Friday, September 23, 2011

Big 12 saved, or is Missouri still in play?


Today's quiz: Who said it?

"... pushed me out of the stands ... eight foot drop onto concrete."

a) The Iowa State mascot, who broke his arm during the game at UConn. (Story here.)
b) Former Big 12 commish Dan Beebe.

The correct answer is a), but for the purposes of this and future posts, b) is perfectly acceptable as well.

Sports Illustrated sums it all up: "The Big 12 dumped embattled Commissioner Dan Beebe on Thursday and announced a plan to bind nine member schools together by holding a huge financial hammer -- their TV rights for the next six years -- over the heads. The plan is far from a done deal, since it must be approved by some if not all the schools' governing bodies." (Full story here; Andy Staples surveys the scene here.)

So Missouri's in lockstep with all this? Maybe, maybe not. Here's the headline from The Kansas City Star: "Mizzou doesn't commit to Big 12, SEC still an option." (Full story here.) That doesn't quite square with The Times-Picayune: "Missouri off the table for SEC's 14th team" (Full story here.)

But Texas A&M is still SEC-bound, right? Sure. We think. "They're so far down the line with the SEC that I don't think they are likely to change their mind," said Oklahoma President David Boren.

For now, the last word belongs to new Texas A&M chancellor John Sharp, who said Tuesday, "We are going to the Southeastern Conference to play with the big boys," then added, "That will come back to haunt me."

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Missouri is probably a better fit for the Big 10 anyway. I'm mildly surprised the SEC told West Virginia to take a long walk off a short pier. At least in the short term, adding them wouldn't significantly hurt football and they would help men's hoops significantly. As long as Auburn fields a men's hoops team, absolutely any school would improve the SEC in men's hoops, including NC State, who is the latest rumored target.

Anonymous said...

I think the most likely case is that Missouri has decided to stay with the Big12 for now but has a gentleman's agreement that when (not if) the Big12 finally falls apart then Missouri will join the SEC.

I don't think the SEC feels like it HAS to have and even number of teams. Most likely they are okay with standing pat until the Big12 dissolves and Missouri finally joins.

Anonymous said...

Unfortunately it has nothing to do with academics... WVU could be competitive in SEC football and go to a bowl game every year and be better than all but UK is basketball... its all about TV markets, WV offers none so they are going to be screwed when this is all said and done...