http://texas.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1267651 Texas will make a decision about its future conference home within two weeks, a source close to the situation said Monday. Texas regents on Monday voted to give UT president Bill Powers the authority to make decisions on behalf of the university when it comes to conference affiliation. The Longhorns' first option remains holding the Big 12 together with Oklahoma and Oklahoma State in it, the source said. The Big 12's TV partners (ABC/ESPN and Fox) are not interested in continuing their current contracts with the Big 12 if Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas are not all in the league, sources said. After being given the authority by regents to make conference affiliation decisions on behalf of Oklahoma, school president David Boren on Monday expressed concern about the instability of the Big 12. Boren also said OU has engaged in talks with the Pac-12 that have been "constructive." Sources close to the situation say Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are totally focused on becoming members of the Pac-12. But there is some question about if those schools would receive a bid without Texas. A Big 12 administrator said if Texas really wants the Big 12 to survive, the Longhorns should wait things out and see if OU and OSU get bids on their own to the Pac-12. If they don't, Texas could try to convince the Sooners and Cowboys to give the Big 12 one more chance, the administrator said. "Why would Texas commit to the Pac-12 any sooner than they absolutely have to, if UT really wants the Big 12 to survive," the administrator said. "The Pac-12 isn't going to take OU and Oklahoma State and then get nervous and grab two other schools. "The Pac-12 would hold open a spot for Texas." Mack Brown made a passionate plea for the Big 12 to stay together during a conference call with reporters Monday. A second source confirmed to Orangebloods.com that the Atlantic Coast Conference remains interested in Texas - but without Texas Tech. The source said the ACC would consider a Texas-Kansas or Texas-Missouri combination. But the ACC has real concerns about Texas Tech's academic standing. (Tech was ranked No. 160 in the latest U.S. News and World report rankings of America's top colleges and universities.) It's doubtful Texas would try to find a conference home without Texas Tech, although a source close to Tech has said the Red Raiders have received some attention from the SEC as a possible partner with Texas A&M. But the leading option for Texas continues to be the Pac-12, which would include Texas Tech, multiple sources said. Texas is warming to the Pac-12, sources said, because UT can stay with its rivals - Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Tech. Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott also appears to have a proposal that would allow Texas to hold onto the revenue from the Longhorn Network as long as schools in what would be the Pac-16 meet a certain threshold of revenue from their third-tier rights. But it's likely ESPN would give up control of the Longhorn Network in some sort of buyout by the Pac-12, so that programming would be overseen by the conference - to be consistent with the other six regional networks in the Pac-12, sources said. The name would likely also be changed to include reference to the Pac-16. The Longhorns are busy doing their homework on going west, sources said. And if Texas and Pac-12 presidents like what they hear, the Longhorns could be members of the Pac-12 within two weeks, sources said. Stay tuned.
http://campuscorner.kansascity.com/node/2070 Kansas Board of Regents to discuss realignment Thursday By Kellis Robinett - Posted on 19 September 2011 Ed McKechnie, chairman of the Kansas Board of Regents, said Monday night that the board has added conference realignment to its agenda Thursday. The meeting, which will be held in executive sessions with officials from both KU and K-State present, is roughly scheduled for noon but the time could change, he said. The Big 12 and legal options will be discussed. "I remain confident the Big 12 will survive," McKechnie said. "In 10 years, I think Nebraska and Colorado will look back and regret leaving. The Big 12 has a bright future and a lot more to offer as a sum than its parts. "I am confident and hopeful that in the end everyone will talk and find a way to put this all back together. "There are a lot of options out there, and I'm willing to listen. "As long as five schools remain committed, the Big 12 will exist. We are confident that will happen. We expect everybody to live up to their obligations and honor the contracts they have signed." Read more: http://campuscorner.kansascity.com/node/2070#ixzz1YUKcr6xe
This is for Sam....i lol'd: Football Rumor Mill Several #SEC schools rumored to be concerned about #WVU s academic reputation. Mississippi State is not one of those concerned
Irony: http://espn.go.com/blog/statsinfo/post/_/id/26691/big-12-unseats-sec-as-top-conference Big 12 unseats SEC as top conference After 17 straight weeks atop the ESPN Stats & Info Conference Power Rankings -- a rankings system that uses a formula that equally weighs the rankings from the AP Poll and a compilation of available BCS computer rankings in order to determine which conference is the best and worst in the country -- the SEC has been dethroned. The Big 12 is on top of the Week 3 Conference Power Rankings after big wins by Oklahoma and Texas over non-conference foes this past weekend. Overall, the Big 12 is 23-2 in games outside of the conference (SEC is 22-4) and have five teams ranked in the AP Top 25 (tied with SEC for most teams ranked in the poll). Big wins over Florida State, TCU, Arizona and UCLA in the first three weeks have vaulted the Big 12 over the SEC as the top conference in the country. After finishing in second place in last season's final rankings, the Pac-12 is the fourth-ranked conference after three weeks of 2011. The Pac-12 went 5-4 in non-conference games this past weekend as UCLA, Arizona State, Washington and Washington State all lost. With no clear power-house coming out the Pac-12 South Division, the conference is in jeopardy of being jumped by the ACC or the Big East in upcoming weeks.
http://espn.go.com/college-football...st-big-12-talking-possible-merger-sources-say "I think college football has just taken control of everything," former Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese said in an interview with "Outside the Lines" host Bob Ley. "All these moves are about football and money and greed. And I think, you know, I'm embarrassed...about the whole thing. And not just because it's affected the Big East. It just seems that things such as integrity and loyalty and congeniality are gone. And our problem is quite simple. We have no one in charge. "What we have are little fiefdoms who have conference names and we're living in a society where it's almost like it's Wall Street. Greed is good and I'm Gordon Gecko," he added.
Add BYU and UH to the mix? mattmosleyMatt Mosley I've been working on this Big East + Big 12 merger all evening. There's room for a couple of Cougars in one scenario. and if you're like me, there's always room for a couple of cougars HIGHFIVEBRO!!!
Big 12 remnants + Big East remnants + select CUSA schools would be a decent conference. Albeit a tenuous one. West Iowa State Kansas Kansas State Baylor TCU UH East Cinci Louisville So Miss USF ECU UCF
Biggest surprise/learning experience. That college football had that much more weight than college basketball.
That actually looks pretty good to me. But this looks better: Big 12 North OU Kan Kan St. Iowa St. BYU Boise St. (Does Boise play basketball? WVa? Wyo? Col. ST?) South Tex TCU UH Baylor TT SMU
This is amusing, given that just last year, they had no problems taking TCU away from a weaker conference themselves.
Yuck. That might be the worst football "major" conference I've seen since, well, the current Big East. Pretty good hoops, though.
That's kind of the point. It ain't pretty, it's about survival. There's always going to be a "misfit toys" conference. The East division would actually be a beast in football.
Whoops - my bad. But then he's the one who picked off teams like Louisville and South Florida from C-USA to make the original 16 team behemoth conference. You raid or you get raided - he got raided so he raided someone else. That's basically what the ACC is doing. If they didn't raid someone else, they were going to get raided themselves.
I think the point is that there's no one in charge. There's no commissioner looking out for the best interests of the game at large. It's completely "every man for himself." Even the NFL, NBA and MLB work to maintain traditional rivalries. These are public institutions, largely, and no one is checking it at all. I'd say that's flawed.
