Just when it seemed conference realignment news would dwarf the college football season it was butting up against, it's time to call the whole thing off -- for now. Well, at least the big stuff, as the Pac-12 won't be expanding during this go-round. You'll be shocked to learn the Texas Longhorns had a lot to do with it.
This means Texas, along with the Oklahoma Sooners and each of their jogging buddies, won't be leaving the Big 12 for the Pac-12 at this point. No Big 12-Big East merger. No Baylor lawsuits.
This doesn't mean Texas A&M will turn back from the SEC, nor does it mean the remaining Big 12 members are all cool with the Longhorn Network all of a sudden. The SEC also has the tricky issue of evening out its divisions, which are set to feature seven teams and six teams in 2012 (West Virginia and even Missouri could still be options, but count out Oklahoma, by the way).
The Big East may pick up a few schools to offset its impending losses to the ACC. The ACC might help itself to more Big East schools -- like, say, UConn, which still wants out. There are still rumblings, but they shouldn't be interpreted as aftershocks. They're still pre-tremors. In 2010, the college sports world moved a step closer to the football megaconference future, and in 2011 it did the same.
The Big 12 may be able to reform itself and become a major piece of that future, but hopefully we can wait to worry about it until next summer. All of a sudden the college football season is about to reclaim center stage, and for that we can thank the Pac-12.
For more, visit Pac-12 blog Pacific Takes, Oklahoma Sooners blog Crimson And Cream Machine and Texas Longhorns blog Burnt Orange Nation.
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