University of Texas regents will meet next week to decide whether the Longhorns will remain in the fast-disintegrating Big 12 or switch to another conference.
The regents announced Friday that they will hold a meeting in Austin for "discussion and appropriate action regarding athletic conference membership."
The future of the Big 12 is in jeopardy after Nebraska said Friday it wants to join the Big Ten and Colorado agreed Thursday to jump to the Pac-10. The Pac-10 is also reportedly interested in inviting Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech to form a 16-team league.
A spokesman for the Texas regents said the nine members would not comment before the meeting.
Texas president William Powers Jr., was out of town Friday and unavailable for comment, but would be at Tuesday's meeting, spokesman Don Hale said.
Texas is considered the lynchpin to the Big 12's survival.
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Longhorns athletic director DeLoss Dodds has said he wants to keep the Big 12 together. It was not immediately clear if scheduling the regents meeting meant those efforts have failed.
Texas would need the regents' approval to change leagues. The meeting is required to be publicly posted 72 hours in advance, which would give Dodds the weekend to keep working if he thinks the Big 12 is still salvageable.
Texas A&M, which is reported to be considering a move to the Southeastern Conference, has not scheduled a regents meeting. Texas A&M spokesman Jason Cook said athletic director Bill Byrne was traveling to a family function in Idaho for the weekend.
