I thought we could start a seperate discussion solely on this weeks negotiations about the state of the Big 12 and the upcoming season. I believe they started meeting yesterday.

Looks like this is the end of the line for the Big XII. The only thing I don't like about the PAC-10 plan is UCLA should go to the PAC-10 South and Colorado to the PAC-10 North. This would divide up the LA market for both divisions.

Report: Pac-10 to invite six Big 12 schools including OU, OSU | NewsOK.com (http://www.newsok.com/report-pac-10-to-invite-six-big-12-schools-including-ou-osu/article/3465837?custom_click=headlines_widget)


The move would leave out Iowa State, Baylor, Kansas, Kansas State, Nebraska and Missouri — of which several schools have been reported as being interested in moving to the Big Ten.

According to the report, the six teams from the Big 12 would be in an eight-team division with Arizona and Arizona State. The other eight-team division would consist of USC, UCLA, Cal, Stanford, Oregon, Oregon State, Washington and Washington State.

Combining the Big 12 South division powers with the Pac-10 would likely make the new league able to develop its own television network that would rival the current Big Ten Network. It would also be able to deliver seven of the country's top 20 TV markets (Los Angeles, Dallas, San Francisco, Houston, Phoenix, Seattle and Sacramento).



Read more: Report: Pac-10 to invite six Big 12 schools including OU, OSU | NewsOK.com (http://www.newsok.com/report-pac-10-to-invite-six-big-12-schools-including-ou-osu/article/3465837?custom_click=headlines_widget#ixzz0pqAsxIA j)

I hate to see the Big 12 die, but if we could be with the PAC 10, that would be awesome!

Bye bye to conference tournaments in OKC...

Bye bye to conference tournaments in OKC...

this really isnt funny but LOL

a combination of big 12 and pac 10 officials would be a disaster

I like it a lot. oSu & Tx Tech should send flowers and thank-you notes to OU & Texas.

I hate to see the Big 12 die, but if we could be with the PAC 10, that would be awesome!

I'd rather see an alliance with the SEC. What fantastic games!

I hate to see the Big 12 die, but if we could be with the PAC 10, that would be awesome!

I'd rather see an alliance with the SEC. What fantastic games!

I'm sorry, disasterous games with USC and the officiating debacle at Oregon State left a very bad taste in my mouth for the PAC 10.

I don't like this at all. Schools broken up everywhere is just way too weird. I like the way things are right now. To me, the conference names represent the location of schools within a region.

... I like the way things are right now. To me, the conference names represent the location of schools within a region.

Yeah, nothing screams Plains State or Heartland quite like shouting out Big 12!

Sorry Thunder. Some conference names are regional based, but nah, ours ain't one of those.

I don't like this at all. Schools broken up everywhere is just way too weird. I like the way things are right now. To me, the conference names represent the location of schools within a region.

And I think Pluto is still a planet. I read the pros and cons for both ou and osu in the paper yesterday. Overall, it would do more for both teams I think... We'll see what happens...

Well one nice thing about the Big XII was that you could drive from OKC to pretty much every school for an event, without it taking forever. If we joing the PAC 10, you'll see coastal games, so we go from the middle to the edge of the conference. It's true that we won't get conference championships anymore too....if we're competing with Portland, LA, etc...why would they go to the smaller OKC market? It's unfortunate that it's going to end like this.....but this could all be a big stink just to get better contracts out of the deal too you know. We could come back in a month and everything could be back to business as usual....who knows.

Yeah, nothing screams Plains State or Heartland quite like shouting out Big 12!

Sorry Thunder. Some conference names are regional based, but nah, ours ain't one of those.

In fairness to Thunder, he didn't state ours was a regional name, just made a general comment. i.e. Pac 10, Southeastern, Mountain West etc.

We have to be able to compete with the west coast now. Perhaps this new paradigm will encourage us to think about sustainability a lot more.

anyone speculated when we'd actually start playing these games, would it be a few years out or possibly this season? i know OU has a bunch of non-conference games scheduled many years out with the likes of tennesse, tulsa, notre dame, etc. or would it be based on the tv contracts and when they expire. i havent heard ...

oh here's a link that shows games scheduled out to 2019, but those are non-conference.

OUInsider.com - 2010 Oklahoma Football Schedule (http://ouinsider.com/football/schedule/)

OMG! Notre Dame, Ohio State, LSU! (Faint)

Boomer!

We have to be able to compete with the west coast now. Perhaps this new paradigm will encourage us to think about sustainability a lot more.

This is a good point. I have thought about this as another positive too. Sports are huge in Oklahoma and if being part of the Pac 10 exposes OU and OSU sports fans to other regions besides Texas and Kansas, it could be good.

I like it a lot. oSu & Tx Tech should send flowers and thank-you notes to OU & Texas.

Yes, ain't it amazing that thd Pac 10 would want oSu and Stillwater.

According to various media outlets Nebraska will be announcing they are leaving the Big 12 any day now. I really don't have a problem with the Big 12 South joining the Pac-10 but I would rather see Colorado get an invite instead of Baylor. The Big 12 North is not as strong as the South and playing a competitive west division in the possible Pac 16 superconference will be more exciting. Plus it means you can travel to CA for games.

I don't think Baylor stands a chance of going instead of Colorado. The politics aren't there this time like last time.

I don't think Baylor stands a chance of going instead of Colorado. The politics aren't there this time like last time.

I hope not. Pro-Baylor legislators and lobbyists are working on slipping Baylor in the inclusion. Can't wait to see what happens.

local tv sports news said 2012 would be the year the changes take place. something about tv contracts expiring...

seems like this would set up three conferences who would dominate the national championship game. Pac-16, Big (x), and sec. and maybe the acc if they get back to elite levels.

I still think the playoff format with the existing conferences would be better than 3 or 4 superconferences rotating... We'll see, maybe nothing will happen!

Had a talk on the subject w/ an OU grad (who lives in Norman). I definitely see some resistance to change, and he did not think OKC losing championships should have any sway. "They should get their own NCAA team then."

It sure looks like it's happening though. Hopefully Baylor is left out in the cold. They do not deserve to be in our conference.

CU moving to Pac-10 (http://www.denverpost.com/ci_15268303)


CU moving to Pac-10

Colorado is headed to the Pac-10 Conference, no matter what happens with the rest of the Big 12, a source close to the situation said Thursday morning. The Pac-10 will hold a news conference later this morning to announce the invitation.

The new league will have at least 12 teams, and likely 16. It's not clear who the 12th team will be yet.

Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are also still on the Pac-10's wish list, and, with the impending breakup of the Big 12 conference, they could all be moving West.

The expanded conference would likely debut in time for the 2012 football season.

Colorado officials have worked this past week to make sure they were included in the Pac-10 expansion plans if the Big 12 broke up. Nebraska is expected to join the Big Ten as early as Friday.

But the source said CU decided it would seek, and accept an invitation from the Pac-10, no matter what happened with the rest of the conference.

A source close to the Nebraska athletic department told The Denver Post on Wednesday that the Cornhuskers are moving on. Multiple media outlets around the Big 12 also reported sources close to the Huskers saying they're bolting, with a move expected to be officially announced Friday when Nebraska regents meet.

I wonder if OU and OSU join PAC 10, will this affect OU vs OSU bedlam game and OU vs Texas red river game? If we keep those two, I don't really care who else we play..

With OU and OSU moving to the Pac 10 I think the one thing that nobody has mentioned is the recruiting pool just got bigger!

OSU and especially OU will be seen by high school kids all over California on TV and in the papers. Recruits will feel more at home going to OU and OSU now. I just hope that OU and OSU can recruit better than the Texas schools. I think the biggest boom for recruiting in Cali will be Colorado. Its lifestyle is more in tune with the Cali kids, so they will see a boom in Cali kids coming in.

Pac-10 vs. SEC. A Tulsa Whirled report I read yesterday confirmed that the SEC has been lobbying the heck out of OU and that OSU's preference is in fact the SEC, they want to be with former rival Arkansas instead of Arizona and other schools they don't know.

But this report that's circulating on the google wire says OSU will in fact be the very next domino to fall, in light of CU's bolting for the Pac-10, and it will be the Pac-10 for the Cowboys.

Oklahoma State Next to Jump to Pac-10 Conference | TMZ.com (http://www.tmz.com/2010/06/10/oklahoma-state-pacific-10-ncaa-conferences-football-big-12/)

Although, it is TMZ.. I guess they're just as good a source in any of this as anyone else LOL. There has literally been NOTHING but unnamed sources close to certain departments and anonymous reports and so on..but they've all been right so far. OSU and OU would of course be tied politically.

I'd rather see an alliance with the SEC. What fantastic games!

I'm with you on this one mugofbeer!

I really dont get the point of the super-conferences (outside of the money).

Let's say OU, OSU, Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech all follow Colorado to the Pac-10.

The new Pac 10 would have two 8 team divisions like so:

--West--
Cal
Stanford
Oregon
Oregon State
USC
UCLA
Washington
Washington State

--East--
Arizona
Arizona State
Colorado
OU
OSU
Texas
Texas A&M
Texas Tech


Each team would play their 7 division mates each season, then either 1 or 2 of the teams in the other division, leaving 4 or 3 non conference games.

So my question is, what is the point? What is the point in OU being in the same conference as Cal if they only play them once every 8 years?

Yes, ain't it amazing that thd Pac 10 would want oSu and Stillwater.

Some media sources (for what they're worth) are saying that this has a lot to do with a certain, very wealthy Texas resident/OSU backer. You can guess who.

[QUOTE=Caboose;337954]I really dont get the point of the super-conferences (outside of the money).

The money is the point. Money drives pretty much everything.

a combination of big 12 and pac 10 officials would be a disaster

The current problem is that they are PAC 10 officials. Of course the OU-Oregon game comes to mind. But after this we'll all be one big happy family. We won't be a competing conference any longer.

[QUOTE=Caboose;337954]I really dont get the point of the super-conferences (outside of the money).

The money is the point. Money drives pretty much everything.

Yeah I get the money angle.. I am talking logistics. Two 8 team divisions might as well just be their own conferences. There will be little to no familiarity between the two divisions. A weak bond held together only by money.

Maybe all these "super conferences" will lead to a REAL National Championship series/game?

Maybe all these "super conferences" will lead to a REAL National Championship series/game?

What do you propose?

Caboose...I am going to wait and see how all this realignment stuff works out.

Channel 5 is reporting that OU is going to the SEC.

Channel 5 is reporting that OU is going to the SEC.

I saw this too. I had hoped for this ever since these stories have started to come out.

I would imagine Bob Stoops lobbied for this to avoid the annual Stoops vs. Stoops matchup.

Not true. Sooner Scoop just asked Josh Heupel straight up and he said that he never got a text saying OU is bolting to the SEC. Whoever Channel 5 is using as their sources needs to be canned.

Some of you may... | Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=134319526583942&id=101946632585)

SoonerScoop.com (SoonerScoop) on Twitter (http://twitter.com/SoonerScoop)

In any event, OU will go wherever UT goes, and OSU will go wherever OU goes.

I'm torn but if I had to make the choice I would vote SEC.

[QUOTE=SoonerBent;337960]

Yeah I get the money angle.. I am talking logistics. Two 8 team divisions might as well just be their own conferences. There will be little to no familiarity between the two divisions. A weak bond held together only by money.

Not that much less connection to the other division than the Big 12. In basketball and baseball there are enough games to play the whole conference. In football the schedule will probably be the seven in your division, rotating two from the other division and three other teams. Every 4 years you will have played the entire conference vs. every two years now.

Maybe all these "super conferences" will lead to a REAL National Championship series/game?

There's been many realignment scenarios reported in the last month. Most of them seem to end up with 4 or 5 "super conferences". With so few conference champions it should be a piece of cake to have a playoff.

In any event, OU will go wherever UT goes, and OSU will go wherever OU goes.

I have nothing to really base this on but gut feeling. I think the deal for six Big 12 teams going to the PAC 10 has been a done deal for days. Colorado just beat everyone to the gun in making it official.

How is this for the SEC?

Drop Vanderbilt and Mississippi St and pickup Texas, Texas AM, Oklahoma, Oklahoma St, Missouri, and Kansas.

You lose 25% of Nashville and whatever town Mississippi St is in and pick-up Dallas, Ft. Worth, Austin, San Antonio, Houston, OKC, Tulsa, Kansas City, 50% of Wichita, and St. Louis.

Hey, we better hope that OSU doesn't get dropped along the way on the account of Stillwater unless Oklahoma City and Tulsa makes up for it.

One of these things, is not like the other things.
YouTube - Pac 16 One of these things... (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTbc98uqofI)

However unlikely as it may be, should no more defections come from the Big 12, which 2 great universities should it seek to replace Colorado and Nebraska? Arkansas and LSU?

Meanwhile, Pickens isn't happy with the situation.
Oklahoma State Booster T. Boone Pickens No Fan of Expansion -- NCAAFB FanHouse (http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2010/06/10/oklahoma-state-booster-t-boone-pickens-no-fan-of-expansion/)

I have nothing to really base this on but gut feeling. I think the deal for six Big 12 teams going to the PAC 10 has been a done deal for days. Colorado just beat everyone to the gun in making it official.
It was a preemptive strike against legislative politicking here in Austin.


How is this for the SEC?

Drop Vanderbilt and Mississippi St and pickup Texas, Texas AM, Oklahoma, Oklahoma St, Missouri, and Kansas.

You lose 25% of Nashville and whatever town Mississippi St is in and pick-up Dallas, Ft. Worth, Austin, San Antonio, Houston, OKC, Tulsa, Kansas City, 50% of Wichita, and St. Louis.
Vandy brings the grade point average up and is a private school, so some conference matters do not fall under the open records acts. Most of the majors have a private school.

And I think Pluto is still a planet. I read the pros and cons for both ou and osu in the paper yesterday. Overall, it would do more for both teams I think... We'll see what happens...

It all depends what Texas decides to do.

I don't have a good idea just yet, but I think a super conference like the 'Big Pac' needs to do something other than divisions...A way that the East and West play each other more frequently... Yet, there are some games that need to happen every year, OU/saxet, so, back to the drawing board...

And Texas is considering a proposal to save the Big 12 with the 10 remaining:
Orangebloods.com - New proposal to save Big 12 with 10 teams being considered by UT (http://texas.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1093803)

I wish we'd stay together, ditch Iowa State (no value to the conference), add TCU, Houston or some other school in a large metro and become the new Big 10. Like the article states, Colorado and Nebraska didnt' really generate a net positive money wise for the conference, with two schools gone that get more money then they bring into the conference and getting rid of Iowa State, which has to be even more of a bleed on the conference, I think we could pull off saving the conference and getting the money the universities want to see.

I think we might get the money for one contract. But, the Big Twelve or whatever they're going to call it is clearly going to drop in importance and ranking relative to the SEC, Big Ten and probably PAC-12. We would have to add schools that rank in importance with Nebraska and Colorado even to maintain the status quo. Houston and TCU are not that kind of school. Who's going to watch either OU or Texas play Baylor, Kansas State, Iowa State and Tech on television outside of these two states? Our next contract after this one will be smaller, and I fear OU's national reputation is going to start to slide. What appeal will being in the Big Whatever have for recruits outside of Oklahoma or Texas? Will it be as appealing a destination for coaches when the level of competition has dropped? How do we know Missouri won't ultimately end up going to the Big Ten, and how do we know Texas won't bolt without us the next time?

We were in a position to create a football powerhouse in the Pac-16 and what sounded like it was going to end up with a bang is looking more and more like a whimper.

From ESPN Sportscenter

Report: Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott says Texas declines invitation to join conference.

Great, if it goes thru. I'm for it. If so, it will be interesting to see if it's decided that Colorado and Nebraska will be replaced.

I'm pretty underwhelmed at the end result of this saga. I'd like to see a little shake up by dropping Iowa State and picking up a replacement.

I wouldn't mind dropping Iowa State either. But, I don't want to add ANOTHER texas school. Maybe an Arkansas, LSU or heck, even an Ole Miss.

Apparently the new deal locks the conference at the 10 remaining schools. That's how the schools are going to get higher payout than before which is what this is all about...money.