Yesterday's Conversation: Thanks to the conversation and handful of tremendous comments yesterday, it appears that academics is getting thrown around as if it's important (i.e. the research part of academics), but that's nothing more than a dog-and-pony-show. It's not going to be a deal-breaker and it's not going to be a deal-maker. One other thing that I've taken from yesterday's conversation, which is that other than making idle threats, there's really nothing that Baylor (or Texas Tech) could really do to Texas should the Longhorns bolt for any conference by themselves. The PUF can only be revised with a Constitutional amendment, and that seems highly unlikely.
Quite simply, I think that this is merely a situation where if Texas thinks it's best to bring along any other team, then they simply feel that it's in their best interest. I'd love to continue the discussion here, especially if someone feels that this is an untrue statement.
Housekeeping: If you start a FanPost or FanShot and that rumor turns out to be false, the writer of said FanPost or FanShot, myself and any of the editors have the ability to edit the title, which is what I did with the "Colorado to Receive Invite" stuff. Considering we as fans are in very uncertain times, it might be appropriate to add the word "Rumor" or "XYC.com Reports: . . . " or something like that. It's going to get a bit hairy for the next few days.
Report :: Nebraska to Receive Invite by Friday: Omaha-World Herald's Lee Barfknecht writes that the Nebraska Cornhuskers are set to receive a Big Ten invite as early as Friday:
LINCOLN — An executive at a Big 12 school relayed to The World-Herald on Tuesday that he expects Nebraska to become a member of the Big Ten as early as Friday.
NU Chancellor Harvey Perlman has declined all interviews about conference realignment and expansion. He is expected to address the topic with the Board of Regents at its Friday meeting in Lincoln.
Direct confirmation from Nebraska of a conference change for the Huskers wasn't immediately available. Sources at two other Big 12 schools told The World-Herald that their athletic directors have instructed them to be ready by week's end for a briefing on probable Big 12 changes.
Nebraska A.D. Tom Osborne offered implicit confirmation Tuesday night that the timetable on national conference realignment has been accelerated.
On his monthly appearance on the Husker Sports Network, Osborne said:
"I think before too long — I don't know exactly what that time frame is — we'll be able to put this to bed,'' then he jokingly added, "because I'm getting tired of it.''
With baited-breath. We wait.
More after the jump, including Colorado not receiving an invite to the Pac-10, and a report that Notre Dame, Missouri and Nebraska will all receive invites to the Big Ten.
Colorado Does Not Receive Pac-10 Invite: Essentially we have a couple of wheels turning as far as expansion is concerned. The first wheel doesn't appear to be turning at all, as late yesterday was that Colorado was set to receive an invite to the Pac-10, but that rumor was quickly debunked by the Daily Camera's Kyle Ringo (he's a Colorado Buffalo beat-writer). That's the link to his Twitter account and he's the guy to follow regarding any and all Colorado news.
Report :: Notre Dame, Missouri and Nebraska to Receive Big Ten Invites: The second wheel that's turning is Notre Dame. You've probably seen this blog linked at other websites, but Frank the Tank's Slant is a pretty tremendous resource for all things conference realignment and they've been about as right as Chip Brown. In any event, their sources say that three invites will be sent shortly:
Multiple sources have told me that Notre Dame, Missouri and Nebraska are all poised to receive invites from the Big Ten. An announcement could come as early as Wednesday, with other projections looking toward before the end of this month. Of course, this scenario has been rumored on message boards over the last day, so whether this is a legitimate deal remains to be seen.
Frank continues with the scenario in the sense that if Notre Dame says yes, then look for the Big Ten to attempt to woo the Longhorns, who will take along the Aggies. It's a big if, but it certainly makes sense for the Big Ten to at least make the offer. The above-referenced scenario also seems to fly in the face of what's being reported nationally, which is that if Notre Dame accepts an invitation, then Missouri and Nebraska do not get an invite. The only reason for Notre Dame to accept an invitation is to not get left out in the cold when, and if the super-conferences start getting lined up.
I still think the better scenario is the Pac-10 and there's nothing that the Longhorns can't get with the Pac-10 than what the Big Ten is offering, which brings me to my next point.
Texas Is Not a Villain: AAS's Kirk Bohls writes that the Texas Longhorns aren't the villains in this entire scenario, but blames Nebraska and Missouri for flirting:
There's no question the Longhorns are the most powerful brand in the Big 12, but many outside of Nebraska and Missouri are casting Texas as anything but the bad guy.
Texas is not the villain here.
If anybody, it's Nebraska and Missouri, because they've openly flirted with the Big Ten and made it clear they'd leave the Big 12 in an instant. Texas has steadfastly made it known it wants to preserve the status quo, and why shouldn't it, when it rules the roost?
Maybe Texas could show good faith in the all-for-one department by agreeing to more equitable revenue sharing, but as one Big 12 athletic director told me, the other 11 schools agreed to this formula at the league's inception, and it takes nine votes to change it.
This is all great and good, so long as Texas doesn't leave for another conference. Bohls might have to pen a "mea culpa" should Texas leave. Public statements don't do much for me personally.