UNRAVEL: Big 12 leaders open fire on Texas.

Have Big XII leaders had enough of Texas?

It is starting to look that way.

As conference leaders begin to look at ways to salvage the conference or new opportunities elsewhere, Oklahoma State booster T. Boone Pickens made a point of telling everyone what was needed to save the conference: a little humility on the part of Texas.

According to this report from Statesman.com, Pickens said, “You can fix the Big 12 now, but it’s got to go to an equal deal, and it’s not equal.” And this gem from the same article says what everyone is thinking, “Pickens believes the Cowboys will end up in the Pac-12, with Oklahoma. He largely blames Texas’ insistence on creating the Longhorn Network.”

With Oklahoma and Oklahoma State running to the Pac-12, what does that mean for other Big XII members? Members like Missouri?

Missiouri made no secret of its preference for the Big Ten during the last round of expansion. According to KansasCity.com, “A year ago, when Missouri was front and center in reorganization talk that saw Nebraska depart for the Big Ten and Colorado for the Pac-10, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon irked fans of Oklahoma State and Texas Tech. Nixon implied Missouri was a better fit in the Big Ten academically than with those Big 12 schools.”

One more quote from the KansasCity.com report, “As far as conference realignment,” Nixon told The Star, “Missouri’s a very strong program. We’ve got two large media markets (in Kansas City and St. Louis). You have a university that is an AAU institution, a strong academic institution. It’s right in the middle of the country and has competitive sports in basketball and football, in men’s and women’s sports. If there begin to be tectonic shifts across the country, we’re going to land in a very good position. That’s all you can say.”

Does such confidence presage a possibility of landing in the Big Ten?

Or has the SEC expressed an interest?

With the past statement about Missouri’s academic fit regarding schools like Oklahoma State and Texas Tech, would Missouri fit in the SEC? Or would money trump all those other little concerns?

3 thoughts on “SEC Expansion: New clues emerging as Big XII unravels?”

  1. Wow. Just wow.

    Texas is going to wind up having to fund a Sunbelt-type conference or find themselves an independent.

    All over a little tv network and a whole lot of arrogance.

  2. SEC should go after southern schools and leave this expansion westward alone. Lots of excellent candidates out there and a number from the ACC (e.g., FSU / Clemson, etc.).

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