September 22, 2011

Oklahoma and Texas closer to joining the Pac-12

All we can report with a high degree of certainty here is that both Texas and Oklahoma board of regents have the school’s presidents the authority to take action on a possible conference realignment.

By Stephen Lars

Not more than a year ago, the Big 12 conference was facing it’s first big crisis. It was official, Colorado and Nebraska were leaving the conference and a 10-team schedule had to be built. During the summer, the news about Texas A&M decision to leave the Big 12 and join the SEC once again stir the wake for the wave that involves the Oklahoma Sooners, the Texas Longhorns, possibly Texas Tech and Oklahoma State, move to the Pac-12 and possibly the end of the Big 12 conference.

There’s been a bit of friction among the parts involved in the future of the Big 12.

There’s been a bit of friction among the parts involved in the future of the Big 12. All we can report with a high degree of certainty here is that both Texas and Oklahoma board of regents have the school’s presidents the authority to take action on a possible conference realignment. It is no secret that the Oklahoma University has been holding talks with the Pac-12 conference, and although the school has not formally applied for a spot in the conference, rumor has it, the Pac-12 will be more then glad to accept the Sooners into their realm.

Now, for a while there, the Texas Longhorns had tried to talk the Sooners out of moving from the Big 12. Just two weeks ago, both parts meet in Norman, Oklahoma to discuss both schools options. Considering that the Sooners kept on with their plan, the Longhorns had no option but to follow the lead and seek option in other conferences.

There’s still plenty of stuff in the Big 12 table that has to be resolved before either team can move on. Consider for a moment that when both Nebraska and Colorado part ways, the remaining 10 conference members pledged to stick together. Just a year later, the conference future looks very bleak.

This promise to keep the Big 12 going was actually punctuated by a $1.2 billion television contract. The teams decided not to create a conference network similar to the ones in place by the Big Ten and Pac-12: what that means was that the schools were not willing to split revenue equally and furthermore, the conference decided not to create any barriers to Texas' creation of the Longhorn Network through a 20-year, $300 million agreement with ESPN. And that huge amount of money involved in the amateur college sports, has been what ultimately turned out to be divisive.

Forget the big rivalries and geographical logic: it is money that is driving college sports. The Big 12 commissioner, Dan Beebe, came out this morning on a press release to say that "The actions taken today by the governing boards of the universities of Oklahoma and Texas was anticipated." Perhaps it might seem anticipated to him, but let’s get real: since the Aggies decided to move to the SEC, we all saw this move coming from both the Longhorns and the Sooners. "It is my opinion that the case for the Big 12 Conference continues to be as strong today for all of our current members as it was last year, especially considering the welfare of those to whom we owe the greatest responsibility -- the student-athletes.”

About the Author
Stephen Lars is a prominent sports blogger and currently covers the Sports news, previews and handicaps for the BetIAS Sportsbook. You may reprint this article in its full content, please note no modifications to it are accepted.