Texas, 3 others poised for Pac-10

[Walter Cronkite]

Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State will join the Pacific-10 Conference when a formal offer is made, a source told ESPN's Joe Schad on Friday.

Texas A&M, the Austin American Statesman reported, is torn between joining the Pac-10 or Southeastern Conference. The Aggies will have a 72-hour timetable to decide whether to accept the Pac-10's offer, the newspaper reported.

A formal offer from the Pac-10 could come as soon as this weekend, the newspaper reported.

Another source with knowledge of the situation confirmed to ESPN.com's Andy Katz that Texas A&M was looking at the SEC, but the source said he is convinced the Aggies will end up in the Pac-10.

The source said the SEC consideration was fueled by "ego purposes" within Texas A&M, that the Aggies' power brokers sought distance from the Texas decision and didn't want to convey the appearance they were doing everything because of Texas.

Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe said Friday he is still working to convince the remaining 10 members to stay put.

"We're working with all those members. We've had a lot of positive feedback about the desire of those institutions to [stay] together," Beebe said. "There's been a lot of speculation about people going west ... I'm going all the way to the final whistle. I'm playing it out as hard and fast as I can."

Texas is considered the linchpin to the Big 12's survival, particularly after the league lost Nebraska (Big Ten) and Colorado (Pac-10) in a matter of two days this week. The Texas regents said they will hold a meeting in Austin on Tuesday for "discussion and appropriate action regarding athletic conference membership."

Iowa State president Gregory Geoffroy said the future of the Big 12 was up to Texas.

"If the University of Texas were to decide that they want to be a member of the Big 12, then I'm confident the Big 12 would stay together," he said. "If the University of Texas decides they do not wish to and wish to do something else, then I think the conference will be greatly altered."

Longhorns athletic director DeLoss Dodds has said he wants to keep the Big 12 together. It was not immediately clear if scheduling the regents meeting meant those efforts have failed.

"Our goals and hopes all along have been to keep the Big 12 Conference intact," Dodds said in a statement. "It is both premature and inappropriate to speculate on what our UT System Regents will discuss at next Tuesday's meeting. But, as the dynamics of the Big 12 continue to change around us, we will utilize additional time to continue our work and evaluate our options."

Texas Tech has also scheduled a special board of regents meeting for Tuesday, at which the formalization of an acceptance to the Pac-10 could occur, the Big 12 source told ESPN.

The athletic director of Texas' longtime interstate rival, Oklahoma, said if the Longhorns were to announce they were committed to staying in the Big 12, the other teams left would likely remain, too.

"Behind the scenes, we're talking about all the different kinds of strategies and plans that would prove that point," Oklahoma AD Joe Castiglione told The Oklahoman on Thursday.

Oklahoma, Baylor and Kansas have been gathering information about the fiscal viability of keeping the conference alive with 10 teams, a Big 12 source told ESPN's Schad. In that scenario the conference would sacrifice a conference title game. They are exploring the television ramifications as well.

"We have a very, very strong sense from our television partners that the revenue stream would be very, very good going forward," Castiglione told The Oklahoman. "Better than where we are today."

A source familiar with the Pac-10's plans told ESPN that the SEC's interest in Texas A&M and Oklahoma is "real." Another source within the Big 12 said Texas A&M does not necessarily feel it should be required to be attached to the Longhorns.

Texas A&M president R. Bowen Loftin told The Associated Press that the rapid changes are forcing the school to consider its options.

"We're still working through the issues," Loftin said. "We're also waiting to see what happens with other schools. We were very happy to stay in the Big 12, the way it was. It's changing now, and we need to figure out what that means.

"The Big 12 is not what it was, and we have to think about its future, and ours."

Baylor athletic director Ian McCaw reiterated his school's desire for the four Texas teams from the Big 12 to "remain aligned" in the same conference -- preferably the Big 12. Baylor, the league's only private school, would likely be left behind if Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech leave for other leagues.

"We're focused on keeping the Big 12 together and maintaining the rivalries that we've enjoyed with our four Big 12 Texas brothers," he said. "Those traditions go over the last 100 years and we certainly want to do everything we can to maintain those rivalries within the conference structure. "

[Walter Cronkite]

Update

The Big 12 is alive and kicking.

The University of Texas on Monday said it was staying in the Big 12, followed moments later by pledges from Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas A&M to remain in a league that had seemed to be falling apart last week when Nebraska (Big Ten) and Colorado (Pac-10) decided to leave over the next two years.

The Texas announcement came shortly after Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott confirmed to The Associated Press in an e-mail that Texas had declined an invitation to become the 12th member of his conference. Scott said Texas president William Powers Jr. told him "the 10 remaining schools in the Big 12 Conference intend to stay together."

"University of Texas President Bill Powers has informed us that the 10 remaining schools in the Big 12 Conference intend to stay together," Scott said in a statement. "We are excited about the future of the Pac-10 Conference and we will continue to evaluate future expansion opportunities under the guidelines previously set forth by our Presidents and Chancellors."

Powers wouldn't give any details about why the school decided to stay put when asked by the AP. The school has scheduled a news conference for Tuesday morning.

Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe will also address the media on a teleconference at noon ET on Tuesday.

"The decision to stay in the Big 12 represents a consensus position which resulted from a collaborative effort with our colleagues in the conference," Oklahoma president David L. Boren and vice president and director of athletics Joe Castiglione said in a joint statement. "We value the strong working relationship that has been reaffirmed during this process among the conference members. We intend to work very hard to make the conference as lasting and dynamic as possible. We appreciate the respect and interest that has been shown to OU during this process."

Texas had a meeting Monday with the other remaining nine schools in the Big 12 about a TV deal included in a plan put together by Beebe that would keep the league intact with its current programs, according to multiple reports.

Based on a TV deal in the works that could pay upwards of $25 million per year, Texas leaned toward staying in a 10-team Big 12 for the foreseeable future, Orangebloods.com reported, citing sources familiar with negotiations.

Texas stands to earn between $20 million and $25 million annually in television revenue in the reworked deal, including money from its own network, according to Orangebloods.com.

The Longhorns network figures to generate between $3 million and $5 million, according to the Orangebloods.com report. Because the Big 12 has unequal revenue sharing, the deal will mean more money for Texas, Texas A&M and Oklahoma, who all would receive at least $20 million annually from the new deal.

The other seven schools in the Big 12 would make between $14 million and $17 million, doubling what they currently receive in TV revenue.

Big 12 officials told member schools that the loss of the Denver television market and Nebraska would not weaken the league's negotiating position with TV networks as much as feared, a person with direct knowledge of discussions told The Associated press.

The fate of the conference born in 1996 when the Big 8 merged with four members of the Southwest Conference has been at risk for days, and Texas emerged as the key to the Big 12's survival. The Pac-10 courted Texas and other Big 12 South Division schools, while Texas A&M reportedly expressed interest in going to the Southeastern Conference barring a better offer.

"Texas A&M is a proud member of the Big 12 Conference and will continue to be affiliated with the conference in the future," school president R. Bowen Loftin said in a statement.

Officials at Oklahoma State issued a similar statement, with OSU president Burns Hargis singling out Beebe for his "bold moves and intense efforts."

Beebe did not return messages seeking comment Monday.

The news that the Big 12 survived spread quickly.

"That's great news," said Scott Drew, whose Baylor men's basketball team advanced to the South regional final in the NCAA tournament a few months ago. "Obviously, we're very excited and pleased about the 10 schools staying together. It will be great to continue the rivalries and traditions."

Texas A&M had represented another wild card, with school officials meeting with Pac-10 and SEC officials in recent days.

"I know how hard all the Big 12 coaches have worked to make our conference the No. 1 conference in the country," Baylor's Drew said. "When you achieve that status, you obviously don't want to see it disappear. The rivalries and traditions and fans support are what help make the Big 12 the best conference in the country."

Earlier Monday, ESPN reported the departure of Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State to the Pac-10 was "imminent," citing four sources within the Big 12.

A source told ESPN's Joe Schad that Powers was taking a "global view" of the landscape, excited about the importance of aligning his school with research opportunities and academic reputations of schools in the Pac-10.

But clearly being able to come at least close to the Pac-10 financial projections, while being able to still launch a network, may have swayed Powers to change his mind.

Source: AP