READ TODAY'S STORIES AND E-EDITION SUBSCRIBE |  CONTACT US |  SIGN IN
Sports Extra!



SPORTS EXTRA BLOGS

FOR THE RECORD
LOCAL PROS

ALL SPORTS

PHOTOS & VIDEOS

OUTDOORS

FIND A STORY

EMAIL ALERTS

SOCIAL MEDIA

RSS FEEDS

CONTACT US
BUY PHOTOS & PAGES

ADVERTISE ON SPORTS EXTRA


Print story only Print story with comments Email Twitter Facebook Pinterest
Travis Ford weighs in on changing landscape
Published: 6/11/2010 5:41 PM
Last Modified: 6/11/2010 5:41 PM

Oklahoma State basketball coach Travis Ford, going with an “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it” approach, said his preference is to keep the Big 12 together. The Big 12 was the nation’s top RPI league in basketball last season.

But Ford also said this: “It doesn’t mean it can’t go well at other places, though. If we were to go to another league or if somebody was to join our league or whatever it may be, there’s no reason we can’t still be one of the best leagues in America.”

Ford participated in a question-and-answer session about conference issues prior to an announcement that Nebraska has joined Colorado in leaving the Big 12. Following are excerpts:

--If, as rumored, Big 12 teams move to the Pac-10, is that a work-able situation? “I think so. Absolutely. It still all becomes about recruiting and getting the best possible players you can get and continuing to build this program back up. There are always pluses and great positives to every situation. If that were true, so absolutely.”

--What are your concerns about the Pac-10 possibility? “I don’t have as much concerns as I do questions on how they are going to do it scheduling-wise and things like that.”

--What are your questions about divisions and scheduling? “I’m very, very interested to see how they do the scheduling. I just hope they are very creative with it. I just hope they don’t say here is the east-west or here are all the Big 12 schools plus Arizona and Arizona State and you are going to play those twice.

“If we were in a league with UCLA and USC and California, then I think we all should play each other. If we are all in a league, we all should play each other -- and not every four years or every three years. I don’t have an answer to it. I haven’t studied it enough. I don’t know what the answer is.

“But I hope they don’t just take the simplest route. I hope it’s creative and I hope we make it the best league in America if that’s the case and we all try to play each other somehow, whatever that may be, and be creative and if they do go to divisions, be creative with it. I know everybody likes to do a north-south or an east-west or whatever that may be, but why do you have to do that? They say (because of) travel. Well, pooh. Let’s get creative with it if that’s the case.”

--Did rumors about conference issues change anything about the way you did your job this week? “No, uh-uh.”

--Do you have a comment on whether the Pac-10 thing is going to happen? “I think there’s a great chance. But I heard even more things... that we may try to keep this league together with 10 teams or something. Who knows? I have heard all kinds of different things. So who knows what is going to happen? I don’t know. I really don’t.”


Reader Comments


To post comments on tulsaworld.com, you must be an active Tulsa World print or digital subscriber and signed into your account.


Games People Play

Tulsa World sports writer Jimmie Tramel is a former class president at Locust Grove High School. He graduated magna cum laude from Northeastern State University with a journalism degree and, while attending college, was sports editor of the Pryor Daily Times. He joined the Tulsa World on Oct. 17, 1989, the same day an earthquake struck the World Series. He is the OSU basketball beat writer and a columnist and feature writer during football season. In 2007, he wrote a book about Oklahoma State football with former Cowboy coach Pat Jones.

Follow Jimmie Tramel on Twitter

Subscribe to this blog


Archive

 
Jimmie Tramel's Blog Archive:

2/2013  1/2013  12/2012  11/2012  10/2012  9/2012  
8/2012  7/2012  6/2012  5/2012  4/2012  3/2012  
2/2012  1/2012  12/2011  11/2011  10/2011  9/2011  
8/2011  7/2011  6/2011  5/2011  4/2011  3/2011  
2/2011  1/2011  12/2010  11/2010  10/2010  9/2010  
8/2010  7/2010  6/2010  5/2010  4/2010  3/2010  
2/2010  1/2010  12/2009  11/2009  10/2009  9/2009  
8/2009  7/2009  6/2009  5/2009  4/2009  3/2009  
2/2009  1/2009  12/2008  11/2008  10/2008  9/2008  
8/2008  7/2008  6/2008  5/2008  4/2008  3/2008  
2/2008  1/2008  12/2007  11/2007  10/2007  9/2007  
8/2007  7/2007  6/2007  5/2007  4/2007  3/2007  
2/2007  1/2007  12/2006  11/2006  10/2006  9/2006  
8/2006  





Home | Contact Us | Search | Subscribe | Customer Service | About | Advertise
Copyright © 2013, World Publishing Co. All rights reserved.