The Texas/OU/Pac and Mizzou/SEC time lines

Posted on: June 7, 2023 at 23:03:01 CT

Texas/OU, et al. approached the PAC about becoming members in the summer of 2011. The matter was considered at a summer meeting of the PAC Presidents. They were generally looking favorablly on the proposal until the Stanford President noted the PAC was starting a new TV contract with the fall 2011 season and that the preudent course of action might well be to postpone any action on Texas/OU et al joining until the PAC saw how the new TV contract worked out.

That informastion was reported by ESPN and the West Coast Newspapers following the meeting in roughly June 2011.

Mizzou, KU, KState and Iowa State formed an ex-officio committee when Texas and OU began looking at the PAC. The committee "purpose" was to keep the Big XII together.

Later in the summer David Boren, OU's President publicly suggested at a Press Conference that the Texas/Ou, etc. to the PAC should go forward and it would result in a better TV deal for the schools.

Brad Deaton, Missouuri's Chancellor from 2004 to 2013, reviewed Boren's press conference and became concerned that Texas/OU/etc would in fact bail the Big XII and that would leave Missouri in a league that was less attractive and commanded smaller TV fees. He subseqently stated publicly that he became concerned about the impact smaller TV fees would have on Mizzou Athletic Budget and he instructed Mike Alden to look at alternatives to the Big 12 for Mizzou.

Alden went to the Big Ten and it offerred Mizzou the same deal it had just made with Nebraska, namely one-half the regular distribution for five years. Alden has publicly stasted that when Alden told him this he instructed Alden to go to the SEC. Alden did and the SEC offerred Mizzou membership with no reduction in the normal distribution from the conference. Deaton took the SEC up on this offer.

Mizzou moved to the SEC for the fall 2012 football schedule. When it left the Big Twelve, it forfeited its final conference distribution. Deaton and Alden stated at their press conference announcing the move that the amount forfeited was fourteen million and that the University would make this up for the Tiger AD and, my recollection is, the Tiger AD would pay it back over time.

Mizzou first season in the SEC was the fall 2012 football season.

At that time there was a periodic publication (I believe it was a joint effort of the Tiger AD and the Alumni Association) that came out periodically (quarterly) to alumni associaiton members reporting on what had happened in the Tiger AD. It is no longer published. The last edition carried an interview with Deaton in which he essentially confirmed the forgoing information regarding how Mizzou left the Big XII and ended up in the SEC.

To my knowledge, the "interview" in this publication is the only public statement by either Deaton or Alden regarding the details of Mizzou's departure from the Big XII for the SEC.

If you're really interested in this, I suggest you contact the Tiger SID and the Alumni Associastion and request the appropriaste copy of the publication.