All signs point to Big Ten

Are you ready for the Cornhuskers to regularly battle the likes of the Buckeyes, the Hawkeyes and the Wolverines?

More and more signs Wednesday pointed to the University of Nebraska being poised to apply — and be accepted — to the Big Ten Conference, leaving the Big 12 Conference behind.

The N.U. Board of Regents laid the legal groundwork Friday to consider a possible Big Ten move. The agenda for Friday's regents meeting was amended to allow a discussion and vote for a resolution on conference alignment.

Numerous media sources in Big Ten country and beyond were reporting Wednesday that Big Red would be joining the Big Ten, becoming the league's 12th member along with such schools as Ohio State, Iowa and Michigan. Most authoritative was the Chicago Tribune, which reported that an unnamed source confirmed the Big Ten will be inviting Nebraska. Such invitations rarely are discussed unless a decision has been made to accept.

Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman also weighed in Wednesday, indicating he thought there would be “significant movement” on NU's conference affiliation within 48 hours. Thursday, he described the possibility of a conference switch as an important issue for the state.

Joining the Big Ten conference could bring new opportunities for the university in regards to boosting academic reputation, expanding federal research grant possibilities and opening new doors for the Innovation Campus, he said.

“The Big 12 has been a good conference, but sometimes things aren't forever, either,” Heineman said Thursday.

The latest developments followed a Big 12 source telling The World-Herald Tuesday that Nebraska would be a member of the Big Ten as early as week's end.

The regents' agenda change Wednesday followed a telephone conference call involving N.U. Athletic Director Tom Osborne, Chancellor Harvey Perlman and three members of the eight-member board.

Regents chairman Bob Phares of North Platte declined to speak specifically about what was discussed or what the resolution going before the regents would advocate. “It could be a resolution to stay put or a resolution to make an application (to the Big Ten),'' he said.

When asked whether Osborne or Perlman had indicated in the meeting what conference they would recommend Nebraska cast its lot with, Phares declined to comment.

Perlman and Osborne also were not commenting Wednesday. University sources said they spent much of the day in a retreat in Omaha, one that will continue Thursday.

Talk that Nebraska would be joining the Big Ten has swirled since reports out of last week's Big 12 meetings that Nebraska had been given an ultimatum to indicate within the week whether it would stay with the Big 12.

There also has been speculation that a Nebraska decision to bolt would cause the entire conference to fall apart, with as many as six other Big 12 schools ready to flee to the Pacific 10. Colorado became the first Big 12 member to leave, the Pac-10 announced Thursday.

That could leave schools like Iowa State, Kansas State, Kansas and even Missouri — once widely speculated as a possible Big Ten member — without a major conference.

Nebraska would be attractive to the Big Ten because of its reputation as a traditional college football power, its large, passionate fan base that extends well beyond the state and the potential new eyeballs it would bring to the Big Ten's lucrative TV network.

The reward for Nebraska would be a doubling of its conference revenues, largely due to revenue from the network, and a significant boost to its academic standing as a partner with some of the biggest and most prestigious public universities in the nation.

Phares was the only one of the three regents on the conference call Wednesday to return phone calls. Four of the five regents who weren't on the call said they had not been informed of what conference Osborne and Perlman would be recommending Friday and had no knowledge the Big Ten had extended an offer to join.

In addition to the regents, Osborne and Perlman, also on the call were NU President J.B. Milliken, the university's attorney and corporate secretary.

Regent Tim Clare of Lincoln, who was not part of the conference call Wednesday, said the university has earned the exciting possibilities that could be before it.

“The leadership of the university athletically and academically has put us in a position that we have options,'' Clare said. “Those options are things that Nebraskans should be proud of.''

Regent Jim McClurg of Lincoln, also not among those on Wednesday's call, did not rule out a vote Friday on making an application to the Big Ten. He said he has not been informed that Nebraska has been invited to apply, but also said he didn't believe Nebraska would apply unless it had been assured in advance its application would be accepted.

All six of the eight regents interviewed this week said they would give much deference to whatever Osborne and Perlman recommend.

“I think we have the two best people at the table we can have,'' Phares said. But he said Perlman and Osborne also would not make a move unless they had the support of the regents.

The regents will convene at 1 p.m. Friday and open with public comment on the issue of conference alignment. It then would go into closed session, in which regents said they expect to be briefed by Osborne, Perlman and others. The board then would return to open session and possibly vote on a resolution.

A media report out of Texas that the NU Board of Regents had “informally'' agreed in the Wednesday conference call to a move to the Big Ten was vehemently denied by Phares and in a statement released by the university. The university's statement said no action was taken, and none will be taken before Friday's meeting.

ESPN reported that athletic staff were informed by Osborne in a staff meeting in the last day that Nebraska was moving to the Big Ten. That report drew a look of disbelief followed by laughter from NU men's basketball coach Doc Sadler after it scrolled across the TV in his office.

“I guess I'm not part of the staff anymore,'' Sadler joked. “I don't know anything about this.''

Sadler then phoned NU head football coach Bo Pelini, who assured Sadler he also had not been part of any staff meeting.

But staff meeting or not, none of that refutes the notion that Nebraska could very well be Big Ten-bound by Friday.

The serious nature of the talk was underscored by a statement released by the governing board of Kansas and Kansas State Universities, one the board said it sent to the NU board and Missouri's board earlier this week. The University of Missouri System Board of Curators is meeting in Columbia on Thursday and Friday.

The statement noted that the NU-KU rivalry in football dates to 1892 and that the geographic proximity in the Big 12 has allowed student-athletes to compete while missing a minimum of class time.

“We strongly urge you to retain your Big 12 membership thus preserving, among other things, a long tradition of healthy competition that benefits our universities, their students and alumni, and our states,'' the statement said.

Gov. Heineman also reported being lobbied by Kansas Gov. Mark Parkinson and U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., on the issue.

Heineman said at a Thursday morning press conference that he has “great faith and respect and confidence” that university officials will do “the right and appropriate thing.”

The governor said Nebraska is in the position to make a change because of the strength of its athletic and academic programs.

“I think we should be proud of that, and let's just let this thing unfold and we'll see what happens,” Heineman said.

Several regents said they had sympathy for any impact Nebraska's decision could have on other schools, and noted that the Kansas letter raised legitimate concerns. But all were resolute that in the end Nebraska is going to do what is best for the university both academically and athletically.

“At the end of the day,'' said Regent Chuck Hassebrook of Lyons, “we're going to make the decision that best serves Nebraska.''

World-Herald staff writers Lee Barfknecht and Paul Hammel contributed to this report.

Throughout the day, a host of other media outlets have reported that Nebraska has or will accept an offer to join the Big Ten. Among those offering unsourced reports to that effect Wednesday evening were the Houston Chronicle, the San Antonio Express-News and ESPN.com.

The University of Nebraska, for its part, says no decision can be made until its Board of Regents meets on Friday, issuing a statement early Wednesday evening to that effect.

• Read the Chicago Tribune story here.

• Read the Houston Chronicle story here.

• Read the San Antonio Express-News story here.

• Read the ESPN story here.

• Read the New York Times story here.

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World-Herald reporter Jeff Robb will live blog Friday's Nebraska Regents meeting starting at 1 p.m. Sign up below for an e-mail reminder, then check back at Omaha.com on Friday afternoon to submit your questions.

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