Texas Legislature meeting Wednesday on realignment

Texas, Texas Tech and Texas A&M are expected to wait on decisions about leaving the Big 12 until after the hearing. Pac-10 officials expect a decision no later than Friday.

June 15, 2010

Staff Reports

Texas House Higher Education Committee chairman Dan Branch is confident the governing boards of Texas, Texas Tech and Texas A&M will wait until after a legislative hearing on conference realignment Wednesday to decide whether to stay with the Big 12, the Austin American-Statesman reports.

"I'm feeling confident that these institutions will not take any final action before the Wednesday hearing," Rep Branch, R-Dallas, told the newspaper late Sunday. "They respect the Legislature and understand that we're going to have a hearing."

The Texas and Texas Tech boards of regents are scheduled to meet Tuesday to discuss a possible move to the Pac-10. Texas A&M is pondering moving to the SEC, but officials there debunked an internet report Sunday that said they had decided to spurn the Pac-10 offer and join the SEC. 

Oklahoma's Board of Regents has called for a special meeting on Wednesday, the Tulsa World reports. Oklahoma may be being courted by both the Pac-10 and the SEC. The SEC is trying to bring in Oklahoma as well as Texas A&M, Orangebloods.com reports.

Pac-10 Commissioner Larry Scott and deputy commissioner Kevin Weiberg flew in a private plane this weekend to College Station, Lubbuck and Austin to hand out invitations to join their conference. The pair also met with Oklahoma and Oklahoma State officials.

Officials from both the Big 12 and Pac-10 told the American-Statesman final decisions would be made soon, with the Pac-10 official saying, "It will be done by Friday."

The Pac-10 officials reportedly told officials at Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Texas that a television package with their conference would be worth more than $17 million a year for each member. That is the same figure that Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe says he has renegotiated for Big 12 schools in a new deal with Fox Sports Net for next year, according to Orangebloods.com.  Beebe also is reportedly interested in starting a Big 12 television network.

Beebe also plans to disburse penalties that Colorado and Nebraska must pay for departing the conference, which would be $20 million over the next two years, according to the Orangebloods.com report.

Officials at Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State, Missouri and Baylor voted unanimously via conference call that they would prefer to continue in the Big 12, the Kansas City Star reports.