The Colorado Buffaloes may be making the switch from the plains of the Big 12 conference to the sandy beaches of the Pac-10.
The Pac-10 conference is considering expanding the number of member schools with Utah of the Mountain West conference and Colorado of the Big 12 being the most talked about of making the move.
Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott has yet to contact CU athletic director Mike Bohn about the move.
CU junior psychology major, Liz Handing, 20, is against the move for Colorado but understands the realities of playing in the Big 12 are more challenging than in other conferences in the nation.
“CU is in a very good region, it’s very competitive, and the games are always exciting to watch,” Handing said. “But I think it is a little unfair to be competing against teams like Texas, Nebraska and Missouri. I feel like their football programs are a lot stronger, and it might just be coaching.
“I think that if there were to be a change, it probably would be in 20 years from now,” Handing said.
The Pac-10 television contract ends after the 2012 season and Scott has been in talks with different television outlets for a new one. The expansion of teams in the conference would give the Pac-10 more television outlets and more of an audience.
If the Buffs end up switching conferences, their schedule may get considerably easier. ESPN list the Big 12 as the second highest ranked conference in the nation trailing only the Southeastern conference.
Senior psychology major Henry Marcus, 21, is a proponent for the move.
Marcus said that a move could improve the football team’s record during the regular season.
“A move could probably improve our record because the Big 12 is a pretty tough conference,” Marcus said. “We have some pretty tough teams like Texas who went to the national championship, so I think we could probably have a better chance of winning with some of the Pac 10 teams.”
The issue of switching is also happening to other schools in the Big 12.
According to various news outlets, Nebraska and Missouri are candidates for a possible expansion to the Big Ten conference. Texas, the FBS national championship runner up, has also been mentioned.
Other CU students, like senior history major Zach Gerstein, 22, are more for the move.
“I feel like it would be fine,” Gerstein said. “I’m OK with it.”
However Gerstein said that the move could just be hype.
“There’s a two-percent chance of it happening,” Gerstein said. “It’s all publicity.”
A decision to move conferences for CU would need to be made by this summer, as the Big 12 requires a two years notice.
Ryan Patterson is a junior at Fairview High School in Boulder, who is writing for the CU Independent as part of a high school journalism workshop the CU Independent hosted on Feb. 26 and 27.
Contact CU Independent Sports Editor Ron Knabenbauer on behalf of Ryan Patterson at Ronald.knabenbauer@colorado.edu
