Yesterday I posted that the Big XII is an unstable conference, but I thought it unlikely that it would dissolve. Perhaps I was being optimistic, but Kirk Bohls has some interesting thoughts about what may come next.
Go ahead, Sooners. Make the last move that sinks the Big 12.
And it is quite possible, in light of Texas A&M’s defection, that your move will be one that politically astute Texas quietly supports while also hoping that it happens quickly. The Longhorns would dearly love the Sooners to take the lead. And much of the heat that comes with it.
Should Oklahoma act upon its earnest desires and seek an invitation to join the Pacific-12 Conference — something I’m fully expecting to happen within days, if not hours — that decision could well be the killing blow to the Big 12 while also providing Texas the political cover to follow suit and ask for admission as well.
…Your new Pac-16 members: Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.
The era of the super conference begins.
The Longhorn Network gets folded into the Pac-16 as a downsized regional network, joining the six regional networks that already exist within the conference.
Missouri ends up in the Big Ten or ACC, and Kansas heads to the Big East. If for some inexplicable reason Texas chooses not to pursue Pac-12 membership, look for Texas Tech to be left out and expect the Pac-12 to focus on Kansas and Missouri along with OU and OSU. Don’t dawdle, Texas.
ESPN’s David Ubben posted these tweets this morning which lends creedence to Bohl’s prediction.
Anybody ignoring Oklahoma’s silence on the “We <3 Big 12!” press release front today isn’t paying enough attention.
Things that make you go hmm… RT @Agallion Tech and OSU didnt say anything either
Bohls says it comes down to trust, or more precisely, the lack of it.
Because the Big 12’s options are few, its future is tenuous at best. No one seems to trust anyone any more. Everybody is jealous of Texas’ clout and tired of its flaunting of the Longhorn Network. Most of the Big 12 schools are petrified they’ll be left out. With good reason.
Sports leagues are cooperatives, but Texas never seemed able to grasp that fact sufficiently to stabilize the Big XII. If Bohl’s prediction comes true and Texas ends up moving with OU, OSU, and Tech to form the Pac 16, will it set aside it’s Texas-sized ego for the good of its new conference?
What about the leftovers? It would seem that Kansas and Missouri would land somewhere in a major conference. Missouri’s football program looks as strong as it’s ever been and Kansas has it’s storied basketball program. Yes, this realignment is all about football and moving towards a football playoff, but the Jayhawks would bring a lot of basketball eyeballs to whatever conference KU ends up in.
What about poor Iowa State, Kansas State, and Baylor? If I were the AD’s at those schools I’d be praying like hell and saying all the right things.
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