While the signals from sources have remained mixed in regard to Missouri's athletic future, the answer ultimately will come from six men and one woman appointed to their posts by the governor.

The seven-member Board of Curators is charged, along with the university president, with approving any proposal to switch athletic conferences, according to the university's bylaws.

How the curators feel about the Big 12 and the Southeastern Conference remains unknown. However, Big 12 interim commissioner Chuck Neinas indicated last week after speaking with chancellor Brady Deaton that Mizzou's status is still uncertain.

"What the chancellor told me is that he has some curators who are new and interested in talking about things," Neinas said. "But I do believe in the end it will be resolved."

The most recently appointed curators are David Steward, the chairman of World Wide Technology in St. Louis, and Donald Cupps, the city attorney in Cassville, Mo. Both joined the board this year. Each declined to be interviewed Monday.

While it appeared last week that the Big 12 had pulled together to save itself from annihilation, Deaton said nothing that would indicate a long-term commitment from Mizzou. Thus, reports regarding the SEC have persisted.

In the last two months, the board of regents at Texas A&M, Texas and Oklahoma have been in the spotlight for giving their presidents the power to seek a new home. Texas A&M's move to the SEC became official Monday, giving the conference 13 members as of July 2012.

In all of these talks about conference shifts the last two years, university presidents and regents have often taken center stage in the decision-making process. Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds told the Austin American-Statesman last week that sometimes regents don't always understand all that goes into realignment and conference affiliation because they don't spend as much time on it.

"We need to keep (the decision-making) between the ADs, the presidents and the coaches," Dodds said. "… You look around nationally and see people on different boards getting involved, and the collegiality (between schools) sometimes stops. We've got to empower the athletic people. The athletic people can do that."

Neinas said last week he planned to visit each campus president as one of his first priorities. However, he doesn't officially start with the conference until Oct. 3 and does not have a schedule for those visits, according to a Big 12 spokesman.

Neinas has been in Boulder, Colo., where he operates a consulting business that aids colleges in the hiring of coaches and athletic directors. He will be in Dallas today and Wednesday for the Big 12 athletic director meetings. He didn't have a chance to visit Texas A&M before Monday's announcement.

Meanwhile, Mizzou coach Gary Pinkel, who has dropped a few realignment bombshells in recent weeks, claimed ignorance on the subject of realignment during Monday's Big 12 conference call.

"I'm completely out of the loop," said Pinkel, who at Big 12 media days in July suggested Texas should just go independent and in recent radio interviews made it known where he thought the league's problems started. "I've been honest with my comments the last few weeks, so I'll stick with the comments I've made. The Big 12 has the potential to be a great league and hopefully things will get fixed."

Neinas said he expects Missouri to remain in the Big 12. Yet, he expressed concern about a possible defection, seemingly based on conversations with Deaton. He went so far as to state his belief that the conference could remain viable if Mizzou were to leave.

He further acknowledged the power of the Missouri curators last week by noting that the much-discussed grant of media rights was not a done deal, in part, because they haven't given their approval.

Here is a look at the seven members of the board, who could hold Mizzou's conference future in their hands if the SEC comes calling:

• Warren Erdman was appointed in 2007 by Gov. Matt Blunt. He attended Westminster College and is executive vice president of administration and corporate affairs for Kansas City Southern.

• David Bradley was appointed in 2009 by Gov. Jay Nixon. He attended Syracuse and is president of the News-Press & Gazette in St. Joseph.

• Cupps was appointed in 2011 by Nixon. He attended Missouri and is the city attorney for the city of Cassville and the Barry County Industrial Development Authority.

• Don Downing was appointed in 2009 by Nixon. He attended Missouri and is an officer and shareholder with the firm of Gray, Ritter and Graham in St. Louis.

• Wayne Goode was appointed in 2009 by Nixon. He attended Missouri, and after serving in the Missouri House of Representatives and Senate, he is the chairman of the Second State Capitol Commission.

• Judith Haggard was appointed in 2007 by Blunt. She attended Missouri and is a family nurse practitioner at the SEMO Health Network in Kennett.

• Steward was appointed in 2011 by Nixon. He attended Central Missouri and founded World Wide Technologies.

Tom Timmermann of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.