You may have heard that Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe decided to skip Nebraska’s North Division-clinching victory over Colorado in Lincoln last Friday.

Here’s the deal courtesy of Tulsa World:

“I’ve been involved in major institutions and had some major feedback. I’ve suspended players and coaches, fined coaches,” Beebe told CBSSports.com. “But I’ve never had the volume and degree of vile, nasty messages. It’s not just me, it’s several on our staff. It’s the most disgusting things that people would ever say to anybody.”

“It’s pretty shameful. My wife and my family weren’t too thrilled with me going up there.”

So, it’s not just the Pelini Brothers who have anger issues. A small portion of our fan base does, as well. Of course, there’s nothing surprising here. Nebraska football means a great deal to people of the Corn, and for or a small minority passion for the team spills over into unsavory, even dangerous areas.

The series began in 1906 and has been played every season since but will not be played in 2011 because of Nebraska’s decision to leave the Big 12 Conference for the Big Ten.

Saturday’s game will be the 116th meeting between KU and Nebraska, good for the third most matchups between two teams in NCAA history. The KU-NU series trails only Minnesota and Wisconsin (119 games) and KU and Missouri (118 games). Nebraska leads the all-time series, 90-23-2.

[via KU Sports]

2010 Nebraska Football Schedule
(Huskerzone.com)

Tom Shatel: View of the Big Ten from here is great
(Omaha World Herald)

Puerto Rico Trip Highlight of NU Men’s Basketball Schedule
(HuskerExtra)

Ndamukong Suh Wires Up 2010 Huskers with 123 iPads
(SBNation.com)

QB tops list of burning questions for Huskers
(Omaha World Herald)

Big 10 Championship Goes to Indy
(Husker Mike’s Blasphemy)

Tracy Webster Rounds Out Husker BB Coaching Staff
(Nebraska State Paper)

Huskers Brace for Big 12 Hate
(Yahoo! Sports)

Huskers Buzz of Big 10 With a Year to Go
(Associated Press)

While I disagree on a couple of points, we find common ground on our dislike of Notre Dame, and acceptance of the power college football has – second behind the NFL.

College football is second only to the NFL in terms of power and influence. I don’t know why I’ve been so damn stubborn. I love the NBA. I have a love-hate relationship with MLB. But I never wanted to give college football the benefit of the doubt. Even though I saw with my own eyes (when I worked at a sports bar in Atlanta) just how P.O.P.U.L.A.R. college football is. Who are we kidding here? It’s a freaking professional sport!

Good perspective from outside of the cornbelt. You can also follow Keith on Twitter at @KeithSmooth

An executive at a Big 12 school relayed to The World-Herald on Tuesday that he expects Nebraska to become a member of the Big Ten as early as Friday.

NU Chancellor Harvey Perlman has declined all interviews about conference realignment and expansion. He is expected to address the topic with the Board of Regents at its Friday meeting in Lincoln.

Direct confirmation from Nebraska of a conference change for the Huskers wasn’t immediately available. Sources at two other Big 12 schools told The World-Herald that their athletic directors have instructed them to be ready by week’s end for a briefing on probable Big 12 changes.

Those following the @Huskerzone Twitter stream made note of a tweet I posted earlier today regarding rumors of a pending news conference. At the time, I had yet to receive any corroborating evidence and declined publication on Huskerzone.com. In the hours since, new issues have come to light, including numerous reports of Colorado Regents voting tonight on bolting to the Pac-10.

I still lack details at a level I’d be comfortable reporting. However, not being a professional journalist – nor pretending to be one – the ancillary evidence is becoming overwhelming that a change to the college football landscape appears to be rapidly approaching.

As always, if you have something to share, our email address is available over on the sidebar.

You might note that Tom Osborne is at the bottom of this pile. By design, I might add. He could make more if more was needed, but more isn’t needed. And few things say “NEBRASKA” louder than that.

T.O. also negotiated the new long-term extension with Bo Pelini without the use of agents or trustee members. ESPN notes that this old-school approach is a marked contrast to most high-level contract negotiations today. Something tells me these two could shake on it and that would be fine.

Roburt Sallie committed to Washington out of high school but failed to meet academic requirements.  He enrolled at prep school and after a year, committed to NU to play in 2006/07.  The NCAA denied  him entrance after Sallie could not produce any homework from his year at prep school.  Sallie had provided test scores and transcripts, but after 3 appeals he was still denied.  Here is what cost NU a shot at possibly the best player they have ever signed.  Sallie, while waiting for the appeal from the NCAA in 2006, enrolled ( or someone else did on his behalf ) in NU, paying his own way.  This was in violation of Big 12 conference rule 6.2 which reads in part  ”any student-athlete who enrolls at a conference institution, part time or full time, must meet NCAA initial eligibility requirements”.  Since the NCAA hadn’t cleared Sallie, he was in violation of this rule.  Nebraska asked for a waiver from the Big 12 Board, comprised of faculty athletic representatives.  A University would have to show extraordinary circumstances in order to receive a waiver, and the conference didn’t feel it was justified.

[Courtesy of Lincoln Journal Star]

I am just appaled that the Big 12 conference wouldn’t consider this an ”extraordinary circumstance” since Sallie was getting the runaround from the NCAA in 2006.  I am writing a strongly worded response to the Big 12 and if you would like to do that,  you can click here.  What on EARTH was the Big 12 thinking?  Roburt Sallie would’ve run through a brick wall to come to NU and they deny him because of 3 DAYS?  This man has gotten the run around since 2006 and this panel had the opportunity to right the wrong and for whatever reason, they chose not to.  Do they want this player in some other conference?  Roburt Sallie is the the type of player the Big 12 needs.  In every interview he ever did about NU, it wasn’t about “I” or “ME” but it was about NU as a school, a team, a family.  What is with the Big 12?  NU made the Big 12 from 1996-2001, but as of late, the conference has been a HEAVY south conference favorite.  What if Texas needed this waiver?  NU gets no respect from the Big 12 in my opinion.  I say we leave this conference and go somewhere else.  They can change the name of the conference to THE OTHER 11.  WHO’S WITH ME?

[Sports Nightly Audio w/ Doc Sadler Press Conference courtesy of Huskers.com]

According to Omaha World Herald, T.O. is lobbying the Big 12 Conference for more money for scholarship athletes to meet the true “cost of attendance” of going to school beyond tuition, books, room and board.

“When you see facilities expenditures rise 100-fold and coaching salaries increase tremendously,” Osborne said, “it’s my feeling that we should take a large portion of that NCAA TV contract and move toward the cost of attendance, which would be about $2,500 per student more.”

Doc Sadler and the basketball team saw more than half it’s players earn a spot on the Fall Honor Roll with 10.

I have tried unsuccessfully to find who leads the Big 12 for the fall honor roll.  If someone finds something, please post it up.  I have to think NU is close, if not in the lead.

We just learned that Bo Pelini is the new Husker coach.  The majority of LSU fans are disappointed to loose Coach and at the same time they are happy for him and his family.  There are some, however, that are happy to see him go.  College football is the same in Louisiana as it is in Nebraska.

We also just learned that LSU will play Ohio State in the BCS Championship game.  Congratulations LSU!  You earned the right.  In a system that doesn’t work, it’s refreshing that a team can play its way into the Championship Game — unlike Ohio State.  If only the so called “experts” would have gotten it 100% right and put Oklahoma in the game as well.