Big 12's prospects of holding together grow dimmer

Oklahoma's leaders are involved in exploratory discussions with the Pacific-12 amid sentiment at the school to move.

The Big 12 Conference, once home to five of major-college football's 20 winningest programs, is teetering toward disintegration.

Oklahoma's leaders are involved in exploratory discussions with the Pacific-12 amid sentiment at the school — from President David Boren to the board of regents — to pursue membership in the league, almost certainly in tandem with Oklahoma State, according to a number of officials within the Big 12 with knowledge of the situation.

The Big 12's other remaining bell cow, Texas, still is working to preserve the 15-year-old conference but has begun informal conversations with the Pac-12 and Atlantic Coast Conference as it weighs its options, according to the officials. The Longhorns also are exploring independence, though that appears a less likely fallback.

The officials who spoke of the developments did so on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

Oklahoma's move still isn't definite. Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott has said his league prefers to remain at 12 member schools and, while OU and its national brand figure to be hard to pass up, it's uncertain whether the league would accept OU and Oklahoma State — or would do so without Texas accompanying them.

Oklahoma officials also are looking into the parameters of potential Pac-12 membership, from financial considerations to how the newly expanded league would align its divisions.

Still, in the wake of Nebraska's and Colorado's decisions to depart a year ago and Texas A&M's pending move to the Southeastern Conference, OU is wary enough of the Big 12's instability to pursue the Pac-12 option, the officials said. They said Boren and the school's regents also are enticed by academic affiliation with the likes of Stanford, California, UCLA and Southern California.

Oklahoma's board of regents will hold a regularly scheduled meeting next Monday. While it's not impossible questions related to realignment could be answered by then and action taken, it's considered unlikely. The issue is not on the agenda.