Could potential Texas / OU move some edge realignment dominoes?



[ad_1]

1 of 7

Texas Head Coach Steve Sarkisian walks on stage behind models wearing Texas and Oklahoma uniforms during the 12 Big NCAA College Football Media Days on Thursday, July 15, 2021, in Arlington, ON. Texas. (Photo AP / LM Otero)

1 of 7

Texas Head Coach Steve Sarkisian walks on stage behind models wearing Texas and Oklahoma uniforms during the 12 Big NCAA College Football Media Days on Thursday, July 15, 2021, in Arlington, ON. Texas. (Photo AP / LM Otero)

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Barry Alvarez lived through the tidal wave of conference realignment that swept through college sports in the early 2010s as Wisconsin athletic director, watching the Big Ten advance to 14 teams from the Midwest to East cost.

Another round of reshuffles could be on the horizon, with Texas and Oklahoma entering talks with the Southeastern Conference on the possibility of leaving the Big 12 and joining what is already football’s strongest league. university.

Alvarez’s reaction upon hearing the news: “Why?

A day after word of the talks surfaced, the ripple effects across the sport were clear as schools away from the Big 12 and the SEC tried to figure out where this was going.

Big 12 athletic directors and university presidents and chancellors held a call Thursday to be briefed on what is happening in Texas and Oklahoma, a person familiar with the meeting told The Associated Press.

Officials from Texas and Oklahoma did not attend, said the person who requested anonymity because the Big 12 was not making his actions public.

Leaders of other conference leaders were reluctant to speculate on what happened next, but some observers were concerned about the potential consequences.

“College football is filled with people operating in silos and what they don’t realize is that if they are just watching and trying to build their silo as big and as shiny as they can get, the whole thing sport won’t be as strong as it needs to be, ”said former Colorado quarterback Joel Klatt, chief college football analyst for Fox, who owns the television rights with the Big 12, Big Ten and Pac-12.

“I think such a decision would be to the detriment of the sport as a whole.”

Former Oklahoma quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield put it more clearly: “It would ruin the Big 12. It would be done,” Mayfield said during a break from filming. TV commercials in Cleveland.

The Big 12 was thought to be on life support about a decade ago after losing Nebraska, Colorado, Texas A&M and Missouri. Success in retaining Texas and Oklahoma allowed the Big 12 to survive as a Power Five conference after adding TCU and West Virginia.

At the time this was happening, the conferences reacted to each other. The Big Ten overtook the first domino when it announced in 2009 that it would explore expansion. Eventually, it pulled Nebraska away from the Big 12.

“We often say how uncomfortable this time is,” said new Nebraska AD Trev Alberts. “It is. It’s a changing environment. There is a lot of stress. This is the time when you want to be part of some stability.

This Big Ten expansion sparked a frenzy, with conferences and schools fending for themselves. Could a Texas / Oklahoma transfer to the SEC be the next fire starter?

Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren was asked about the talks and their ability to get the conference to consider an expansion – perhaps even reaching out to the two Big 12 schools – as he opened the days of the football media at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Warren has stayed away from speculation, calling the news just another example of the volatility sweeping college sports right now.

“This is the world we live in right now,” he said. “From where we sit, we are always constantly evaluating what is in the best interest of the conference. “

Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner Jim Phillips, who took over earlier this year after serving as Northwestern’s athletic director, has taken an equally cautious approach.

“I think it is extremely important for all of us to always pay attention to what is happening in the landscape and to understand what is happening across the country, whether you are a conference commissioner, a sports director, whether you are a president, ”he said. “This is part of all of our responsibilities. And this may be the last conversation we hear about.

Alvarez was at Lucas Oil Stadium because the Big Ten announced he would take on a new role at the conference: Special Advisor on Football. He retired after 18 years as a Wisconsin AD earlier this year.

Alvarez, 74, does not hesitate to give his opinion on a subject. But the news of a realignment accelerating again caught him off guard.

“This is something you definitely have your antennae for,” Alvarez said.

Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz said he has a question for the SEC if it decides to add the Longhorns and their Horns Up wave to the conference?

“Is Horns Down going to be a 15-yard penalty in the SEC (as it can sometimes be in the Big 12)?” said Drinkwitz. “I asked Commissioner Sankey and he said ‘no comment’.”

___

AP sports editors Tom Withers in Cleveland and Aaron Beard in Charlotte contributed to this report.

___

Follow Ralph D. Russo on https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP and listen on https://APpodcasts.com

___

More AP College Football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25



[ad_2]

Source link