KU’s Conference Realignment Pro-Con List

Ever since Texas and Oklahoma slid into the SEC’s DMs, speculation has been swirling around the fate of the University of Kansas and the other remaining Big 12 schools. The Big Ten rumor has picked up a lot of steam. At one point there was talk of a Pac 12-Big 12 merger. And schools from Houston and Cincinnati to Boise State and BYU have been mentioned as possible additions to the latest iteration of the Big 12.

Mike Vernon is a must-follow on Twitter for anyone remotely interested in KU’s position in this chaos. And our own Mike Plank also wrote a great piece breaking down realignment that you should definitely read.

I am not trying to step into their lanes and predict what is going to happen or what it may look like. But with so many options that have at least been floated out into the ether, there are also lots of opinions and reactions coming out along with them.

Which path is best? It can be tough to say. Sometimes it’s best to just lay out all of the reasons for consideration in the form of a pro/con list.

Big Ten

Pro

• KU is already used to being in a “Big” conference whose name doesn’t match the number of members.
• RCT already has plenty of “Jayhawks Maul Hawkeyes” headlines ready to go.
• The look on Nebraska’s face when we roll in would be great.

Con

• Ohio State football fans
• Remember when the conference labeled its divisions “Leaders” and “Legends”? Come on now, that was embarrassing.

New Big 12

Pro

• KU is finally free of its two emotionally abusive exes and maybe it’s a good idea to have some “me” time and not seek out another relationship so soon.
• Beating KSU all the time is fun and it can be tough for younger brothers when older brothers go off on their own.
• If a Big 12 team made a College Football Playoff before Texas, the jokes would be *chef’s kiss.*

Con

• Horned Frogs Down doesn’t have quite the same ring to it.
• You know Oklahoma State or Baylor are going to try and become alphas now that Texas and OU are gone and that’s going to be annoying to listen to.

Pac 12

Pro

• LA, Seattle, and Boulder are major upgrades for road-game cities compared to the likes of Lubbock, Morgantown, and Manhattan.
• Colorado can turn back into Allen Fieldhouse West.
• The chance to get weird with some Pac-12 After Dark games is very high.

Con

• The Pac 12 Network is actually a figment of our collective imagination.
• The Conference of Champions forgot about the whole “champions” part.
• I’d say the Pacific time zone start times would be rough with people with small kids (speaking from experience) but again, the Pac 12 Network isn’t a real thing. The game video just floats into the ether.