So Much For Extinction

Looks like the Big 12 Conference (with 10 schools) is still very much alive.  

A person with direct knowledge of discussions among the Big 12's remaining members said Texas is clear to set up its own TV network and keep all proceeds in exchange for remaining in the Big 12. The person spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because final details had not been worked out.
"Everybody is feeling much more confident the Big 12 is going to survive," the person said. "Everybody's going to be making more money."
All that talk about the Pac-16, the first super conference that would span from Seattle to the Lone Star state? Done.
"University of Texas president Bill Powers has informed us that the 10 remaining schools in the Big 12 Conference intend to stay together," Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott said in a statement. "We are excited about the future of the Pac-10 Conference and we will continue to evaluate future expansion opportunities under the guidelines previously set forth by our presidents and chancellors."
Powers declined comment when asked by the AP about details of the deal that kept Big 12 together.
The conference, born in 1996 when the Big 8 merged with members of the Southwest Conference, seemed to be falling apart last week when Nebraska (Big Ten) and Colorado (Pac-10) decided to leave over the next two years. Now the Big 12 its back, though there are still questions about how it will conduct its business.




This is really about television money, especially with the Longhorns, who would not have been able to set up their own cable TV network had they chosen to defect to the Pac 10.