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.

[WilliamTheIrish]

Well shit, now I see kstater beat me to it.
Posted via Mobile Device

[kstater]

Originally Posted by WilliamTheIrish

Well shit, now I see kstater beat me to it.
Posted via Mobile Device

It's that extra pep in my step I've had the last week.

[Titty Meat]

None of ya'llz is gonna talk about midnight madness?

[Buck]

Holy shit balls. 22 team conference.

http://aol.sportingnews.com/ncaa-foo...ootball-merger

Conference USA, Mountain West announce football merger

Conference USA and the Mountain West Conference announced Friday that they have agreed to consolidate their football programs into one association.

There are currently 12 C-USA members and 10 football-playing members of the MWC.

“The role of a conference is to provide its members with the best possible environment in which to conduct their intercollegiate athletics programs,” said MWC commissioner Craig Thompson. “Rather than await changes in membership due to realignment, it became clear the best way to serve our institutions was to pursue an original concept. The Mountain West and C-USA share a number of similarities, and the creative merger of our football assets firmly positions our respective members for the future.”

Rest assured, both leagues will be impacted by realignment. There are multiple media reports that Boise State of the MWC will be extended an invitation to join the Big East. Central Florida, in C-USA, is also expected to get a call from the Big East.

With TCU playing its final year in the Mountain West, the MWC and C-USA are near losing their most high profile programs.

UNLV president and Mountain West board of directors chair Neal Smatresk said: “In an era of uncertainty in intercollegiate athletics, this collaborative partnership with C-USA lends stability and credibility to our collective football enterprise. We are excited about the prospect of having teams in five time zones and the many possibilities created by this extremely bold and proactive step.”

In its current lineup, the two leagues combine to have a presence in 16 states. C-USA has television partnerships with Fox Sports and CBS Sports, as well as ESPN for its championship game. The MWC has partnerships with CBS Sports and Comcast/NBC Universal.

The two would operate independently, but there would be cross-conference games. The winners of each side would play in a conference championship game.

[Al Bundy]

22 team conference.. football. Will be interesting to see those matchups.

[big nasty kcnut]

The shit just got real.

[Al Bundy]

UCF vs UNLV... I could see the 2 schools I attended play.

[kstater]

Originally Posted by big nasty kcnut

The shit just got real.

Not really.

Squawk

[Frazod]

Originally Posted by WilliamTheIrish

That's not true. The Texas game is still weeks away.
Posted via Mobile Device

Shit, you guys beat Texas all the time. Missouri, not so much.

[kstater]

Originally Posted by frazod

Shit, you guys beat Texas all the time. Missouri, not so much.

Snyder is 14-5 versus Missouri. Including 13 in a row.'


I think Pinkel is 5-5.

[KC_Connection]

Cool, a super mega conference.

[kstater]

'Aint no seats.

http://espn.go.com/college-football/...dule-full-2018

[mikeyis4dcats.]

Originally Posted by Saulbadguy

I'm curious as to how many MU fans that have actively posted in this thread go to the games? Not trying to start an argument, I just wonder how many of them would consider themselves "regulars" to Faurot Field.

I've probably been to more games there than most of these guys....

[KChiefs1]

Alabama would support adding Missouri if those Tigers, not Auburn, play in the East

Jon Solomon -- The Birmingham News 10/15/2011 5:34 AM

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- Nothing's simple about the SEC possibly adding Missouri. As inevitable as Texas A&M to the SEC felt, Missouri to the SEC doesn't feel that way, although the wedding could still very well happen if a proposal happens.

Missouri remains favored by the majority of SEC presidents and chancellors as the 14th member, four sources familiar with their discussions told The Birmingham News this week. One major sticking point is which division Missouri would play football in, according to the sources.

Alabama, which resides in the SEC minority of wanting No. 14 from the East Coast, would support Missouri if it joined the SEC East, not the West, multiple sources said. According to the sources, Alabama has two objectives: Keep its annual cross-division rivalry game against Tennessee, and not watch Auburn move to the East and possibly grow its recruiting presence in talent-rich Florida and Georgia.

Auburn is interested in moving to the East but if staying in the West and Missouri joining the East were necessary for expansion, Auburn likely would not stand in the way, according to a source.

Memo to Missouri: Get used to this type of pettiness in the SEC, where even the tiniest of potential football recruiting advantages becomes dissected.

As strange as Missouri in the East sounds, conferences usually fail in geography class. Louisiana Tech currently plays in a league with Hawaii. Vanderbilt is in the East and Auburn is in the West in the SEC. The Mountain West and Conference USA announced a 22-team merged football league spanning 16 states and five time zones. The Big East might invite Boise State, for crying out loud.

Missouri in the East would allow Alabama to continue playing Tennessee every year. It would also keep the league's six traditional football powers divided equally (Alabama, Auburn and LSU in the West; Florida, Georgia and Tennessee in the East).

However, there is a fairly significant gap in football pedigree between divisions depending on whether Missouri or Auburn plays in the East, assuming Texas A&M goes to the West.

Texas A&M's all-time winning percentage would rank seventh in the SEC, well behind the traditional powers and slightly ahead of Arkansas. Missouri would rank 10th, ahead of only Kentucky, South Carolina, Vanderbilt and Mississippi State.

If Missouri plays in the East, the West would have six of the SEC's top nine winning-percentage leaders. The West would be decidedly better than the East in all-time winning percentage (.605 to .573), bowl winning percentage (.530 to .500) and SEC titles (46 to 35).

That disparity gets reduced with Auburn in the East. The West's advantage in all-time winning percentage would be lower (.592 to .585), and the East would have the edge in bowl winning percentage (.529 to .506) and SEC titles (42 to 39).

Some SEC presidents have concerns about the cost of Missouri's Big 12 exit fees and potential litigation, sources said, but the legal worries have been tempered since the Big 12 righted itself.

There's also the issue of ego, which can't be overlooked. Last week, The Associated Press quoted an anonymous Missouri official as saying the school preferred the Big Ten but now hopes to join the SEC because "that's what's left."

At least one SEC president who's skeptical of Missouri brought up the story during the SEC presidents' conference call this week, sources said, and the presidents were quickly told that's a minority view by Missouri officials.

Somewhat lost in the public discussion about expansion is travel for athletes, who are supposedly students first. Expansion doesn't affect football players on chartered weekend flights, but it better be a consideration for non-revenue sports given the remoteness of so many SEC campuses. Trips to Texas A&M and Missouri mean either more travel time or more travel costs.

Only one SEC school is within 500 miles of Texas A&M and just four are within 500 miles of Missouri. The SEC should place a percentage of any new TV money into a fund to assist non-revenue sports cover travel costs and take that decision -- should we buy out our football coach or charter our volleyball team on a long trip? -- out of schools' hands.

Missouri remains the SEC's focus. Where to unleash what would be the SEC's third set of Tigers -- that's one of the biggest questions.

Write Jon at jsolomon@bhamnews.com. Follow him at twitter.com/jonsol.

www.al.com

[Saul Good]

ESPN reporting that the Big East will invite 4 more teams.