For two years the Big 12 has been the conference that others have come to raid when addressing the conference alignment game. First it was the Big 10 and Pac 10, then the SEC came along to snag a piece of the "crumbling" Big 12. Now, finally, the tables seem to have turned. Big, bad Texas seems ready to cooperate and work toward the greater good and all seems to be playing out nicely for a conference that had twice been on the brink of dissolving.

As a Kansas fan this is GREAT news. Our loyalty or perhaps lack of options, has been rewarded. While others found new homes or frantically lobbied for validation, we stuck by our previous alliances because it made the most sense to Kansas.

I've sat with Nebraska fans less than a year ago who claimed that Texas had ruined the Big 12 and Kansas was going down with the ship to the Mountain West. I've listened to Colorado fans talk about how they are too 'West coast' to take trips to Lawrence and they will recruit California and compete in the Pac 12. And of course this past year we heard the SEC chants from Mizzou fans while they celebrated their greatest achievement in Big 12 history, leaving.

With Friday's announcement the picture surrounding the four power conferences and who will comprise that group are becoming more clear. The aforementioned SEC has chosen to align itself with none other than the Big 12. With the Pac 12 and Big 10 already aligned in the Rose Bowl, things are starting to look very murky for the ACC and even worse for an already failing Big East.

The college football playoff is creeping ever closer. The leagues that will make up that playoff are starting to take shape. It would appear that the stage is set for further realignment and perhaps the power conference end game that we've been hearing about for three years. Fortunately for the first time in three years, it's good to be the Big 12 when it comes to the now infamous word...conference realignment.