NCAA Conference Realignment: Missouri Still Considering Move to SEC?

Last week it appeared the Big 12 was going to be saved when the Pac-12 announced they were not expanding.

Everything started to fall into place for the conference. The University of Oklahoma made a list of demands that they wanted if they were going to stay in the conference; one of those was to get rid of Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe.

The next day Dan Beebe resigned as Big 12 commissioner and Chuck Neinas was named the interim commissioner.

There were also rumors that BYU was interested in becoming the 10^th member of the conference. Adding BYU would stabilize the conference and the Big 12 might survive after all. However, not much has seemed to change since last week.

The Big 12 still hasn’t added another team nor do they appear to be close to doing so.

Texas has stated they will not share their 3^rd-tier TV rights, and the University of Missouri still appears to be very interested in the SEC.

A lot of people thought the Mizzou to SEC talk was just rumors fueled by Missouri themselves, but there is a very real possibility Missouri ends up in the SEC.

Missouri had a press conference last week regarding the Big 12 conference, but they didn’t make a long-term commitment to the conference.

Missouri chancellor Brady Deaton, when asked if Missouri could leave the Big 12, stated, “That’s a hypothetical that could occur. In a sense, anything is possible.”

That statement made it very clear that Missouri was not making a long-term commitment to the Big 12 like many people expected them to.

Missouri head football coach Gary Pinkel has also been very critical of the conference, calling the situation “embarrassing” and “sad.”

Missouri AD Mike Alden stated, “You don’t want your league out there being talked about the way the Big 12 has been talked about.”

According to the Kansas City Star’s Mike DeArmond, the Missouri Board of Curators will hold a meeting Tuesday. DeArmond’s sources anticipate that the meeting will be about Missouri’s status in the conference realignment picture.

Does this mean Missouri is headed to the SEC? Not necessarily, but that option is very much still out there for the Tigers.

As someone who has grown up watching Big 8 and Big 12 sports, it would definitely be weird not seeing Missouri compete every year against Kansas and Kansas State.

But if Missouri has the option of going to the SEC, they should go. The Big 12 is very unstable and still could fall apart at any moment. So if you have an offer to go to a conference like the SEC, you better take it now. If they turn it down and stick with the Big 12 and then the Big 12 falls apart next year, that SEC offer may no longer be on the table.

A lot of people think going to the SEC would be a bad move for Missouri because they wouldn’t be able to compete with teams like Alabama, Florida and LSU. But let’s be honest, Missouri hasn’t really competed much with Oklahoma or Texas either.

They haven’t won a conference championship in the Big 12, so what’s the difference if they go to the SEC and don’t win a conference championship there?

Texas and Oklahoma have been the only teams to win the Big 12 over the last 7 years, but there is more parity in the SEC. Five different teams have won the SEC in the last 6 years with the only repeat team being Florida in 2006 and 2008.

Because of that, I would not be surprised at all if Missouri or Texas A&M compete for an SEC title every couple of years or so. Missouri football might see an improvement in recruiting if they join the SEC due to more national publicity.

They would also be very competitive in basketball year in and year out in the SEC.

Now the question remains, is there even an offer from the SEC to Missouri? Last week there were rumors that Missouri had an offer from the SEC, and that they were willing to wait for Missouri until the future of the Big 12 was decided.

The SEC quickly refuted these rumors.

“The SEC has not extended an invitation to any school beyond Texas A&M,” SEC media relations director Charles Bloom told the St. Louis Post Dispatch.

The SEC also announced yesterday that they had no plans to expand past 13 teams before next season, and that there are currently no teams under consideration to fill the conference's 14^th slot.

I still believe there has been offer extended to Missouri, but that the SEC wants to keep everything under wraps until the fate of the Big 12 is decided.

If and when the SEC adds another team, Missouri would be a very good option for them. They fit well geographically in the SEC, and the conference would add major TV markets Kansas City and St.Louis.

Hopefully, fans will get some answers next week after Missouri's Board of Curators meeting.

However, as much as fans want the conference realignment talk to end, it appears it’s still very far from being over.