Missouri football coach: ‘We’ve got problems in our league’

Missouri’s football coach had a few strong words for the Big 12. On a morning talk radio show, Gary Pinkel took a few strong shots at his conference. He declared what everyone already knows: there are problems in the Big 12.

According to Dave Matter of the Columbia Daily Tribune this is a quote from the talk radio interview: “But you know what, that might change next week,” Missouri football coach Gary Pinkel said. “You never know. We thought this thing was over … it’s been over like four times. Last year, the whole thing was going to change. I don’t know what’s going to happen. Next year is it going to start brewing up again? I don’t know. It’s unbelievable. We’ve got problems in our league. OK? And we all know what most of them are. But we don’t solve them. We’ve lost three really good members in a year and a half and we think we’d maybe wake up and try and fix the problems so we can have a great league. Because until the problems are fixed, this stuff’s going to be happening and it’s going to go on and on. And it’s not a whole lot of fun to be a part of.” (Source)

What are the problems?

They start in Austin.

Can Missouri save the Big 12?

No. That is up to Texas.

This is the sad truth for Missouri. As long as the school stays in the Big 12, it will never be an equal partner. The Pac-12 rejected Texas because the Longhorns just don’t fit into the Pac-12’s culture of equality.

If Missouri stays in the Big 12, it should resign itself to the whims of Texas. Something three members of the Big 12 have already rejected; Colorado, Nebraska and Texas A&M have abandoned Texas over these same issues.

It is time for Missouri to grow up and follow the example of Colorado, Nebraska and Texas A&M.