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Pac-12 Conference rejects further expansion
The Pac-12 decided it won't expand further late Tuesday because commissioner Larry Scott couldn't get assurance that Texas would agree to an equal revenue sharing plan if the league added the Longhorns, Oklahoma, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State, a source with direct knowledge told ESPN.com.
The source said Scott didn't endorse expansion to the league's presidents and chancellors.
The presidents never took a vote on the four Big 12 schools. The source said the four schools didn't formally apply for membership, either. The Pac-12 member presidents were on a conference call Tuesday night and reaffirmed the decision to stay at 12 members.
"After careful review we have determined that it is in the best interests of our member institutions, student-athletes and fans to remain a 12-team conference," Scott said in a statement. "While we have great respect for all of the institutions that have contacted us, and certain expansion proposals were financially attractive, we have a strong conference structure and culture of equality that we are committed to preserve."
The source said that Scott had worked tirelessly to get USC and UCLA to agree to revenue sharing when the league expanded by two last season with the addition of Utah and Colorado after the two L.A. schools had held a revenue advantage in the league. The Pac-12 signed a 12-year television contract with Fox and ESPN worth an estimated $3 billion last year that will take into effect in 2012.
The source said that Scott was open to pushing for the inclusion of the four Big 12 schools because of getting into the states of Texas and Oklahoma and the possibility that it would produce even more revenue for the league. But the source said the Pac-12 presidents were against any "special deals."
The board of regents at Texas and Oklahoma on Monday voted to give their presidents the right to choose a new conference. Oklahoma State's regents have scheduled a special meeting Wednesday about conference realignment.
Oklahoma president David Boren issued a statement Tuesday in response to the Pac-12 announcement.
"We were not surprised by the Pac 12's decision to not expand at this time," he said. "Even though we had decided not to apply for membership this year, we have developed a positive relationship with the leadership of the conference and we have kept them informed of the progress we've been making to gain agreement from the Big 12 for changes which will make the conference more stable in the future. Conference stability has been our first goal and we look forward to achieving that goal through continued membership in the Big 12 Conference."
The Pac-12 wasn't going to be against a possible pod-system of four four-team subdivisions for scheduling purposes, but wouldn't agree to giving Texas favored treatment. Texas has its own network, the Longhorn Network, which is operated by ESPN. If Texas had agreed to equal revenue sharing then that would have meant more regional networks for the Pac-12 and even more money. But Texas wasn't willing to do that, according to the source.
The source said the Pac-12 presidents wanted to send a message to the rest of the country that they aren't going to expand.
The source said there was no desire to have rules for 15 while another school had a separate deal. The source said Scott knew the answer would be no on expansion so that's why he never recommended the idea. The source said that the addition of Texas Tech and Oklahoma State wasn't a non-starter since those two schools would have been brought with Texas and Oklahoma.
Meanwhile, the source said that the Pac-12 and Scott didn't see the ACC's addition of Pitt and Syracuse as a reaction to the Pac-12's possible expansion but rather a response to the SEC grabbing Texas A&M and then possibly looking to the ACC for another member.
The decision by the Pac-12 means Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are still in a group of nine staying put in the Big 12. Texas A&M has already declared it is leaving for the SEC and has been accepted as the 13th member. But the SEC wants the other nine schools to waive any legal rights to sue the league or the Aggies. Baylor, Iowa State and Kansas have refused to do so until they knew if the Big 12 would stay together. The Pac-12's decision may expedite the Aggies' move to the SEC.
According to multiple sources, the Big 12 may now try to get long-term commitments of membership from its remaining nine teams.
Big 12 sources told ESPN.com that the league had a list of five schools to replace the Aggies and was in the midst of that call list before Oklahoma president David Boren made the decision to announce he would explore potential other conferences. The Big 12 ADs called Arkansas and BYU and were going to call Louisville, Pitt and West Virginia to check on possible membership.
Arkansas has already pledged its desire to stay in the SEC. BYU remains an independent in football and in the WCC in all of its other sports but could be a viable option to join the Big 12 if it is assured of stability. The Cougars wanted to be independent in football but were also smarting from seeing rival Utah in a BCS conference when it was added to the Pac-12. Pitt is now gone to the ACC sometime within the next 27 months. That could leave Louisville and West Virginia as possible options if the Big 12 wants to increase its membership to 10 or beyond.
Source: espn
The source said Scott didn't endorse expansion to the league's presidents and chancellors.
The presidents never took a vote on the four Big 12 schools. The source said the four schools didn't formally apply for membership, either. The Pac-12 member presidents were on a conference call Tuesday night and reaffirmed the decision to stay at 12 members.
"After careful review we have determined that it is in the best interests of our member institutions, student-athletes and fans to remain a 12-team conference," Scott said in a statement. "While we have great respect for all of the institutions that have contacted us, and certain expansion proposals were financially attractive, we have a strong conference structure and culture of equality that we are committed to preserve."
The source said that Scott had worked tirelessly to get USC and UCLA to agree to revenue sharing when the league expanded by two last season with the addition of Utah and Colorado after the two L.A. schools had held a revenue advantage in the league. The Pac-12 signed a 12-year television contract with Fox and ESPN worth an estimated $3 billion last year that will take into effect in 2012.
The source said that Scott was open to pushing for the inclusion of the four Big 12 schools because of getting into the states of Texas and Oklahoma and the possibility that it would produce even more revenue for the league. But the source said the Pac-12 presidents were against any "special deals."
The board of regents at Texas and Oklahoma on Monday voted to give their presidents the right to choose a new conference. Oklahoma State's regents have scheduled a special meeting Wednesday about conference realignment.
Oklahoma president David Boren issued a statement Tuesday in response to the Pac-12 announcement.
"We were not surprised by the Pac 12's decision to not expand at this time," he said. "Even though we had decided not to apply for membership this year, we have developed a positive relationship with the leadership of the conference and we have kept them informed of the progress we've been making to gain agreement from the Big 12 for changes which will make the conference more stable in the future. Conference stability has been our first goal and we look forward to achieving that goal through continued membership in the Big 12 Conference."
The Pac-12 wasn't going to be against a possible pod-system of four four-team subdivisions for scheduling purposes, but wouldn't agree to giving Texas favored treatment. Texas has its own network, the Longhorn Network, which is operated by ESPN. If Texas had agreed to equal revenue sharing then that would have meant more regional networks for the Pac-12 and even more money. But Texas wasn't willing to do that, according to the source.
The source said the Pac-12 presidents wanted to send a message to the rest of the country that they aren't going to expand.
The source said there was no desire to have rules for 15 while another school had a separate deal. The source said Scott knew the answer would be no on expansion so that's why he never recommended the idea. The source said that the addition of Texas Tech and Oklahoma State wasn't a non-starter since those two schools would have been brought with Texas and Oklahoma.
Meanwhile, the source said that the Pac-12 and Scott didn't see the ACC's addition of Pitt and Syracuse as a reaction to the Pac-12's possible expansion but rather a response to the SEC grabbing Texas A&M and then possibly looking to the ACC for another member.
The decision by the Pac-12 means Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are still in a group of nine staying put in the Big 12. Texas A&M has already declared it is leaving for the SEC and has been accepted as the 13th member. But the SEC wants the other nine schools to waive any legal rights to sue the league or the Aggies. Baylor, Iowa State and Kansas have refused to do so until they knew if the Big 12 would stay together. The Pac-12's decision may expedite the Aggies' move to the SEC.
According to multiple sources, the Big 12 may now try to get long-term commitments of membership from its remaining nine teams.
Big 12 sources told ESPN.com that the league had a list of five schools to replace the Aggies and was in the midst of that call list before Oklahoma president David Boren made the decision to announce he would explore potential other conferences. The Big 12 ADs called Arkansas and BYU and were going to call Louisville, Pitt and West Virginia to check on possible membership.
Arkansas has already pledged its desire to stay in the SEC. BYU remains an independent in football and in the WCC in all of its other sports but could be a viable option to join the Big 12 if it is assured of stability. The Cougars wanted to be independent in football but were also smarting from seeing rival Utah in a BCS conference when it was added to the Pac-12. Pitt is now gone to the ACC sometime within the next 27 months. That could leave Louisville and West Virginia as possible options if the Big 12 wants to increase its membership to 10 or beyond.
Source: espn