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- #21
GoldRusher
Well-Known Member
You could replace oil and gas with coal and gas and describe WV/WVU the same way.Let me explain something in a fair, honest way so those who don't know a lot about Oklahoma, other than sports, can understand where David Boren is coming from. Oklahoma is a small state with a narrow economic base --- primarily oil & gas and agriculture. We have a lot of defense spending in the state (Tinker AFB, Fort Sill, Vance AFB, headquarters for the FAA, etc.) but that is all Federal spending. State spending has been slowly eroding for university funding over the past 10 years. In fact, it has gotten to the point is was already an embarrassment but now the energy crash has decimated state finances and OU is never, repeat never, going to get enough money from the state legislature to grow and develop like it wants. So, the only and best option is to align with other schools who can provide some synergy to increase the income stream to OU's academic side. A move to the Pac12, not the B1G, is the best shot we have. It may appear to be selfish but it is also a matter of pure survival. We either get better or we will get weaker and fall further behind and never catch up. We need the grant money, we aspire to be an AAU member and we want to maintain our athletic excellence. David Boren is looking toward the future and he is playing poker with people who think they are good chess players. In ten years Oklahoma will have what it wants (and needs!) one way or the other. We have to.