Contrary to other reports “suggesting OU simply feigned interest in the Pac-12 from the beginning only to gain leverage on Texas, a high-level OU athletic department source explained that the Sooners had acted in good faith and had been planning to apply for Pac-12 membership,” ESPN reports.
What happened? The source tells ESPN that OU officials “were nervous about going to a league without Texas.”
“They decided it was worth waiting on Texas' next move, since there were assurances from Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott that OU would be accepted along with Oklahoma State, with or without the Longhorns.
[…]
“It's unclear what prompted the Pac-12 to make a sudden announcement Tuesday that it wasn't expanding. Up until that day, Sooner officials believed a Pac-12 application would be approved. And Monday the OU regents authorized Boren to ‘take action’ on conference realignment with the assumption he would apply for Pac-12 membership.”
The source also said that Head Coach Bob Stoops “had become more vocal about staying.”
“Stoops was open to Pac-12 expansion, but did not favor it without Texas. Stoops admitted after Wednesday's practice that talks between he and Boren had intensified since the weekend.”
It’s been reported that the Pac-12 balked at any attempt to bring Texas into the league due to the schools’ insistence on maintaining the current setup and structure of its’ Longhorn Network.
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