Much of the reporting on the financial conditions required to ensure the survival of the Big 12 has centered on potential buyout penalties to be paid out to remaining members of the conference by Nebraska and Colorado.

(Not one nickel)

Multiple outlets have reported that Nebraska and Colorado will be required to pay the league between $6 and $10 million for the privilege of leaving the league. It has also been widely reported that as part of the negotiation to keep the league alive, the Big 12’s five have-not schools agreed to hand over that alleged NU and CU buyout money to Oklahoma, Texas A&M and Texas.

Sounds like a plan! If only it wasn’t completely untrue.

As noted by Nebraska Chancellor Harvey Perlman this week, there is no existing Big 12 bylaw that states that teams departing from the league must pay out a penalty fee to remaining conference members.

Perlman noted on KLIN-AM in Lincoln yesterday that, “there is a liquidated damages provision that purports to make the existing members whole,” but that there is no pre-designated charge for leaving the conference.

That doesn’t mean though that there isn’t something in the Big 12 bylaws that will injure NU and CU financially. There is. And it’s the reason both schools are in such a mad dash to escape the league.

Read more…

Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany and Nebraska officials made the media rounds today in the aftermath of the league poaching the school from the Big 12.

During the media sessions, Delany said the league will continue to look for expansion candidates over the next year but that, “we’re back to the slow tempo game.”

Michigan State President Anna K. Simon said of the continuing Big Ten expansion process, “We have two-thirds of the study period left to go and we’re real anxious to work with Jim and others around the next step.”

Delany would not comment on specific schools as targets, which I’m sure has the Big East absolutely delighted. Big 12 Commissioner Dan Beebe said today that, “it was his understanding” that the Big Ten was not interested in the remaining Big 12 schools.

Also notable today was Delany confirming that a Big Ten football championship game is now likely to happen in 2011 and that Nebraska sports will begin play in the league in the fall of 2011.

Delany would not speculate on how divisions for the Big Ten would play out though he gave the criteria for dividing up the league in order: Competitive fairness, rivalries, geography. (How you determine “fairness” I have no idea.)

More comments from Delany:

On scheduling: “This is not going to the moon, this is creating some football and basketball schedules. We’re going into this with the idea that rivalries really matter. But not all rivalries are equal. Our coaches have wanted to play deeper in December. That’s arrangeable.”

What Big Ten was looking for in possible expansion candidate schools: “We wanted to get to a point in time where everybody was equal. We didn’t want anybody that didn’t want equality.” (See veiled shot at Notre Dame, Texas.)

On a Big Ten football championship game: “I presume that we will.” Read more…

Matt Tait of the LAWRENCE JOURNAL-WORLD has details from Big 12 Commissioner Dan Beebe’s teleconference today. Beebe talked about the departures of Nebraska and Colorado and the current state of the league. Highlights.

On the possibilities of losing more teams to the Big Ten:

“At this point I think as far as we’re concerned my understanding is that there aren’t any other Big 12 members being considered by the Big Ten.”

On Nebraska leaving for the Big Ten:

I would’ve thought formal discussions in advance would’ve happened before we got to the point we’ve come to.

On if the Big 12 could remain intact by adding schools:

We could look at adding teams if the 10 remain together and that’s something we need to consider. However, in terms of value and conducting high-level conference, we don’t have to do that. The info we have is pretty strong that the 10 members we have would continue to provide tremendous amount of revenue in the future.

If he felt deceived by Colorado and Nebraska: Read more…

UPDATE: Colorado to the Pac-10 is official - announced on Pac-10 official website.

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Kyle Ringo of the BOULDER (CO) DAILY CAMERA reports Thursday morning:

It’s a done deal.

The University of Colorado will announce at an 11 a.m. Friday press conference that the school will leave the Big 12 and join the Pac-10.

Multiple sources confirmed the deal to the Camera early Thursday, and league officials are scheduled to be in Boulder on Friday for the announcement.

Matt Hayes of SportingNews.com, Joe Schad of ESPN.com, and Jon Wilner of the SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS also report today that Colorado will be the first Big 12 school to formally accept an invitation from the Pac-10.

That news has the Texas political machinery in high gear. Read more…

Brian Christopherson of the LINCOLN JOURNAL-STAR reports Nebraska Board of Regents Chairman Bob Phares said Wednesday evening that he had no knowledge of the school receiving an invitation to the Big Ten and that, “a report being circulated this afternoon among sports media stating that the University of Nebraska Board of Regents ‘met informally’ today and have ‘agreed to move to the Big Ten’ is not accurate.”

Chip Brown of Texas sports website Orangebloods.com reported earlier today:

Nebraska regents have informally agreed to leave for the Big Ten. A formal announcement will come Friday.

More from Christopherson on NU Regents Chairman Phares:

I asked Phares about reports circulating through cyberspace that Nebraska’s Board of Regents have agreed to move to the Big Ten and that a formal announcement Nebraska is leaving will come Friday.

Phares answer: “First of all, there are several factual errors. No. 1, there’s been no vote by the board at all. No. 2, as I understand it, there are no invitations that are extended. You decide if you wish to make an application and then they react to your application.

ESPN.com reported earlier Wednesday, “a source close to the Nebraska program told ESPN’s Chris Mortensen that athletic director Tom Osborne informed some staff members within the past 24 hours that the Cornhuskers were going to make the move to the Big Ten conference.”

Christopherson revealed after Mortensen’s report Wednesday evening that, “The Journal Star has spoken to coaches from three different sports who said there has been no meeting with Osborne since last Friday.“

Phares added to the Journal-Star: “I heard that there were reports that Tom Osborne had advised all of his staff that it was a done deal. You can talk to Tom and see what his comment is. I would be immensely surprised if that was the case, because as I said there’s been no vote by the board and no formal decision.“

Also today, Orangebloods.com reported: “Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds and president Williams Powers gathered UT coaches today at 2 p.m. CT to tell them they did everything they could to save the Big 12 but that they were unsuccessful.”

The AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN’s Alan Trubow reported after that Orangebloods.com report: Read more…

Teddy Greenstein of the CHICAGO TRIBUNE reports Wednesday:

The Big Red will be joining the Big Ten.

A source with knowledge of the expansion talks has confirmed to the Tribune that Nebraska will be invited to apply for Big Ten membership.

The league has not determined, the source said, whether it will remain at 12 schools or expand to 14 or 16.

Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany said Sunday that the league “could act and act again” - meaning that expansion could occur in phases.

The official website of the University of Nebraska lists “Resolution regarding UNL conference alignment” as being on the agenda of the NU Board of Regents meeting Friday at 1pm CT.

The meeting will not be televised but audio will be available on the official NU website.

Sean Callahan of KFAB-AM in Omaha also has this official statement from NU on Wednesday afternoon: “No action was taken during today’s (Regents executive committee) conference call, and none will be taken prior to Friday’s meeting.”

(Texas Coaches Reportedly Informed Of Move Today)

Chip Brown of Orangebloods.com notes today that Nebraska’s reported move has six other Big 12 schools circling the wagons in preparation for an exodus to the Pac-10. Read more…

Jeff Seeman of Fox Sports Ohio reports Wednesday:

The Big Ten has officially offered an invitation to Nebraska.

Over the weekend, the Big 12 Conference demanded a loyalty pledge from all of its’ members, and only 9 teams complied. Two of the three holdouts, Nebraska and Missouri, were given until this Friday to decide if they wanted to stay in the league, and the ultimatum has apparently pushed the Huskers into the Big 10.

An official announcement is expected by Friday afternoon, but a press conference could be held as early as today.

Perhaps that explains the hastily arranged Nebraska Board of Regents conference call today. Read more…

The LINCOLN JOURNAL-STAR reports Wednesday that the Executive Committee of the University of Nebraska Board of Regents will meet today at 2:15p ET to discuss the school’s possible future conference affiliation.

When NU Regent Kent Schroeder was asked if he believed they would be discussing the realignment issue on the conference call, he said: “I anticipate that’s what it will be (about).”

NU Regents Bob Phares, Bob Whitehouse, Schroeder and Howard Hawks will be on the call.

More from Schroeder:

“It may be the purpose of this conference call today is for (University of Nebraska) President (J.B.) Milliken to get some input from the executive committee as if we do talk about (conference realignment) in closed session, who do we want to be there?

“Is Chancellor (Harvey) Perlman and athletic director (Tom) Osborne enough, or do you want to talk to other people? One of the things I’ve been reading about in the newspaper, and frankly that’s all I know about is what I’ve read, is it’s possible the research dollars would increase coming to the University of Nebraska because the Big Ten is more prestigious than the Big 12 in that regard.

So I might want to have (vice chancellor for research and economic development) Prem Paul there and ask him that question.”

Though information gathering is apparently one reason for the conference call today, there’s another factor in the hasty arrangement. Read more…

Lee Barfknecht of the OMAHA WORLD-HERALD reports today, “an executive at a Big 12 school relayed to The World-Herald on Tuesday that he expects Nebraska to become a member of the Big Ten as early as Friday.”

(Source: Nebraska’s new arena piqued Big 10’s interest in school)

Barfknecht added that NU Chancellor Harvey Perlman, “is expected to address the topic with the Board of Regents at its Friday meeting in Lincoln.”

Brian Rosenthal of the LINCOLN JOURNAL-STAR though reports that, “as of Tuesday, the topic is not on the agenda, although an item can be added as late as 24 hours in advance — in this case, 1 p.m. Thursday.”

NU Board of Regents member Randy Ferlic told the Journal-Star that he hasn’t heard anything yet from Perlman or Osborne.

“I have not had any official or unofficial notification of anything other than what I’ve read in the newspapers and heard on the news.  If they were going to do something on Friday, I’d certainly want to get some backup data to support whichever way I want to vote. I don’t feel like I was ever elected to be a nod, and I’m not a nod.”

NU Communications Manager Melissa Lee said Tuesday that approval from the Board of Regents wouldn’t necessarily be required for the school to change conference affiliations.

In response to Lee’s assertion, NU Regent Ferlic scoffed at that possibility. Read more…

Doug Tucker of the ASSOCIATED PRESS has details on the action the University of Kansas is taking to try to save the Big 12 conference.

(Tom Osborne Holds Key To Future Of Big 12 Conference)

Recognizing the defection of Nebraska to the Big 10 could create a mass exodus of Big 12 schools to the Pac-10, Kansas chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little called Nebraska Chancellor Harvey Perlman today to “urge” her counterpart to keep the school in the Big 12.

Gray-Little said she planned to call Missouri chancellor Brady J. Deaton “with the same message.”

Read more…