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.

[mikeyis4dcats.]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

It took a day and got resolved.

Near as I can tell, it didn't involve the United States Senate or contradicting public statements by key members of the respective Universities.

You fellas really should just bow out right now - the XII is a ****ing mess. Maybe you can come back in 2 years and show how awesome it is and how great things are without us, but you folks are trying to prop up a 2-legged stool at this very moment.

WVU was the one who "IT'S PATTERSON!'D" themselves. The Big 12 didn't announce a press conference...

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by mikeyis4dcats.

WVU was the one who "IT'S PATTERSON!'D" themselves. The Big 12 didn't announce a press conference...

No, they just decided to let cronyism **** up an agreement the XII had reached when Mitch McConnell called his old Senate buddy and tried to leverage his school into the conference.

It's screwed up any way you stack it.

[Saul Good]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

No, they just decided to let cronyism **** up an agreement the XII had reached when Mitch McConnell called his old Senate buddy and tried to leverage his school into the conference.

It's screwed up any way you stack it.

Good luck convincing a KU fan that shady backroom deals are a bad thing.

[Frazod]

Originally Posted by Pants

No, you're not. We just laugh at you because you never got into one, much less won one.

And we laugh right back at you knowing your "crowning achievement" *snicker* was an overblown joke.

[Pants]

Originally Posted by Saul Good

Good luck convincing a KU fan that shady backroom deals are a bad thing.

What shady backroom deal is taking place now? Are you talking about two Senators trying to speak up on behalf of the schools they're connected to?

[Pants]

Originally Posted by frazod

And we laugh right back at you knowing your "crowning achievement" *snicker* was an overblown joke.

That's fine. You can laugh in your bitterness all you want, it doesn't change the fact that we have that trophy. Just don't go around saying that you've been assured by all these beaker fans that winning a BCS bowl game once makes you a truly great powerhouse.

[Frazod]

Originally Posted by Pants

That's fine. You can laugh in your bitterness all you want, it doesn't change the fact that we have that trophy. Just don't go around saying that you've been assured by all these beaker fans that winning a BCS bowl game once makes you a truly great powerhouse.

What? You mean backing into a BCS game because you didn't beat anybody worth a shit all year long isn't a mark of greatness? It's so confusing following beaker logic.

[Saul Good]

Originally Posted by Pants

What shady backroom deal is taking place now? Are you talking about two Senators trying to speak up on behalf of the schools they're connected to?

The WV senator is calling for an investigation. He seems to think something underhanded is happening.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Pants

What shady backroom deal is taking place now? Are you talking about two Senators trying to speak up on behalf of the schools they're connected to?

You mean the one where one Senator called the President of a major university who he just happened to be old Senate buddies with and tried to get him to essentially extort the XII into changing a previously agreed upon position?

That one?

It's not like McConnel issued a press-release here touting the advantages of Louisville. He called his old Senate pal, went under the radard and tried to get him to strongarm the conference into ****ing over an entire state.

Yeah, I'd say that qualifies as a shady backroom deal.

Then again, Saul makes a valid point. I guess it doesn't count if someone doesn't end up with some stolen workout equipment in the deal - ammirite?

[mikeyis4dcats.]

You are all putting an awful lot of trust in the media. None of us were in the room or on the phone.

[Saul Good]

Originally Posted by Pants

That's fine. You can laugh in your bitterness all you want, it doesn't change the fact that we have that trophy. Just don't go around saying that you've been assured by all these beaker fans that winning a BCS bowl game once makes you a truly great powerhouse.

In a few years, you can show that trophy to your non-AQ conferencemates. It will serve as a reminder of how you got there and why its your own fault.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by mikeyis4dcats.

You are all putting an awful lot of trust in the media. None of us were in the room or on the phone.

Yet you're certain that MU signed a commitment to the XII last season after Nebraska and Colorado left, eh? I suppose you were in the room that time, right?

Oh wait, that was Bowen Loftin, and he actually expressly stated that Missouri refused to commit to anything.

You're not very good at this.

[mikeyis4dcats.]

Why are you all suddenly believing the media knows the whole story and reports the truth? If that was the case MU left for B1G last year and BYU is in the Big 12. And Jay Nixon singlehandedly pushed MU into the SEC.....sounds a lot like a certain senator.

But don't let your agenda steer your perception....

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by mikeyis4dcats.

Why are you all suddenly believing the media knows the whole story and reports the truth? If that was the case MU left for B1G last year and BYU is in the Big 12. And Jay Nixon singlehandedly pushed MU into the SEC.....sounds a lot like a certain senator.

But don't let your agenda steer your perception....

Because there are actual Senators that are calling for hearings to corroborate said reports. There were actual scheduled press-conferences cancelled that further corroborate same.

As opposed to KK, who pretty much just makes shit up as he goes and changes it day to day.

The old school media rules were you try to get 3 sources on a story. Those have gone out the window for the media, but it's still a pretty sound rule. We have a widely reported story, a cancelled press conference and a US Senator calling for an investigation; yeah, I'd say that qualifies as 3 solid sources.

But hey, don't let your idiocy steer your argument.

[mikeyis4dcats.]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Yet you're certain that MU signed a commitment to the XII last season after Nebraska and Colorado left, eh? I suppose you were in the room that time, right?

Oh wait, that was Bowen Loftin, and he actually expressly stated that Missouri refused to commit to anything.

You're not very good at this.

MU has publicly and REPEATEDLY said since CU and NU left that they were proud and happy members of the Big 12.

And I haven't seen ANYTHING that explicitly stated MU refused anything, just that 3 schools had reservations.