Conference realignment: Does Nebraska stay or go?

I heard Tuesday afternoon that one Big 12 president was optimistic Nebraska would stay in the Big 12. By Tuesday night, the Omaha World-Herald, which ought to know as much as anybody about the fate of the Huskers, reported that the Huskers could be gone to the Big Ten by Friday.

So who knows? It”s one gigantic mess, with some people talking and others not.

I called Arizona football coach Mike Stoops on Sunday, and he talked about a possible expansion involving Big 12 schools. Sometime Sunday, Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott issued a gag order on his league concerning expansion. I guess Mike Stoops hadn’t heard the mandate.

University of Nebraska interim Athletic Director Tom Osborne announces the firing of college football coach Bill Callahan, at a news conference, in Lincoln, Neb., Saturday, Nov. 24, 2007. Osborne announced the dismissal one day after the Cornhuskers ended the season at 5-7 following a 65-51 loss at University of Colorado. They squandered an 11-point halftime lead by allowing 34 consecutive points. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik) ORG XMIT: NENH102

Tuesday night, I chatted with Arizona AD Greg Byrne during the Women’s College World Series. I told him I chatted with his football coach, and Byrne smiled and said I must have gotten to Mike before the order came down.