Look, I’ll be the first to admit it: I bought into some stupid rumors back during all the conference expansion silliness---remember that?---but no one, I mean no one, should be stupid enough to buy into this foolishness:
Sources tell OB Arkansas has definitely put out feelers about possibly joining the Big 12, but the B12 votes don't appear to be there yet.
That is from Chip Brown’s Twitter feed, and his sources are either lying or wrong. If ever you doubted the critics who contended that Brown was used as a mouthpiece for disseminating strategic leaks to advance the agendas of particular players in the expansion game, well, now you know better.
Nevertheless, some folks insist upon taking regular treks through Fantasyland, ruining otherwise insightful postings by writing nonsense like this:
Could [Arkansas] be pried from the SEC? That is the big question. I'm sure the SEC could find another team that would finish in the middle of the pack in football, and perhaps shore up their basketball ranks - a team like Memphis, or Louisville. Arkansas is a traditional rival of Texas, and even of Texas A&M. They are on the fringes of SEC territory geographically, and originally were a part of the Southwest Conference - territory that is now covered by the Big 12 conference.
If Arkansas was presented with the choice to compete for titles in the Big 12 North Division (which they could do pretty easily as they are right now), or continue to be an average SEC team, I'm sure they would jump at the chance to move to the Big 12.
Those words simply are not true on any plane of reality you and I occupy. Don’t believe me? Ask the Razorback fans who swiftly responded:
The exact logic behind why the Hogs would want to give up money, stability and a spot in what remains the best athletic conference around (by far) for a chance to essentially rejoin the SWC and be on the outside looking in when the Big "12" inevitably collapses in a few years is beyond me, but it's summertime and in the absence of actual news people need something to talk about.
Or, listen to Dr. Saturday:
Arkansas alum Jerry Jones wouldn't mind getting the old Southwest Conference back together in the Big 12, especially if it keeps Cowboys Stadium in play for the soon-to-be-defunct conference championship game. Oh, and Notre Dame would be nice, too. And why not bring in Ohio State, Alabama, USC, the Ringwraiths from "Lord of the Rings" and the Knights Templar, while we're at it?
Or, listen to the University of Arkansas, which unequivocally shot down this silliness ere it even had time to gain traction:
In recent weeks and months there has been much national dialogue regarding conference affiliation in intercollegiate athletics. In the course of that dialogue some have suggested that the University of Arkansas was an institution that may be pursued by other conferences. From the beginning, we have been very clear that the University of Arkansas is a proud member of the Southeastern Conference and has no interest in joining another conference. Chancellor Gearhart has been unwavering in his support of our institution's continued membership in the SEC. Recent events have not in any way altered our commitment or desire to remain a member of what we believe is the strongest conference in the nation.
This is as stupid as last year’s constant rumors that Urban Meyer was about to flee Gainesville for South Bend, and for precisely the same reason. It was silly for some people to wonder whether Coach Meyer, if offered the opportunity, would choose Notre Dame over Florida, because he previously was offered the opportunity, and he chose Florida over Notre Dame! In the interim, nothing had changed in a way that made the Notre Dame job more attractive or the Florida job less attractive, so the speculation was not just foolish, it flew in the face of verifiable facts.
So it is with this goofy rumor. It is dumb for anyone to question whether Arkansas would choose a conference containing the Hogs’ old Lone Star State rivals over the SEC, because the Razorbacks faced that choice two decades ago, and they chose the SEC over a conference containing their old Lone Star State rivals!
Sure, Jerry Jones has money. He had money in 1990, too. Sure, Arkansas values its rivalries with Texas and Texas A&M. The Hogs valued those rivalries even more when they were still competing in the Southwest Conference. What has changed in the last 20 years to make Arkansas doubt the correctness of its decision? Has the Southeastern Conference become less lucrative? Has the Big 12 displayed more stability and cohesion than the SWC? The Razorbacks know how much money they get annually from the SEC. How do they know Dan Beebe’s magic money will ever materialize, or that they will get their fair share of it if it does?
This rumor is so moronic that, before it became a rumor, I cited it sarcastically as an example of a threat no one would take seriously. Clearly, I underestimated the number of fools who will fall for absolute specious nonsense.
This is the dumbest rumor to have emerged from a morass of harebrained theories. This story has no legs. None. Anyone who says differently is a moron or is selling you something.
Go ‘Dawgs!