http://www.themercury.com/K-StateSports/article.aspx?articleId=3d2af06db8284de69292e4bd5d8d69a2
Fifteen schools were present at the meeting, with Rice being the lone exception.
Southwest Conference commissioner Steve Hatchell and Big Eight commissioner Carl James were at the hotel, but stayed out in the hall during the meeting.
"We met for I'd say two hours and just had a discussion, a complete discussion on a merger," Wefald said. "There's 15 schools there and we're kind of sitting on chairs, and after about a half-hour of conversation, I just said, 'well, let's just see who might be interested in mergering.'
"We're going around the room and it's one after the other 'I, I, I, I,' and ironically the last school was the University of Texas."
Fitting that it would once again come down to Texas. There sat new president Bob Berdahl, pondering the decision.
"The 14 schools said let's do it and we got to the University of Texas and Berdahl said 'I've got to think about this, I've gotta take it to our board of regents.' I just said to myself in my mind, 'oh darn-it, it's not going to happen.' That's just how influential the University of Texas is."