While most of the discussion of a new collegiate landscape revolves around the Big Ten Conference expanding, another BCS conference might be the first to make a move.
The Texas website , a member of the network, reported Thursday that the Pac-10 appears prepared to invite Colorado, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State to join the conference as early as this weekend at league meetings in San Francisco.
Colorado athletic director Mike Bohn seemed to back up that report. He told the Boulder Daily Camera as he left the Big 12 meetings in Kansas City Thursday afternoon that he has been led to believe an invitation could be forthcoming. He said CU has not had any contact with the Pac-10, or its representatives, and he was not clear on how he came to believe invitations could be forthcoming.
“The longer that we were together in Kansas City it appeared that that rumor or speculation did have some validity to it,” Bohn said. “We’re led to believe that that may be the case, but, again, there are so many different reports and different dialogues and different developments within our league and outside our league that prevents me from being able to predict what will happen.”
A scheduled news conference of Big 12 officials was canceled Thursday afternoon as the meetings ended.
Pac-10 Commissioner Larry Scott told The Denver Post Thursday afternoon that nothing has been decided, nor has anything been discussed with TV networks.
“We’ve made no decisions about expansion whatsoever,” Scott said. “The report suggests we’ve made a decision. That’s not correct.”
The report cited multiple anonymous sources.
The report said the expanded Pac-10 would start its own television network and could pay each member school more than $20 million per year in television revenues. That would more than double the current payouts of about $9 million to current Big 12 and Pac-10 schools.
Bohn said earlier this week he hopes that the Big 12 Conference stays together, but that CU would be proactive if it appeared other schools might leave. The six teams from the Big 12 would join Arizona State and Arizona in an eight-team division of a 16-team conference, according to the report.
Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds told The Post this week he would be proactive in searching for a new conference should it appear that the Big 12 is ready to break apart, but he said his preference is that the Big 12 stay together.
The Big Ten is believed to be interested in adding Big 12 members Nebraska and Missouri, although no official offer has been extended.
