Big 10, Pac 10 Realignment

The Big 10 talked about conference expansion in the late 90s, correct? They were going after ND. MU however put their name out there just like they are now. The Big 10 didn’t want them then, and they don’t want them now. The only difference these days is technology. With Facebook, Twitter, and everything being on the internet, it has sent all of these “conference realignment” rumors everywhere. They are so heavy now that people have no choice but to believe this is going to happen. So if other conferences think it’s going to happen, they don’t want to get left in the dark. They want to shoot for the moon too and have at least 16 teams in their conference. So now, it’s bound to happen. The only thing is, I still don’t think MU is going to the Big 10 if ND accepts an invitation. ND will most likely want to keep it as a 12 team league. But, if ND doesn’t accept, and the Pac 10 becomes the Pac 16, then I see the Big 10 extending offers to MU, NU and others.

As for KU, I honestly believe the only way we get held back from another conference is if KSUcks is tied to us. They have nothing to offer an academic conference. Stanford has already expressed this concern for the Pac 10. If we aren’t tied to the kittens, and if expansion really does happen, I think we are safe. The Pac 10, Big 10, or SEC will want KU. Our only chance at a current BCS conference if tied to KU would be the SEC. I could possibly even see OU and OSU joining us if that were to happen. That’s assuming OU doesn’t follow UT, which they probably would.

especially for all the schools who haven’t been speculated to receive any invites.

you would certainly think it would weigh on the minds of recruits when deciding a school. Now IF, and it’s a big IF, KU can somehow get scooped up into the Pac10 with Texas…I think we see a boost in recruiting.

 I know it gets debated, but in talking with recruits in the state of Texas they definitely hold the conference where Texas plays in high regard. If KU moves to the Pac10 with Texas and Missouri and Nebraska end up in the Big 10…I think KU could become a more attractive option if they can remain competitive. Again this is a big IF and something down the road to think about, but who knows…it could help.

Link

In my mind, Colorado is clearly more of a Pac10 school than Baylor. Yet if Texas says Baylor, the Pac10 just might do it.

but there is no way that happens. That would be the worst fit out there for KU geographically speaking.

talk about losing everything you’ve identified with for years. Moving to the Big East and suddenly Kansas plays what Louisville, Cincinnati…? I’d rather go Mountain West at that point.

would that be a good place to land for KU and K-State (because the article mentions K-State as well)?

At that point I think the MWC has a better shot at becoming a BCS level conference and the Big East will most likely lose their BCS affiliation. Like Denver says above – the MWC would be a better fit and probably more of a sustainable conference.

Look, we’re not exactly chopped liver here. Some BCS conference is prolly going to view what KU brings to the table as an asset.

Did that sound completely desperate?

will have to be re-negotiated.

Perkins and others have mentioned that BCS schools have and are discussing breaking away from the NCAA. I hate the idea of being left out of that group when the time comes.

Where do you start without knowing what happens with the Big 10 and Pac10?

Does anyone believe that a Pac16 would be happy with only one automatic qualifier for the BCS?

those schools are staying?

That a school like Baylor or CU would get in over us. Really irks me

A jump from $130MM in 2009. Let’s say it jumps to $145MM next year, and $150MM in 2012.

$295MM / 4 = $73.75MM for us. I’d take that. We could finally get that gold plating for the basketball team’s jet we’ve always wanted!

But yes, you are too late.

it definitely has taken a true revenue generating sport and made it almost appear completely unimportant. This after tourney expansion talk, a new record breaking tourney TV deal and a lot of positive indicators coming from the recent tourney.

It’s watered down the product, IMO. If the NCAA stood up and made requirements for D-1 qualification, quality of play would improve and I think ratings would go up.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: why the hell is UMKC a D-1 basketball program?

Just kidding(kinda) :-)

Except the part about Lew- people need to get the f*ck over having to pay more money for the best seats at basketball games. Heh.

There’s no reason at all why KU and KState “need” to be in the same conference. If the Kansas legislature simply want to ensure that we continue to play eachother, that’s fine. We could easily keep the football and basketball series going in non-conference play. Way back when the talk of MU leaving first started, it was just assumed by most of us I think that we would just continue the rivalry OOC, like CU/CSU, or any of the examples you provided.

Anyways, I agree that we need allies right now, and I feel like KState is a decent one to have, at least from a competitive standpoint. If the Pac ends up taking CU, then us, KSU, and Baylor all have recent trips to at least the Elite Eight in hoops. We could take that pedigree and build the foundation of a great basketball conference. ISU also has a strong bball tradition, and it seems like Memphis would jump at the chance. There’s five teams right there without even trying.

of completely separate affiliations with each sport. At this point it makes sense since football is driving all of this…why not just break it off by sport and get the best deal possible for every program in every scenario. Not like rivalries or anything matter anymore.

Whether or not the Boards of Regents and Topeka allow them to separate though is a different question and it seems like they want them together.

Missouri only has one major BCS-type athletic school, and sports a population twice that of KS, and includes two top-30 tv markets. That is why.

 which is what it boils down to compared to the rest of the state. And MU has some things KU does not like 2 research reactors would be 1 example.

the most likely scenario at this point. I’m not saying I like it, but I think it’s probably going to happen.

it puts us on par with the MAC or maybe the Big East on a good day.

But would much rather look into creating our own basketball conference, to be honest. Other than Utah and UNLV, there just isn’t a history of success from any of those schools—and we value the history of college basketball pretty highly. Our arena is essentially a museum (with a bitchin’ scoreboard system), and one of the main roads through campus is Naismith Drive.

Unless MU or NU get in too.

The bylaws of the Big 10/11 require contiguous borders. KS currently doesn’t not neighbor any Big 10 country.

and discarding three aces.

In all this conference realignment bs I think you have to thow out speculation based upon the strength of a program today. Football is cyclical. Yes OU is strong today. But 10 years ago OU sucked. Yes BSU is strong today. Ten years ago….not so much. What does the future hold? Nobody can be sure. But we can be sure that power shifts. It always has. So designing a conference based upon the strengths of a team today is a fools game. In my opinion anyway.

I’m not sure we’d want to touch the SEC, but if the nightmare scenario unfolds I’d learn to live with it.

our fans would actually see what it’s like to be a football school. Maybe then we could have a packed house for the whole game. Maybe, just maybe…

you would think someone would jump at the chance at seeing UK vs. KU twice a year in bball

KU is a basketball school in what has become a college football world. Really shows how far college basketball has fallen in general… expansion is being fueled by $$$, and when it comes to the cashish, college football is king.

Who knows, this may turn out to be much ado about nothing if Nebraska turns down the Big 10 or Notre Dame beats them to the punch by taking a Big 10 bid.

the better parts of the Mountain West and the WAC to make a solid conference. If you combined those two NOW you’d nearly have a BCS-quality conference.

as long as we recruit in states of Texas and Oklahoma each year we’d have to make sure we’re playing in what ever conference they’re playing in. We have some pipelines and if things were to change, I don’t know how much recruiting chatter we’d get west of the Rockies.

though – I don’t like the idea of a 16-team conference…

Note to self: become member of KU basketball team.

I was beginning to get depressed. Now I have nothing to worry about because there is no way this gets done before then : )

plus we’ve had I believe 4 other Big 12 schools represented including our two main rivals and even that has stayed very constructive. We’ll be bumping this back to the top of the page in the morning as needed.

The only thing I disagree with is the idea that we can join another conference (MWC) and ask them to kick out members. That too me is no different than the Big XII getting raided.

And this has been touched on before, but the current BCS agreement would totally screw over a power conference. One last thought, lets say the Big XII does get raided is it conceivable that the Big XII could guilt ND into joining based on the idea of being good people?

that is one of the funniest things i have ever seen…the iowa state bit is epic…

Obviously, the preference is to keep them together, but I have a feeling if push were to come to shove, it’d be every school for itself. And I have a feeling that’s gonna happen a lot sooner rather than later.

If USC gets buttfarced pretty hard that leaves what, Oregon as the conference’s leading football team/program at the moment? The Warshington schools suck, UCLA is still rebuilding, Oregon schools both 8-9 win type programs at this point, Stanford and the Arizona schools will be average…

I’d go hard after Texas as well. Really if the Pac 10 DOESN’T land these teams its pretty average to below average in football and basketball as well

I’ve learned pretty quickly that Coach Gill knows how to say all the right things. And “pretty much somewhat cautiously” is pure brilliance.

He wins no matter what. He’s one of the highest paid coaches in the Big 12. He’ll definitely be one of the highest paid coaches among the independents. Or Missouri Valley. Or Mountian West. Or……

The Texas schools bolt and we preserve the old Big 6 along with some MWC and WAC schools to form the Eastern Division of the PAC-whatever…

in terms of the CU and Utah deal…not sure anyone knows the final deal.

…I really don’t want another Texas school.

and go after Iowa.

They’ve slipped to “after thought” behind UofM, PSU, and OSU anyway. Maybe their pissed out it. But they could be a seriously player in the Big 12 North.

Obviously, ND or Texas would be huge gets for the Big 10, but they’ve also targeted (allegedly) Rutgers (for the NY market), Pitt (for that market) and others, so there are a few schools that might (emphasis on the might) fit the bill.

Isn’t any 12th team going to bring value to the Big Ten simply by allowing them to have that game at the end of their season?

If the BTN needs to add a school that makes more than $20 million, then essentially they are taking money from them.

Let’s say the Big Ten adds only UT, and then makes $32 million in Texas. It distributes the money evenly meaning each of the twelve Big I-Can’t-Count-Past-Ten schools, so Texas gets $21 million and watches $11 million walk out of the state.

Texas sucks in a lot of ways, but one thing they are good at is not being the suckers in any equation. They’d rather no one make money at all instead of someone making more money than them. Some other states might roll over and let the deal happen because they don’t have the desire to deal with it, and because they want to be playing the other Big 10 teams because of history or whatever. But I’m not seeing how the normal BTN deal makes sense for Texas. Maybe I’m missing something.

that’s what Texas wants. But unfortunately they can’t control CU, NU, and MU. But like your friend, I honestly think that nothing is going to happen. Texas doesn’t want to leave and would only have to if NU and MU left. I really don’t think that the Big 10 will invite MU. I don’t think that MU would provide enough revenue for them. The schools would probably lose out on close to $1M a year adding them. IMO

would be a twist….Colorado rivals. still saying they believe CU has an invite but no announcement coming