As I’m writing this very post, Big 12 CEO’s are meeting via teleconference to discuss this the future of the conference and what steps are necessary to ensure long-term stability.
One step will likely result in naming former Big 8 commissioner Chuck Neinas as interim commissioner. It was reported late last night that Dan Beebe stepped down from his post yesterday, with further reports just a short while ago stating that Beebe has tendered his resignation.
Another step expected to be discussed is expansion. Texas A&M will leave in 2012, and it’s expected the Aggies will join the SEC soon thereafter. Finding a replacement for A&M is crucial for the Big 12 Network, which requires 10 members in order for the conference to avoid financial penalties. Additionally, ESPN and FOX could opt out of their media rights contract with the Big 12 if an adequate replacement isn’t found.
The replacement has long thought to have been BYU, but as Chip Brown of Orangebloods.com reports, that may not be the case. Sources within the Big 12 have told Brown that TCU has now emerged as a serious possibility for the Big 12 to get back to 10 members.
BYU, a football independent, is reportedly wary of joining the Big 12 due to recent instability (as in, there didn’t look to be a Big 12 two days ago), even though the Cougars would benefit financially from the move.
Representatives from TCU were part of the Big East’s emergency meeting in New York on Tuesday night, where commissioner John Marinatto promised his conference would expand aggressively after losing Syracuse and Pitt to the ACC. Statements released by West Virginia and UConn, however, reveled the writing on the walls -- that each football member appears as committed as the next best opportunity.
Would the Big 12 be that next best opportunity for TCU? Sources told Brown that ESPN/FOX have no quarrels with the Ft. Worth-based school, which would not expand the Big 12’s geographical footprint.
Unfortunately for the Horned Frogs, neither the Big 12 nor the Big East are on the most stable of grounds.
But were the Big 12 expand to beyond 10 teams -- although that doesn’t appear to be the desire at this point -- it’s been reported by Brown and other media outlets that West Virginia and Louisville would be the next two targets. The Cardinals were tied to the Big 12 via the rumor mill several weeks ago when the conference was contemplating expansion; speculation of a move by WVU to the SEC appears to have cooled for now.
Whether or not the two schools really are in the running is yet to be confirmed. West Virginia president James Clements and AD Oliver Luck have been beyond tight-lipped over the subject.
It appears the major shift in conference realignment has died down for now, but some maneuvering is still possible. This is still a very fluid situation.