So in December of 09 Jay Nixon, the governor of Missouri, says "I want to look at what options the big 10 may have to offer"
The Derrick Washington, mike Dixon(#1) and swimmer sexual assault cases all happened in a 6 month period between September 2009 and February 2010...Right when Mizzou starts looking for a new conference.
I'm not saying these were swept under the rug because no conference would want a school with 3 pending rape cases against athletes...but the timing is interesting.