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COLUMBIA, MO. -- Update: Thursday, June 10 at 10:16 p.m.

KRCG News has learned University of Missouri Curators plan to meet Sunday night at 8 p.m. regarding the future of the Big 12 Conference.

Update: Thursday, June 10 at 5:21 p.m.

University of Missouri Curators remained tight-lipped as they began two days of meetings in Columbia Thursday morning amid speculation about the school’s interest in bolting the Big 12 Conference for an expanded Big 10 Conference.

UM Curator Warren Erdman said a week ago, that Mizzou had not received an invitation to apply to the Big 10 Conference for membership.

Now that University of Colorado Officials have confirmed they are the first school to leave the Big 12 for the PAC-10 Conference, MU Chancellor Brady Deaton said he plans to talk to University of Texas administrators about the future of the Big 12.  Deaton would not comment on any conference speculation. 

“It’s a great university," Deaton said. "It’s a great conference that we are in. We are very competitive. We’re excited about that. We are looking forward to continuing. That’s where we are.”

Rumors said Texas is also thinking about joining the PAC-10 along with Colorado while Missouri is thinking about joining the Big 10 along with Nebraska. 

If both Colorado and Nebraska leave the Big 12, and if Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State join Colorado in leaving for the PAC-10, that would likely be the end of the Big 12 Conference. 

Chancellor Deaton said that anything could happen, and we’re working hard to hang together.

The Board of Curators will hold a news conference on Friday where they might make a public statement on any conference changes. 

Chancellor Deaton said it’s not up to him. Conference selection is a Curator decision.

Update: Thursday, June 10 at 11:45 a.m.

Curators said nothing to dispel or encourage rumors Thursday regarding speculation about MU going to the Big 10.

Chancellor Brady Deaton arrived at the closed University of Missouri Board of Curators meeting to talk to reporters and repeated what he has been saying since speculation began.

“They are proud of being part of the Big 12 and the fans need to keep moving forward,” Deaton said.

Curator President Bo Frasier said that he was not able to share any information regarding the closed session.

The curators will have a press confermce Friday where they might make a public statement.

Update: Thursday, June 10 at 11:15 a.m.

Curator Warren Erdman said Thursday that Missouri had not been asked to join the Big Ten. Erdman noted that he had been out of state the past week but wasn't aware of any change in the situation.

Previous Story:

University of Missouri curators are opening two days of meetings in Columbia amid speculation about the school's interest in bolting the Big 12 for an expanded Big Ten Conference.

The 10-member Board of Curators planned to go into a closed session immediately upon convening Thursday morning, then hold a public session in the afternoon. A meeting agenda advises that curators and system President Gary Forsee won't publicly discuss conference realignment.

Published reports suggest the Big 12 has given Missouri and Nebraska a Friday deadline to affirm their commitment to the 14-year-old conference.

But that timetable doesn't mesh with the Big Ten's stated intent to wait until later this year or even 2011 before deciding whether to add more schools.