Pale Ale
Well-Known Member
Came across this in the Statesman. Lots of reading to keep you busy today.
EXPANSION STORY DU JOUR: BUFFS LEAVE
And here we all thought that it was going to be Nebraska that would end up being that first domino.
Colorado’s announcement Thursday that it was leaving the Big 12 to join the Pac-10 — coupled with the impending news that Nebraska is going to follow suit and leave for the Big Ten — has set into motion the Big 12’s final days.
The breakup of the Big 12 now seems a lot like the San Andreas Fault. It’s not a question of if, but when.
That’s the basic feeling across the country. There are lots and lots of subplots and questions, all of which we should find out in the coming days, weeks and months: What’s going to happen to Baylor? Or Kansas — particularly Kansas basketball? Will Texas and Texas A&M go to the Pac-10 and take the rest of the non-Baylor Big 12 South with them? Or will the Horns and Aggies even stay together at all? Where’s Missouri in all of this? And Notre Dame? Can the Big Ten land the Irish, then a couple of others, to give us three super conferences?
Lots of questions. Lots.
Our take on conference expansion took a step back and considered several parts to this story.
The highlights:
The beauty of these Breakfast blogs is that it allows us to take a broader look at how the rest of the country is reporting this story.
- This isn’t all just about athletics. Politics is going to play an important part, just as it did when the old Southwest Conference splintered and the Big 12 was formed in the first place.
- Just because Texas and Texas A&M have been connected so long as the state’s biggest schools and in-state rivals doesn’t mean the Horns and Aggies will end up in the same conference.
- In many ways, Nebraska holds the key. If the Huskers leave, “the dominoes start falling. I think if Nebraska stays, everything would pretty much remain the same,” said A&M regent — and former A&M and Alabama coach — Gene Stallings.
- Despite Internet reports and rumors, Texas is not in active discussions with the Big Ten, nor do the Horns want an invite.
- Top officials from Texas and Texas A&M met Thursday in Austin. Topic: the future.
- Colorado’s move cripples Baylor, which now seems to be on the outside looking in for a Pac-10 invite.
Still hungry?
Then here goes:
The Dallas Morning News is reporting that while Texas, Texas Tech and Oklahoma are looking to the Pac-10, Texas A&M wants to at least check out the prospects of joining the SEC.
Also, DMN columnist Tim Cowlishaw gave his 16 things to ponder about life in a Pac-16 world and Arkansas legend Frank Broyles told Kevin Sherrington that “college football is the loser” in this situation.
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram says that as the Big 12 is on the verge of crumbling, a move to the Pac-10 raises all sorts of issues, including extreme travel costs, Baylor’s future, how this impacts TCU and whether this means the soon-to-be death of the Big East as well.
Gil Lebreton, meanwhile, thinks A&M’s next course of action should be east — as in the SEC — and not west to the Pac-10.
The Waco Tribune-Herald rightly focused on Baylor, which will have to scramble to find a new league if the Big 12 goes down. It also thinks Baylor no longer being in the Big 12 would hurt Waco’s economy and that state politicians aren’t going to bat for the school.
In Lubbock, the Avalanche-Journal spoke with new head football coach Tommy Tuberville, who’s “still a little amazed” at recent developments.
The Daily Oklahoman’s coverage included a piece on Sooners athletic director Joe Castiglione, who says he’s still working to save the Big 12 — and who maintains that Texas is the key.
That’s also the point of another Oklahoman piece by columnist Berry Tramel, who published an e-mail obtained by the newspaper between Texas regent Bob Stillwell and Oklahoma State athletic director Mike Holder, written on May 27:
Stillwell: “I cannot imagine any scenario where UT/Aggies are not coupled with OSU/OU.”
Holder: “”We just want to be with Texas when the dust settles!”
Indeed, Tramel maintains, where the Longhorns go, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State want to follow.
Tramel also reports that Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy would prefer a new Pac-16 to not include separate divisions, which most recent theories suggest will happen.
The Omaha World-Herald split its analysis between the Big 12 and the Big Ten, and rightly so, since it’s widely speculated that the Huskers will opt for the Big Ten, perhaps as early as today.
The paper published a reader-friendly Q&A on Nebraska’s future in all of this, including why the Huskers are leaving the Big 12 (Texas runs the conference), why the Big Ten would be better (money, of course), and what’s wrong with Kansas (location, location, location — and football).
There also was a story quoting Colorado associate athletic director Dave Plati as saying the Buffaloes would still be open to scheduling Nebraska as a non-conference game.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch centered on Missouri’s fate in all of this, and that while the Big Ten has said it’s considering inviting schools in stages, now’s the time to ask Missouri if it plans to do so.
Meanwhile, columnist Bryan Burwell is calling Mizzou’s loyalty to the Big 12 “suspicious” given that historically the Big 12 has treated the school “like an unwanted stepchild.”
Out west, the Los Angeles Times, while reporting with vigor on how Thursday’s NCAA sanctions could cost USC millions of dollars, also has a source with knowledge of the Pac-10’s plan to land Texas, OU, OSU, A&M and Tech is “locked and loaded.”
The Seattle Times things that soon, once the Horns, Aggies, Raiders, Sooners and Cowboys are in the Pac-10 fold, it’ll be time to call the league the Enormous 16.
Arizona Republic columnist Dan Bickley wonders if all of this is revolution or evolution, while Arizona athletic director Greg Byrne is calling this an “exciting day for the Pac-10.”
The Orlando Sentinel says that both Oklahoma and Texas A&M have already received bids to join the SEC. Or, as columnist Steve Kelley framed it, the big time just got bigger, and while sometimes bigger isn’t better, this time it is.
