Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Expansion Round 1 Epilogue
So expansion has come and gone, and it seems a little anticlimactic. Boise State went to the Mountain West. Nebraska went to the Big Ten. Colorado and Utah have gone to the Pac 10, but it could have been so much worse. I am sure people in Lawrence and Ames are celebrating the fact that Texas kept their conference together by getting what could or couldn't be (the exact details of the deal are still hazy) one of the most lopsided conference television deals ever. The folks in Dan Beebe's office likely are patting themselves on the back for selling the conference members on a television deal that doesn't actually exist yet.
I grew up in Kansas City and I know how people there are elated to hear that the conference that allowed the city that we love to enjoy college sports so close to home was going to live to fight another day. But I want to ask my friends back home, and perhaps the fine folks in Ames, Lawrence, Manhattan, Columbia, and the Big XII offices, one question, what do we do to prevent this in the future?
Friday, June 11, 2010
Nebraska to the Big Ten: Who deserves the blame?
This video now accompanies all discussion of conference realignment and the Big XII
Today the University of Nebraska-Lincoln announced that it will be joining the Big Ten conference in the 2011-2012 season. It really wasn't a shock since we really knew it was going to happen since Thursday.
I will get to welcoming the Cornhuskers later, there is one issue here that I honestly think deserves a little more attention right now because the National Media, particularly Daivd Ubben of ESPN, has this completely wrong.
Who do we blame for the demise of the Big XII conference?
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
It has become a little difficult to ignore the fever pitch volume that expansion rumors have reached recently. The Colorado Board of Regents ismeeting tonight to discuss possibly moving to the Pac10, the Big XII has issued ultimatums to Nebraska and Missouri, Baylor and Kansas are pleading for their fellow conference members to stay, and the Big Ten is still rummored to be chasing Notre Dame.
It is big, and rightfully so. This could ultimatly change the way we watch college football for the next 100 years, or maybe not.
We don't really know what is going on. Until someone goes on the record saying "Team A is going to go (stay with) conference B" we don't have any evidence that any expansion will happen at all.
What is important to remember at this point is that everyone wants something. Some want change (Missouri, Nebraska, presumably the Big Ten) some want the status quo (Notre Dame, Dan Beebe, the Kansas schools) but to them, the reality has hit that not everything is in their control. As the philosopher Jagger so eloquently put it:
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Someone has to lose here, whether it is Jim Delaney or Jamie Pollard (though to be fair Jamie Pollard losses regardless of what happens since he is still Jaime Pollard). At the end of the day someone is going to end up being the goat in all of this. In that vein, I present the top ten bigest potential losers at the end of expansion.
10. Boise State: The Broncos were put on hold by the Mountain West this past week as the league waits to see what will happen with the Big XII. If the Big XII melts down, there isadistinct possibility that the Mountain West could say no thanks to Boise State and add more of the leftovers from the Big XII.
9. The Pac 10: How stupid will the Pac 10 look if they get turned down? Not as bad as the Big Ten will, but it is never good for big schools like Texas to reject you publicly. The Pac 10 doesn't need to look idiculous right now and a rejection from the Big XII would be pretty embarassing.
8. The SEC: The SEC is at a disadvantage when it comes to expansion, and if the Pac 10 taks the six previously mentioned Big XII teams, the pickings will be extremely slim. The ACC may not be the same in football competition but it is hardly a lame duck athletic conference and the academics in the ACC are a much bigger selling point than they are in the SEC. While the ACC certainly doesn't have the academic ties that the Pac 10 and the Big Ten have between their conference members, schools would potentially be looking at an academic downgrade by moving to the SEC, and that might keep moreacademically minded presidents like the ones at Miami and Georgia Tech from pulling the trigger on switching. If the league has to expand to keep up with the Big Ten and Pac10 the league will have an extremely difficult time keeping p.u
7. The ACC: As I mentioned, the ACC has an academic advantage over the SEC, but that doesn't make them completely immune. Schools like Clemson and Florida State are still viable targets for the SEC. Also, the ACC is the least equipped league to join in the arms race because the are financially the weakest link. The league could feast on the Big East remains once the Big Ten is done, but it will hardly command the kind of exposure, revenue, or fan support that the Big Ten, Pac 10, and SEC do.
6. The Big Ten: This has been built up to a boiling point and Jim Delaney is in the center of it all. If the Big Ten gets rejected the league will be facing a PR disaster and something that could do some real damage to a league with an already fragile reputation.
5. The Big East: Regardless of whether the Big Ten actually decides to raid the conference, the potential of losing Notre Dame,even innon-revenue sports, is a big problem. Not only that, but the threat of the ACC looms ever present. If the Big Ten and Pac10 do indeed expand to become super conferences, then the ACC will be inclined to raid the viable members of the Big East, something the league would probably not be able to recover from.
4. Baylor/ Colorado: Word is that the Texas school is hoping to piggyback it's way to the Pac 10 and edgeout the Buffalos. Not so fast, Colorado won't go quietly, and there is no indication that the Texas legislature will be able to force Texas to make Baylor part of the deal. One of these schools has to lose, and whoever it is likely ends up in the Mountain West or Conference USA.
3. Kansas: The Jayhawks seem to be grasping at strawsand it is a shame since they are hampered moreby geography than anything else. The fact that the state legislature is likely going to force KU to become a package deal with Kansas State. The Jayhawks could end up just about anywhere that isn't currently a major conference but that means ahuge step down in money.
2. Notre Dame: Just how much is independence a part of Notre Dame's identity? Enough that if theIrish toanounce intentions tojoin the Big Ten there could be serious threats of riots in South Bend. Notre Dame's identity is incredibly intertwined with the Independence. Losing that could have massive implications for the mystic of Notre Dame and theway that the athletic department is viewed in the future.
1. The rest of the Big XII: This is simple. Kansas State and Iowa State are in the worst position of anyone. they command no major revenue centers, have aboslutely no chance of being admitted to a major conference unless they are paired with their other in state institutions. At the end of the day, no matter what happens, this whole drama has shown to everyone that the Wildcats and Cyclones are expendable, and this could end up puttign a lot of pressureon the universities to makesurethatthey areina better position ofstrength next time around, if there is a next time.
It is big, and rightfully so. This could ultimatly change the way we watch college football for the next 100 years, or maybe not.
We don't really know what is going on. Until someone goes on the record saying "Team A is going to go (stay with) conference B" we don't have any evidence that any expansion will happen at all.
What is important to remember at this point is that everyone wants something. Some want change (Missouri, Nebraska, presumably the Big Ten) some want the status quo (Notre Dame, Dan Beebe, the Kansas schools) but to them, the reality has hit that not everything is in their control. As the philosopher Jagger so eloquently put it:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Someone has to lose here, whether it is Jim Delaney or Jamie Pollard (though to be fair Jamie Pollard losses regardless of what happens since he is still Jaime Pollard). At the end of the day someone is going to end up being the goat in all of this. In that vein, I present the top ten bigest potential losers at the end of expansion.
10. Boise State: The Broncos were put on hold by the Mountain West this past week as the league waits to see what will happen with the Big XII. If the Big XII melts down, there isadistinct possibility that the Mountain West could say no thanks to Boise State and add more of the leftovers from the Big XII.
9. The Pac 10: How stupid will the Pac 10 look if they get turned down? Not as bad as the Big Ten will, but it is never good for big schools like Texas to reject you publicly. The Pac 10 doesn't need to look idiculous right now and a rejection from the Big XII would be pretty embarassing.
8. The SEC: The SEC is at a disadvantage when it comes to expansion, and if the Pac 10 taks the six previously mentioned Big XII teams, the pickings will be extremely slim. The ACC may not be the same in football competition but it is hardly a lame duck athletic conference and the academics in the ACC are a much bigger selling point than they are in the SEC. While the ACC certainly doesn't have the academic ties that the Pac 10 and the Big Ten have between their conference members, schools would potentially be looking at an academic downgrade by moving to the SEC, and that might keep moreacademically minded presidents like the ones at Miami and Georgia Tech from pulling the trigger on switching. If the league has to expand to keep up with the Big Ten and Pac10 the league will have an extremely difficult time keeping p.u
7. The ACC: As I mentioned, the ACC has an academic advantage over the SEC, but that doesn't make them completely immune. Schools like Clemson and Florida State are still viable targets for the SEC. Also, the ACC is the least equipped league to join in the arms race because the are financially the weakest link. The league could feast on the Big East remains once the Big Ten is done, but it will hardly command the kind of exposure, revenue, or fan support that the Big Ten, Pac 10, and SEC do.
6. The Big Ten: This has been built up to a boiling point and Jim Delaney is in the center of it all. If the Big Ten gets rejected the league will be facing a PR disaster and something that could do some real damage to a league with an already fragile reputation.
5. The Big East: Regardless of whether the Big Ten actually decides to raid the conference, the potential of losing Notre Dame,even innon-revenue sports, is a big problem. Not only that, but the threat of the ACC looms ever present. If the Big Ten and Pac10 do indeed expand to become super conferences, then the ACC will be inclined to raid the viable members of the Big East, something the league would probably not be able to recover from.
4. Baylor/ Colorado: Word is that the Texas school is hoping to piggyback it's way to the Pac 10 and edgeout the Buffalos. Not so fast, Colorado won't go quietly, and there is no indication that the Texas legislature will be able to force Texas to make Baylor part of the deal. One of these schools has to lose, and whoever it is likely ends up in the Mountain West or Conference USA.
3. Kansas: The Jayhawks seem to be grasping at strawsand it is a shame since they are hampered moreby geography than anything else. The fact that the state legislature is likely going to force KU to become a package deal with Kansas State. The Jayhawks could end up just about anywhere that isn't currently a major conference but that means ahuge step down in money.
2. Notre Dame: Just how much is independence a part of Notre Dame's identity? Enough that if theIrish toanounce intentions tojoin the Big Ten there could be serious threats of riots in South Bend. Notre Dame's identity is incredibly intertwined with the Independence. Losing that could have massive implications for the mystic of Notre Dame and theway that the athletic department is viewed in the future.
1. The rest of the Big XII: This is simple. Kansas State and Iowa State are in the worst position of anyone. they command no major revenue centers, have aboslutely no chance of being admitted to a major conference unless they are paired with their other in state institutions. At the end of the day, no matter what happens, this whole drama has shown to everyone that the Wildcats and Cyclones are expendable, and this could end up puttign a lot of pressureon the universities to makesurethatthey areina better position ofstrength next time around, if there is a next time.
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