unhealthy level of cynicism on the part of the game's fans is not one of them.

[Crush]

Originally Posted by KChiefs1

Glad someone else saw it, I was beginning to think I was crazy.

You shouldn't trust me. I am just a figment of your imagination.

[irishjayhawk]

Well, count me as worried after being apathetic for a while. To a degree, I still am.

[-King-]

Originally Posted by Crush

You shouldn't trust me. I am just a figment of your imagination.

Posted via Mobile Device

[Saul Good]

So Lew Perkins plays hardball and lands the Orange Bowl over a Mizzou team who was more deserving. The Big XII does nothing.

Mizzou, pissed at the Big XII leaves for the Big 10 setting off a chain of events that leaves Kansas as a mid-major. Lew Perkins resigns in disgrace amid a barrage of scandals.

[OnTheWarpath15]

Just turned to ESPNNewsHD, and saw it under the NCAA tab.

The ticker is still reporting what I mentioned earlier.

Seems odd that they can't just run the same information.

[Frazod]

Originally Posted by Saul Good

So Lew Perkins plays hardball and lands the Orange Bowl over a Mizzou team who was more deserving. The Big XII does nothing.

Mizzou, pissed at the Big XII leaves for the Big 10 setting off a chain of events that leaves Kansas as a mid-major. Lew Perkins resigns in disgrace amid a barrage of scandals.

I like the way you think.

[Saul Good]

Originally Posted by frazod

I like the way you think.

I left off...Saul Good then grows a mustache just so that he can twirl it.

[Frazod]

Originally Posted by Saul Good

I left off...Saul Good then grows a mustache just so that he can twirl it.

[kcpasco]

Originally Posted by Saul Good

So Lew Perkins plays hardball and lands the Orange Bowl over a Mizzou team who was more deserving. The Big XII does nothing.

Mizzou, pissed at the Big XII leaves for the Big 10 setting off a chain of events that leaves Kansas as a mid-major. Lew Perkins resigns in disgrace amid a barrage of scandals.

That is Karma at its finest

[Spott]

Originally Posted by Saul Good

So Lew Perkins plays hardball and lands the Orange Bowl over a Mizzou team who was more deserving. The Big XII does nothing.

Mizzou, pissed at the Big XII leaves for the Big 10 setting off a chain of events that leaves Kansas as a mid-major. Lew Perkins resigns in disgrace amid a barrage of scandals.

You left out the part where KU had to take all the extra money they made from the Orange Bowl game to buyout Mangino's contract.