Harkin calls for public involvement to keep Big 12 together

Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin weighed in Thursday morning on the changing landscape of college athletics during his weekly conference call with Iowa reporters. Here's what he had to say:

“Well, while I am opposed to the kind of mischief that's going on with the Big 10 and the Pacific conference, I just don't know if this is a proper place for Congress to get involved unless there is something dealing with anti-trust or something like that, like interstate commerce.

“It's interesting that those who are always going after the long arm of the federal government, that the federal government is too intrusive, the federal government is too big, now they are calling on the federal government to get involved in sports.

“The most important thing is for public pressure, for the public to be involved. The citizens of Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska and Oklahoma and all of the Big 12 all ought to get together and say we have a good Big 12 conference and we want to keep it that way.

“I'm hopeful that one of those states would not somehow see it to their slight economic advantage to leave the Big 12 to join the Big 10 so the Big 10 becomes the Big 12 or Big 13 or Big 14 or something like that."

Harkin is a 1962 Iowa State graduate.