Realignment: The Week Ahead

Update 9/19 @ 8:16 PM:


A few nuggets:


Oklahoma Board of Regents have formally authorized president David Boren to pursue any action necessary regarding conference alignment. Nothing surprising there. 


Big East will apparently hold Pitt (and presumably Syracuse) to its contract, meaning a June 2014 exit date (earliest). No word on whether Pitt could buy its way out to an earlier date. 


Mountain West and Conference-USA are discussing a merger.


Remnants of Big East likely to merge with remnants of Big 12. Both likely can't survive.


Posturing: Info from a few sources reiterates that the Pac 12 will not budge in its insistence that all third-tier revenues from networks be shared among all teams in the conference. OU insists that equal revenue sharing is the only way it would consider staying in Big 12. Not a great deal new there, but it does make one wonder....


Musing: If Texas has presumably been checkmated into an equal revenue sharing agreement no matter where they go, why would they not consider telling OU "okay, equal sharing, we stay if you stay," making OU and UT the kingpins of a dead-on-the-vine conference - a true "AL East" as postulated by Mark Cuban. Reality suggests that members of the presumably enlarged Pac 16 stand to earn as much as $35 million (nearly double) in an expanded conference, which would seemingly make that choice a near no-brainer. 


Right now, I still think it's the Gang of Four heading west after some saber-rattling, but we'll see.


Clarification 9/19 @ 1:53PM Oklahoma's Board of Regents meeting now. Alignment (way) down the agenda.


One item I wanted to clarify in the midst of the updates is the issue of OU's "invitation" (or lack thereof) to the Pac 12. I stand behind (several) local media member reports over the last two wweeks (and tweets) that stated quite plainly that Oklahoma has a standing, informal, "unofficial" agreement with the Pac 12 to join their conference with Oklahoma State regardless of Texas' action. I have read nothing to contradict that issue, not even spin from Orangebloods.com. 


This agreement, as best I can understand it, was worked out between OU Athletics Director Joe Castiglione and Pac 12 commissioner Larry Scott close to two weeks ago. When the agreement was reached, a local reporter said that "(Castiglione) looked the most relieved he'd been in weeks." 


Right now, Texas is the team with no leverage. None. No conference wants the Longhorn Network as it sits. Public posturing indicates Texas is trying to play a measure of hardball with LHN in its Pac 12 negotiations, when in reality playing that kind of poker with a handful of blank cards and no chips gives you very little room to raise the stakes. With no alternatives, Texas either goes independent, or accedes to Pac 12 rules. There's really no middle ground. While Oklahoma is patient and wants to create at least the appearance of unity with Texas, don't think for a second David Boren won't press forward independently in a heartbeat should he decide it is in OU's best interests to do so .


This week stands to be the biggest yet in the shifting tides of conference realignment.

Texas and Oklahoma's respective Boards of Regents will be meeting to empower their presidents to make a deal with whatever conference they deem appropriate. The current speculation is that both are headed to the Pac-12, but hurdles - perhaps significant - remain, chief among them the Longhorn Network and Texas' willingness to shrink it to Pac-12 rules. Another hurdle is whether conference presidents are willing to admit schools with supposedly secondary academic status, although it would seem commissioner Larry Scott should be able to overcome them.

The Pac-12 is showing no signs of budging on its network rules, with the WilmerReport suggesting that Missouri could be on the conference's radar should Texas not come to terms. That would implicitly imperil Tech's move as well.

The SEC is reported quietly looking to jump to 16 teams, reportedly likely to accept West Virginia's upcoming application. The ACC apparently also believes that they are also about to lose Florida State to the SEC as well, meaning a currently unknown 16th team is likely brewing in the SEC's radar.

Acrimony in the Big East came to a head with the sudden departure of Syracuse and Pitt, and now suggestions are that the conference may not survive. Remants of the Big 12 and the Big East may merge to form a new regional conference.

This week should prove to be most interesting. Stay tuned.

We interrupt realignment to bring you some actual football

It's been a wild day of college football, so lets take a break from the dizzying rumors of realignment to talk actual games:

Clemson 38, Auburn 24 - We all knew that Auburn was probably the worst 2-0 team in the country, with last-gasp wins against marginal foes staking them to an unbeaten early start and a top 25 ranking. Clemson, however, exposed all that is wrong with Auburn, especially on defense. After falling into a 21-7 hole, Clemson reeled off a 38-3 rally that carved up the Tiger secondary like so much Thanksgiving turkey. Throw in a bushel-basket full of bad and broken arm tackles, and you have all you need to know about Clemson's win. Of course, Clemson being what it is, they'll try to make this win into something akin to an upset of the '74 Steelers, with Dabo Sweeney bellowing like a madman to the ESPN cameras in a post-game interview. C'mon, Dabo.

Iowa 31, Pittsburgh 27 - After staking the Panthers to a 24-3 lead early, the Hawkeyes pounded Pitt just as the ink dried on their application to the ACC. You know, since their national title in 1976 with Tony Dorsett, has Pitt really done anything of significance?

Texas 49, UCLA 20 - Okay, with Garrett Gilbert permanently on the sidelines and a guy named McCoy at the helm, Texas looks like a legitimate football team again. Then again, I think Paul Rhoads' Iowa State juggernaut could probaubly hang 30+ on UCLA. As Texas rolls, the one thing for Horn fans to worry about is that the Bruins' best weapon was - get this - running right at the Horns. Which was eerily like UT's biggest defensive liability last year, too. UT fans should be cautiously optimistic - they've got a QB, a RB, and they're already clearly better than last year. But temper that with the reality that UCLA will struggle to find a winning record this year. I can't believe a program like UCLA has allowed itself to get this bad.

Ugly Stat: In four years under Rick Neuheisel, UCLA is a dreadful 2-19 against teams that go on to finish at or above .500.

Seems to me a long year is ahead for the Bruins, and a new job is in Neuheisel's future. Despite his baggage, I still think Mike Leach would be a perfect fit for that job, football-smart to get the job done, wacky enough to fit into LA culture like a glove. Question is whether the support is there for UCLA football to get it back to its former level....who knows..

More commentary and updates as the mood hits...