Big 12: Arkansas & Notre Dame dreamland

The Lawrence Journal-World reported Wednesday that Jerry Jones wants to bring Arkansas, his alma mater, and Notre Dame to the Big 12. Hey, I’m not going to laugh at it. In this world where the Pac-10 invited Oklahoma State to join and Nebraska is now in the Big Ten, I guess anything is possible.

We’ve already heard that Memphis-based FedEx is so committed to bolstering the University of Memphis that it offered $10 million in incentives to any major conference that would admit Memphis U. FedEx denied the report, but it rang true to me. So businessmen getting involved in realignment is not crazy talk.

** CORRECTS DATE ** Notre Dame wide receiver Michael Floyd, left, and tight end Kyle Rudolph celebrates a second quarter touchdown against Nevada during an NCAA college football game in South Bend, Ind., Saturday, Sept. 5, 2009. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy) ORG XMIT: INMC102

And I’ll bet Jones does want Arkansas in the Big 12, playing the schools it used to play. He’s already engineered an Arkansas-Texas A&M series at JerryWorld, so why not get even more involved?

But here’s the kicker. Jones has a better chance of landing Notre Dame than he does Arkansas.

Forget Arkansas. The Razorbacks are solidly in the SEC . No school is leaving the SEC or the Big Ten. It’s too profitable. Too stable. Too prestigious. It makes sense, sure, that Arkansas belongs in a league with whom it’s tied geographically (Oklahoma schools, Kansas schools, Missouri) and historically (Texas schools). But that ship has passed.

But Notre Dame? First off, Notre Dame is not joining the Big 12. But Wednesday, I was told that the Big 12 has at least considered standing ready in case the Big East implodes and leaves Notre Dame without a non-football home.