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.

[alnorth]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

I agree.

Kansas will land somewhere. Ultimately, the Texas/PAC implosion may really save them. Their best slot to land is, IMO, the PAC and had the most recent proposal gone through, KU might have been in some trouble until the B1G decided to move to 16 (I think they're basketball crazy enough to take KU).

KU will be just fine. K-State better hope that KU brings them along for the ride.

(Iowa State, on the other hand, may well be up shits creek)

I think many Jayhawk fans are a little too optimistic. The SEC is clearly not an option. Some people seem to think ACC, but I doubt it. The B1G is the most likely BCS destination, but that is only if they ever decide to expand to 16. Everyone else in the world could go to 16 and they could easily say "eh, we're good".

The PAC 12 is iffy at best. If Texas goes independent, then KU is good to go, but how likely is that when a lot of people are expecting UND, with a market bigger than Texas, to eventually surrender? All things being equal, KU is probably third on their list, but a couple little brothers in OK and TX probably push them to 4th or 5th. Perhaps if OU/UT are desperate enough to get in, the PAC 12 could fold their arms and decide to be a hardass by flat-out saying no to TTech/OSU.

The most likely outcome would be a cobbled-together Big 12/Big East/MWC merger. There they would be waiting, perhaps for decades, for the B1G to sleepily decide maybe they could expand.

[eazyb81]

Originally Posted by alnorth

You are assuming nothing changes. (that we don't share Tier 1/2 even after Texas said ok lets go ahead, and LHN shows high school games.) We don't have to take anything on faith. If the SEC tells you "you have 2 days to accept. We aren't going to give you any time to see if you can work things out, accept right now, or we'll close the door on you", then you may have a point. (I'm not even going to talk about our 2015 tier 1 contract. Our T2 contract with Fox is freaking massive relative to what they got. Our future Tier 1 contract is all but assured).

I guess its possible that nothing will happen, but that would require an assumption that everyone in power is lying. No one has to sign away anything until the above basic demands that everyone seems to be in agreement on are satisfied in black and white.

I'm saying "ok, assume we're not being lied to, and all that happens". Basically you go to Dallas, make those demands, and everyone says "ok, done", here's the contract. Now what? At that point going to the SEC is no upside and all downside. The only reason I can think of at that point is "I don't care, I'm still pissed at Texas!"

Sharing tier 1/2 and LHN not showing high school games is hardly enough to turn this into a happy marriage. The whole premise of LHN is deeply flawed, primarily due to ESPN also owning the conference's tier 1 rights. UT knows this - everyone knows this - and their unwillingness to bend was the reason the PAC said "no thanks". Also, I think you deeply overrate the value of the Big 12 to TV networks without Nebraska and Texas A&M.

I think most Mizzou fans are sick of hoping that maybe this time UT and the league will do what is best. And frankly, given UT's history, I wouldn't trust them even if they did bow down and give up everything; their track record of deception is too long to be ignored.

Pinkel said it best - this doesn't happen in any other power league. Guess how much the exit penalties are in the SEC? $0. Why? Because the conference has leadership and members do what is best for the conference, not just what is best for themselves.

[patteeu]

Originally Posted by Mosbonian

There's a big if you have in there and my very reason to doubt this whole scenario....if the conference re-stablizes. Two years in a row this conference has come close to folding. Tell me what guarantees we won't see this same scenario next year...or the next?

Aren't you the least bit concerned about how OU and UT have suddenly become bed partners? I am....

And how will this league be attractive if OSU, MU and Texas Tech have a couple of bad years. We already have ISU, KU, Baylor and K-State with very little horsepower when it comes to football. Since we are using "if" scenarios I will throw out this one:

If no one but OU and UT has banner years for the next 2 or 3 years, who will want to hand over a check for $300 million to a 2-Horse league?

First of all, I don't think it has as much to do with recent success on the field as you do. This league was already primarily a 2 horse league and it had just barely avoided implosion when they landed a monster network deal last year. I don't know why the loss of A&M would make them that much less attractive. The league still owns the Texas markets. And the networks can protect themselves from any remaining instability.

I don't see any way for 7 of the remaining 9 members of the Big 12 to sink to the level of regular suckitude that you envision. MU, OSU, TT, and to some degree the others will continue to recruit Texas talent. They'll continue to play the vast majority of their games against either cupcakes or other Big 12 members. There will always be a couple of Big 12 schools that rack up good records even if they lose to both Texas and OU almost every year. Those teams will continue to be ranked in the top 25. It may not always be MU, OSU, or TT, but it will be someone.

[Bambi]

lol @ the dude calling KK right now

[Garcia Bronco]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

Villanova and Georgetown are but a few pretty compelling counterarguments against this idea.

Syracuse is a basketball school only, and they just downgraded leagues for FB purposes. I think that's a pretty strong statement about the importance of basketball in the grand scheme.

ACC basketball isn't a downgrade to Big East basketball. Maybe some years, but it ain' that big of a downgrade to matter. Cuse had a great football program in the early oughts. then they hired Greg Robinson and Miami, BC, and Virginia Tech left them.

[Trevo_410]

breaking news from a source only known inside my house, Missouri to the B1G by monday, the source heard it on a radio source that is unmentionable. News suppost to be announced on monday. anybody else hear that?

[KChiefs1]

I heard it's a bidding war between the SEC & B1G for MU.

[Bambi]

That was a great MU caller from "Booneville"

[eazyb81]

LOL, three schools turned down the offer to grant TV rights to the conference last year. Any guesses?

UT, OU, and A&M. Everyone else was in favor of it to secure the stability of the conference.

Guess UT and OU feel differently now that they got turned down by the PAC. This is absolutely hilarious.

http://ht.ly/6Dgz5

[alnorth]

Originally Posted by eazyb81

Pinkel said it best - this doesn't happen in any other power league. Guess how much the exit penalties are in the SEC? $0. Why? Because the conference has leadership and members do what is best for the conference, not just what is best for themselves.

Another problem we've got is that the Big 12 brand has been damaged. Even if, theoretically, agreements are made, all issues are fixed in legalese, we have new fresh strong leadership, and we all start holding hands singing about solidarity, the Big 12 brand is going to be snickered at for a while.

Does that matter? I'm not sure, but it probably does. When it comes time to let Texas A&M go, the powers that be should think about doing it by, with cooperation from the BCS and our TV partners, dissolving the conference, and forming a new conference. New name, new brand, new offices in OKC, etc. Its not like we're an old conference and there's a lot of sentimental value to be saved.

[Pants]

Originally Posted by Wickedson

That was a great MU caller from "Booneville"

KK was hurt pretty deeply by him. I knew he was a KSU cock chugger, but wow... he straight up just couldn't take it. Apparently the fact that KSU was the shittiest program in the country for 80% of their history is not something he ever wants to be confronted about.

[Mosbonian]

Originally Posted by patteeu

Why do you think UT and OU's lawyers are better than the networks' lawyers?

Experience teaches me that the people who want out always have the better attorney's....

[Frazod]

Originally Posted by Trevo_410

breaking news from a source only known inside my house, Missouri to the B1G by monday, the source heard it on a radio source that is unmentionable. News suppost to be announced on monday. anybody else hear that?

I'm not sure if I want you banned or killed. I'll have to think about it.

[Pants]

Originally Posted by frazod

I'm not sure if I want you banned or killed. I'll have to think about it.

I think he's talking about some random caller on KK's show. Not sure about that, though.

[Mosbonian]

Originally Posted by eazyb81

I think most Mizzou fans are sick of hoping that maybe this time UT and the league will do what is best. And frankly, given UT's history, I wouldn't trust them even if they did bow down and give up everything; their track record of deception is too long to be ignored.

This has been my biggest complaint thus far....everyone wants to trust Texas. They haven't given us any reason to thus far, or any indication that they could be trusted in the future.