Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe left a few raised eyebrows in the wake of his comments about his plan for the conference's spring meetings next week.
I think we need to have a very frank conversation about where we're going and who's going to be on the plane when we take off," Beebe told a Kansas City radio station.
But he clarifies his previous statements in his newest interview, an extensive Q&A with the Columbia Tribune.
"I said I want to present to the board the question of how do we get to a place where we determine who's on the plane and who's off. I want there to be a time -- on our time schedule, not any other conference or entity's time schedule -- where we say, OK, here's who's committed to this conference, and we're going forward and we're going to continue to prepare for our negotiations with television next spring," Beebe said. "Which looks like it's going to be a highly profitable situation for us, whether we collaborate with the Pac-10 or do it on our own."
That's quite a bit different. But finding a way to get to that point could be the conference's defining period -- and task.
The chances of Beebe receiving a definite answer from schools like Nebraska, Missouri and Colorado (and even, perhaps, Texas) seem low if the Big Ten hasn't decided who gets the boarding passes on its plane. (Analogy extension! Huzzah!) Figuring out a way to make that happen only makes me glad I'm not in Beebe's shoes.
Cont'd ...
UGA is a more talented team with more recent wins but I think they are similar in program prestige.
