Two years ago, after Texas and Oklahoma announced their eventual departure for the SEC, Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby reached out to his colleague at the Pac-12, newly hired commissioner George Kliavkoff.
He presented a proposal: Let’s merge the two conferences, share a media rights package, establish a scheduling alliance and so on. Bowlsby even flew to California.
Meetings on Thursday out West are expected to center around those two things. But many within the industry continue to express doubt that a television deal will be good enough to prevent further departures. Colorado’s decision is a loud and obvious sign: confidence in a deal is low. Impatience among other members is growing and there’s a good explanation as to why.
FOX, meanwhile, has the primary rights for the Big Ten . FOX reached such an agreement after the league poached two of the Pac-12’s most valuable brands in USC and UCLA. Connect the dots. SMU’s situation is different and much more conducive. SMU is a program with deep-pocketed boosters ready to spend for an elevation to the Power Five. With history as a guide, any exit fee from the American - $10-$15 million — is likely to be more affordable than SDSU’s amount.
And what are those other options? Air Force? Colorado State? UNLV? These are some practical western programs that may be on the conference’s list.Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark, a New York businessman, has proved that he is calculating and aggressive in his pursuit of expansion.The goal is to at least get to a 14th additional member, sources tell Yahoo Sports.
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