KANSAS CITY, Mo. — If Big 12 administrators are cat-fighting behind closed doors about the future of the league, they are hiding it well from the media horde.
Support for the league sounded strong from athletic directors as they emerged from their room Wednesday at the InterContinental Hotel.
• Tom Osborne from Nebraska, which is rumored to go to the Big Ten: “We like the Big 12. We're not looking to leave. We're not mad at anybody or upset at anything.”
• Bill Byrne from Texas A&M, supposedly a Pac-10 target: “I really like the Big 12. We were part of the original group that put it together. From A&M's perspective, we want to stay together. We're committed to this.”
• Mike Bohn from Colorado, which allegedly is interested in the Pac-10: “The best thing for Colorado is to be in the Big 12.”
• Joe Castiglione from Oklahoma, rumored as Southeastern Conference material: “I can speak on behalf of my president, David Boren, who also has spoken publicly about our commitment and loyalty to the Big 12, the confidence we have in our commissioner and the confidence we have in the direction of this league.”
Osborne caused a mini-stir when he was asked if the A.D.s have a specific recommendation for the league CEOs on realignment when those two groups meet Thursday.
“We're all going to talk to our presidents and make sure they understand what we've heard here,” he said. “So we'll see. Maybe a decision will be made.”
That led some in the media to claim on their blogs that Osborne said a final decision will come this week.
What Osborne referenced was simply league policy.
The true decision-makers are the presidents and chancellors. No concrete action is even possible until the end of their meetings Friday, which is what Osborne said — not that a decision necessarily will come Friday.
Osborne was pinned against a hotel lobby pillar for five minutes by a tight semicircle of writers.
“There are so many parameters you're asking me about that I don't know,” he told the group. “It's really not very wise for me to speak on some of these things because I don't have the vote.”
When asked what Nebraska needs to hear to stay in the Big 12, Osborne spun for the door.
“We don't need to hear anything,” he said. “I've said all I've got to say. Thanks, guys.”
Soon after, Castiglione came out with passion in his voice.
For 33 minutes, he vigorously defended the value of the Big 12 and railed against the talk radio-Internet gab that realignment is virtually done.
“I'm disappointed that people have jumped to that conclusion without thinking about what this conference means,” said Castiglione, one of the three remaining A.D.s from when the Big 12 was formed. (The others are Byrne and Texas' DeLoss Dodds).
“It's not a foregone conclusion. That kind of talk has been reckless.”
Much of the reporting about why the Big Ten is an attractive place to land is based on that league's distribution of $22 million annually to each school. That is more than double what most Big 12 schools take in.
But is a doubling of revenue really possible?
“That's a big assumption,” Castiglione said. “Only those with the hard-core data can tell you if that's really true.
“Everybody is caught in the euphoria of looking at something when they don't fully understand the facts. Then reality sets in. They realize increased travel costs, changes in game times, playing on non-traditional dates.”
And will all increases in athletic revenue go back to the athletic department?
“I don't think so,” Castiglione said. “We deal with facts. We deal with data. We deal with reality and what we know and what we believe.”
Byrne has been a proponent of student-athlete welfare in talks about realignment, with worries about long plane rides to either coast for regular competition.
He said he broached that issue Wednesday with the athletic directors. And what was the response?
“Same as from you,” Byrne said. “Everybody sits and nods.”
Like others, Byrne would appreciate some resolution soon on whether certain schools are in or out, especially with TV negotiations with Fox starting again next spring.
Byrne said the Atlantic Coast Conference's new TV deal, which doubled its revenue, shows “the market is really good out there.”
“We need to work really hard to make sure we stay together,” he said, “to generate the kind of revenues we should get.”
Contact the writer:
444-1024, lee.barfknecht@owh.com
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