Of course it could.
It could also happen sooner. Or later.
Or not at all.
That’s been the standstill of the conference realignment apocalypse v. 2.0. In fact, all we really know is that Texas A&M has notified the Big 12 that it will withdraw from the conference and, barring the continuation of the wild west stick up headed by Baylor, plans to join the SEC at some point down the road.
What happens from there is like playing Plinko on “The Price is Right”.
Oklahoma, come on down!
The Sooners have made it known that they will consider all options when it comes to their long-term home and stability; the question becomes a matter of when OU will make a choice.
Chairman of the Big 12 board, Missouri chancellor Brady Deaton, sees that coming within the next two weeks.
“I just have had an understanding that within 10 days to two weeks we were likely to have some indication of where things stood, but with no firm deadlines there,” Deaton told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “We’re being patient and working together, and certainly right now we’re in a little bit of a position where we need for Oklahoma to give us a sense of what they’re thinking about and take it from there.
“I don’t want to go too far there, (but) there’s a legal basis for the Big 12 to go on and, certainly, I would expect that to continue. If things change, we’ll try to keep it together and move forward with other members.”
But, the Big 12 can’t exactly go all out in pursuit of other candidates if the fate of the conference is in limbo. As long as Oklahoma and Texas are members, the Big 12 has a fighting chance of survival. Losing Oklahoma (and possibly Oklahoma State), on the other hand, would be crushing.
If, for nothing else, the Sooners are the ones with the best leverage to keep Texas in check going forward. If the Sooners say goodbye, you can probably forget about equal revenue sharing.
You might even be able to forget about a Big 12 altogether.
I just wouldn’t put a lot of stock in absolutes right now.