A: ISU/KU/KSU/CU/UU
B: OSU/TT/BU/TCU/WVU
C: ASU/AU/USC/UCLA/CAL
D: Stanford/OrSt/Ore/UW/WSU
Could be interesting.
STILLWATER – With Oklahoma and Texas headed to the SEC sometime in the near future, the Big 12 Conference and the rest of the eight remaining schools are scrambling to try and secure their futures. Whether that’s trying to keep the current league intact via merger, or possibly finding a new landing spot in a different conference.
Well, Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby is trying to be proactive in saving the Big 12 as it was reported Tuesday morning by Max Olson of The Athletic Bowlsby is set to meet with Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff to discuss a scheduling alliance and a possible merger of the two conferences.
This news comes less than 24 hours after Bowlsby argued the case of the Big 12 and the eight remaining in front of a Texas Senate Committee on the Future of College Athletics on Monday.
“With the disruption, the economies of the eight remaining universities are jeopardized, particularly the three remaining schools in the State of Texas,” Bowlsby started. “The Perryman Report details the particularly negative impact that this departure will have, but it does not detail to make the points that others will make today regarding student recruiting, bond rating, long range planning, and research dollars. The innate dependencies that are present in college athletic conferences extend way beyond the playing fields. Mutual decisions are made that rely on years of history and relationships with many millions of dollars in the balance with respect to those three schools. Notwithstanding the obvious breach of trust the University of Oklahoma and the University of Texas in Austin have violated the very bylaws that they help to construct. With the approval of the board, the remaining members of the Big 12, I have notified both schools with what I believe to be a violation of that obligation.”
It’ll be interesting to see how the Pac-12 feels about a possible merger with the Big 12 based on the two religious-based institutions, Baylor and TCU, that would be a part of the deal. However, a scheduling alliance, and certainly a merger, would be mutually beneficial to both conferences.
The Pac-12 doesn’t come on the scene on college football Saturdays until 2:30 in the afternoon due to the West Coast time zone. If a merger were to happen, the Pac-12 would be on tv all day long with 11 a.m. CT kicks and the famed Pac-12 “after dark” football.
The Pac-12 held its annual media day last week and Commissioner Kliavkoff confirmed that possible realignment was at least on his radar.
“I think it’s an interesting opportunity. It’s under discussion, but nothing to announce today.”
Should a merger take place, it would create the first super-conference of 20 teams, four more than the SEC would have with Oklahoma and Texas. There’s also the news from last week of the American Athletic Conference trying to poach some, if not all the remaining Big 12 schools.
We’ve obviously got a long road ahead of us in regard to conference realignment and possible conference mergers, but at his induction ceremony into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame, head coach Mike Gundy said he’s not worried about Oklahoma State.
“I have complete faith in our leadership, but Oklahoma State is going to be just fine. I’m not worried about Oklahoma State at all. Wherever the chips fall, we’ll be fine.”
I am afraid the two religious based schools get kicked to the curb and go Mt. West or AAC. The PAC probably only considers the large State schools like OSU, Tech, KU and KSU. The same for WVU and Iowa State although I see them headed to the BIG or ACC.TUSKAPOKE said:
I like your thoughts or.....
OSU/TT/TCU/BU or KSU to PAC12 to form the Super PAC 16
ISU/KU to B10
WVU to ACC
KSU or BU to AAC or Mountain West
Sewerners/Shorthorns to mediocrity in the SEC....all after the last two pay the blood money or stay to the end...force a hard birth into the SEC.....
I am looking forward to this new adventure, no matter the power conference alignment for OSU, because I am tired of the two prima-donnas running the show!!! GO POKES!!!
If the $$$$$$$$$$$ is right, and TCU, TT, BU stick together because of TX politics, the PAC12 may forgive the religious schools to get a foothold in the central time zone and TX recruiting grounds. Throw the best of the bunch in there, OSU, and a "new" power conference has been created that covers three time zones and the west half of the USA. That might attract some network.Joe Khatib said:I am afraid the two religious based schools get kicked to the curb and go Mt. West or AAC. The PAC probably only considers the large State schools like OSU, Tech, KU and KSU. The same for WVU and Iowa State although I see them headed to the BIG or ACC.TUSKAPOKE said:
I like your thoughts or.....
OSU/TT/TCU/BU or KSU to PAC12 to form the Super PAC 16
ISU/KU to B10
WVU to ACC
KSU or BU to AAC or Mountain West
Sewerners/Shorthorns to mediocrity in the SEC....all after the last two pay the blood money or stay to the end...force a hard birth into the SEC.....
I am looking forward to this new adventure, no matter the power conference alignment for OSU, because I am tired of the two prima-donnas running the show!!! GO POKES!!!
How did TX politics work? TCU and BU got in to the BIG 12.....remember?Joe Khatib said:
So how did that Texas politics work put in 2010 and the most recent situation with Texas. A&M left to the SEC and now Texas has left for that conference as well. This is every one for themselves and a large State school like Tech and it's supporters isn't going to be shackled to two small private schools.
Ummm....I am not worried about OSU and I also do not underestimate TX politics even with two small religious private schools. The other aspect of those two, TCU and BU, is the DFW viewers and that recruiting ground that is very important to the health of OSU success and conference TV ratings.Joe Khatib said:
Ummm, Were Baylor or TCU one of the Texas schools that was going to receive an invite in 2010. NOPE, it was Texas, Texas Tech and Texas A&M. TCU got extremely lucky due to the circumstances to get into the Big XII for the last ten years but I don't think them or Baylor make the cut this time. It is every team for themselves and we should worry about OSU and it's possibilities, Thank God we are the position that we occupy today.