CU to bolt for the Pac 10?

Watch out buff fans… gone could be the days of seeing Nebraska or Texas come to Folsom Field in favor of USC or the Bruins of UCLA.

Last month, Pac 10 Commissioner Larry Scott stirred the speculation pot when he announced that his conference was looking at expanding. And immediately, attention turned to the University of Colorado to jump ship from the dominant Big 12 Conference and move out west to the Pac 10.

“You have to determine what would be the financial advantages of leaving and joining another practice or conference,” said CU Athletic Director Mike Bohn. “You have to try to understand the media markets, and how would it support the institution.”

Bohn stresses the importance of recruiting to be competitive in any conference. But with the struggles in their current one, how could a move affect them in the future?

“There is no question there is probably some positives and some negative, and that’s an aspect we would have to evaluate,” said Bohn.

But what could be the hardest pill to swallow would be abandoning the history CU has in their current conference.

The Buffs joined when it was known as the Big 7 back in 1948 and established a heated rivalry with Nebraska back in the early 80s.

The Big 12 conference has been a dominant presence in college athletics, sending a large amount of teams to the March Madness in basketball and consistently sending a team to the BCS championship football game.

“I don’t think that’s a good thing, the Big 12, I believe is the best conference,” said student Diego Rubio. “In the Pac 10, besides UCLA, there is not a big school like Texas or Oklahoma or Oklahoma State.”

Some skeptics argue that the Buffs may not be able to join the Pac 10 conference based purely on financial reasons, as it would cost an initial $9 million just to join the conference.

The university however argues that all current talk to move to the Pac 10 is purely speculation and only that.

In a statement to News Team Boulder, University spokesperson Bronson Hilliard said, “We are a member of the Big 12. We are still a member of the Big 12, and we have not been formally approached about leaving for the Pac 10.”

The Pac 10 said their new members wouldn’t join until 2012, and the Buffs have to give the Big 12 a two-year notice before leaving.

If CU is indeed serious about moving conferences, it would first have to be approved by the University Board of Regents. The school had considered moving in 1994, only to be voted down by the regents.