Big 12 (and 10) Quotes & Notes

■ Nebraska fires Mike Anderson (Baseball America)

Osborne said he has no definitive timetable for hiring a replacement. With the Cornhuskers heading to the Big Ten next year, long-time Minnesota assistant Rob Fornasiere might be a good fit. Fornasiere knows the ins and outs of the Big Ten, and BA's 2008 Assistant Coach of the Year has proven he can build a winner at a cold-weather school. Other top assistants in that general region include Oklahoma's Tim Tadlock, Baylor's Mitch Thompson (the 2006 Assistant Coach of the Year), Oklahoma State's Billy Jones and Texas Christian's Tony Vitello (who helped build six straight regional teams at Missouri).

■ KU's year as bad as it gets (KUSports.com)

Sunday’s results, 13-9 and 10-6 losses to Kansas State in the final games played on KU’s campus in any sport during the 2010-2011 school year, were a pretty fair representation of how things went for all Jayhawks teams, except the franchise.

Why all the losing? Geography and facilities, more than ever, play a big role in success. A clever, hard-working coach used to be able to close the gap by finding hidden recruiting gems, but that’s more difficult to do because nearly every school has work-obsessed coaches now. Sleepers are tougher to find because the best athletes have so many more means for exposure.
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Oh well, at least the year has ended. Look at it this way: Next year can’t be any worse.

■ Fans speak out on Big 12 expansion (ESPN.com)

Nebraska was the only program you heard express concerns about a "Texas-centric" league, but apparently they weren't the only ones who believed that was the case. I'd expect administrators from those four schools to express similar concerns if the Big 12 ever explores inviting new teams.
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Doesn't the Big XII's clear commitment to school owned networks suggest they're trying to land a pair of independents? Specifically, Notre Dame and BYU? I know it seems far-fetched, but I can't see any other conference making the kinds of TV concessions the Big XII is currently making to OU and Texas, even to land Notre Dame.