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.

[Discuss Thrower]

It would be better if there were a system out there that gets the entirety of every full D1 school into a "division" of eight schools which play a seven game round robin where the outright winner faces the champ of another division in the same "conference" for a championship. Every D1 school must schedule one FCS school and one permanent FBS non-conference rival every year.

Nine game regular season schedule with probably half of each division reaching a bowl game for a tenth game if they don't win their division. Conference champs then get to participate in a potential three game playoff to determine a true CFB championship.

[RustShack]

Originally Posted by Discuss Thrower

It would be better if there were a system out there that gets the entirety of every full D1 school into a "division" of eight schools which play a seven game round robin where the outright winner faces the champ of another division in the same "conference" for a championship. Every D1 school must schedule one FCS school and one permanent FBS non-conference rival every year.

Nine game regular season schedule with probably half of each division reaching a bowl game for a tenth game if they don't win their division. Conference champs then get to participate in a potential three game playoff to determine a true CFB championship.

So we need the B1G, SEC, and Big12 to agree to a full merger. Then the three commissioners fight to the death on who’s the commissioner.

[Pasta Little Brioni]

Damn the NCAA is a complete pile of shit College sports are unwatchable already, but soon....

[BWillie]

Originally Posted by Pasta Little Brother

Damn the NCAA is a complete pile of shit College sports are unwatchable already, but soon....

I'm for it. If you can get rid of the NCAA then basketball becomes a much bigger money maker. The NCAA tournament is the only reason that broke dick organization even has any money.

[Hoover]

We are going to end up with 2 major conferences, the SEC and the BIG. In the end each will have the same number of schools, adhere to the same set of rules, and will eventually schedule games against the other division.

Sixteen team playoff, 8 schools from SEC, 8 for BIG, just like the NFL. Super Bowl to determine the winner.

[FloridaMan88]

Originally Posted by Coach

All it takes to evaporate Florida State’s votes is for ESPN to tell the SEC and Big 12 that there is no pro rata after 16. ESPN has the ACC and frankly the SEC at well below market value and have them both locked up for a really long time

The SEC and ACC locking themselves into long term deals with one primary media partner is looking more and more like a strategic error considering ESPN’s dire current financial situation.

ESPN was unwilling (unable?) to pay the SEC extra for something as incremental as going from 8 to 9 conference games.

The Big 10 had the right approach going with multiple media partners and with a deal that starts immediately… the SEC entered into their deal with ESPN in 2020, but it doesn’t actually begin until 2024… so much will have changed with ESPN in those four years and not for the better.

[FloridaMan88]

Arizona Board of Regents calls Thursday night meeting. Source tells ⁦@ActionNetworkHQ⁩: “I find it hard to imagine the State of Arizona Board of Regents would be willing to allow one of its institutions to leave the Pac-12 while the other stays. That doesn't seem logical.” pic.twitter.com/ppai3ea7l9

— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) August 3, 2023

[Al Bundy]

Originally Posted by KCChiefsFan88

Arizona Board of Regents calls Thursday night meeting. Source tells ⁦@ActionNetworkHQ⁩: “I find it hard to imagine the State of Arizona Board of Regents would be willing to allow one of its institutions to leave the Pac-12 while the other stays. That doesn't seem logical.” pic.twitter.com/ppai3ea7l9

— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) August 3, 2023

Arizona and Arizona State will be in the Big 12.

[BWillie]

Originally Posted by Al Bundy

Arizona and Arizona State will be in the Big 12.

[kcclone]

Have regents or state legislatures ever prevented a team from re-aligning conferences?

[Kiimo]

The new Big 12 is going to be a GAUNTLET in college basketball. Jeez.

[displacedinMN]

Originally Posted by kcclone

Have regents or state legislatures ever prevented a team from re-aligning conferences?

Didnt California govt try to get involved with USC/UCLA moving?

[BWillie]

Originally Posted by Kiimo

The new Big 12 is going to be a GAUNTLET in college basketball. Jeez.

Especially if they add UCONN and Gonzaga as bball only

[MarkDavis'Haircut]

Originally Posted by kcclone

Have regents or state legislatures ever prevented a team from re-aligning conferences?

Rumor had it for years that Oklahoma couldn't leave the Big 12 without taking along Okie Dokie State.

Otherwise, I haven't heard anything specific.

Well, I take that back. Houston was left out for Baylor when the Big 12 formed because the governor of Texas was a Baylor grad.

[Eleazar]

Originally Posted by Hoover

We are going to end up with 2 major conferences, the SEC and the BIG. In the end each will have the same number of schools, adhere to the same set of rules, and will eventually schedule games against the other division.

Sixteen team playoff, 8 schools from SEC, 8 for BIG, just like the NFL. Super Bowl to determine the winner.

Yeah. Going to be like the AFC and the NFC.