New Conference re-alignment thread

[Saulbadguy]

The old one has AIDS.

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.

Stay tuned.

[Mosbonian]

You know what is really fun......watching how all the speculation has changed so much in this thread.

It would be fun to have some stat geek actually plot the movement of the rumors of each school.

[SPchief]

Originally Posted by RustShack

Please Please Please Please pick us!

FYP

[ChiefsCountry]

Originally Posted by mnchiefsguy

Please, MU, KU, KSU are all better fits for the B1G than ISU. Of those four, MU is the best fit, and I would put KU a distant second, with KSU and ISU way behind both of them.

Iowa State is way better in academics than Kansas State. Not to mention its a better school than both Kansas and Nebraska. Only Texas, A&M, and Missouri are ahead of Iowa State in the B1G academically.

[HolyHandgernade]

Originally Posted by Mosbonian

You know what is really fun......watching how all the speculation has changed so much in this thread.

It would be fun to have some stat geek actually plot the movement of the rumors of each school.

The "Chatter Movement" Graph

[Bambi]

Lets do this!

[RustShack]

Originally Posted by mnchiefsguy

Please, MU, KU, KSU are all better fits for the B1G than ISU. Of those four, MU is the best fit, and I would put KU a distant second, with KSU and ISU way behind both of them.

Do tell. Do you even know what the B1G looks for?

[LiveSteam]

Originally Posted by RustShack

Do tell. Do you even know what the B1G looks for?

Not ISU

[DeezNutz]

Originally Posted by jAZ

But you make it into whatever you want. You have no idea what you are talking about.

You still haven't answered the question I've asked you twice: how are funds for research acquired?

Meanwhile, you're talking in circles and conflating points.

My point about the CIC and the tangible draw for schools affiliated with it stands on its own.

[LiveSteam]

Originally Posted by DeezNutz

You still haven't answered the question I've asked you twice: how are funds for research acquired?

GOV grants I think

[DeezNutz]

Originally Posted by ChiefsCountry

Iowa State is way better in academics than Kansas State. Not to mention its a better school than both Kansas and Nebraska. Only Texas, A&M, and Missouri are ahead of Iowa State in the B1G academically.

I would put ISU on par with KSU; these are very comparable institutions.

[HolyHandgernade]

Originally Posted by ChiefsCountry

Iowa State is way better in academics than Kansas State. Not to mention its a better school than both Kansas and Nebraska. Only Texas, A&M, and Missouri are ahead of Iowa State in the B1G academically.

Yes, but does ISU have a brand new billion dollar grant? Also, it isn't just about arbitrary college rankings, its also about brand recognition once you get past the relatively same athletics profile. You have to have something to sell, that's why these conferences have all this money to hand out. ISU has some of the best fans in the world, but the Cyclone brand just isn't that strong. Whether football or basketball, who gets excited to hear "the Cyclones are coming to town?"

[HolyHandgernade]

Originally Posted by LiveSteam

GOV grants I think

That's correct. Most grants are Federal grants. Almost all medical breakthroughs are done by universities through Federal research grants. The drug companies just capitalize on it. Federal Grant money is the true lifeblood of the top academic research schools. It dwarfs anything State BOR or sports affiliations give it.

[alnorth]

Originally Posted by HolyHandgernade

Yes, but Syracuse and Pitt had something that KU and KSU didn't: large TV markets. It wasn't likely those two schools were going to be without a spot at the dinner table. They could afford to keep a low profile.

I'm not saying Pitt and Syracuse aren't more desirable, I am saying that the lack of public talk out of a school is irrelevant, since there is almost never a good reason to reveal what you are doing and plenty of reasons not to.

[|Zach|]

Originally Posted by Wickedson

Lets do this!

Do what? I thought this wasn't happening AlwaysWrongenson.

[HolyHandgernade]

Originally Posted by alnorth

I'm not saying Pitt and Syracuse aren't more desirable, I am saying that the lack of public talk out of a school is irrelevant, since there is almost never a good reason to reveal what you are doing and plenty of reasons not to.

I'll buy that. Let me just say this, then. The KU statements about these realignments has been very low key and confident that KU will be OK when its all over. Maybe that's just painting a "brave face", but KSU and MU have basically taken the same stance, giving the "we hope the Big XII stays together, that is the best option" speech.