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SPORTS / WEDNESDAY, JULY 7, 2010 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
REALIGNMENT
Questions linger about the longevity of the new Big 12
BY TIM DWYER
tdwyer@kansan.com
Just when it seemed like realignment drama was over, first-year Texas Tech football coach Tommy Tuberville made like a daytime soap writer and added just one more twist.
Not even three weeks after the Big 12 was saved, Tuberville questioned the league's long-term viability in an interview with Rivals Radio.
"We have a 10-team league right now, but I just don't know how long that's going to last, to be honest with you." Tuberville said in the interview.
Tuberville's skepticism was driven by the disparity present in the deal in place that, in essence, saved the
Big 12.
The three schools driving realignment - Texas, Texas A&M and Oklahoma - were each offered contracts reportedly guaranteeing $20 million of revenue each year. The five schools most likely to be left behind - Kansas, Kansas State, Baylor, Iowa State and Missouri - pledged that should any of those three fall short of that revenue number they would pool together and pay the difference between the actual and guaranteed numbers.
"I don't think this conference will last long because there is too much disparity between all the teams," Tuberville, who most recently coached in the SEC at Auburn, said. "In the SEC, for instance, Vanderbilt makes as much money in the television contract as Florida. Everybody is good with it. Everybody is on the same page."
Tuberville's comments blatantly contradict the Big 12's standard line that all 10 schools are happy and committed for the long term. Jim Marchiony, associate athletic director at Kansas, reaffirmed Kansas' commitment to the league.
"All I can tell you is that we are very excited to be a member of the Big 12. Very proud to be a member of the Big 12," Marchiony said. "We anticipate being members of a very strong Big 12 for many years to come."
Big 12 Commissioner Dan Beebe, who issued a reprimand to Tuberville but stopped short of further action, said he was disappointed
by Tuberville's remarks.
"Tuberville's comments were unfortunate and contrary to the very strong feelings of unity expressed publicly and privately by the Big 12 Board of Directors and athletic directors." Beebe said.
Beebe wasn't free from criticism in Tuberville's interview. He cited the work Mike Slive and his predecessor Roy Kramer had done as commissioners of the SEC as good examples before questioning Beebe's leadership.
"It starts with the commissioner," he said, "and I think Mike Slive has done a good job. Roy Kramer did a good job of building a base where everybody was on the same page. And that just has not happened here in the Big 12."
WORLD CUP
Colombian cops find cocaine-laced trophy
BOGOTA, Colombia — Fans worldwide have fashioned replicas of the World Cup trophy out of everything from papier-mache to plastic. But a lawbreaker in Colombia gets top prize for most original material: cocaine.
Airports anti-drug chief Col. Jose Piedrahita says that Colombian authorities found the unusual statue during a routine security check by anti-drug agents Friday in a mail warehouse at Bogota's international airport.
The 36-centimeter-high (14-inch-high) statue was inside a box headed for Madrid, Spain. The statue was painted gold with green stripes on the base.
Piedrahita said Saturday that laboratory tests confirmed the cup was made of 11 kilos (24 pounds) of cocaine mixed with acetone or gasoline to make it moldable.
Associated Press