The Ground Will Shift, IV

Subtitle: The One Where Mizzou is Left at the Altar.

From NJ.com:

According to a report on orangebloods.com Nebraska has agreed to leave the Big 12 and join the Big Ten and will announce that decision on Friday. The report said if Nebraska leaves, the Big 12 will break apart.

The report also lists the Big Ten's priority wish list, as reported by ESPN, with Notre Dame being No. 1, Nebraska No. 2 and either Rutgers or Maryland as No. 3.

Well, now Kansas can laugh at me.

It appears that Nebraska has decided to join the Big Ten and it is only logical to assume they would not do so without assurances an invitation was forthcoming. If so, the Big Ten is now 12 teams and can hold a conference football title game at the conclusion of each season. This was a big goal for them. What would motivate them to add any more schools? I'm not sure what it would be and if Missouri has it.

Missouri still appears to be waiting for an invitation from the Big Ten, according to multiple sources.

An athletic director with knowledge of the Big Ten said, "Missouri is getting cold shoulder from Big Ten."

The fact is we don't know anything about Mizzou, in or out. Officials in Columbia have been very tight-lipped and nobody else is talking. So while it's not certain they are not invited, there's not much reason to hope. Yet.

From the Kansas City Star:

Missouri, meanwhile, is making my job a lot tougher but finally doing the right thing. Following advice of consultants hired to help guide them through the shoals of expansion, MU officials are maintaining a silence they have been unable to pull off for the last 25 years. Missouri has always been surrounded by "sources" more than willing to tell the media exactly what is going down. Now the powers that be at Mizzou are remaining mum in the face of rampant speculation and quite obviously have not shared details of what is or is not going on with a circle of people large enough to spring leaks.