I Shift You Not

One of the stipulations to keeping the Big 12 together was
that Dan Beebe resigned as commissioner. After nearly
losing four teams to the Pac-12 earlier in the week, it seems
like the Big 12 is here to stay — for next year, anyway.

Well that was much ado about nothing.

All week, no matter where you turned you couldn't help but hear the rumors surrounding the Big 12 Conference. First, Oklahoma and the boys in the south tried to jump ship to the Pac-12, then Missouri started to look toward the SEC.

And while we all sat on the edge of our seats waiting to see who would go where, we forgot one simple thing — you might want to check with the conferences themselves before you decide to join their conference.

Like Spirit, the Auburn eagle, the Big 12's hopes of dismantling crashed and burned when Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott told the world that he was happy with 12 members in a midnight press conference. Oklahoma and Texas already had the green light to join the Pac-12 and Oklahoma State was in the process of getting the go-ahead when Scott made his decision.

Much to the dismay of one Columbia sports editor — a man who enjoyed the comparison of conference shifts to plate tectonics — the conference somehow survived the weekend. The only major shifts came in the form of Syracuse and Pittsburgh heading to the ACC.

Now the nine remaining members must go back to the league they once tried to demolish with their tails between their legs. And I, along Mike Gundy, could not be happier. Those die-hard football fans saw Oklahoma State's 3 a.m. finish in Tulsa last week. Could you imagine if that happened every weekend? It's a strong possibility with trips to the West Coast each weekend — no thank you!

Some fans are upset that there wasn't the massive tectonic shift that shook the college sports scene, but there were hundreds of sports reporters that breathed a sigh of relief with Scott's announcement. So, now that all this is over, can we put it behind us and just play football — at least until next season?

And remember kids, if you want an invite into someone's house — or in this case a conference — it's best to ask permission before you barge in with guns blazing.