20(BIG)12: THE END OF THE WORLD
Nebraska could bolt by Friday
That's the word from Omaha World-Leader, which is where you would expect something like this to break. But it's also an odd way of wording the sourcing.
An executive at a Big 12 school relayed to The World-Herald on Tuesday that he expects Nebraska to become a member of the Big Ten as early as Friday. ...
Direct confirmation from Nebraska of a conference change for the Huskers wasn't immediately available. Sources at two other Big 12 schools told The World-Herald that their athletic directors have instructed them to be ready by week's end for a briefing on probable Big 12 changes.
What does AD Tom Osborne have to say?
"Anything I would say regarding Nebraska's position or other schools in the Big 12 would be pure speculation. And I don't think that's very helpful."
Speculation? You're the frigging athletics director. I realize that the actual decision is above your pay grade, but your insights would be more than speculation. So, view this as near-confirmation. And if Tom Osborne ever invites you to his poker game, accept immediately.
Chip Brown: Colorado might be the first Big XII member to leave
Brown's latest dispatch from the expansion front.
There is growing speculation from other Big 12 members that Tuesday night's meeting among Colorado University leaders is to discuss the legality of bolting the Big 12 right now to accept an invitation from another conference, two sources told Orangebloods.com.
One source inside the Big 12 said Colorado was expected to have a major announcement as early as Wednesday.
BREAKING NEWS: COLORADO TO LEAVE BIG XII WEDNESDAY!!!
But that announcement may be with regard to scholarship reductions for the Colorado football and basketball programs because of substandard NCAA APR (Academic Progress Rates).
Oh. Well that was kind of boring. Though there is something in Brown's story that is an interesting potential subplot in the Baylor vs. Colorado saga.
The price to get out of the Big 12 is a $10 million buyout, and it would take a vote of nine members of the Big 12 to dissolve the league and eliminate any buyout penalties, according to one league source.
Sources say Colorado's athletic department is not in strong financial condition, and the school doesn't have the kind of money right now to buy its freedom.
In fairness, I'm not sure Baylor could afford the $10 million. But if the Big XII doesn't spin apart, it could really complicate things for Larry Scott and the Pac-10. Which might also be part of the figuring involved in the Pac-16. But six plus two is eight, which means Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa and the remaining of the BU-CU pair could technically end up with $80 million. Whatever good that might do them.
The meeting that had everyone in a state of panic Tuesday
Apparently, it was not uneventful but also not earth-shattering, if Colorado President Bruce Benson and spokesman Ken McConnellogue are to be believed.
Benson would not say whether CU has received an invitation to join another conference, but McConnellogue later said the school has not received any such invitation.
McConnellogue also said the Big 12 Conference has not given CU any kind of deadline to pledge its allegiance to the league. CU never has wavered from its stance that it is a proud member of the Big 12 in its current form.
"Sure, right now we`re committed members of the Big 12," McConnellogue said.
He sounds so committed about it. "Sure, yeah, whatever, I'll have a hamburger." Is that a dirge I hear?
As for Brown's announcement Wednesday ...
Steve Bosley, chair of the Board of Regents, said he "doesn`t know anything about" an announcement planned for today. He said there was no vote at the meeting, as the regents cannot vote in closed session, and there are no meetings scheduled to further debate or vote on any decisions related to the conferences in the next few weeks.
In fairness, that doesn't necessarily mean anything. There are some regents in higher education that are in it for the free monthly trip and the food. I know -- I've covered some of them.
In any case, how does Colorado feel about joining the Mountain West?[para] If Colorado was passed over by the Pac-10 or left out in the cold in some other conference realignment or expansion scenario, one doomsday scenario could be ending up in the Mountain West Conference with Colorado State, Air Force and Wyoming.
Now, it's not the Big XII, but I don't know that I would call joining the Mountain West "a doomsday scenario," though you could be forgiven for thinking that if Colorado State, Air Force and Wyoming were presented as a representative sampling of its members. (Um, TCU? BYU? Utah?)
Joining the C-USA? Now, that would be a doomsday scenario. Wait a minute ...
C-USA thought about expansion?!?
Is there any conference out there that hasn't?
At last month's C-USA spring meetings, Banowsky said the league had considered pre-emptive expansion a year ago but declined to make any moves. If schools like Colorado, Kansas and Kansas State were left without a legitimate BCS option, C-USA would undoubtedly be interested, and that's where Neinas may come in.
The Neinas they refer to is new C-USA consultant Chuck Neinas, former commissioner of the Big 8 -- a conference that collapsed six years after he left. Yes, that would be whom you would hire if you were trying to survive.
Perhaps more absurd is the idea of a conference that would stretch from Orlando, Fla., to Boulder, Colo. That is, assuming that Colorado would even join the C-USA to begin with. But since common sense took a leave of absences with "Pac-10 Champion Oklahoma State," why not?
Missouri must take blood oath by June 17
That's the word out of the St. Louis Dispatch, though they could have gotten the university confused with a local museum.
The topic is not on the public agenda for the curators meeting, but it's almost certain to be discussed during a scheduled closed executive session on Thursday. Included in the agenda is a 10-minute news conference on Friday morning with MU president Gary Forsee and board chair Judith Haggard. But the school noted, "Media should be advised there will be no comment on Big 10 or Big 12 athletics matters Thursday or Friday."
Curators?
OTHER NEWS
Jackie Sherrill to be inducted in Independence Bowl 'Hall of Honor'
For winning the "Snow Bowl," perhaps the thing he's most famous for that didn't involve the NCAA or livestock.
Florida will face Miami in Super Regional
The Hurricanes (finally) defeated Texas A&M in the Regional.
This is why I usually use 'Head Ball Coach' instead of 'Ol' Ball Coach'
Just in case you're wondering. That, and Steve Spurrier has an interesting take on his time in Washington.
I'm sort of proud that I've lasted this long and have not gotten fired. One of my goals is to be a coach that never got fired.
One might say that is technically true, but one would also have to note that a reporter once called Spurrier to ask him about his resignation from the Redskins only to have Spurrier reply that he didn't know the resignation was official yet. So ...