Conference realignment "Rumors" "tweets" "etc"

[SpeedyBull]

Luck, when preparedness meets opportunity. 

[Who'sYourData?]

Old news, but I find it interesting.  Oliver Luck was the guy that had the "leftover" B12 schools ready to jump in with the remainder of the Big East.  Of course it all fell apart when Texas insisted they were bigger than the Pac12 and wanted to be treated like royalty if they jumped.  At the time, it was hot rumor around here, and plenty on our boards were saying that it wasn't true.  Even confirmation from the Kansas State AD that they were ready to jump.  

 

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/11066269/big-12-ads-say-no-discussions-expansion

 

Relevant excerpt:

 

"My favorite story that hasn't been written," Luck said. "After Syracuse and Pittsburgh (announced they were leaving for the ACC), that was in the same time frame that Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State were playing footsie with (Pac-12 commissioner) Larry (Scott) and the Big East was a mess."

So Luck began cold-calling athletic directors at Baylor, Kansas, Kansas State and Iowa State with a proposal.

"I didn't know those guys from Adam," Luck said. "I knew the schools. I told them, 'Your conference may fall apart. You guys look like you might get left behind. Why don't we take all of you and TCU, which was kind of homeless."

Luck's plan, which also had the support of Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich, was also to add UCF for a 12-team Big East divided into two divisions: West: Baylor, Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State, TCU and Louisville; East: UConn, Cincinnati, Rutgers, West Virginia, South Florida and UCF.

"I remember thinking: 'That's not a bad conference,'" Luck said. "And we would have kept the affiliation with the (Big East) basketball schools, because they loved the addition of Kansas. They (the Big 12 schools) also liked it. They were nervous as hell, too. We had a series of phone calls. That was sort of our best option."

Luck said he had three or four phone discussions with the Big 12 schools. Then-Big East commissioner John Marinatto was not involved in the discussions and no formal offer was extended, but the Big 12 schools -- if left behind by the schools headed to the Pac-12 -- were prepared for the merger.

"At that point in time, we were ready to flip the switch," Currie said.

Of course, the merger never happened. Although Texas A&M and Missouri left the Big 12 for the SEC, Texas and Oklahoma remained in the Big 12. The Big 12 survived, but the Big East eventually lost a number of schools, including -- ironically -- West Virginia to the Big 12 a year later.

"I think (the proposed merger) may have helped us get in the Big 12 later," Luck said jokingly. "They were like, 'Hey, I've talked to that Luck guy before.'"

[charsibb]

He's probably right, and I'm probably wrong, but it seems to me the footsie-playing with the PAC happened well before Pitt and Cuse jumped.

 

There were any number of threads here in the 'pen about the Big East inviting Kansas, et al when Texas jumped

[Bull Matrix]

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C. Austin Coxâ€@C_Austin_Cox

@BCSNN You know #USF is a possible perfect combo with #UCF. It gives the Big 12 a rivalry they can put against FSU and Miami down the road.

[Who'sYourData?]

He's probably right, and I'm probably wrong, but it seems to me the footsie-playing with the PAC happened well before Pitt and Cuse jumped.

 

There were any number of threads here in the 'pen about the Big East inviting Kansas, et al when Texas jumped

 

Texas, Oklahoma etc, to Pac 12 (Sept 18, 2011):

http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/college-sports/headlines/20110918-report-pac-12-finalizing-details-to-add-ut-ou-osu-and-texas-tech.ece

 

Pitt, Syracuse leaving Big East (Sept 18, 2011):

http://nypost.com/2011/09/18/syracuse-pittsburgh-leaving-big-east-for-acc/

[Bear]

 

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C. Austin Coxâ€@C_Austin_Cox

@BCSNN You know #USF is a possible perfect combo with #UCF. It gives the Big 12 a rivalry they can put against FSU and Miami down the road.

 

 

haha ... no

[Triple B]

 

 

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C. Austin Coxâ€@C_Austin_Cox

@BCSNN You know #USF is a possible perfect combo with #UCF. It gives the Big 12 a rivalry they can put against FSU and Miami down the road.

 

 

haha ... no

 

 

He didn't say how long the road was ...

[South_Florida_Flip]

A USF-UCF combo is the chance for each of us to move up. Big XII gets 2 major television markets and more access to FL recruiting.

Win-win situation

[SpeedyBull]

We can certainly hope.

[Publix Substitution]

Not trying to be a downer but the lose aspect of that situation is that the Big XII may not want to be seen as the conference with the second tier Florida schools. FSU, Miami, and UF's successes make us look more inferior than we are.