Tick…tick…tick…
The University of Texas Board of Regents – each university has a separate board in that state – has hastily put up a “special called telephone meeting” (PDF) that, coincidentally or not, will happen approximately two hours after the Oklahoma Board of Regents meeting begins Monday afternoon:
U. T. Austin: Discussion and appropriate action regarding potential legal issues related to athletic conference membership and contracting – 3:15 p.m.
The American-Statesman reports the regents “might authorize UT President William Powers Jr. to take unspecified steps regarding conference affiliation.”
NBC Sports lays out Texas’ likely options and says “all the signs are pointing to a funeral in the not-too-distant future for the 15-year-old conference.”
A Boston College blog, in its version of a Conferencepocalypse roundup, shakes its head at ISU like someone would shake her head at an injured kitten:
So if Oklahoma does decide to head west along with in-state rival Oklahoma State, the death knell of the Big 12 may set off another round of conference musical chairs that ultimately impacts Boston College. And when the dust settles, Manhattan, Kansas could be East, Stillwater, Oklahoma “Pacific,” Austin could be an ACC town and Iowa State … poor, poor Iowa State.
SI’s Seth Davis looks at the unfortunate position of Kansas, the bluest of basketball’s blue bloods, and the football über alles attitude of this whole thing. (Note unfortunate victim of photo illustration.)
Syracuse and Pitt are talking to the ACC.
Oh, and in actual, real-live football, Iowa State beat UConn to go 3-0, avenge(ish) the 2002 loss, and win its fourth game in the Eastern Time Zone in the past decade. Friday’s win was the first in the ETZ against an opponent in a modern “BCS” conference since a 10-6 win over Florida State (then an independent) in 1975.
It’s unfortunate that the team’s moderate improvement this century isn’t mattering in all this. As of the end of the 2010 season, the program all-time was 493-588-46 for an overall percentage of .458.