Source: UT, 3 others poised for Pac-10
Posted: Fri Jun 11, 2010 2:32 pm
Updated: June 11, 2010, 5:16 PM ET
AUSTIN, Texas -- University of Texas regents will meet next week to decide whether the Longhorns will remain in the Big 12 or switch to another conference, setting the table for an unprecedented realignment of power conferences in college sports.
A source within the Big 12 told ESPN's Joe Schad on Friday that Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are poised to announce they intend to join the Pac-10 as early as Tuesday, with Texas A&M still not firmly on board.
There are members of the Texas A&M board of regents who are more interested in pursuing the SEC than the Pac-10, the source said.
But Texas holds the most significant sway amid a tectonic shift that has seen Colorado move to the Pac-10 and Nebraska bolting to the Big Ten in successive days.
"Our goals and hopes all along have been to keep the Big 12 Conference intact," Texas men's athletics director DeLoss Dodds said in a statement. "The league has been great for its members. We also have been honorable, up front and forthright with regard to our work and responsiveness to all the possible and now definitive changes to conference landscapes."
The Texas regents announced Friday they will hold a meeting by telephone Tuesday for "discussion and appropriate action regarding athletic conference membership."
Texas Tech has also scheduled a special board of regents meeting for Tuesday, at which the formalization of an acceptance to the Pac-10 could occur, the Big 12 source told ESPN.
The athletic director of Texas' longtime interstate rival, Oklahoma, said if the Longhorns were to announce they were committed to staying in the Big 12, the other teams left would likely remain, too.
"Behind the scenes, we're talking about all the different kinds of strategies and plans that would prove that point," Joe Castiglione told The Oklahoman on Thursday.
Oklahoma, Baylor and Kansas have been gathering information about the fiscal viability of keeping the conference alive with 10 teams, a Big 12 source told ESPN's Schad. In that scenario the conference would sacrifice a conference title game. They are exploring the television ramifications as well.
"We have a very, very strong sense from our television partners that the revenue stream would be very, very good going forward," Castiglione told The Oklahoman. "Better than where we are today."
A source familiar with the Pac-10's plans told ESPN that the SEC's interests in Texas A&M and Oklahoma are "real." Another source within the Big 12 said Texas A&M does not necessarily feel it should be required to be attached to the Longhorns.
"We are entrusted with the responsibility of administering our university athletics programs," Dodds said in the statement. "That requires careful examination of any and all options. It is both premature and inappropriate to speculate on what our UT System Regents will discuss at next Tuesday's meeting. But, as the dynamics of the Big 12 continue to change around us, we will utilize additional time to continue our work and evaluate our options."
Castiglione said he continued to work toward a solution to save the Big 12, which he said can still thrive -- in competition and on the balance sheet.
"I understand people are writing this like the ship has sailed and there really isn't any way the Big 12 could stay together," Castiglione told the Oklahoma City newspaper Thursday. "I just don't think this is true. I think there's still a way for us to stick together and be viable. Whether we do or not, I don't know."
In addition to Colorado's move, the Pac-10 is also reportedly interested in inviting Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech to form a 16-team league.
Missouri was reported to be on the trading block, too, even reportedly prompting the Big 12 to issue an ultimatum that also included Nebraska, requiring the schools to commit to the Big 12 by Friday, with an extension possible through Tuesday.
But the president of the University of Missouri system, Gary Forsee, told reporters Thursday he doesn't feel compelled to "justify our loyalty"
"I don't think we need to justify our history in that regard," Forsee said.
Forsee, speaking for the first time on the conference shuffling, said he decided to speak on the subject after Colorado announced its move to the Pac-10.
"Our curators are very interested in those developments, very interested in these facts as they appear. As you might imagine we won't participate in feeding continued speculation of what else might happen around conference realignment or in the Big 12 for that matter.
"But rest assured that our Board of Curators, all our administrators, are on top of these issues."
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AUSTIN, Texas -- University of Texas regents will meet next week to decide whether the Longhorns will remain in the Big 12 or switch to another conference, setting the table for an unprecedented realignment of power conferences in college sports.
A source within the Big 12 told ESPN's Joe Schad on Friday that Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are poised to announce they intend to join the Pac-10 as early as Tuesday, with Texas A&M still not firmly on board.
There are members of the Texas A&M board of regents who are more interested in pursuing the SEC than the Pac-10, the source said.
But Texas holds the most significant sway amid a tectonic shift that has seen Colorado move to the Pac-10 and Nebraska bolting to the Big Ten in successive days.
"Our goals and hopes all along have been to keep the Big 12 Conference intact," Texas men's athletics director DeLoss Dodds said in a statement. "The league has been great for its members. We also have been honorable, up front and forthright with regard to our work and responsiveness to all the possible and now definitive changes to conference landscapes."
The Texas regents announced Friday they will hold a meeting by telephone Tuesday for "discussion and appropriate action regarding athletic conference membership."
Texas Tech has also scheduled a special board of regents meeting for Tuesday, at which the formalization of an acceptance to the Pac-10 could occur, the Big 12 source told ESPN.
The athletic director of Texas' longtime interstate rival, Oklahoma, said if the Longhorns were to announce they were committed to staying in the Big 12, the other teams left would likely remain, too.
"Behind the scenes, we're talking about all the different kinds of strategies and plans that would prove that point," Joe Castiglione told The Oklahoman on Thursday.
Oklahoma, Baylor and Kansas have been gathering information about the fiscal viability of keeping the conference alive with 10 teams, a Big 12 source told ESPN's Schad. In that scenario the conference would sacrifice a conference title game. They are exploring the television ramifications as well.
"We have a very, very strong sense from our television partners that the revenue stream would be very, very good going forward," Castiglione told The Oklahoman. "Better than where we are today."
A source familiar with the Pac-10's plans told ESPN that the SEC's interests in Texas A&M and Oklahoma are "real." Another source within the Big 12 said Texas A&M does not necessarily feel it should be required to be attached to the Longhorns.
"We are entrusted with the responsibility of administering our university athletics programs," Dodds said in the statement. "That requires careful examination of any and all options. It is both premature and inappropriate to speculate on what our UT System Regents will discuss at next Tuesday's meeting. But, as the dynamics of the Big 12 continue to change around us, we will utilize additional time to continue our work and evaluate our options."
Castiglione said he continued to work toward a solution to save the Big 12, which he said can still thrive -- in competition and on the balance sheet.
"I understand people are writing this like the ship has sailed and there really isn't any way the Big 12 could stay together," Castiglione told the Oklahoma City newspaper Thursday. "I just don't think this is true. I think there's still a way for us to stick together and be viable. Whether we do or not, I don't know."
In addition to Colorado's move, the Pac-10 is also reportedly interested in inviting Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech to form a 16-team league.
Missouri was reported to be on the trading block, too, even reportedly prompting the Big 12 to issue an ultimatum that also included Nebraska, requiring the schools to commit to the Big 12 by Friday, with an extension possible through Tuesday.
But the president of the University of Missouri system, Gary Forsee, told reporters Thursday he doesn't feel compelled to "justify our loyalty"
"I don't think we need to justify our history in that regard," Forsee said.
Forsee, speaking for the first time on the conference shuffling, said he decided to speak on the subject after Colorado announced its move to the Pac-10.
"Our curators are very interested in those developments, very interested in these facts as they appear. As you might imagine we won't participate in feeding continued speculation of what else might happen around conference realignment or in the Big 12 for that matter.
"But rest assured that our Board of Curators, all our administrators, are on top of these issues."
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