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.

[Frazod]

Originally Posted by Jerm

Tweets from Dave Matter....



My God, is this administration FINALLY going to show some balls???

I still doubt it...

Yep. I'm from Missouri. SHOW ME.

[Mosbonian]

Originally Posted by frazod

Yep. I'm from Missouri. SHOW ME.

Same here.....

[Setsuna]

Sooo Missouri ain't coming to the great SEC? What a shame. The fried chicken, watermelon, and sweet tea is delicious.

[KcMizzou]

PeteThamelNYT Pete Thamel
So the latest from the Big 12 on grant of rights is "an agreement in principle." Another told me its in a "position philosophically."

PeteThamelNYT Pete Thamel
After a confusing night, this much is clear. Missouri hasn't signed their rights away, and the door remains ajar for them to go to the SEC.

PeteThamelNYT Pete Thamel
And no one has offered a good explanation why Boren needed to talk tonight. Why not defer to the Chair and avoid mixed messages?

PeteThamelNYT Pete Thamel
Boren's mouth started this mess by saying publicly OU needed to explore its options. And now he's continuing it. Good luck, Chuck Neinas.

[|Zach|]

Originally Posted by KcMizzou

PeteThamelNYT Pete Thamel
So the latest from the Big 12 on grant of rights is "an agreement in principle." Another told me its in a "position philosophically."

PeteThamelNYT Pete Thamel
After a confusing night, this much is clear. Missouri hasn't signed their rights away, and the door remains ajar for them to go to the SEC.

PeteThamelNYT Pete Thamel
And no one has offered a good explanation why Boren needed to talk tonight. Why not defer to the Chair and avoid mixed messages?

PeteThamelNYT Pete Thamel
Boren's mouth started this mess by saying publicly OU needed to explore its options. And now he's continuing it. Good luck, Chuck Neinas.

Hahahaha.

[Jerm]

I'm starting to think Mizzou might actually do something this time around...the writing is on the wall, no matter what happens this shit will go down in a year or two again...get out while you can.

Thank Jesus that Gary Pinkel is being so outspoken, I think it just might force Deaton's hand.

[alnorth]

Originally Posted by Jerm

Tweets from Dave Matter....



My God, is this administration FINALLY going to show some balls???

I still doubt it...

They are more likely trying to keep some leverage to get what they want, but in the end Mizzou is a proud member of the big 12 conference.

And will be, forever.

[|Zach|]

RT @PeteThamelNYT: MT @Dave_Matter: Deaton asked, if Big 12 issues can't be fixed, could MU leave: "That’s a hypothetical that could occur."

@PeteThamelNYT
Pete Thamel
After a confusing night, this much is clear. Missouri hasn't signed their rights away, and the door remains ajar for them to go to the SEC.

[Mosbonian]

Originally Posted by alnorth

They are more likely trying to keep some leverage to get what they want, but in the end Mizzou is a proud member of the big 12 conference.

And will be, forever.

Nice of you to speak for us.

[LiveSteam]

I like this.

By Randy Galloway McClatchy Newspapers
Oklahoma gasps for air after Texas' blow to gut


FORT WORTH, Texas — Full credit here to the Children of the Corn, even though that was me some 16 months ago, saying Nebraska sniveled its way out of the Big 12. But it’s also me saying today that the Cornhuskers made a brilliant jump.

Next in line this morning for full credit would be the Texas Aggies. All that Reveille barking was up the right tree.

The message in both cases was simple and direct:

We don’t want our future in football, or anything else, tied to The Man in Austin.

Nebraska got out, and the Aggies are getting out. Both moves involved landing in much more stable football precincts.

Better and much more stable because there is no Daddy DeLoss guarding his Fort Knox-like vault.

Speaking of brilliance, Mr. Dodds is the best in college football in his watchdog role of protecting all things UT, no matter the big-picture consequences for others in his conference family.

It’s greed, it’s arrogance, it’s.…the American way. And certainly the University of Texas way.

Daddy DeLoss is a “(p-r-o-f-e-s-s-i-o-n-a-l”. He will hurt you.

Hello, Oklahoma.

The good folks in Norman were picking themselves up off the floor Wednesday morning, still gasping for breath after that blow to the gut that was delivered the night before.

The Sooners power-played DeLoss and Texas. They thought they could, and I thought if anyone could, they could.

Nope. They couldn’t. I was wrong.

The Aggies’ blueprint is the right way, the only way.

No power play involved at all with A&M. No negotiating, no far-end-of-the-bar deals over beers with DeLoss, and no threats.

The Aggies knew they didn’t want to be tied to Texas any longer, knew they were wanted elsewhere, and without a flexed biceps, or even harsh words, they said bye-bye to Texas University, so long to the orange and white.

Lesson learned this week by Oklahoma:

Have an option before you have threats. And don’t jack around for two weeks with your decision, giving idle chatter of it might be, it could be a move elsewhere, or maybe not. Not if UT changes its Longhorn Network monopoly, and also if DeLoss’ puppet is fired.

Was that supposed to be breaking news that Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe is DeLoss’ houseboy? If that was Oklahoma’s worry, why didn’t it come up a year ago, two years ago, or about five minutes after Beebe was hired? It appears Beebe will be fired, but that solves exactly nothing.

The Sooners talked a good game, and I personally loved the show of verbal muscle, but when it came to Jump City, the knees had no spring, and Oklahoma didn’t have the firm invite to move elsewhere.

“Elsewhere” in this case being the very much desired location of the Pac-Whatever out west.

Larry Scott, the commissioner of that conference, took a direct shot at Texas when he announced Tuesday night that the Pac-12 would stay with 12 teams because of the “culture of equality that we are committed to preserve.”

The University of Texas doesn’t do equality. It does greed.

Bottom line:

For the second time, Scott attempted to hijack Big 12 schools (four of them this time) for his conference, and with Dodds not budging off the Longhorn Network hangup, he failed again.

Word from out west Wednesday is Scott was “appalled” at the arrogance of DeLoss. Larry, Larry, Larry. Who the heck did you think you were dealing with?

Yes, the Pac-12 would have taken Oklahoma State and Texas Tech in the package, even if there was no desire to do so. But those two would be attached to Texas and Oklahoma, two of the biggest monsters in the business.

The other three were ready to go, and so was Texas, provided Texas got the final say on all the side deals.

A year ago, Texas was also ready to go, but Texas A&M was then in the package. It was the Aggies who killed that deal by refusing to move west.

The embarrassing news for Oklahoma late Tuesday night was the Pac-12 didn’t want the Sooners-Oklahoma State two-team package. Texas had to be involved. That’s why it’s very difficult at the moment to take a deep breath in Norman.

Exactly what the Aggies and Nebraska wanted to escape — being tied to DeLoss’ shoestrings — that’s where Oklahoma still finds itself.

Meanwhile, the word was already out that the Sooners had no desire for an SEC move because the school is attempting to raise its academic and football honesty image. One SEC official did say Wednesday that the conference had “issues” with considering the Sooners as a 14th team.

I wouldn’t, however, necessarily rule out the mutual interest.

It’s also a bit premature to say the Big 12 has been saved again, but if that’s indeed the case, the next question is, saved for how long? Last season, it was a conference operating on a foundation of quicksand, and at the moment the quicksand is even deeper.

When Oklahoma stepped out there the last two weeks with some strong words, it opened deeper wounds. Plus, the Sooners learned a valuable lesson:

Don’t talk tough unless you have guaranteed options. (See the Aggies.)

Otherwise, Daddy DeLoss will hurt you.

[alnorth]

This just broke on the KC Star

http://www.kansascity.com/2011/09/22...#ixzz1YkGjYNug

Not only did MU chancellor Brady Deaton and athletic director Mike Alden decline to confirm the university’s commitment in the long or short term to the Big 12, the Tigers’ interest in the Southeastern Conference is very much alive.

“We either stick in the Big 12 because everything came about the way it needs to, the right way, with all the differences being settled in Missouri’s favor,” a university administrator who asked not to be identified told The Star on Thursday night. “But what are the odds of that happening?

“The other option is to join another conference and I believe that is something that we’re very open to.”

...

When asked about the SEC, Deaton said that was another hypothetical and he wouldn’t elaborate further.

Asked if the SEC was still in play, the administrator, who contacted The Star, said: “You will not look stupid by insinuating that.”

If this is not true, Mizzou will shoot it down tomorrow. If they say nothing, then they are probably using the threat of leaving to get more concessions out of UT.

[DeezNutz]

"The administrator" is almost certainly Deaton himself.

[alnorth]

We'll find out very soon if Mizzou has leverage.

If the SEC doesn't want Mizzou, then it is in their best interests to either invite #14 now (WVU?) or announce they are sticking with 13. If they do that, they cut Mizzou's legs out from under them, everyone is forced to sell their soul to the big 12 for 6 years, and Texas A&M has a clear sunlit path to the SEC.

If the SEC remains eerily quiet the next couple weeks, then that would seem to confirm there's an offer, now that Mizzou has so publicly stuck their necks out for the 2nd year in a row.

[kcfan82]

Originally Posted by alnorth

We'll find out very soon if Mizzou has leverage.

If the SEC doesn't want Mizzou, then it is in their best interests to either invite #14 now (WVU?) or announce they are sticking with 13. If they do that, they cut Mizzou's legs out from under them, everyone is forced to sell their soul to the big 12 for 6 years, and Texas A&M has a clear sunlit path to the SEC.

If the SEC remains eerily quiet the next couple weeks, then that would seem to confirm there's an offer, now that Mizzou has so publicly stuck their necks out for the 2nd year in a row.

Good luck getting out, Baylor is ready to sue everyone involved in SEC poaching.

Poor Baylor

[Mosbonian]

Originally Posted by alnorth

We'll find out very soon if Mizzou has leverage.

If the SEC doesn't want Mizzou, then it is in their best interests to either invite #14 now (WVU?) or announce they are sticking with 13. If they do that, they cut Mizzou's legs out from under them, everyone is forced to sell their soul to the big 12 for 6 years, and Texas A&M has a clear sunlit path to the SEC.

If the SEC remains eerily quiet the next couple weeks, then that would seem to confirm there's an offer, now that Mizzou has so publicly stuck their necks out for the 2nd year in a row.

Don't think there isn't some discussion about MU helping pave the way for aTm into the SEC. If there has ever been a true offer from the SEC, then they know not following thru would make MU join the rest in the lawsuit meant to slow down the move to the SEC by aTm.