Castiglione subdued, but says the Big 12 is not dead just yet
by: DAVE SITTLER World Sports Columnist
Thursday, June 10, 2010
OKLAHOMA ATHLETIC DIRECTOR Joe Castiglione didn't try to mask his emotions Wednesday night when he acknowledged Nebraska most likely will announce by Friday that it's leaving the Big 12 for the Big Ten.
"I think it's over with them (Cornhuskers)," a dour Castiglione said in a late-night telephone interview. "It feels like somebody died.
"It's that emotional for so many people who put so much into creating the Big 12."
Castiglione was one of the league's architects when the Big 12 started forming in 1994. He was Missouri's athletic director when the Big Eight Conference morphed into the Big 12 ? starting competition in 1996 ? with four Texas schools.
OU's AD since mid-1998, Castiglione isn't ready to declare that the obviously serious blow in losing the Cornhuskers absolutely means the Big 12 is dead. Several media outlets have already speculated that without Nebraska's powerhouse football program and national reputation that the Big 12 can't survive.
"I'm not one of those people," Castiglione said. "I still think the Big 12 can be a viable league with 11 teams, and perhaps even 10."
Speculation remains that Missouri still might get the Big Ten invitation that Tiger officials were so self-assured about for the past few months. And rumors persist that Colorado finally will make the long-rumored jump to the Pac-10.
If the Big 12 dissolves, the Pac-10 also looks like the destination for OU, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech.
Baylor and Colorado continue intense talks in behind the scenes meetings, but not with each other. They are jostling for the final spot if the Pac-10 expands to a 16-team league.
Castiglione acknowledged that BYU and Air Force are two teams the Big 12 might look at if it can convince Texas to help hold the conference together.
While Castiglione also confirmed that the Southeastern Conference has shown interest in the Sooners, OU's position is that it's going to stick with Texas wherever the Longhorns go because of the long history between the two schools.
"I think it would be a horrendous decision for OU and Texas to break up," Castiglione said. "We're going to stick together if it's at all possible."
Castiglione said he expected Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe to release a statement immediately after Nebraska's departure becomes official. Beebe, Castiglione and Texas AD DeLoss Dodds apparently remain unified in their desire to save the Big 12.
But what if the Pac-10 comes calling in the next few days with a very lucrative offer for OU to join what could be college football's first super conference?
"I don't know what would happen at this point. We just have to wait and see," Castiglione said.
One key factor that OU and Texas reportedly are worried about is the power they will lose in a 16-team super conference. Each will be just one of 16 votes instead of 12.
And then there's the natural factor that the current schools in the Pac-10 will remain loyal to each other and will have the numbers to win every vote over the six new members from the Big 12.
"If people thought they had culture problems in the Big 12 (Nebraska AD Tom Osborne felt that way)," said Castiglione, "how are the (Big 12) schools going to feel if they go to the Pac-10? We don't know."
The power Texas stands to lose in an expanded Pac-10 has to be reason enough for the Longhorns to continue to seek ways to make sure the Big 12 doesn't disband.
"We worked really hard (with Nebraska) to try and make this work," a subdued Castiglione said. "But it apparently wasn't enough."
