OU football: Who was the Insight Bowl MVP?
Bob Stoops sat at the Insight Bowl press conference and was informed that backup quarterback Blake Bell had been named the game’s offensive most valuable player.
“I was shocked,” Stoops said. “I said, ‘What?’ Geez, the guy played nine plays.”
Bell, playing in OU’s short-yardage package, played more than nine plays. I think he played 12. Bell carried 10 times for 51 yards and scored three touchdowns. Bell played well. But his three touchdowns were possible either because OU’s offense had driven downfield under Landry Jones or OU’s defense set up the Sooners deep in Iowa territory.
Stoops said nothing against Bell, but didn’t Jones deserve the MVP more? Jones didn’t play well — 16 of 25 passing, for 161 yards, one touchdown, one interception — but he did play tough. Chipped a tooth and took a head-rattling hit with a scramble. Kept the patched-together Sooner offense mostly moving.
Stoops said the MVP decision was made by ESPN’s broadcast crew. In the announcers’ defense, who do you pick as MVP? Jones, like I said, didn’t play well. No receiver in the game gained more than 46 yards except Iowa flanker Keenan Davis, who had five catches for 76 yards. The leading rusher was Hawkeye tailback Jordan Canzeri, who had 58 yards on 22 carries.
I suppose you could make a case for OU’s Tress Way, whose six punts averaged 50.3 yards and who really was the Sooners’ best weapon.
Stoops’ defense of Jones probably has something to do with Jones’ impending decision on whether to declare for the NFL Draft. But it’s also based in common sense. Bell scored three touchdowns — and 13 for the season — because the Belldozer is implemented mostly when the Sooners are near the goal line and OU just overpowers people with a blocking advantage. To Bell’s credit, his size makes the package work, too. But the idea that Bell was more valuable than Jones, even on an off night for the OU quarterback, is sort of silly.
Reminds me of a story from 30 years ago. I was helping out the Oklahoma City Times with a little high school football coverage. Sports editor Bob Colon asked me to write a player-of-the-week story and suggested Edmond Memorial’s Doug Desherow, who had scored three touchdowns in the previous Friday night.
I called the Memorial coach and told him we had picked Desherow as player of the week. Uh, OK, the coach said. But are you sure? Turns out Desherow was a sophomore who had just started playing, he had scored on three one-yard sneaks and really hadn’t done a ton outside that.
I thought of that story Friday night. Bell didn’t just sneak it in from the 1-yard line. But all kinds of people did the heavy lifting, then Bell came in, scored three touchdowns and went home with the MVP trophy.
OSU football: Stanford coaching legacy impressive
Stanford is an interesting name in college football. The Cardinal is not a traditional powerhouse. But the Cardinal does have tradition. Stanford carries a magical name.
For several reasons. Jim Plunkett and John Elway and now Andrew Luck. Stanford Stadium, which has hosted a Super Bowl. And for coaches.
Stanford’s all-time list of coaches is fascinating. The current Cardinal coach, David Shaw, is one of the lesser-known head coaches among the top teams in college football. We’ll fix that for you in a couple of days; we’ve got a profile of Shaw planned. And in the Saturday Oklahoman, I wrote about Stanford’s pioneer status in hiring minority coaches.
But the list of former Stanford coaches is a virtual history of football.
* Walter Camp, the father of American football, coached Stanford in 1892, 1894 and 1895. Camp was a player, coach, publicist and rulemaker in the 19th century, primarily at Yale. The Walter Camp Foundation still produces an all-American team and announces a player of the year.
* Hurryup Fielding Yost coached Stanford in 1900. Coached Michigan from 1901-26 (except 1924) and won six old testament national championships. An epic figure in Michigan history.
* Pop Warner. Jim Thorpe’s legendary coach at Carlisle coached at Stanford from 1924-32. We still call youth football “Pop Warner” leagues. It takes a big shadow to push Walter Camp off the top of the list, but Warner does it.
* Clark Shaughnessy coached Stanford 1940-41. Coached forever. His first head coaching gig was Tulane in 1915. His last coaching gig was the University of Hawaii in 1965. Also coached the Los Angeles Rams and Loyola-Chicago, the University of Chicago, Maryland, Pittsburgh and Maryland again. He left Maryland for Pitt after the 1946 season, which is when Maryland hired Jim Tatum away from Oklahoma, making way for Bud Wilkinson to be elevated to the job. Shaughnessy is in in the College Football Hall of Fame, along with Camp, Yost and Warner.
* John Ralston, who coached Stanford from 1962-71, including back-to-back Rose Bowls in 1970-71. Ralston also coached the Denver Broncos to a 34-33 record from 1972-76. His career as a head coach started at Utah State in 1959 and ended in 1996 at San Jose State.
* Bill Walsh, who coached Stanford from 1977-78 and 1992-94. Walsh was hired away the first time by the 49ers, who he turned into one of the NFL’s greatest dynasties.
* Rod Dowhower, who coached Stanford in 1979 and was head coach of the Indianapolis Colts from 1985-86.
* Paul Wiggin, who coached the Kansas City Chiefs from 1975-77 and coached Stanford 1980-83.
* Jack Elway, father of John, coached Stanford from 1984-88.
* Dennis Green coached Stanford from 1989-91, then spent 13 years as an NFL head coach of the Vikings and Cardinals, going 113-94.
* Tyrone Willingham, who coached Stanford from 1995-01 and made a Rose Bowl. Hired away by Notre Dame.
* Jim Harbaugh, who coached Stanford 2007-10 and now is doing wonders with the 49ers.
That’s an amazing list for Stanford, of college football hall of famers and future NFL head coaches and some of the most important minds in football history.
OU football: Future looks bright
I know it’s been a troublesome season for Oklahoma football. I also know this. The Sooners can get victory No. 10 Friday night against Iowa in the Insight Bowl, and the Sooners will take Sun Devil Stadium with just five senior starters. And four senior backups.
That’s a remarkably low number. OU could still lose juniors to the NFL Draft, notably quarterback Landry Jones. But if Jones returns, he’s got a ton of experienced teammates.
The only senior starters are offensive tackle Donald Stephenson, tight end James Hanna, defensive end Frank Alexander, linebacker Travis Lewis and cornerback Jamell Fleming. That’s some good ballplayers, especially the three defenders. But OU returns a ton of talent, too. The backups who are seniors are offensive lineman Stephen Good, tight end Trent Ratterree, receiver Dejuan Miller and safety Sam Proctor.
The Sooners likely will start eight sophomores against Iowa: guard Gabe Ikard, receivers Kenny Stills and Trey Franks, tailback Roy Finch, fullback Trey Millard, safeties Aaron Colvin and Tony Jefferson, and linebacker Tom Wort.
Bob Stoops said that in the practices leading up to the Insight Bowl, the younger players realize their time is now. “I think they always sense when you get in these bowl games that some of the practices leading up, that the seniors are out a little quicker, and they are getting more opportunities, more snaps. And they are further along than they were in the fall. I think they already start to sense their role coming up, that they are going to have more of a role and more opportunities and they start to realize these guys are going to be gone here in a few weeks. ‘I’m now in that position where I can be a leader, or I should be if I’m doing the right things.’”
Jones’ return would make it virtually automatic that the Sooners will be labeled Big 12 favorites in 2012. But OU will get some consideration either way, because of all the young talent returning.
OSU athletics: Myron Roderick served the Cowboys well
Few Cowboys in OSU’s grand athletic history cast a longer shadow than Myron Roderick, who died Wednesday at the age of 77. Roderick was an elite wrestler, then a championship wrestling coach, then a landmark athletic director.
Roderick, who came to OSU in 1953 from Winfield, Kan., won three NCAA individual titles as a wrestler (he also lettered three years in tennis; you don’t see many wrestling/tennis combos anymore); coached the Cowboys to the NCAA team championship at the age of 23, his first of seven national team champions in 13 seasons; became the first executive director of the U.S. Wrestling Federation and was the Cowboy athletic director from 1983-90.
Among Roderick’s moves as AD: promoting Pat Jones from defensive coordinator to head coach after Jimmy Johnson went to Miami after spring practiced 1984. I don’t know how much of that was Roderick’s decision and how much was others’. Back in those days, ADs didn’t wield the hiring and firing power they do now in collegiate athletics.
But by 1990, the hiring process most definitely was Roderick’s call, and he pulled the trigger on the hiring of Eddie Sutton, which transformed Cowboy basketball and gave the beleaguered OSU athletic department a cash infusion for more than a decade, while football sputtered.
Sutton’s hiring looks like a no-brainer now. But in 1990, it was not so evident. Sutton had spent a year out of coaching after the massive recruiting scandal at Kentucky. And Sutton had acknowledged a drinking problem. Former Cowboys, led by Jack Hartman, himself a legendary coach, pushed for Sutton but had to convince Roderick that was the right move.
And that’s to Roderick’s credit. He was careful and he should have been careful.
OSU had tried to hire Sutton, who played for the Cowboys in the 1950s under Henry Iba, several times over the years “but we couldn’t afford him,” Roderick told me in 1993.
Then in 1990, when Leonard Hamilton resigned to go to Miami (just like Johnson), Sutton was a little bit of damaged goods. Except maybe for the little bit part. “We knew Eddie was an outstanding basketball coach,” Roderick said. “There were some things we needed to check out and make sure were OK. ”
The Cowboys did, Sutton was hired and OSU athletics were enhanced. Gallagher-Iba Arena became a basketball hotbed, OSU went to two Final Fours and Sutton today remains perhaps the most beloved figure in school history, despite his imperfect past.
Roderick deserves credit for carefully considering the situation, then making the call.
Back in 1999, the NCAA Wrestling Championships were staged at Penn State, which Roderick first visited as an OSU freshman. Our man Mac Bentley did an excellent story on Roderick that week. Here is that story:
A Lifetime of Leadership Former OSU Wrestling Coach Enjoys Post at Hall of Fame
By Mac Bentley
Staff Writer
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – A return to Happy Valley brought back some sweet memories for Myron Roderick.
It was at Penn State University that he saw his first NCAA Tournament, when he was a freshman when freshmen were not allowed to compete, in 1953.
“There were only eight weights at that time, and coach said, ‘Hey, we’ve got an extra room so you’re the manager,’ ” recalled Roderick. “It’s the first national I ever saw.”
Oklahoma A&M finished fourth that year, but would win the NCAA title the next three years with Roderickin the lineup and winning individual titles at 137 pounds in 1954 and 130 pounds in 1955 and 1956.
The NCAA returned to Penn State in 1968, and it would mark the seventh and final national championship Oklahoma State won under Roderick, the coach.
“That was a hairy one,” said Roderick. “We were out of it and then came back in the consolations on the last day. And Dwayne Keller had to beat Rick Sanders, the returning national champion and outstanding wrestler, in the finals for us to win.”
Now, 31 years later, Rodericktook a break Wednesday from setting up his National Wrestling Hall of Fame exhibit on the concourse of the Bryce Jordan Center. He discussed a lifetime of championship performances and positions of leadership and responsibility.
To say Roderickwas a wrestler and a coach is to say that Will Rogers could tell a joke. There’s much more to him than that, as his career as college wrestler and coach spanned just 16 of his 64 years. He turned the Cowboy wrestling program over to Tommy Chesbro in 1970 when he was just 34.
“I enjoyed coaching, probably more than anything I ever did,” he said. “But you kind of look and say to yourself, ‘Do you want to just add on?’ At 34, I probably had some years left, but I think a lot of people stay on too long in coaching.”
Roderickwas lured away from the Cowboys by an offer to be executive director of the National Wrestling Federation, a wedge those in the NCAA league used to unseat the Amateur Athletic Union as the national governing body. He also served four years as the executive director of the International Racquetball Association, a sport in which he won three national singles age-group championship and 10 national doubles titles with a San Diego partner.
He quit playing racquetball when he became the Oklahoma State athletic director in 1983, a post he held until moving over to the Stillwater-based National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum in 1990, where he is the executive director.
It was through his racquetball experiences that he formed Sports Unlimited, which builds racquetball and gym courts all over the country. Since becoming athletic director, he hasn’t been active in the company, which is run by a brother-in-law who married his twin sister Margaret.
Roderickhas the cauliflower ears that are the badge of his sport, and he looks like he still can take care of himself on the wrestling mat if you don’t ask him to make his college weight. He still has the sparkling eyes that make you think he sees a lot more than you do, and he speaks of “rasslin’” rather than wrestling.
Roderickis the son of a school teacher and coach. He had a Kansas upbringing, born in Anthony, raised in Zenda until he was a high school sophomore when his family moved to Winfield. Waiting there was a wrestling team.
“It was kind of a natural for me,” he said of his introduction to the sport. “I was small, but I was quick. The first match I had was 19-2, and I didn’t win; but I learned how to bridge early.”
Winfield’s schedule included Blackwell and Ponca City, so Oklahoma coach Port Robertson and Oklahoma A&M coach Art Griffith saw Roderickwrestle and each offered him a scholarship. He chose A&M.
“Art Griffith’s style was takedowns, quickness, and that fit my ability,” Rodericksaid.
He won 42 of 44 collegiate matches during his three seasons, then made the Olympic team and placed fourth at the 1956 Melbourne Games. Upon returning to Stillwater, he was called into the office of Henry Iba and was told, “‘You’ve got the (wrestling) job.’ I thought he meant as an assistant,” Rodericksaid. “He said no, Art Griffith was retiring and wanted to know if I wanted to be the coach.”
Roderick‘s teams posted a 140-10-7 dual record and his tenure included an 84-match streak without a loss.
Not all of Roderick‘s decisions have been prudent. As a Winfield high schooler, he won the pole vault event in the high school division of the Kansas Relays, then won a regional qualifier and a berth in the state tournament. He skipped it, though.
“The Swedish steel poles just came in. My brother was in the sporting goods business and got me one,” he recalls. “But I had the senior prom, and I was in love. So I skipped the state meet. My coach and my dad and my mom weren’t very happy about it. Love didn’t last too long, either. She finally caught on; she wasn’t used to those half-Nelsons and choke holds.”
The Hall of Fame has flourished under his leadership and decision-making. It’s debt-free and completing a $2 million renovation and expansion. One of his best decisions, he said, was putting together a strong board of directors.
“I was looking for people who had an interest in wrestling and who had resources,” he said. “That was probably the best move I made, because our board is really strong. When we decided to expand, they stepped up and pledged $700,000 to kick it off, and that’s pretty good for about 16 people.”
He’s also made the hall a first-class, all-inclusive and relevant institution. The annual banquet is a black-tie affair, and besides the wrestlers and coaches who are inducted into the hall, awards have been added for outstanding high school student-athletes, for persons who have overcome seemingly insurmountable odds resulting from a physical disability, and for some of the country’s most outstanding citizens who have been involved in wrestling at some point in their lives.
“They came to me to take the Hall of Fame and run with it,” he said. “In my retiring, receding years, that would be an interesting undertaking. And I’m glad I made the decision.
“It’s been exciting. With the new facility and when we get the Web site and all the media put together, it’ll be as nice as any place.”
OSU football: Bill Young likes his defense
Oklahoma State leads the nation in takeaways, with 42. OSU is ranked 107th in total defense. OK, defensive coordinator Bill Young. Your option. You can reverse those standings — be first in total defense and 107th in takeaways — or stay with what you’ve got. Which do you choose.
At a Fiesta Bowl press conference Wednesday, Young said he’ll keep his hand.
“We would like the turnovers,” Young said. “I would like to point out, if you look at the Big 12 stats, if you look at the nationwide stats, it gets misconstrued, because you are talking about a lot of teams playing three, four teams that may be subdivision or whatever.
“But you line up against Baylor and Oklahoma and Texas Tech and teams like that, the (defensive) stats are going to be a little tougher to accomplish.”
Said OSU safety Markelle Martin, “Yardage doesn’t mean you win the game, obviously. I think the defense has been doing the same thing the whole season. I think they have been forcing turnovers.”
Stanford is well aware of OSU’s penchant for takeaways.
“Opportunistic is the word,” said Stanford all-American quarterback Andrew Luck. “I know they might get a knock for giving up yards or whatever. (But) forty-two takeaways on the year, and they have won a bunch of games. Not just because they have a great offense, but they have a defense. When they need a stop, they will get a stop. When they need a pick six (interception returned for a touchdown), it shows up. They get a pick 6. Very opportunistic.”
OU football: Bob Stoops talks more Iowa
No surprise, the Iowa media’s line of questioning for Bob Stoops during the days leading up to the Insight Bowl has been heavy on his days as a Hawkeye.
Much of it we have already heard in Oklahoma, but not all. Stoops has talked of how he went to job fairs with his business degree and walked away shaking his head, thinking he had no business in that world and deciding to go into coaching. But Stoops gave us a few new deals on Wednesday.
Stoops said when he approached Iowa coach Hayden Fry and defensive coordinator Bill Brashier to ask about becoming a graduate assistant coach, “they were happy I wanted to be, felt I would do well and gave me the chance. Gave me the start.”
Stoops spent five years as a graduate assistant or volunteer coach. He was asked if he starved during those meager-paid days.
“My mother never thought I would get a real job,” Stoops said. But “in those days, you were allowed to be a volunteer assistant as well. I did some things through the foundation (which allowed him to be paid) is why I was listed as a volunteer with football and I worked with the foundation.
“But in the end, it was well worth it. Through those five years after playing, I was with great people. You know the whole lineup of coaches that were there.
“As I said, some of them were very much like father figures. Other guys were like older brothers. And they all really did a great job of taking not only myself, but some of the other graduate assistants under their wing and we learned from the best. All those guys were true professionals in the coaching world.”
One of those older brother-like coaches was Kirk Ferentz, who was on Fry’s staff starting in Stoops’ junior year and now is Iowa’s head coach.
Stoops told the story of helping Ferentz paint his house when Stoops was a graduate assistant. Stoops joked that no way could Ferentz afford Stoops now. “I cost too much,” Stoops said.
Stoops said Ferentz’s wife, Mary, was after him to paint their house. Stoops had been painting houses for years, helping his dad during the summers back in Youngstown, Ohio. “I knew what to do and how to do it,” Stoops said. “He was scared to get up to the peak. Needless to say, we had a good time after it was done.”
At a bowl banquet on Tuesday night, Carol Stoops brought an old picture from those days. The Stoopses and the Ferentzes and the Kittles (Bruce Kittle was an Iowa teammate who now is Stoops’ staff) were among a group playing Pictionary. Ferentz is drawing; Stoops is on the floor, looking confused.
“I’m 22,” Stoops said. “He’s 26 or 27.”
Ferentz was 25 when hired full-time onto Fry’s staff. Ferentz has said he lied about his age to get the job. “Wouldn’t doubt it,” Stoops said. “He is from Pittsburgh.”
OSU football: Fiesta Bowl splits Piedmont household
When Karl Gigstad arrived at StanfordUniversity 31/2 years ago as a Piedmont High School graduate, Stanford had reached one major bowl in 38 years.
When his little sister, Elise, got to OSU earlier this year, the Cowboys hadn’t been in a major bowl since the 1945 season.
So naturally, in the Fiesta Bowl next week is Karl’s Cardinal and Elise’s Cowboys.
Which made for an interesting Christmas in the Gigstad household.
“It’s a lot of trash talk for sure,” Karl said. “I made sure to give her a nice Stanford shirt for Christmas so she could wear it on Jan. 2.”
Fat chance of that. Elise distributed Cowboy gear to her family, and she’s got the bonus of her parents being OSU season ticket holders. “It’s been really fun,” Elise said.
Karl said he also is recruiting family members to root for the Stanford side of this game. “I think I’ve got my brother sold on it,” he said. “That’s me and him rooting against the little sister. Unfortunately, I think she’s got both my parents on her side. They got season tickets this year. She gets all the special treatment since she stayed in state. I’ll just have to console ‘em afterwards, I guess.”
Neither Gigstad will be at the game, though Karl did make it toMiamifor the Stanford-Virginia Tech Orange Bowl last season. “That was really cool,” he said. “Traveling two years in a row didn’t work out.
“I can’t believe how lucky I am. When I decided to go to Stanford, that was not part of the equation, to have a good football team. That’s definitely a perk.”
Karl was an OU fan growing up. So two years ago, what happens? The Sooners play Stanford in the Sun Bowl.
“I never thought when I was going to be going out to Stanford, I would be rooting against Oklahomaand Oklahoma State. The fact that Stanford is getting to play both those teams, it’s really exciting.”
Trash talk aside, Karl remains an OU and OSU fan. “I like those Cowboys a lot,” he said. “I’ve been rooting for ‘em all season, so it’s kind of sad that they have to lose.”
“I love my Oklahoma teams. After this year, I’m going to be back in Oklahoma City to start a business. At that point, I’ll be rooting for ‘em. Right now, it’s Stanford all the way.”
Karl is a senior majoring in human biology. Elise is a freshman majoring in animal science with a pre-vet option.
She was at Boone Pickens Stadium for OSU’s 44-10 rout of OU on Dec. 3. But Elsie didn’t storm the field.
“I was too high up,” she said. “And I was with an OU friend of mine who came to visit, so I didn’t think it would be nice to leave her up there.”
Bedlam football: Matt Millen talks Cowboys & Sooners
For our weekly Collected Wisdom feature last Sunday, I interviewed ESPN analyst Matt Millen. You can read the collected wisdom here:
But Millen also had some things to say about OSU and OU. He will call both teams’ bowl games — the Sooners vs. Iowa in the Insight, the Cowboys vs. Stanford in the Fiesta. Here are Millen’s comments.
“Oklahoma State, I thought their offense would have to carry them. Defensively, it always makes me nervous when you have to depend on turnovers. But I thought (defensive coordinator) Bill Young called a good season.
“I like the little corner (Brod Brown), and I like Markelle Martin. And I like Jamie Blatnick and Richetti Jones. They’re not great players, but they’re solid players, and they’ll probably play at the next level. They have some pieces. But like on every college campus, you have to work a little scheme around what you have to make it work.
“For Oklahoma, I thought they would ply along just fine. I thought it would come down to the end. I never expected them to get tripped up in the middle of the season. Once they started getting guys hurt, it changed the complexion of that team. They’re still a good football team.
“The Oklahoma State win at the end of the year kind of surprised me. Just goes by the adage, it’s not who you play, but when you play ‘em. By the time Oklahoma State played ‘em, it wasn’t the same group.”
Big 12 football: David Boren in the eye of the storm
David Boren stood in theOklahomaheat almost four months ago, discussing conference realignment, and said, “I don’t think OU is going to be a wallflower when all is said and done.”
As more and more anecdotal evidence emerges about how we’ve arrived at where we are, the more we know that Boren was telling it straight. The Sooners were indeed no wallflowers.
In fact, depending on the source, OU played a huge role in 1) Keeping the Big 12 together; and 2) Tearing the Big 12 apart.
The sources are as varied asUniversityofMissourichancellor J. Brady Deaton and Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback.
Earlier this month, Brownback told theManhattan(Kan.) Mercury that Boren was bluffing about OU going to the Pac-12, that Boren was trying to get concessions from theUniversityofTexas.
It’s an interesting take. I think Boren was trying to bluffTexas. But was he bluffing in an attempt to get the Longhorns to make concessions, or was he bluffing to make the Longhorns join OU in going to the Pac-12?
The OU mindset was varied on conference realignment. The regents clearly favored going to the Pac-12. Athletic director Joe Castiglione clearly sought to save the Big 12. Bob Stoops last year seemed excited at the Pac-12 prospect but this year expressed a preference for the Big 12. Boren never really showed his hand.
But clearly, the Pac-12 didn’t want OU and OSU withoutTexas, and OU and OSU didn’t want the Pac-12 withoutTexas. But Boren at least made it seem possible that the Sooners would go West.
Texaseventually agreed to some concessions, particularly on equitable revenue sharing of the conference television package, which Big 12 members also hoped would enticeMissourito stay.
Talking about conference realignment, Brownback said, “I think we’re going to have the best or second-best conference in the country. It’s set now. The Okies played poker this last time around, tied the Texans down.”
Brownback tells a great story about those days.
“I was calling president Boren at OU,” Brownback said. “And I couldn’t get him to return my calls. I could get ahold of the governor ofOklahoma, but I couldn’t get ahold of the president of OU.
“I called Bob Dole (former Republican nominee for president) and said, ‘Will you email Boren – they were in the Senate together. Tell him we really like you guys.
“Boren finally called back. Said, ‘Look, I couldn’t call you back. I was playing poker.’ Because he didn’t have a deal, as we saw later. He was trying to get them (Texas) to commit, get them to stay.
“It was a bluff. Boren told me it was. ‘I couldn’t call and tell you. I was playing poker with ‘em. I had to get it tied down or it wouldn’t work.’”
So again, I totally agree that Boren was playing poker. I just don’t know exactly what the bluff was.
Either way, Brownback is excited about the new Big 12.
“We’re going to be better,” he said. “West Virgina’s addition, nice. Gets us in a nice TV zone. There’s nobody you watch for college football in the D.C. market area. Virginia Tech maybe. There’s just not a good college team you’re watching in there.
“Now you’ve got the Big 12 teams coming through toWest Virginia. Which plays in the D.C. market area. I think it’s going to be nice. I think it’s going to better for us.
“I just wish we hadn’t lostMissouri. That’s going to hurtKansas Citya lot. But I think we’re in much better shape now than we were a year ago.”
Conversely, Boren’s fingerprints were all over the departure ofMissourito the Southeastern Conference.
Earlier this month, Deaton told a group of writers that the turning point for Mizzou in seeking out the SEC was Sept. 2, that day that Boren said OU would not be a wallflower and was evaluating whether to stay in the Big 12 or move to one of the conferences expressing interest in the Sooners.
Just five days earlier, Deaton and Boren had traveled toCollege Station,Texas, in a quest to persuade Texas A&M to remain in the Big 12.
Deaton told the writers that he was optimistic about the Big 12 as September arrived. “Hey, we can make this thing work out,” he said. “We might even be able to talk A&M into coming back. We knew we had some other prospects (to join the Big 12), so everything was still gung-ho.”
But Deaton said he reconsidered after hearing Boren’s comments. The Pac-12 clearly wanted OU, OSU,Texasand Texas Tech to join its conference, which would have dropped the Big 12 down to five schools:Missouri,Baylor,IowaState,KansasStateandKansas.
“I think there was some negative term that we’d been labeled at that time: ‘The Forgotten Five,’ I think it was,” Deaton said.
So the next day, Sept. 3, Deaton and athletic director Mike Alden talked during the Mizzou-Miami (Ohio) football game and discussed their options.
Even when the OU bluff was exposed – the Pac-12 announced on Sept. 20 that it would not expand – Deaton did not regain faith in the Big 12.
“It was clear that every move we were making was a struggle, and an uncertain one, that was sowing potential seeds of dissension from school to school,” Deaton said. “It was sort of like you were sitting there saying, ‘OK, who’s going to be the next one to say they’re going here, there or elsewhere because of one of these little glitches that are occurring in the discussion process?’”
Deaton denied that Mizzou’s interest in the Big Ten in summer 2010 started the entire flux of the Big 12. He said by September 2011, “for us the question was do we continue to struggle? Do we continue to try to be the good citizens that we think we have tried to be all along, knowing that in spite of our absolute best efforts, four institutions or more are willing to just fly off and try out something different?
“And it was clear, we thought, certainly, it was going to happen again at the next opportunity that arose.”
Big 12 football: David Boren in the eye of the hurricane
David Boren stood in theOklahomaheat almost four months ago, discussing conference realignment, and said, “I don’t think OU is going to be a wallflower when all is said and done.”
As more and more anecdotal evidence emerges about how we’ve arrived at where we are, the more we know that Boren was telling it straight. The Sooners were indeed no wallflowers.
In fact, depending on the source, OU played a huge role in 1) Keeping the Big 12 together; and 2) Tearing the Big 12 apart.
The sources are as varied asUniversityofMissourichancellor J. Brady Deaton and Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback.
Earlier this month, Brownback told theManhattan(Kan.) Mercury that Boren was bluffing about OU going to the Pac-12, that Boren was trying to get concessions from theUniversityofTexas.
It’s an interesting take. I think Boren was trying to bluffTexas. But was he bluffing in an attempt to get the Longhorns to make concessions, or was he bluffing to make the Longhorns join OU in going to the Pac-12?
The OU mindset was varied on conference realignment. The regents clearly favored going to the Pac-12. Athletic director Joe Castiglione clearly sought to save the Big 12. Bob Stoops last year seemed excited at the Pac-12 prospect but this year expressed a preference for the Big 12. Boren never really showed his hand.
But clearly, the Pac-12 didn’t want OU and OSU withoutTexas, and OU and OSU didn’t want the Pac-12 withoutTexas. But Boren at least made it seem possible that the Sooners would go West.
Texaseventually agreed to some concessions, particularly on equitable revenue sharing of the conference television package, which Big 12 members also hoped would enticeMissourito stay.
Talking about conference realignment, Brownback said, “I think we’re going to have the best or second-best conference in the country. It’s set now. The Okies played poker this last time around, tied the Texans down.”
Brownback tells a great story about those days.
“I was calling president Boren at OU,” Brownback said. “And I couldn’t get him to return my calls. I could get ahold of the governor ofOklahoma, but I couldn’t get ahold of the president of OU.
“I called Bob Dole (former Republican nominee for president) and said, ‘Will you email Boren – they were in the Senate together. Tell him we really like you guys.
“Boren finally called back. Said, ‘Look, I couldn’t call you back. I was playing poker.’ Because he didn’t have a deal, as we saw later. He was trying to get them (Texas) to commit, get them to stay.
“It was a bluff. Boren told me it was. ‘I couldn’t call and tell you. I was playing poker with ‘em. I had to get it tied down or it wouldn’t work.’”
So again, I totally agree that Boren was playing poker. I just don’t know exactly what the bluff was.
Either way, Brownback is excited about the new Big 12.
“We’re going to be better,” he said. “West Virgina’s addition, nice. Gets us in a nice TV zone. There’s nobody you watch for college football in the D.C. market area. Virginia Tech maybe. There’s just not a good college team you’re watching in there.
“Now you’ve got the Big 12 teams coming through toWest Virginia. Which plays in the D.C. market area. I think it’s going to be nice. I think it’s going to better for us.
“I just wish we hadn’t lostMissouri. That’s going to hurtKansas Citya lot. But I think we’re in much better shape now than we were a year ago.”
Conversely, Boren’s fingerprints were all over the departure ofMissourito the Southeastern Conference.
Earlier this month, Deaton told a group of writers that the turning point for Mizzou in seeking out the SEC was Sept. 2, that day that Boren said OU would not be a wallflower and was evaluating whether to stay in the Big 12 or move to one of the conferences expressing interest in the Sooners.
Just five days earlier, Deaton and Boren had traveled toCollege Station,Texas, in a quest to persuade Texas A&M to remain in the Big 12.
Deaton told the writers that he was optimistic about the Big 12 as September arrived. “Hey, we can make this thing work out,” he said. “We might even be able to talk A&M into coming back. We knew we had some other prospects (to join the Big 12), so everything was still gung-ho.”
But Deaton said he reconsidered after hearing Boren’s comments. The Pac-12 clearly wanted OU, OSU,Texasand Texas Tech to join its conference, which would have dropped the Big 12 down to five schools:Missouri,Baylor,IowaState,KansasStateandKansas.
“I think there was some negative term that we’d been labeled at that time: ‘The Forgotten Five,’ I think it was,” Deaton said.
So the next day, Sept. 3, Deaton and athletic director Mike Alden talked during the Mizzou-Miami (Ohio) football game and discussed their options.
Even when the OU bluff was exposed – the Pac-12 announced on Sept. 20 that it would not expand – Deaton did not regain faith in the Big 12.
“It was clear that every move we were making was a struggle, and an uncertain one, that was sowing potential seeds of dissension from school to school,” Deaton said. “It was sort of like you were sitting there saying, ‘OK, who’s going to be the next one to say they’re going here, there or elsewhere because of one of these little glitches that are occurring in the discussion process?’”
Deaton denied that Mizzou’s interest in the Big Ten in summer 2010 started the entire flux of the Big 12. He said by September 2011, “for us the question was do we continue to struggle? Do we continue to try to be the good citizens that we think we have tried to be all along, knowing that in spite of our absolute best efforts, four institutions or more are willing to just fly off and try out something different?
“And it was clear, we thought, certainly, it was going to happen again at the next opportunity that arose.”
