Missouri to the SEC: Chancellor Given Power to Leave Big 12, No Decision Yet

In a press conference this afternoon, Missouri’s board of curators unanimously adopted a resolution to give full control to Chancellor Brady Deaton “to make decisions on conference realignment” and the related contracts.

The board also issued a directive to start an invitational basketball tournament as well as have an annual college football game in Kansas City, Missouri. The football game will be played against a “traditional rival from the region.”

Kansas City hosted the majority of Big 12 Championships in both basketball and football before Dallas and Cowboys Stadium took that role in 2009.

The Chancellor was later asked about keeping the 119-year-old rivalry with Kansas, and he said that they would do everything to preserve it in all sports.

As far as where the Tigers will be playing next year, Deaton said "[Missouri] anticipate that whatever action is taken, it will be applicable to the next athletic year [2012]."

He added "[Missouri isn’t] putting any timeline on this, but we are certainly looking for it to be expeditious."

Deaton also said there will be “no inappropriate delays” and the school has already provided information to the SEC.

This is the first major step taken by Missouri in conference realignment and is also typically the beginning of a school’s departure from a conference.

Deaton was the Chairman of the Board of the Big 12, but resigned on October 4th to remove any conflict of interests.

But possibly the most interesting thing said during the press conference was something that leaked out.

"Should we leave the Big 12, we want to create the basketball tournament and play football games in Kansas City."

The directive was already given to start this tournament and play an annual football game there during the morning meeting. Does this mean Missouri is already planning on leaving, or would they still have these things if they stay in the Big 12?

Another thing to remember in this is that the Tigers abstained from voting on a grant of television rights for the Big 12 based on the advice of legal counsel.

The other potentially interesting comment came when the Chancellor said they had “interest from multiple BCS conferences.” It was widely speculated last year that the school wanted to be invited to join the Big Ten but that never happened.

Going forward, the expectation that they will be in whatever conference they choose for next season greatly affects Big 12 expansion. Not only would the conference need to find a replacement for Missouri, but they would have to find one that could play football in 2012.

Louisville and West Virginia are both in the Big East, and its commissioner John Marinatto has repeatedly said that schools that wish to leave must adhere to the 27-month waiting period.

BYU is an independent school, so they would be available to play immediately, as would Boise State.

Nothing is official yet, but all signs point to Missouri heading to a different conference, likely the SEC, in the very near future.