What Today's Texas, OU rumors could mean for OSU

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The Houston Chronicle learned on Wednesday that Texas and Oklahoma Statement from OU: "The college athletics landscape is shifting constantly. We don't address every anonymous rumor."Those certainly aren't denials! Of course,  this is pure speculation at this point. Just because Texas and OU have reached out about the possibility of leaving for the football super conference,  that doesn't mean the SEC would ultimately admit the two schools even if it does consider it. Texas and OU to the SEC is far from a done deal and likely wouldn't take place for a few more seasons if it does happen,  in which case the remaining Big 12 schools would have some time to figure out what to do next.It isn't surprising either. The Big 12 paid out between $38 million and $42 million for member schools in the 2019 fiscal year. The Big 10 paid member schools $55.6 million and the SEC paid out $45.3 million to its schools. Every "power 5" conference has its own television network other than the Big 12,  which has Big 12 Now behind an ESPN+ paywall. The financial benefits to be reaped by jumping to the SEC could be the main reason for this potential move. That means the PAC-12 could add four of the remaining five Big 12 schools. My guess is the conference adds Baylor and TCU to keep those two together and rounds it out with Oklahoma State and Texas Tech,  two similar schools. Before I discuss what those divisions would look like Kendrick Sartor Jersey,  there are two pressing questions to answer in my opinion. In a world with NIL opportunities for athletes and a playoff expanding to 12 teams to give the best group of five schools opportunities as well,  do the top group of five schools look to capitalize on this movement? SMU has become an attractive option,  landing three top-115 players in the last two classes. Dallas is the perfect market for NIL opportunities and players may value being a top dog at a school like SMU rather than just another guy at a school like Texas. UCF,  Boise State,  Memphis and others are in this conversation as well.The other question to ask involves Kansas. You may have noticed I didn't give the Jayhawks a home in all the realignment madness. Obviously,  Kansas has a marquee basketball program with some of the best facilities in the nation. The same can't be said for many other athletic programs in Lawrence. It feels wrong leaving Kansas out of any conference,  but UCONN has a marquee hoops program as well and the Huskies recently joined the Big East for all programs other than football,  which went independent.A similar model might or might not work for Kansas,  but Jayhawk basketball doesn't feel like it belongs in anything but the best. A move to the Big East or West Coast Conferenceeach of whom have great basketball programswould make the most sense https://www.mthoutlet.com/Toby_Payne_Jersey-209,  but still feels wrong to me. However,  the rest of Kansas' athletic programs aren't necessarily desirable and I don't know where they fit in. But the reality is realignment like this is never going to be perfect,  so the Jayhawks are a casualty here.Now,  here's what I think my reimagined PAC-12 looks like with Oklahoma State in it:The top question here is if the top-two finishers in each division play in the PAC-12 Championship Game or if the top two finishers in the conference would. The answer to that question is likely predicated on how many division games would be required. The Big 12 currently has nine conference games and three non-conference games on the slate so that way each team plays each other every year. The SECcurrently with 14 teamsdoes eight conference games and four non-conference,  with the conference games broken up into six division games and two non-division games. As a visualization,  Alabama will play all of its SEC West division matesArkansas,  Auburn,  LSU https://www.mthoutlet.com/Harshan_Sachdeva_Jersey-184,  Ole Miss,  Mississippi State and Texas AMand SEC East members Florida and Tennessee. The Crimson Tide plays Tennessee every year as a rivalry game while the other SEC East opponent rotates. It is unclear how the addition of another team to each division would change things.Because I'm essentially making all this up as a hypothetical,  here is what I would do. I would require each team to play five of its division mates every year,  leaving three conference games against non-division mates. In this scenario,  Oklahoma State would play five of the seven of Arizona,  Arizona State,  Baylor,  Colorado,  TCU,  Texas Tech and Utah every year. Whichever two they don't play would be on the schedule the following year. Then,  OSU plays three of Cal https://www.mthoutlet.com/Daytione_Smith_Jersey-60,  Oregon,  Oregon State,  Stanford,  UCLA,  USC,  Washington and Washington State every year on a rotating basis. That leaves four non-conference games which could be OUwho would also have four non-conference datesand three others.That paints the picture of a conference not as strong at the top as the SEC and Big 10and nobody the same level as Clemson in the ACCbut also a deeper conference than the SEC and on par with the depth of the Big 10,  or whatever they hopefully rename their new 16-team monstrosity. There is plenty to be determined at this time and this isn't the first instance of rumors about Texas and Oklahoma trying to abandon the current digs in hopes of joining the far more lucrative SEC. In a world where money is key,  the Big 12 is lagging behind in terms of television deals that have proved to put other conferences ahead. While it is scary to think of what another round of landscape-changing realignment looks like,  it is good to hear OSU is aware and will do whatever it takes to put the school in the best position possible.

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