Andrew Murawa is the RTC correspondent for the Pac-10 and Mountain West Conferences and an occasional contributor.

On the heels of recent rumors regarding the Pac-10’s plans to invite six Big 12 schools to leave their current home for a new superconference, the Big 12 is looking for assurances that all of its current members are committed to the conference. At the Big 12 meetings in Kansas City this week, nine of the 12 schools gave their commitment to the Big 12, but the three schools with the likeliest chances of invites elsewhere – Colorado, Missouri and Nebraska – declined to do so. As a result, the remaining Big 12 schools have issued an ultimatum to all three schools, mostly focused on Nebraska, to either commit fully to continued membership in the Big 12 or else be ready to watch it dissolve. While there is no reason that any commitment these schools give to the Big 12 would be in any way binding and there is no “or else” necessarily specified, reading between the lines it looks like if the six schools tied to the Pac-10 rumors do not get assurances from Nebraska that they will remain Big 12 members, those six schools will pursue their opportunities with the new Pac-10 superconference.  So, while the Big 12 feels that can withstand the loss of Missouri and that Colorado isn’t going anywhere without other members of the conference, if Nebraska is not ready to commit to the rest of the conference and foreswear possible Big Ten membership, the invited six are ready to join up with the Pac-10.

In a related story, there is also news that the Texas state legislature is at it again, mixing it up in inter-collegiate sports in an attempt to save Baylor from being left behind. Orangebloods.com is reporting that there is a group of Texas lawmakers trying to make a push to force the Big 12 to take Baylor instead of Colorado, by doing something like not allowing Texas to leave the Big 12 for the Pac-10 if Baylor is not invited as well.  Also, it seems that rather than deal with a big legal and political hassle, the Pac-10 would be willing to substitute Baylor for Colorado, despite the desire for the lucrative Denver television market. This, of course, has happened before with Baylor. When the Southwest Conference broke up in the mid 90s, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Baylor were offered invitations to join the Big 8 schools, creating the Big 12. It was then-Texas-governor Ann Richards, a Baylor alum, who insisted that Baylor be included in any plan with Texas state universities joining the Big 8 schools. This time around, it may be new Baylor president Ken Starr (yes, THAT Ken Starr) who is leading the charge to keep Baylor tied to the hips of the other Big 12 Texas schools.

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“Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there.”

–John Robert Wooden

Conference realignment is not without its backchannel communications and intrigues.

Earlier today the AP sent out a report about an e-mail from April 20 that was sent from Ohio State president Gordon Gee to Big Ten commish Jim Delany.  In that message, Gee writes about how he spoke with Texas president Bill Powers, and — we love this — claims that Powers would “welcome a call to say they have a ‘Tech problem.'”

Powers: fine with any future Tech problems.

The AP report admits not knowing what that could possibly mean — perhaps a reference to Big 12 rival Texas Tech?  All that RTC can confirm about the e-mail is that it was indeed written by Gee and not by one of the specimens from his unarguably excellent collection of bow ties.

Another e-mail that found its way into the hands of the Columbus Dispatch had Gee telling Delany that the Big Ten “controls its own destiny, but must move swiftly.”

The birds of prey are circling.  Our sport is going to look a lot different…soon.  Meanwhile, watch out for those “Tech problems,” and we’ll be waiting to see if Missouri tells someone they’re OK with getting a call saying that they have a “Jayhawk situation.”

Andrew Murawa is the RTC correspondent for the Pac-10 and Mountain West Conferences and an occasional contributor.

That sound you just heard may have been the proverbial first domino creaking a little. Today, Orangebloods.com columnist Chip Brown reported that, in advance of the Pac-10 meetings which begin this weekend in San Francisco, the Pac-10 is set to invite six Big 12 schools to join in the creation of the first superconference of the new era of college sports. Brown reports that Colorado, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech will be the schools invited, leaving Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri and Nebraska behind. All this comes on the heels of the Big 12 meetings, wrapping up on Friday, which opened with a plea by commissioner Dan Beebe for a united front among member institutions and a commitment to the conference. Obviously, this rumor has huge ramifications for the Big 12 and the Pac-10, but the ripple effect of such a move would be felt across the college sports landscape. We’ll take a look here at the specifics of this rumor and how this rumor could affect other conferences around the country.

Why is this man smiling? Beebe has his work cut out for him. (AP/Mike Fuentes)

The Pac-16. Or Big 16. Or the Great New Superconference

According to the Brown article, which cites multiple unnamed sources, the new conference would be divided into two eight-team divisions with the six Big 12 schools joining Arizona and Arizona State in an Eastern or Inland Division and Cal, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Washington and Washington State forming the Western or Coastal Division. Then, with the aid of Fox Sports Net, already an operating partner with the Big Ten Network and television partner with both the Pac-10 and Big 12 conferences, the league would create its own cable network akin to the BTN. Perhaps coupled with new television contracts with ABC/ESPN, Fox, CBS, Turner or any other bidders, the projected revenues of the new conference (which would encompass seven of the top 20 television markets in the country) could rival those of the SEC or even the Big Ten.

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We got word of this from Scout.com’s recruiting analyst extraordinaire Evan Daniels, who tweeted out the link earlier today.  We predict if the dance depicted in the last panel actually happens, President Obama might actually carry Kentucky in 2012, even though it was the first state on the map to be called on Election Night 2008, going to John McCain.

With John Wall presumably going to the Wizards, you have to figure this would result in the Prez doing the dance at least once.  We’re not saying we want this to happen.  We’re just saying it might.  And it might be worth a few votes in the Bluegrass.

Even more interesting than the actual cartoon is the authorship.  The copyright on the left side bears the name Demetrius Calip and there’s the “by D. Calip” at the top.  You may recall that Demetrius Calip was a guard for the 1989 national champion Michigan Wolverines, but the site says the author is 11 years old.  So either Demetrius has become a cartoonist and is using this 11-year old persona as a (rather poor) cover, or we have an artistic 11-year old college hoops fan who knows his Michigan basketball history, or bears the name of the former Wolverine.

Forget all this James Cameron-to-the-rescue talk.  Given the speed with which he can plug holes, BP should hire Roy Williams.

Yesterday brought news that James McAdoo, a 6-8 power forward and the third-ranked player in the ESPN-U 100 for the high school class of 2011, might decide to shorten his senior year of high school and enroll at North Carolina a year early, meaning he’d be available to play for the Tar Heels in the upcoming season, giving them the help that they need down low.  McAdoo had already committed to UNC as a class of 2011 member, but needs only to finish some summer courses to meet the NCAA’s requirements for scholarship eligibility.

His name should sound familiar.  His uncle, Bob McAdoo, played a year for North Carolina back in the early 70s and went on to a Hall of Fame NBA career that included three scoring titles, two world championships with the Lakers in 1982 and 1985, and an MVP award in 1975.  He virtually created the concept of a big man who could shoot effectively from the perimeter.

James might hit Franklin Street a year earlier than expected.

On May 25, we learned that Alabama’s Justin Knox will transfer (sort of) to North Carolina after finishing his degree over the summer.  Knox happens to be a 6-9, 240-pound forward, and, because he’ll have finished his degree before next season begins, he will not be required to sit out a season before playing a final year in Chapel Hill as long as he chooses to enroll in a graduate program that Alabama does not offer.  The University of Alabama’s Graduate School offers more than 120 graduate degree programs.  Call us optimistic, but we’re betting Knox miraculously finds one out of UNC’s 89 that Alabama just doesn’t have.

Just a few weeks ago, Tar Heel fans were lamenting an emerging vacuum in the post, having lost Deon Thompson to the passage of time, Ed Davis to the NBA, and then the Wear boys defected.  It’s true, a lot of teams would relish a “problem” like having Tyler Zeller and John Henson as part of their front line.  But while that might be a talented duo, it’s still a duo, and you can’t survive in the Patriot League, let alone the ACC, with just two post players.

The hand-wringing was probably never as bad as it was made out to be, since top high school stud Harrison Barnes had committed to UNC a long time ago, and we’re sure he’ll provide more than his share of immediate excitement in Chapel Hill.  Still, in hopes of shoring up the workforce in the paint, UNC made last-minute overtures to high schooler Kadeem Jack, but those went unfulfilled when Jack decided to go to prep school for another year.  Tar Heel supporters were left thinking…What now?

They can now sleep soundly, for those holes in the paint have been successfully been filled.  Seriously, can somebody please make sure that Roy Williams has Tony Hayward’s number?

1. St. Bonaventure junior point guard Malcolm Eleby has left the team following charges regarding an on-campus stabbing that occurred back on March 21.  He follows fellow guard Lewis Leonard, who left in May, also implicated in the incident.  The bad news might not be done in Olean, NY, as two other Bonnies have also been hit with charges.
2. There’ll be no ignoring the elephant in the room at the Big 12 meetings in Kansas City.  Commissioner Dan Beebe started the proceedings yesterday with a “plea for staying together.” Given the starry eyes of the B12 member schools as they watch their Big 10 and ACC counterparts polish their sweet TV deals, this reminds us a little of that scene in Braveheart where clan leader Lochlan rides out in front of the departing Scottish army and begs them, “Stop! Do not flee! Wait until we’ve negotiated!”  We’ll see if the Big 12 can find a way to rally, rise up, and defeat those evil English…
3. Interesting move, here.  Oklahoma president David Boren sent a letter to the NCAA last week proclaiming that the Sooner program is now in full compliance with NCAA rules and regulations.  Such a letter was a required element at the end of OU’s current probationary period which was said to run out on May 23.  But you can’t blame the OU brass for wanting to put a wrap on that before the NCAA finishes its probe into the whole Tiny Gallon/Jeffrey Hausinger issue with the $3,000 that allegedly went to help Gallon procure his high school transcript.
4. If you’re a John Calipari-hater by reflex, Mike DeCourcy challenges you to reframe your thinking of the man and his situation.  Mike D — who never told us we were allowed to refer to him like that — isn’t just calling out college basketball fans, here.  He’s challenging all college hoop media, a group of which he’s a member.  We admire this.
5. Way to go, TBL! Strong work.  We hope that party is still raging.

We alluded to this in today’s Morning Five (see below), and even though it was good to hear he’s predicted to make a full recovery, we were hoping to get even more Herb Pope news sometime soon, especially if it was good.  Today, the AP delivered.  In a story posted this afternoon on the website of the New York Times (insert thunderclap here), we see that that the Seton Hall forward is not just getting better, but that he’s been recuperating at home for a while after a lengthy hospital stay following his collapse back in the last week of April.

Pope led the Big East in glass-cleanin', and should be ready to go for next season. (Jim O'Connell/US Presswire)

According to the article, Pope could begin training soon, and there’s no reason to think he won’t be fit and ready to go for the Pirates next year.  Everybody’s still mum on exactly what caused the collapse, which is understandable — we’re just glad he and his doctors have gotten on top of it.

1. Just ahead of the release of findings from the NCAA’s investigation of the USC basketball (and football) program, Tim Floyd says that he’s not too worried.  Of course, he has no reason to be, since he’s at UTEP now.
2. If this whole Eric Bledsoe story regarding alleged rent payments and the question of “impermissible benefits” sounds a tad familiar, you may be remembering a story from ZagsBlog.com from a few days ago about Oklahoma’s Tiny Gallon and a similar situation.  The problem for Sooner supporters is…this happened while OU was already on probation.
3. Speaking of Mr. Zagoria…a few days ago he provided further news about Herb Pope, who’s said to be on the road to a full recovery (from what, exactly, we’ve not been told) and more hoops at Seton Hall after that terrifying collapse back in late April, when it was said that his heart actually stopped during a workout.  A relative is supposedly going to hold a press conference soon to discuss exactly what happened. While we admit we’re intrigued by the diagnosis, when it’s revealed, we hope it will show this to be a one-time event and that the guy’s got nothing to worry about in the future.
4. Mike Miller from MSNBC.com invites the Washington Wizards to consider using that top draft pick on DeMarcus Cousins ahead of John Wall or Evan Turner.
5. We’ve ridden Bobby Knight pretty hard around these parts in the past, so it’s only fair that we mention the free clinic he held over the weekend for about 80 kids — and their parents — in Duncanville, TX at the new Bob Knight’s Fieldhouse, a project that The General truly cares about and to which he’s deservedly happy to have his name attached.

Since the New York Times published its story on Friday about the NCAA checking into Eric Bledsoe, it’s been the top college basketball subject through this long holiday weekend.  True, that’s not saying much for this time of year, but, as usually happens with stories of this kind, the day-to-day evolution has been as interesting as expected.

The latest wrinkle is that, according to the boys (and girl) over at KentuckySportsRadio.com, Bledsoe might sue whoever let his high school transcript end up in the hands of the national media.  The NCAA has certainly had copies of the transcript for some time, since that’s something any prospective student-athlete at the NCAA level has to submit as part of the process.  But it seems like pretty much everyone’s now privy to what was supposed to be confidential as of three days ago, and — given what people would find on the college transcripts of a couple of the guys around here if they were ever made public — we can see how Bledsoe would be pretty ticked.  We doubt Bledsoe has family members who have copies of his high school transcript, and certainly none who would just hand it over to anyone, so if ESPN.com and the like all have copies of his transcript from both his junior and senior year high schools, it seems that documentation of that nature could have only come from either the senior-year school, the colleges to which Bledsoe applied (watch for this possibility to gain speed in the near future), or the NCAA itself — all entities he should be able to trust.  We can certainly understand Bledsoe’s anger.

Whether or not Bledsoe moves forward with a lawsuit could tell us a lot about this situation, though, because whoever he names as a party in the suit could then subpoena his high school transcripts and any supporting documentation.  In other words, if — and yes, it’s still an “if” — there’s any impropriety there, it will come out in discovery.  If he and/or his handlers on this think that there’s something there that they don’t want to come to light, it would be better for Kentucky if Bledsoe didn’t go ahead with his lawsuit.  And let’s be honest, Eric Bledsoe is about to be a multi-millionaire.  He’s days away from being drafted into the NBA, and he has no reason to concern himself with any of this.  Assuming this isn’t a PR move of the Roger Clemens/Barry Bonds variety, if Bledose files his lawsuit against people who leaked his transcript or obtained them by suspect means, then he and his advisors must like the cards they’re holding.

The other aspect of this that we find interesting is that, no matter what websites, newspapers, or blogs you read, no matter whose Twitter feeds you follow, the lines on this are being drawn not so much by the details of the whole scenario, but rather by how each writer/blogger/tweeter feels about John Calipari, who hasn’t yet been implicated in any of this.  We’re not apologizing for the man, but the fact remains that he hasn’t been brought up in any of this so far.  There are many facets of this story that we find intriguing — how does a kid go from a 1.9 to a 2.5 in a year? How can the NCAA be investigating but not formally alert the school?  Who leaked the transcript? If this non-investigation has been going on since February, why has it dragged on until well after the season was over?  How will UK fans feel about their program if the NCAA wields the pimp hand? — but those are being largely ignored by all but a select few, with people seemingly letting their opinion of Calipari determine how they feel about a matter in which his name hasn’t surfaced.  If Bledsoe is ruled ineligible and the NCAA says that Kentucky has to forfeit its 35 wins from last season, that would be the time to examine how it might affect Calipari’s coaching career, because it would be one heck of a debate.  But, to be honest, there are other areas in this matter that are more compelling right now.