Oklahoma, here we come!

[BigRedBuster]

If OU really dispises Texas then they shouldn't have hitched their wagon to them.

 

The OU AD flat out said they will go wherever Texas goes. Texas obviously is the dominatrix in that relationship and OU is obviously fine with that.

[BigRedBuster]

Personally, I don't give a rip if we ever play OU or CU again.

[VectorVictor]

The Big 12's stability is that every team has contracted that their media rights belong to the Big 12 for a set period of time (2022ish, I think) whether or not that team is in the Big 12. Not many conferences would be interested in a team if they can't bring their media rights with them. It would be like B1G team going to the SEC but all their games still being played on the B1G Network.

 

It's called a Grant of Rights (GOR) and it can be broken, but no one wants to pull the trigger on that because breaking the GOR for one conference breaks them for all of the others (Pac-12. B1G, ACC, and Big XII have them--SEC does not), and then it becomes chaos again.

 

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As for Oklahoma and Kansas going to the B1G, they've already been vetted by the B1G. There was an article in the OWH that quoted a current Big XII AD (anonymously) that mentioned that there was originally going to be a five team exodus to the B1G until aTm got pissy with how the money was divided and looked to the SEC instead. Five teams would have given the B1G 16, with two eight team divisions, which is what they were wanting for some time.

 

Also, Oklahoma's AD has gone on record with saying that the Big XII expansion needs to involve quality schools or they won't be happy. What 'quality' means or what will happen if they're not happy is nebulous...but they know they have a standing invite with the B1G if they want to pull that trigger. Plus, the school president is all about improving the academic cache of the university--something they can't do in the Big XII, nor the SEC, and something that has happened with DoNU's inclusion into the B1G (in spite of the AAU keruffle).

 

As for Kansas...hell, they'll take any invite out of the Big XII. They're not choosy...remember, they were going to shack up with the Big East before that collapse happened. That, and Delaney is all about college basketball and making the B1G the perennial collegiate basketball power. Adding Kansas would do that.

[HuskerExpat]

Yeah, the Grant of Rights can be broken, but the team breaking it has to pay damages. The contract doesn't have a liquidated damages provision so there would be a battle to determine the actual damages. That uncertainty in the amount of damages that would be incurred adds another huge layer of uncertainty to the idea of breaking it and thus further motivation for them to stay, as they would not even be able to make an estimation of the damages they'd have to pay by leaving.

 

It is for this reason that there aren't likely to be any Big 12 teams leaving the conference anytime soon, unless there is a majority decision to dissolve it.

[HuskerExpat]

And I've read the Big 12 GoR contract. There is no provision that ties the GoR in the Big 12 to those in other conferences.

[Elf]

More excited for the Colorado series.

I have never considered Colorado a rival. If McCartney had stayed as their coach, then maybe one day it would have developed into a true rivalry. Rivalries aren't created by declarations they are created by years of history between two teams. We had history with Colorado but it was almost all bad for them. As it should be, they are doormats.