Earlier in the week, the Big 12 meetings took on the tone of a pep rally, with Commissioner Dan Beebe encouraging every school to band together for a stronger future.

After a chaotic four days, in which reports surfaced that the Pac-10 was interested in raiding the Big 12, Beebe still sounded a positive vibe.

He said he felt comfortable that the Big 12 can stay intact at the close of Friday’s meetings in Kansas City.

But will he still be saying that a few months down the road?

While representatives from many of the 12 schools said they would like to see the 14-year-old Big 12 stay together, it seems that each school is looking out for its best interests.

For the past few months, the Big Ten appeared to be the Big 12’s biggest threat after reports surfaced that the league had its eyes on Missouri, Nebraska and Texas.

Now, potential Pac-10 expansion appears to be an even bigger threat to the conference.

According to Orangebloods.com, the Pac-10 plans to invite six teams from the Big 12 to form a 16-team league. It would give the league television viewers from Texas through the Rocky Mountains to the West Coast.

The report indicated the Pac-10 would take Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Colorado. That would leave Baylor, Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State and possibly Nebraska out in the cold, depending on Big Ten expansion.

Pac-10 Commissioner Larry Scott quickly downplayed the report, saying the league “had not extended any invitations for expansion, and we do not anticipate any such decisions in the near term.”

But change is in the air.

If the Big 12 eventually falls apart, it might spell tough times for Baylor.

Baylor could find itself floating out there looking for a home, much like TCU, SMU, Houston and Rice experienced in the mid-1990s after the Southwest Conference broke up.

If Baylor no longer plays in a major conference, it would be a big blow to the university and the Waco community.

It’s not that Baylor isn’t an attractive school athletically, academically or by any other measure.

Except for football — which is steadily improving under third-year coach Art Briles — the Bears have had a lot of success across the board, including national championships in women’s basketball and men’s tennis.

Inclusion in the Big 12 has helped put Baylor on the national map in many sports. Revenue from the league also has helped Baylor build athletic facilities comparable to some of the best in the country.

But Baylor is a relatively small private school that doesn’t attract as many television viewers as larger public schools.

Let’s face it, these prospective conference realignments are all about drawing TV viewers and have little to do with rivalries and convenience for fans.

Following the money

An expanded Pac-10 could start its own television network, which could command premium dollars from cable subscribers like the Big Ten Network, which pays about $20 million annually to its schools.

That’s much better than the Big 12’s TV package with ESPN/ABC and Fox, which pays its member schools $7 to $11 million annually.

The Big 12’s Fox contract is up for renewal next spring. But Fox Cable Networks, which is the chief operating officer for the Big Ten Network, also could get involved in the expanded Pac-10’s potential TV deal.

If the Pac-10 takes six Big 12 teams, it will go from a potential partner to an adversary. The Big 12 and the Pac-10 have had discussions about working together to play nonconference games that could draw TV revenue for both leagues.

What seems strange is that the Big 12 appears to be at the mercy of other major conferences even though it puts a great product on the field.

The Big 12 covers Texas and a good part of the Midwest, so why can’t it work out a lucrative TV deal?

Perhaps it still can, but Big 12 officials need to work quickly to keep some schools happy.

Maybe the Pac-10 expansion talks are all speculative. Maybe the Texas and Oklahoma schools wouldn’t want to constantly cross two time zones to travel to the West Coast for games.

Even if the prospective 16-team league is divided into East and West divisions, so much travel couldn’t be good for the student athletes.

I’d like to see the Big 12 stick around forever.

Unfortunately, with big-money TV contracts calling the shots, nothing lasts forever.

jwerner@wacotrib.com

757-5716

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