MU declined to give the Big 12 Conference its loyalty Tuesday, as the UM System Board of Curators unanimously voted to grant Chancellor Brady Deaton power to explore alternate conference affiliation.
The announcement came after nearly four hours of a closed-door session between the board and Missouri athletic director Mike Alden. Interim UM System President Stephen J. Owens said the board’s decision was made after the Big 12 began asking its members for “irrevocable commitments” by demanding its members hand over media rights for six years.
“We don’t fault the Big 12 for asking for that,” Owens said. “It’s something it should be doing in order to provide stability. But because we are currently faced with making a long-term commitment to the Big 12, now is the time to explore options to fully understand where we are before locking into a long-term commitment.
Both Owens and Deaton confirmed that the school is not facing any deadlines from the Big 12 regarding a decision to leave the conference or remain.
Deaton also announced that he would be stepping down as chair of the Big 12 Board of Directors in order to avoid “perceived or actual conflict of interest” as he turns his focus solely to Missouri’s future.
“It underscores his singular focus on what is best for MU,” Owens said.
Deaton declined to comment about talks with the Southeastern Conference, only to say the school is “exploring options generally.” He said he will meet with his team tomorrow to begin the process of researching Missouri’s options, but wouldn’t give an estimate of how long the process would take.
“It’s almost impossible to give a timeframe for that,” Deaton said. “I’ll be meeting tomorrow with my team to examine all of the options we want to look toward. That will require analyses and communication and that will take some time.”
Both Texas A&M and Oklahoma made similar moves earlier this fall, but only Texas A&M left for the SEC. When the Pac-12 Conference announced it would not expand, Oklahoma remained with the Big 12.
“Missouri is a member in good standing in the Big 12, and I anticipate (it) will continue to be a member of the Big 12,” Big 12 interim commissioner Chuck Neinas said in a statement on Tuesday.
Throughout the entire state of turmoil for the conference, Deaton has expressed a strong commitment to finding a solution to keep the Big 12 intact. But he said Tuesday that Missouri needed to look at its available options considering the continued instability of the conference.
“The Big 12 board has been doing what we could to establish zones of stability within the Big 12,” Deaton said. “As those discussions continued, we continued to have changes occurring from time to time with the departure of Texas A&M and the exploration of the Pac-12. Those discussions are continuing, and it’s a time where we need to explore the other options we have.”
Plans at this point remain in question.
“We certainly are not ruling out continuing in the Big 12 but we want to be sure we are doing what is best for our university,” Deaton said.
