The Wiz of Odds

There Are Benefits to Teams Staying in the WAC

The Western Athletic Conference's days appear to be numbered, but there could be a big reward for teams that hang until the end. Right now, there are only two football playing members for the 2013 season — Idaho and New Mexico State. As Jason Appleford points out, this could set up a banner season for Idaho.

"A few tough road games, but the Vandals should be competitive next year," he writes on his twitter page.

Last week, the WAC lost Utah State and San Jose State to the Mountain West, Louisiana Tech and Texas San Antonio to Conference USA and Texas State to the Sun Belt. Texas San Antonio and Texas State departed before playing even one game as members of the league.

To make matters worse, longtime WAC commissioner Karl Benson bailed in February and became commish of the Sun Belt.

Missouri Is on the Verge of Making a Huge Mistake

Sam McKewon of the Omaha World-Herald has some advice for Missouri: Don't do it.

"The University of Missouri could be on the verge of making a stupendous mistake of impatience, borne out of a handful of university and state leaders wanting to wipe egg off their face from last year’s Big Ten debacle with a move to the SEC, a league that has neither the academic pedigree nor the competitive atmosphere suited for such a starchy Midwestern institution," McKewon writes.

"Mizzou in a ditch fight with SEC programs who embrace cheating and slippery ethics like a favorite uncle? The Tigers' so-so fan base traveling to South Carolina, Georgia and Auburn? In trade for what? A little more TV money? Long-term security?"

McKewon is spot on. Read the column by clicking here.

CJR: ESPN Obscures Its Role in Conference Realignment

The Columbia Journalism Review is the latest critic of ESPN's role in conference realignment.

Ryan Chittum, in a piece that was posted late last week, writes that ESPN's coverage of the near breakup of the Big 12 failed to address the Longhorn Network's role in creating an atmosphere of instability outside of Austin. The Longhorn Network, of course, is bankrolled by ESPN.

Chittum uses a Pat Forde column as an example of the network falling far short its journalistic responsibility. He writes: "Imagine if The Wall Street Journal reported that a hacking scandal had roiled Britain and failed to note News Corp.'s role in it. That's analogous to what's happening in this column. ESPN's network is/was the core issue in the Big 12 turmoil."

Chittum concludes with this: "The bottom is simple for its editorial staff: ESPN has major conflicts of interest on this story, and not mentioning them — every time — makes it look really bad."

The Story Behind the Collapse of the Pac-16

The Longhorn Network claims another victim.

The Pacific 12 announced Tuesday night that it would remain a 12-team league, ending the expansion talk that included Big 12 members Texas, Oklahoma, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State.

It's the second year in a row Pac-12 had flirted with the four schools and like last year, the deal-breaker was Texas' reluctance to share revenue from the Longhorn Network. Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott is said to have met last weekend with officials from Texas, but the Longhorns' financial demands simply did not fit into Scott's "culture of equality."

That left Oklahoma and Oklahoma State as possible additions, but with little discussion it was determined that expanding to 14 teams was awkward and not financially worthwhile.

An earlier report had Oklahoma demanding the ouster of Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe, pictured above, as part of a deal to keep the Sooners in the league. But when the Pac-12 slammed the door, Oklahoma appeared to lose its bargaining chip. For the time being, Beebe still has a job.

Sign of the Times

And now, a message from the Almighty.

Brigham Young in Talks With Big 12

With Texas A&M notifying the Big 12 on Wednesday of its desire to join another league, the focus turned to Provo, Utah, home of Brigham Young.

Jay Drew of the Salt Lake Tribune reported late Wednesday that BYU officials have had discussions with Big 12 officials within the past week about joining the league. The talks have included ESPN and there has been input from Notre Dame representatives. BYU, which left the Mountain West to become a football independent, has an eight-year deal with ESPN and a six-game series scheduled with the Fighting Irish.

Some of the discussions, according to the report, involve BYU joining the Big 12 for football only. The rest of the school's teams would compete in the West Coast Conference, an arrangement that was agreed to when the Cougars left the Mountain West. Latter-day Saints officials are said to be hesitant about breaking their new relationship with the WCC.

Cougar fans were also tracking a private jet on Wednesday that left from an airfield near Big 12 headquarters north of Dallas. The aircraft landed in Provo, but a Big 12 spokesperson told the Tribune that he was "not aware" of any Big 12 officials on the private jet.

As for Texas A&M, its move to the Southeastern Conference is expected to be made official next week. The Aggies are hoping to play football in the SEC next season.