While the seismic shifts needed to create "Super Conferences" didn't take place, many still think it's only a matter of time before massive restructuring takes place in college football. And while the Big 12 needed a last-second Hail Mary to come out alive this time, Kansas athletic director Lew Perkins revealed that it won't be the Big 12 that falls apart, as they've all signed on for 10 more years.
"We all signed an agreement that we'd be here 10 years and if some things happen -- and I think they will happen, I prefer not go into it until it does -- if some other things happen, it could be longer," Perkins told AOL FanHouse. "Right now my understanding is it's 10 years."
A ten-year commitment makes sense if you consider that the Big 12 will be negotiating a new TV deal in the near future, and you can bet that no network will back up a Brinks truck to a conference that may be in turmoil again come next offseason.
The window for radical expansion might be closed for now, if only because network partners have smartened up to the possibility that implosion is possible, and will demand some stability for their multi-millions of dollars. As hand model John Taylor mentioned earlier today, the Pac-10 is done with expansion... for now. But what could be the determining factor in all of this is the fine print in the TV contracts, as the Pac-10 has two major negotiations coming up: The improvement of their mediocre Fox Sports Net contract and the impending negotiations with a network partner -- again, likely Fox -- for the launch of the Pac-10 Network.
"We all signed an agreement that we'd be here 10 years and if some things happen -- and I think they will happen, I prefer not go into it until it does -- if some other things happen, it could be longer," Perkins told AOL FanHouse. "Right now my understanding is it's 10 years."
A ten-year commitment makes sense if you consider that the Big 12 will be negotiating a new TV deal in the near future, and you can bet that no network will back up a Brinks truck to a conference that may be in turmoil again come next offseason.
The window for radical expansion might be closed for now, if only because network partners have smartened up to the possibility that implosion is possible, and will demand some stability for their multi-millions of dollars. As hand model John Taylor mentioned earlier today, the Pac-10 is done with expansion... for now. But what could be the determining factor in all of this is the fine print in the TV contracts, as the Pac-10 has two major negotiations coming up: The improvement of their mediocre Fox Sports Net contract and the impending negotiations with a network partner -- again, likely Fox -- for the launch of the Pac-10 Network.