Tramel's ScissorTales: Could OU & Oklahoma State be split by NCAA structural change?

We’ve seen a lot of change in collegiate athletics the last few years.

The transfer portal making college free agency more erratic than anything on the professional level.

The name, image and likeness revolution that has produced legal recruiting inducements for high school athletes and college transfers.

Tectonic conference realignment, with OU and Texas headed for the Southeastern Conference.

And Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick says we ain’t seen nothing yet.

Talking to Sports Illustrated, Swarbrick predicts an enormous change in collegiate athletics, probably in the 2030s. Swarbrick called it “inevitable” and sees a division:

1. Some schools continuing down the traditional road of athletics operating within the framework of a university.

2. Some schools abandoning the façade of academics and merely leasing out their name and brands to what once were known as athletic departments but will become athletic enterprises.

More: Which players have committed to Oklahoma State football's 2023 recruiting class?

Swarbrick said such a spectrum long has existed but that it will become crystallized.

“On one end of the spectrum, you license the school name and run an independent business that’s engaged in sports,” he told SI. “The other end of the spectrum, you’re integrated into the university in terms of decision making and requirements, and some follow that.

“I think both can produce great athletic competition.”

Swarbrick said the fever for such a change is here, but that contracts prevent it. He said some schools are itching to get out of their conferences, while some conferences could be itching to boot out underperforming members.

But the SEC members are tied together contractually until 2034, and the Atlantic Coast Conference members are bound until 2036. The Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac-12 contracts come up much sooner, all in in the next few years.

Such a prediction leads to a variety of questions. Here are several, including from a state of Oklahoma perspective.

Where would OU and OSU fall in the spectrum?

Seems fairly clear that the independent model fits the SEC. But it also seems clear that schools like OSU and much of the Big 12 want to at least attempt to keep up with the SEC and the Big Ten.

Which schools would stick with the traditional academic model?

The traditional model would be embraced by academic powerhouses. Stanford, Duke, Cal-Berkeley. Northwestern. Vanderbilt.

But what about schools that have retained high academic standards and reputations, but also compete at the highest levels athletically? Notre Dame. Michigan. UCLA.

Would they separate themselves from the mainstream? Would Michigan go one way and Ohio State another? Would UCLA and Southern Cal split?

Seems unlikely. Then again, Texas A&M and Texas divided, in conference and in competition. Same with Missouri and Kansas. And Brigham Young and Utah. And Pittsburgh and West Virginia. Could happen with Bedlam.

Anything seems possible these days.

Swarbrick told Sports Illustrated that Notre Dame would stay with the traditional model. But is that true? Are the Fighting Irish willing to let the SEC and perhaps a revamped Big Ten stage a professional athletics business on college campus, which would greatly overshadow the traditional college concept?

Seems unlikely to some.

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Who determines who lands where?

Seems to me the marketplace.

And that’s where a school like OSU could make the cut. Under Swarbrick’s prediction, the SEC would not hang on to Vanderbilt. The Big Ten would not automatically protect Indiana and Rutgers, though I suppose the Big Ten itself could be a victim, with schools leaving to enter the non-traditional model.

If the non-traditional makeup is limited to 16-20 schools, OSU and a bunch of Big 12 members would be left out. If that number goes to 40, OSU and a bunch of Big 12 members would be in.

Could there be athletic competition between teams from the different models?

Seems unlikely to me. A professional enterprise, using college branding, would be a far different experience than the traditional, academic-grounded system. The Atlanta Falcons don’t play Alabama. Why would Wake Forest play Alabama under such a system?

Would the traditional model be ignored by television?

No. Why would it be? The networks are thirsting for more sports content. Two spring football leagues died in 2020, and we’ve already got a new one playing now (the United States Football League) and a revival (XFL) planned for next year.

You’re telling me the networks wouldn’t want to televise UCLA-Stanford, or OSU-Baylor, depending on who’s in and who’s out?

I hope Swarbrick is wrong. I hope the biggest levels of college football don’t discard the college part. I hope that college football always is played by people who the day before the game were in English 1113 or taking business administration classes.

But after what we’ve experienced the last few years, does anyone believe that college football's structure will remain anything close to what it’s always been?

More: Which players have committed to Oklahoma football's 2023 recruiting class?

Thunder report card: Derrick Favors

Derrick Favors was traded to Oklahoma City last July in a Utah Jazz salary dump. The Thunder had no great plans for Favors but received a conditional first-round draft pick for its troubles.

We continue our series of Thunder report cards with the 30-year-old, 6-foot-10 center from Georgia Tech.

Attitude: A. Favors has played in 42 career playoff games, spanning eight series. Before arriving with the Thunder, Favors had played in 751 NBA games, starting 485. Suddenly, Favors was thrust into a rebuilding situation, with no post-season hopes, and started just 18 of the 39 games in which he played. But from all accounts, Favors remained professional and accommodating. Sort of Al Horford light, only without the marketability to merit much trade interest.

Rebounding: B. Favors’ rebounding rate of 14.5 (percentage of available rebounds he grabbed while on the court) was the worst of his career, but it still led the Thunder, among players who played at least 250 minutes. Favors’ 10.1 rebounds per 36 minutes was in the mainstream of his career performance.

Rim protection: D. Favors’ 0.7 blocked shots per 36 minutes were below that of fellow big men Mike Muscala, Darius Bazley, Olivier Sarr and Isaiah Roby. And 0.7 blocked shots per 36 minutes is almost half as much as his previous career low. Favors’ career is winding down. Centers who can’t stretch the floor or protect the rim have little value.

Outside shooting: D. Favors never has been an outside shooter. In 11 NBA seasons before 2021-22, Favors had attempted 176 3-points, making just 36. That’s a percentage of 20.4%, and that’s no way to stay in the NBA. Favors failed in his attempts to show prospective teams he could develop into an outside threat. On corner 3-pointers, the easiest shot from deep, he made just one of 14. Overall, he was two of 16 on 3-pointers. But Favors did make 13 of 32 shots on 2-pointers from 16 feet and farther. That’s a percentage of .406, a career high.

Interior defense: B. Favors still can hold up defensively, though not as well as he once did. His defensive field-goal percentage was .571, not very good, but his defensive rating of 106.5 (per 100 possessions) was fifth on the team. Favors still is strong. His athletic ability has decreased some, but he’s still a viable NBA defender.

'They’re thinking bigger picture': Why Thunder GM Sam Presti supports NBA in-season tournament

Mailbag: Pelicans, 76ers thriving despite drafts

The NBA Playoffs always present interesting developments and bedfellows, and readers detect the trends:

Heath: “We now have two teams, the 76ers and Pelicans, who are doing very well in the playoffs that have had historically bad drafting decisions. Both teams whiffed, mismanaged and misplayed multiple No. 1 picks. Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz for Philly; Zion (Williamson) and Anthony Davis for the Pelicans. If anything shows that swinging for the fences doesn’t have consequences, this is it. What team wouldn’t trade some down years for the success that the 76ers and Pelicans are having now and maybe for the next half decade?”

Tramel: Not all those No. 1 picks were busts. Fultz, sure. Zion, we’ll see. But the other two provided, via trade, brought back various levels of difference-makers.

For Philly, Ben Simmons brought James Harden (from Brooklyn). Harden is on the downside of his career; some might say he’s a shell of his former self. But he’s still one of the reasons for Philadelphia’s playoff hopes.

For New Orleans, Davis brought Brandon Ingram (from the Lakers), Josh Hart, Lonzo Ball and a first-round draft pick. Ingram is a star and Hart was part of the eventual trade that brought C.J. McCollum to the Pelicans.

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Politics’ role in Big 12 realignment

News of the most powerful man in America came across my Twitter feed Tuesday morning. U.S. Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia ranks No. 1 on Capitol Hill in approval rating improvement over the last year.

Manchin, of course, is the Democrat who doesn’t always follow his party’s directives, and since the Senate is split 50-50, Manchin has become the ultimate swing vote.

I don’t care to wade deep into the politics, but I think it’s kind of cool that a small-town guy from rural West Virginia can rise to such heights.

But I do care to wade deep into Manchin’s effects on college football.

Manchin had an impact on the Big 12 Conference.

On February 16, 2012, I wrote Joe Manchin’s name for the first and only time, until now.

West Virginia by then had joined the Big 12. The Big 12 had selected the Mountaineers over Louisville, but I supported adding Louisville, too. Get to 11 schools, I said, from which it’s easier to get to 12.

Here’s what I wrote: “Conference realignment reached all the way to the U.S. Capitol. The body that produced the likes of Henry Clay and Daniel Patrick Moynihan, the body that debated Manifest Destiny and civil rights, moved on to the serious matter of who should replace Missouri in the Big 12. Kentucky senator Mitch McConnell pulled strings for Louisville. West Virginia senators Jay Rockefeller and Joe Manchin pushed back for the Mountaineers. West Virginia won.”

I don’t know how much the Senate factored in the selection. That decision most likely was determined not by Democrats or Republicans, but by ESPN and Fox.

Still, when U.S. senators speak, people listen.

A decade ago, I reached out to McConnell’s office, seeking an interview about the Big 12. He declined. I can’t remember if I reached out to Rockefeller. But I didn’t contact Manchin’s office; who was Joe Manchin?

Well, now we know who Joe Manchin is. A few weeks ago, I reached out to Manchin’s office again, asking for an interview on West Virginia’s 10 years in the Big 12, hoping maybe something a little lighter than climate change and Ukraine might be a good break for Manchin.

He declined. Or at least, his office declined. Oh well.

I still think Manchin’s role in the Big 12 is interesting, and he has football roots. Manchin, 74, grew up in Farmington, West Virginia, 21 miles south of Morgantown. Nick Saban, four years younger and from nearby Monongah, has been a family friend since the 1950s.

Manchin went to WVU on a football scholarship in 1965, quarterbacked the Mountaineer freshman team, but an injury ended his career. Manchin graduated from West Virginia in 1970.

Manchin was elected to the West Virginia House in 1982, then the state senate in 1986. In 2004, Manchin was elected governor, won another term in 2008 and then in 2010 ran for the U.S. Senate.

So Manchin was a Capitol Hill rookie when Big 12 realignment bubbled again, after Nebraska’s and Colorado’s initial departure. Texas A&M and Missouri left for the Southeastern Conference; the Big 12 quickly picked Texas Christian to replace the Aggies, and the West Virginia-Louisville debate ensued.

Picking WVU over Louisville was the right call. The Mountaineers had the better football pedigree.

In subsequent years, Louisville football ascended (Lamar Jackson won the 2016 Heisman Trophy) and Louisville basketball won the 2013 NCAA championship. The Cardinals soon enough were invited to the Atlantic Coast Conference, and the ‘Ville’s overall athletic success is quite impressive. However, Louisville also suffered through major scandals.

So the Big 12 is quite happy it has West Virginia. Manchin (and Rockefeller, I presume) got the better of McConnell on that debate.

Still, I’d have added both. Keep both sides of the aisle happy.

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The List: Favorable conference schedules

OU has a favorable 2022 conference schedule in Big 12 football. But the Sooners aren’t the only traditional power with such an advantage. Here are five perennial conference favorites with cushy schedules:

1. Alabama: The Crimson Tide gets both Auburn and Texas A&M in Tuscaloosa, and Bama’s rotating crossover opponent from the SEC East is Vanderbilt.

2. Georgia: The Bulldogs’ rotating crossover opponent is Mississippi State. Georgia’s SEC road games are at Mississippi State, Kentucky, Missouri and South Carolina.

3. Ohio State: The Buckeyes have road games at Penn State and Michigan State, but you’re never free and clear in the Big Ten East, not with a nine-game conference schedule. The Buckeyes get Wisconsin, Iowa and Michigan at home.

4. Clemson: The Tigers’ chief ACC threat, North Carolina State, has to come to Death Valley. Clemson also hosts Miami. The Tigers’ road games are at Georgia Tech, Florida State, Wake Forest and Boston College. Wake might be the toughest game.

5. Oklahoma: The Sooners get both Baylor and OSU, their chief rivals for Big 12 supremacy, in Norman. And like always, Texas is on a neutral field.

Berry Tramel: Berry can be reached at 405-760-8080 or at btramel@oklahoman.com. He can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including FM-98.1. Support his work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Would a predicted NCAA Division I breakup split up OU, Oklahoma State?