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.

[Predarat]

The Big12 is 605.

[jAZ]

A great post on one of the boards I frequent had the following to share. It's from a trusted poster with ties to the Pac-12 office.

• Oklahoma has an invite to Pac-12... OSU is not an automatic invite with the Sooners. OU realizes that OSU might only be a part of certain scenarios.
  
• If OU comes and Texas balks, Mizzou and Kansas come into play. OSU and Tech are fillers.
  
• There is some interest on a play for Rice as a 4th addition as this has been floated to UT. The Houston market and Rice's academics are intrugiuing as a partner for Texas.
  
• The Texas to the ACC stuff is nonsense and a negotiation ploy being floated out by UT. The Pac 12 is the only option being considered by the UT.
  
• Longhorn Network, it is no impediment as ESPN would gladly drop it in favor of more Pac 12-16 games in the current deal. Apparently it's a financial mess all around.
  
  
• The dream scenario for Larry Scott is Texas, Oklahoma, Mizzou and Kansas. Four huge schools with 2 big football and 2 big hoops traditions. 3 AAU members and 5 big new TV markets along with 3 other good, medium sized markets.
  
• Mizzou badly wants to be in the Big 10, but views themselves as more SEC compatitable with less travel there too.
  
• Mizzou has talked to Scott and KU would do anything to make it happen as they want to stay West.

[DeezNutz]

Originally Posted by jAZ

A great post on one of the boards I frequent had the following to share. It's from a trusted poster with ties to the Pac-12 office.

• Oklahoma has an invite to Pac-12... OSU is not an automatic invite with the Sooners. OU realizes that OSU might only be a part of certain scenarios.
  
• If OU comes and Texas balks, Mizzou and Kansas come into play. OSU and Tech are fillers.
  
• There is some interest on a play for Rice as a 4th addition as this has been floated to UT. The Houston market and Rice's academics are intrugiuing as a partner for Texas.
  
• The Texas to the ACC stuff is nonsense and a negotiation ploy being floated out by UT. The Pac 12 is the only option being considered by the UT.
  
• Longhorn Network, it is no impediment as ESPN would gladly drop it in favor of more Pac 12-16 games in the current deal. Apparently it's a financial mess all around.
  
  
• The dream scenario for Larry Scott is Texas, Oklahoma, Mizzou and Kansas. Four huge schools with 2 big football and 2 big hoops traditions. 3 AAU members and 5 big new TV markets along with 3 other good, medium sized markets.
  
• Mizzou badly wants to be in the Big 10, but views themselves as more SEC compatitable with less travel there too.
  
• Mizzou has talked to Scott and KU would do anything to make it happen as they want to stay West.

Yeah, this is complete bullshit. Rice? . Academics aren't a factor in this equation. Not in the slightest bit.

[Mr. Laz]

Pac-16

North
California
Stanford
Washington
Washington St.
Oregon
Oregon St. Kansas Missouri
South
USC
Arizona St.
Arizona
UCLA
Colorado
Utah Texas Oklahoma

[Pants]

Laz that makes no sense, lol.

I think it would be split up into East and West should it ever happen.

[jAZ]

Originally Posted by DeezNutz

Yeah, this is complete bullshit. Rice? . Academics aren't a factor in this equation. Not in the slightest bit.

It's not Rice on their own. It's Rice over Texas Tech if another Texas school is required to get UT into the Pac 12. And the direct quote includes "don't sleep on interest" and "in the minds of many in the Pac 12 league office". So don't blow that idea out of proportion. I'm trying not to quote the whole post because it's in the premium forum.

Academic stature is key part of this whole thing. As is media market/cable deals. Sports fans forget that athletic program budgets are dwarfed by the overall university budgets. And academic stature is the main thing in the President's offices.

[jAZ]

Originally Posted by Laz

Pac-16

It will be 4 pods. None of the teams want to lose recruiting visibiltiy that comes with an annual or bi-annual visit to California and/or Texas.

[Bewbies]

Originally Posted by jAZ

It will be 4 pods. None of the teams want to lose recruiting visibiltiy that comes with an annual or bi-annual visit to California and/or Texas.

I was gonna say, everyone is going to want a trip to Southern Cal and Texas each year...

They need to split up the rivals, USC/UCLA, ASU/ZONA, etc...

[eazyb81]

Originally Posted by jAZ

It will be 4 pods. None of the teams want to lose recruiting visibiltiy that comes with an annual or bi-annual visit to California and/or Texas.

I think it would be funny as hell if the Arizona schools, Colorado, and Utah are forced to form a division with the new Big 12 schools. Losing that California access would be terrible for those programs.

[Mr. Laz]

Originally Posted by Pants

Laz that makes no sense, lol.

I think it would be split up into East and West should it ever happen.

i just figured they wouldn't want to shake up the entire conference. I think last year when they were talking about adding teams they talked about not wanting to break up certain teams.

[alnorth]

Originally Posted by jAZ

It will be 4 pods. None of the teams want to lose recruiting visibiltiy that comes with an annual or bi-annual visit to California and/or Texas.

Yep, 4 pods is what makes the most sense with the politics of everyone wanting to go to SoCal. Each pod plays everyone from another pod, rotated in 3 year cycles, and each pod plays one team in the other two pods. That would be 8 games, leaving room for 3 non-con games.

The championship game would be between the winners of the 2 2-pod groups that played each other that year. The schedules would be unbalanced, but that is the price you pay for letting everyone have major access to SoCal.

For basketball, you'd just double-round-robin your own pod home and away, and play everybody else once. That is 18 games, which is close to a standard conference schedule.

[WilliamTheIrish]

Rice? I agree that it's a fine academic institution.

They averaged about 12k per game. Yea...no.

[Titty Meat]

Originally Posted by WilliamTheIrish

Rice? I agree that it's a fine academic institution.

They averaged about 12k per game. Yea...no.

Rice is no Eastern Kentucky.

[DeezNutz]

Originally Posted by jAZ

It's not Rice on their own. It's Rice over Texas Tech if another Texas school is required to get UT into the Pac 12. And the direct quote includes "don't sleep on interest" and "in the minds of many in the Pac 12 league office". So don't blow that idea out of proportion. I'm trying not to quote the whole post because it's in the premium forum.

Academic stature is key part of this whole thing. As is media market/cable deals. Sports fans forget that athletic program budgets are dwarfed by the overall university budgets. And academic stature is the main thing in the President's offices.

You've seen that Nebraska joined the Big 10, right?

Academics? . And this is why the Pac-10 admitted the premium academic institution of...wait for it...Utah, which is a long-standing public ivy.

[RustShack]

Nebraska was an AAU(?) school when they applied. So yes they fit into the academics when they were accepted.