TEXAS, TEXAS A&M CAN'T FIND COMMON GROUND

Texas and Texas A&M officials met Thursday in Austin to discuss whether to bolt to the Pac-10.

However, the meeting ended with the teams in limbo.

According to a source, Texas President Bill Powers wants to go to the Pac-10, but Longhorns coach Mack Brown wants to stay in the Big 12. Texas A&M's first choice is to stay in the Big 12; its second choice is to go to the Southeastern Conference, the source said.

Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds has said that he wants to keep the Big 12 together.

Colorado accepted an invitation to the Pac-10 earlier in the day.

COLORADO WILL JOIN PAC-10

In a move that could portend bad news for Baylor University, the Pacific-10 Conference announced this morning that the University of Colorado at Boulder has accepted an invitation to join the conference.

Colorado will become the league's 11th member. It is the conference's first expansion since adding Arizona and Arizona State in 1978. More teams could follow Colorado from the Big 12 to the Pac-10. Reports say Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State could accept invitations soon.

The announcement can be found on the conference's website.

Check back here as more details become available.

BAYLOR AD MCCAW SAYS SCHOOL 'WORKING FEVERISHLY'

From The Associated Press:

Baylor and Texas Tech officials have said that even if the Big 12 breaks apart, they want to remain with Texas and Texas A&M as members of the same conference. But Baylor, the only private school in the Big 12, could get left behind.

"Baylor is working feverishly to keep the Big 12 together," Baylor athletic director Ian McCaw said Thursday. "It is of special importance to keep the four Big 12 schools from Texas together."

Though there is expected to be political pressure to do so, the office of Texas Gov. Rick Perry denied reports that he asked officials from the four schools to meet with him Thursday to discuss their futures.

Perry is running for re-election and is scheduled to attend the state Republican convention in Dallas beginning Thursday night.

"There is no meeting. The governor is not involved right now," Perry spokeswoman Lucy Nashed said.

Texas Tech athletic director Gerald Myers said Thursday he had not heard from the Pac-10.

"I haven't talked to the commissioner out there. We haven't done anything," Myers said.

WACO ECONOMY COULD SUFFER IF BAYLOR DOESN'T JOIN OTHER TEXAS BIG 12 TEAMS

Waco-based economist Ray Perryman estimates "sizable economic losses if Baylor is separated from the other Texas Big 12 teams."

On a statewide level, Perryman estimates that Texas' economy would take a hit in the area of nearly three-quarters of a billion dollars annually and suffer the loss of 5,764 jobs.

In Waco, Perryman foresees a potential decrease of nearly $200 million in money changing hands for tourism (restaurants, hotels and motels), television revenues, sponsorships, and the like. He also estimates a loss of nearly 1,700 jobs in the Waco area if Baylor is pulled away from the other three Texas Big 12 schools.

FORMER A&M COACH SLOCUM SAYS 'IT'S A BUSINESS DECISION'

Former Texas A&M football coach R.C. Slocum, who now works as a special adviser to school president Bowen Loftin, said football programs are carrying increased financial burden to support other sports, so they're drawn to potentially massive TV contracts for more revenue.

"You look at the level of funding that all programs need to have, and it's a business decision that universities now have to make," Slocum said.

Slocum said any decision A&M makes will be based purely on its financial impact, and not on more intangible elements, like preserving traditions and rivalries.

TECH OFFICIAL: TEXAS, A&M AND TECH STAYING TOGETHER

A high-ranking Texas Tech official told the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal that the University of Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech have vowed to stick together through any major conference upheaval.

Click here for the story.

AND THEN, THERE'S THIS TV REPORT

According to KCTV5 out of Kansas City, Texas and Texas A&M have petitioned to join the Big Ten Conference, while Oklahoma is looking toward the Southeastern Conference.

Check that out here.

KIM MULKEY: "IT'S ABOUT GREED"

Asked for comments about the latest developments, Baylor Lady Bears basketball coach Kim Mulkey said: "This is a classic example of greed and the all-mighty dollar. It starts with people who make decisions at Nebraska and Texas. For people who talk about academics, this is not about what's in the best interest of each student-athlete or the Big 12. It's about money.

"People at universities always want to talk about academics, but this is not about academics. If it's about academics, Baylor would be included in an invite to the Pac-10. There are people who will be invited to the Pac-10 that Baylor has a better academic university than.

"It's about greed, and shame on people at the top. They don't need to preach another day about student-athletes."

TMZ.COM REPORTS OKLAHOMA ST. IS BOLTING FOR PAC-10; SCHOOL SAYS IT AIN'T SO

TMZ.com, better known for divulging scandalous celebrity news, is reporting that a source says Oklahoma State University is headed to the PAC-10 as well. The Kansas City Star, however, is reporting that the school has issued a statement denouncing the TMZ report.

ORANGEBLOODS.COM: DOOR CLOSING ON BAYLOR

Chip Brown on Orangebloods.com writes the following today about Baylor:

Baylor officials were hoping beyond hope that some 11th-hour change would happen to either save the Big 12 or allow them to get on the train out west.

But one Baylor official told Orangebloods.com, "It's probably 90 percent sure the other Texas schools are gone, but we have to hold onto that 10 percent that something could change."

Orangebloods.com was the first to report Wednesday that Baylor, which has strong ties to the Baptist church, was being met with some resistance in the Pac-10, namely Cal-Berkeley, because of its religious affiliation.

Baylor loyalists, in their argument against Colorado being invited, have pointed out that Colorado's academic and athletic performance lately hasn't been anything the Pac-10 should embrace.

In an announcement Wednesday by the NCAA, Colorado was the only school in the BCS to have scholarship reductions in football for poor Academic Progress Rates. And CU was one of two schools in the BCS to have scholarship reductions in basketball.

There's talk that some Pac-10 schools are down on Colorado's academics and overall sports programs, but sources say Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott wants the Denver market.

Denver has never been a college TV market, much less a Colorado Buffaloes TV market. It's all about the Broncos and pro sports.

But the thought is if you pair Colorado in games against Texas, Oklahoma and USC, the Denver market will tune in.

BAYLOR KEEPS STANCE DESPITE COLORADO NEWS

Baylor officials did not change their public stance after learning that Colorado will be leaving the Big 12 for the Pac-10.

John Barry, Baylor's vice president for marketing and communications, said, "Our statement remains, at this hour, what it has been. And that is that we continue to emphatically support the Big 12. We think that the Big 12 has been good to the state of Texas, we think it has been good, individually, to all of the Texas schools in the Big 12, and others in the Big 12. As we said from the beginning, if the Big 12, for whatever reason, cannot be preserved, we think it's critical to the state of Texas that the Texas coalition of the Big 12 remain a cohesive unit and we are continuing, in whatever forums we are invited to participate in, to make those points."

Texas and Texas A&M officials are scheduled to meet today.

"It is our expectation that Baylor will have the opportunity to participate before too long in conversations with Texas, Texas A&M and, hopefully, Texas Tech," Barry said.

MISSOURI CHANCELLOR REACHING OUT TO TEXAS PRESIDENT

The Kansas City Star reports that within moments of the PAC-10 Conference's announcement on Colorado, Missouri chancellor Brady Deaton said he had placed a call to Bill Powers of Texas, chairman of the Big 12‘s board of directors.

Click here for that story.

DUNNAM WANTS CONFERENCE DISCUSSIONS IN THE OPEN

State Rep. Jim Dunnam, D-Waco, and a Baylor alum, said today that other Texas Big 12 schools owe it to the public to make any decisions regarding conferences in the open.

"Get out the options on the table so Texans know what they are and the pros and cons of each one, and then a decision can be arrived at," he said.

"When we make changes (at public institutions) we do it publicly with public dollars."

Dunnam said he also wrote a letter to UT president Bill Powers, asking for a public airing of the regent's conference deliberations.

"I don't think these decisions should be made behind closed doors. Maybe it's the right decision (to go to the Pac-10 without Baylor) — though I don't think it is — but it ought to be made publicly."

He also said it appears Colorado had something in the works with the PAC-10 for some time. Given Colorado's ongoing dialogue with the Pac-10, Dunnam said, it's not surprising that Baylor wasn't able to edge the Boulder school out for an offer.

"It's a lot harder to get a marriage proposal withdrawn than to win a contest for a proposal," he said.

SIBLEY NOT OPTIMISTIC

"It doesn't look good to me," said former State Sen. David Sibley, who as a lawmaker was involved in efforts to get Baylor into the Big 12 after the Southwest Conference broke up.

"I was making phone calls to people last night Tech, UT and A&M," Sibley said. "They seemed sympathetic but it didn't look like that was going to translate into action."

BIG 12 COMMISSIONER ISSUES STATEMENT

Big 12 Commissioner Dan Beebe has issued the following statement in regard to the University of Colorado.

"The Big 12 Conference has been informed that the University of Colorado has accepted an invitation to join the Pacific-10 Conference. I continue to work through the process that was agreed upon last week by our Board of Directors to address membership issues, and am working tirelessly towards the long-term viability of the Big 12."

EDWARDS CALLS FOR HEARINGS IN TEXAS LEGISLATURE

Congressman Chet Edwards, D-Waco, urged Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Texas Speaker of the House Joe Straus to call immediate hearings in the Texas Legislature to discuss the impact on the state if the Big 12 splits up or dissolves.

"This issue is bigger than conferences or television contracts — this is about Texas protecting its future," Edwards said.

The congressman recalled 1989, when the breakup of the former Southwest Conference appeared imminent with Texas and Texas A&M preparing to leave the conference. Then a state senator, Edwards announced that the Texas State Senate Affairs Committee would hold hearings on the matter. Within a week, it was announced that the schools had reached agreement and the conference would remain intact.

Five years later, Baylor joined Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech in joining the Big 12, formerly the Big 8 Conference.

In a news release, Edwards said: "It is important that all the citizens of Texas have a right to have their voices heard on the future of the Big 12 before, not after, all the decisions have been made. These decisions are too important to be decided solely by a small handful of people behind closed doors without public input from the citizens of our great state.

"The Texas Legislature has a responsibility to our taxpayers to review the impact of any conference realignment on our state's economy and historic relationships between our state's universities and their respective communities."

Edwards is a 1974 graduate of Texas A&M University who represents both Baylor and Texas A&M in the 17th Congressional District.

MAYOR, CHAMBER URGE TEXAS SCHOOLS TO STICK TOGETHER

Waco Mayor Jim Bush (right) and Terry Stevens, chair of the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce's executive committee, endorsed Baylor University's desire to remain with fellow Texas universities at an 11 a.m. press conference today.

Bush began by saying he and the Chamber would like to see the Big 12 stay intact. However, if the Big 12 is raided by the Pac-10 and Big Ten, Bush said it's important for Baylor to remain with other Texas schools from the Big 12's south division.

It has been widely reported that the University of Nebraska is prepared to leave the conference to join the Big Ten Conference. Such a move could set off a domino effect, with the Pac-10 inviting six Big 12 schools to form a megaconference in the West. Initial indications were that Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State universities would be joined by Colorado in a move to the Pac-10, but Baylor officials quickly made clear their intention to remain united with the other Texas schools.

Bush and Stevens said they have called upon Gov. Rick Perry and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst to help Baylor with its campaign to stay with its Texas brethren. Bush pointed to Baylor's nearly 100-year history with the three schools. Texas and Texas A&M joined Baylor in forming the now-defunct Southwest Conference in 1915, with Texas Tech joining the SWC in 1956. All three schools were included when the Big 8 Conference expanded to form the Big 12.

"This is a major endeavor and we want to keep Baylor involved in the Big 12, whether the Big 12 stays intact, or whether the Big 12 is split up, or whatever the scenario. We want to keep Baylor part of the picture," Bush said. "Baylor's tradition in both the old Southwest Conference and the current Big 12 is bumping on 100 years. ... These are things that are part of the fabric of this community and I want to encourage the powers that be at the University of Texas and Texas A&M and Texas Tech to stand by their fellow Texas school and make sure that we are part of the picture."

KANSAS AD ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT PLANS

University of Kansas athletic director Lew Perkins says he'll retire in September 2011.

The 65-year-old Perkins announced his decision in a statement released through the school Thursday afternoon.

Perkins' announcement came one day after he was cleared of accepting free use of gym equipment in exchange for favors.

Perkins says he'll remain on the job through the next academic year to help guide Kansas through conference realignment as the Big 12 appears to be breaking apart.

In his statement, Perkins says: "I have loved my time here at the University of Kansas and I will continue leading Kansas Athletics over the course of the next year."

He also says that for now, "my greatest priority is working on conference alignment issues, and as I've committed to the chancellor, I will work tirelessly on these efforts."