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Message: [QUOTE="arbitragegls, post: 27412, member: 302"] ...as indicated below, BYU has an offer from the Big 12...does this finalize offer...does the Big 12 continue...seems as if Louisville and West Virginia would be next to get to 12. What do you think? [SIZE=5][B]September 27, 2011[/B][/SIZE] [SIZE=4][B]Brigham Young has Big 12 offer[/B][/SIZE] [CENTER][URL='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mM_Tc46aVcM/ToGAukcpzyI/AAAAAAAAAdA/g-OdPjPtjNM/s1600/byu+big12+logo.jpg'][RIGHT][IMG]http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mM_Tc46aVcM/ToGAukcpzyI/AAAAAAAAAdA/g-OdPjPtjNM/s200/byu+big12+logo.jpg[/IMG][/RIGHT][/URL][/CENTER] Multiple sources have confirmed to [I]The Upset[/I] that BYU has an official invite from the Big 12 Conference in hand and is currently pouring over all details to make sure its negotiating points are satisfactorily met. Key in the finalization of such a move is how BYUtv fits in to the Big 12, as well as how much of its current 8-year deal with ESPN BYU can keep. (It would make sense for both parties to keep it intact if contractually possible, as it would add both more money and exposure for all in the conference.) BYU officials are reviewing these details to ensure its wants can be met, which may end up in a renegotiation with Big 12 television partners ESPN and Fox if possible and/or prudent. While acceptance of this offer is not guaranteed, our sources indicate BYU definitely wants in if things can line up to BYU's liking. Some editorial points: An acceptance of the offer is not 100% guaranteed. As Dick Harmon of the [I]Deseret News[/I] [B][URL='http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700182636/BYU-Big-12-interest-draws-plenty-of-speculation.html?pg=2'][COLOR=#351c75]reported late last night[/COLOR][/URL][/B], if BYU cannot obtain rebroadcast rights for football games or is not guaranteed the ability to use BYUtv to televise other sports, they will likely decline, or at least continue negotiating. But our sources indicate that BYU wants in and is efforting to make it work, whatever details may or may not be left to hammer out. Without saying as much, Harmon's story also implicitly leads that BYU has an offer: "[URL='http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700182636/BYU-Big-12-interest-draws-plenty-of-speculation.html?pg=3'][COLOR=#351c75]If you hear reports out of Texas or Oklahoma that BYU is not interested in the Big 12, it is only an interpretation of BYU negotiating its talking points[/COLOR][/URL]." It is assumed all this is contingent upon the six-year media grant coming to fruition and being signed by the current nine members of the Big 12. Some schools have to go through a board of regents or similar body before officially agreeing to the media grant that would bind the conference together, so it seems that as of now, that agreement is still not official. While concern over relationships with the schools in the West Coast Conference has been real, as we [URL='http://www.theupsetblog.com/2011/08/source-byu-contacted-by-big-12.html'][B][COLOR=#351c75]reported a month ago[/COLOR][/B][/URL], such worries could be dissipating. ESPN's Andy Katz reported four days ago after a sitdown with WCC Commissioner Jamie Zaninovich, "[URL='http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/35805/wcc-keeps-fingers-crossed-with-byu'][COLOR=#351c75]If the Cougars did want to leave, they wouldn’t get held up by the WCC. The league fully understands that BYU may want to join a major football conference...[/COLOR][/URL]" [/QUOTE]

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