Iowa State endorses deal that keeps Big 12 intact until at least 2020

Iowa State endorsed an agreement that keeps the Big 12 Conference together as it is now until 2020, according to a document received Monday from president Gregory Geoffroy’s office. That not only shows solidarity among the 10 remaining members, but a commitment to scheduling that likely will include additional conference games in football and basketball. “We view the Big 12 Conference as a great fit for Iowa State, and I am confident that the Big 12 will continue to be one of the nation’s most outstanding athletic conferences,” Geoffroy said Monday through university spokesman John McCarroll. The agreement keeps the remaining 10 Big 12 schools together through at least June 30,2020. “We have long-standing competitive relationships with the other members, and we look forward to that continuing,” Geoffroy said. – Des Moines Register

Houston chasing Big 12 admission

Houston is gazing at greener pastures, whether they exist or not. The head of the Big 12 insists there are no plans to add Texas teams to the conference, but Renu Khator, chancellor and president of the University of Houston, apparently didn’t get the message. She’s still pushing for membership in the Big 12 or another high-powered athletic league, saying the school deserves a spot because of its rising academic ambitions. “Sometimes you get defined by the company you keep,” Khator said. “You compare your progress against the schools in your league. Being associated with the highest group is always a good thing.” … “For years, the University of Houston has improved its research and academic functions in its drive to rank among the premier universities in Texas,” the letter states. “We believe that its inclusion in the prestigious Big 12 conference would assist in this endeavor.” – Houston Chronicle

Jerry Jones want Arkansas, Notre Dame in Big 12

Thought to be on life support so very recently, the Big 12, in the eyes of Jerry Jones, should expand. [Jones], owner of the Dallas Cowboys, former University of Arkansas football player and big-time power broker in the world of professional and now college athletics, is the driving force behind a potential move that would make the Big 12 the most compelling conference in the history of college football. Jones, according to a source familiar with his thinking, wants his alma mater to play in a league with former Southwest Conference rivals Texas and Texas A&M. A visionary, Jones sees the Big 12 expanding with Arkansas and Notre Dame. Such a conference alignment turns on TV sets across America and sends cash gushing out of Big 12 faucets everywhere. – Lawrence Journal-World

Big 12 still headed for divorce

Perhaps the Big 12’s recent win is more in a battle than the war. [The] pleasure over the bigger payday will wear off as the days go by and the second-tier B12 schools once again realize that (1) Texas still runs the conference, but with only more power than before; (2) the financial disparity between the top B12 teams and the lower-level teams will be even more extreme. And as the initial happiness fades, the bitterness will set in. And there’s no way this will end well. We’ll be back in this ring of fire again; it’s just a matter of time. … [If] Texas and its southwest pals see a better opportunity and want to run to it, they’ll run to it. Divorce is inevitable. – St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Report: Longhorns might commit to new Big 12 (10)

In a bombshell development that could bring a halt to seismic changes in college realignment, sources tell Orangebloods.com Texas is willing to come to the table with the 10 remaining Big 12 schools to see if there’s consensus for a plan put forth by commissioner Dan Beebe to hold the conference together. UT officials were expected to reach out to the other schools around the league on Monday to see if the Big 12 can be saved with 10 teams. Such a move would appear to at least put on hold a courtship between Texas and the Pac-10, which all but seemed solidified as of Friday when Nebraska announced it was heading to the Big Ten and Colorado had a press conference with its new commissioner - Larry Scott of the Pac-10. But as it became clear over the weekend that Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State appeared ready join the Pac-10 and Texas A&M appeared ready to join the SEC, Beebe was able to obtain assurances that a TV deal could be reached paying each of the 10 remaining members of the Big 12 between $14 million and $17 million. Under Beebe’s plan, schools would also be able to explore their own distribution platforms, including networks. Texas would not be able to pursue those options in the Pac-10, which is planning to launch a conference network in 2012 and would require schools to turn over all of their inventory. The big question now is if Texas A&M, which, according to Orangebloods.com, has the votes on its nine-member Board of Regents to join the Southeastern Conference, would reconsider a possible move to the SEC and remain in the Big 12 with its long-time, in-state rival. – Orangebloods.com

Aggies likely headed to SEC; OU next?

Multiple sources tell Orangebloods.com that Texas A&M has enough votes on its nine-member Board of Regents to join the Southeastern Conference and could announce that move as early as next week.A source close to the situation said A&M has an invitation from the SEC if it wants it. SEC commissioner Mike Slive was in College Station on Saturday meeting with A&M officials, according to sources, although A&M athletic director Bill Byrne was in Idaho. The sources said the A&M regents who favor the move to the SEC outnumber those who favor staying with longtime rival Texas in a move to the Pac-10… According to sources, SEC commissioner Mike Slive and A&M are working feverishly to convince Oklahoma to join the SEC with the Aggies rather than follow Texas to the Pac-10. There is speculation among a few schools in the Big 12 that if OU had to choose between the Pac-10 and SEC, it would choose the SEC. But sources close to OU say, up to this point, the Sooners have made a decision to go with Texas and not break up one of college football’s most unique rivalries. – Orangebloods.com

Hold Everything: Big 12 may not be dead just yet

Three different sources at Big 12 South schools being targeted by the Pac-10 told Orangebloods.com Sunday morning that Dan Beebe’s attempts to secure a new TV deal on par with the SEC’s $17 million/school payout for the 10 remaining schools in the Big 12 is in play. The sources said they are proceeding cautiously with the new information provided by Beebe. But the information might slow down the rocket-like pace of Big 12 schools seeking a new home and possibly draw all the divided parties back to the table… Texas A&M has been in deep discussions with the SEC and as of Saturday night had enough votes on its Board of Regents to join the SEC (believed to be 6-3). But the dissenting votes on A&M’s regents board are apparently passionate about keeping Texas and A&M together and not breaking up a 100-year rivalry by having the schools head to different leagues. SEC commissioner Mike Slive was in College Station Saturday. Sources close to the situation say A&M has an invitation to the SEC if it wants it. The SEC has also been doggedly pursuing Oklahoma. But thus far, OU, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State have indicated they would stay with Texas. Up to this point, that appeared to be an announcement to join the Pac-10, starting as early as Tuesday of this week. But with news that Texas is now seriously considering the Beebe Plan, there is a growing chance the Big 12, which is now at 10 schools (the Big Ten, by the way, is now at 12 schools) just might survive after all. – Orangebloods.com

Nebraska joins Big Ten

Nebraska has officially accepted an invitation to join the Big Ten Conference, The World-Herald learned early Friday afternoon. Two sources from conference offices said that Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany contacted BIg 12 Commissioner Dan Beebe on Friday morning to inform Beebe that Delany had officially invited Nebraska to join. A source with direct knowledge of the situation said Nebraska accepted. – Omaha World-Herald

Strong Ramifications for Aggies if move made to SEC

Two sources told me late Thursday afternoon that it has been expressed to the Aggies that a move to the SEC would be viewed as an athletics act of war because it is important to the other schools involved to keep the SEC out of this state as a major presence - both in recruiting and in terms of market reach. Although there haven’t been any hard line threats, there’s a feeling from all of the schools from the Big 12 South that A&M would become dead to them as an athletics partner and it’s very likely that they wouldn’t be scheduled by Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State in any sport… for a very, very long time. When we talk about the loss of tradition in this move for A&M, we’re not talking about the school song or the bonfire. We’re talking about the ability to pursue any existing competition in any sport - not in football, basketball, baseball, poker, lawn darts… nothing. No more Lone Star State Showdown. Also, my sources indicate that this is not a UT-led initiative and that all of the schools are in firm agreement that an A&M move to the SEC would need to be met with pretty stiff repercussions. The bottom line is that there will be a lot of political jostling over the course of the next few days and into early next week. Look for the other four schools to sit back, watch and wait for Texas A&M to figure out who they are. Texas wants A&M sitting shotgun on the ride to the Pac-10. If A&M wants out of the car, they won’t be let back in. – Orangebloods.com

Oklahoma State sitting pretty, thanks to T. Boone Pickens

Oklahoma State is among the schools that look to have a soft place to land as one of the Big 12 programs that will likely join the Pac-10. It has always been lumped in with Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech. It has always been part of that group of refugees that have been offered shelter. “We’re in,” Boone Pickens said of being among the Big 12 schools offered membership into the Pac-10. “It cost us, but we’re in.” Cost them to upgrade football. Cost them to move up in the pecking order. But consider the cost of not doing that. Where would the Cowboys be now? Every chance that they have gotten, OSU officials have shown off their new football palace. Any time any high-profile, well-connected person is in Stillwater, they get a tour of everything. “Either get competitive,” Pickens said, “or you’re gonna lose out.” Without Pickens, the Cowboys would’ve done the latter. They would’ve lost out in the conference realignment shuffle. They would’ve been calling the Mountain West or Conference USA and hoping for an invite. – Oklahoman

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