The MU Board of Curators voted unanimously Friday to grant Chancellor Brady Deaton the power to move the university out of the Big 12 Conference while stating interest in retaining a presence in Kansas City should realignment occur.
The board delegated the power after a two-day meeting in Kansas City. The board did not announce any decision to leave the Big 12 or apply for membership to the Southeastern Conference, a rumored potential destination for the Tigers. Deaton indicated the board was not far off from reaching a conclusion, but wouldn’t specify how long the process would take.
“We’re not putting any immediate timeline on ourselves,” Deaton said. “We expect it to be very expeditious at this point. We’re not looking at a long timeframe. We want to confirm where we are with regard to conference alignment as rapidly as possible.”
Deaton also added that any move to another conference would be for 2012, but confirmed Missouri has “provided information to the SEC.”
With a potential conference move on the horizon, the board also showed it wishes to retain the university’s presence in Kansas City. MU Board of Curators Chairman Warren Erdman announced that the board would explore the possibility of hosting a basketball tournament and a football game with “a traditional regional rival” if Missouri chose to change its conference alignment.
“This is a very complex transaction to consider,” Erdman said. “There are lots of important consequences. And anxious as everyone in our rabid fanbase is to have a definitive answer, we have to exercise our fiduciary duty. We are taking our time to analyze all of the issues and exercise that fiduciary duty on behalf of our university.”
Erdman said the board’s decision to give Deaton the ability to make a decision without further discussion with the board was a “significant step” toward reaching a conclusion.
“Should that decision lead to our departure from the Big 12, this board is committed to doing everything we can to preserve the rich tradition and heritage that is important to us here,” Erdman said.
The unspoken understanding at the press conference was that the board understands the value of the Kansas-Missouri rivalry and is considering ways to maintain it if MU jumps conferences. The annual football game Erdman alluded to would seem to be a continuation of the Border War game played at Arrowhead Stadium, even if Kansas remains in the Big 12 after Missouri leaves.
“Absolutely, we would want to continue to play Kansas no matter what,” Athletics Director Mike Alden said. “We’ve had a rivalry with the University of Kansas for 119 years, and we would hope we would be able to continue to play that series regardless of anything for many years to come.”
Alden made an effort to point out the board’s intent to remain present in Kansas City didn’t necessarily mean Missouri was set to leave the conference.
“To be able to take that a step further and say by extension does that mean ‘x, y and z,’ I wouldn’t necessarily say that,” Alden said.
The board did not make any clear statements about potentially applying to the SEC. But, Alden admitted the school had held discussions with the conference over the last few weeks while Deaton said the school would keep its options open.
“We will be making a decision about pursuing an application if we deem it in the best interests of our university,” Deaton said.