Last Teams Standing: The Big 12 Reorganization

[The_Blur]

The Big 12 may be dead tomorrow. ESPN journalist Eamonn Brennan wrote a beautiful homage to Kansas, the very cradle of basketball and college basketball's best program. There is no Cinderella in Kansas. Kansas is the masterful, dominat home of a true basketball calling, the source of all things basketball. Allen Fieldhouse has been repeatedly polled to be both the most feared and most loved place to play. Everyone wants to go there and lose to the Jayhawks because winning there is simply unthinkable for anyone not wearing blue.

It is understandable that other teams want to leave. Kansas is the undisputed king of basketball, so playing against Kansas is not fun anymore. For this reason, these schools, mostly oriented toward football, have elected to focus on profit and playing other football schools. That's fair. I can understand feeling the need for something new after getting punished every basketball season despite representing one of America's strongest communities of college basketball. Let's not forget that almost every NCAA basketball tournament places at least 5 Big 12 schools, not because they are Big 12 schools but because they are so good at basketball.

The consequences of this move are bad sports in general but great for money. Let's think football for a moment. Imagine if Texas and USC are now rivals in a 16-team conference. There are only 13 games in college football seasons, and just over half of those games are against conference teams. In effect, a 16-team conference would be deciding who is the best with the possibility of never playing the best 2 teams. If the highest ranked last year meet this year to decide who is better, the seniors will have all graduated. This isn't some sport with 2 years of matches to decide a winner. You get 1 winner per year, and there are going to be way too many teams fighting for that spot, many of which will never meet despite being in the same conference.

Let's get back to the home of basketball. Lawrence, Kansas, gave birth to the sport. Now, some of its greatest teams have slapped the mother in her face and left like whores in search of money in California. If they leave, I hope these powerhouses become the inferior counterparts to USC, UCLA, and their new competition in every sport they play.

I can't possibly leave this post without mentioning Missouri. For those of us who haven't stuied their midwest history, Missouri was a neutral slave state in the Civil War. Residents from Columbia all the way to the border came to Lawrence and territorial capital Lecompton with weapons and torches, burning them to the ground and killing their countrymen. Lawrence retaliated. This was the birth of a rivalry that still exists today. Missouri has decided to play both sides, the Big 10 and the Big 12, in an effort to keep everyone happy. While Nebraska, slimy as they might be to display their interest in moving the the Big 10 publicy, has made their intentions somewhat clear, Missouri remains neutral. It is history repeating. If this all comes to pass, I hope that Kansas and Kanas State get into the Big 10, too. I'm confident that Kansas continue to dominate any conference due to strong coaching and recruiting.

Kansas and Kansas State have agreed to work together, some might say like a team. If one gets into a conference, that school will push for the other school to get entry as well. That leaves Baylor and Iowa State as the only schools left. They need to decide where they want to go or how they want to handle their athletic programs. The best guess is that Baylor heads west and Iowa State, a weak athletic school, doesn't find a home at all. Alternatively, the remaining 4 schools in the Big 12, Kansas, Kansas State, Baylor, and Iowa State, all bring other schools to their community and form a new conference. This would kill Kansas' powerful basketball program unless some major players join the pack.

This ridiculous scenario is becoming a reality. Colorado announced its intention to join better schools in the Pac-10. The announcement claimed that Colorado is a perfect academic and athletic match out there. Of course they are a perfect athletic match. Almost all the teams over there can beat Colorado with the only exception being skiing.

It is sad that greed has taken some of these teams so far. The Big 12 was a powerful force in college athletics. Even if you feel that the Big 12 was inferior to another major conference, it was still on the table as a top conference. Now, the top conferences will be twice the size of reason, but the pocket-stuffing idiots who made this catastrophic decision won't look back. I guess they won't be thanking Kansas later for helping to make them so big all year instead of just in the overinflated months of football season.

[WadeWilson]

Nice write up! I hate the fact that this is happening and I'm not a BIG 12 fan. It's ridiculous to destroy the BIG 12 for greed such as this.

[The_Blur]

I went through some conferences and came to the conclusion that the Big East, Big 10, or SEC are the best potential home for basketball powerhouse Kansas. It wouldn't be a bad thing to be pitted against some of these competitors, some of whom have a tendency to share the interest of Kansas recruits, especially in basketball. We've been told, despite playing some powerhouses in what used to be our own conference, that our schedule is too weak. I have trouble believing that would be the case if we were to play the likes of Villanova, Ohio State, or Kentucky every season.

I would have expected more angry Big 12 fans to be posting in here. :(

[The_Blur]

Missouri has agreed to stay with the Big 12, according to Sports Illustrated. So far, the teams left out of expansion talk now include Kansas, Missouri, Iowa State, Baylor, and Kansas State.

Boise State has joined the Mountain West Conference. While this school is not in the Big 12, it is part of the massive expansion going on this summer.

Texas and Texas A&M are not on the same page, meaning that they might split. The best guess now is that A&M heads to the SEC while Texas either stays put or moves to the Pac-10.

Nebraska is currently in a meeting to decide whether they will move to the Big 10 or stay in the Big 12.

[The_Blur]

Nebraska has moved to the Big 10 so long as the Big 10 will have them. :( Sports Illustrated is reporting that Nebraska's decision will probably kill the Big 12 after Colorado's blow to the conference by leaving yesterday. The Cornhuskers have been playing Kansas and Missouri in football for over 100 years.

Baylor now wants the remaining Big 12 schools to remain in place in order to stay connected with other Texas schools.

[The_Blur]

It would make the most sense for all the Texas teams except Baylor to stick together. Baylor could be a conference leader in a smaller conference, so I'm less worried about their future. From a profitability standpoint, Baylor is almost completely worthless because the entire Texas market is dominated by bigger, better schools. Besides, Baylor is a private institution with a heavily religious enrollment, meaning that they don't binge drink and buy school stuff as recklessly as other students do. Baylor is not a good fit for the Big 12 or any conference with so many state schools.

K-State and Kansas have agreed to help one another. Together, they bring in almost all of Kansas' revenue. Missouri might want to join the Big 10. If Notre Dame joins the Big 10, then Missouri is in some trouble on that side of things.

The SEC might be a good fit for Kansas, but no invitations have been offered. I say this because Kansas can resume an old rivalry with Kentucky and have a strong basketball tradition there while developing a stronger football program there. The recruiting might be better, too. If Kansas makes the trip to the SEC, Texas A&M, Kansas State, and Missouri might all want to join. My guess is that Kansas would be a far cry from first on the SEC's list of desirable schools. For now, it makes the most sense for Texas A&M to go there.

Of course, if Texas A&M goes there, the other Texas and Oklahoma schools will be best off in the short term staying in the Big 12, but there would only be 9 teams. For this to work, someone needs to join, but no one has an interest in joining this nobody conference. As a result, it is inevitable that the remains of the Big 12 will leave at some point, so those schools might go ahead and head to the Pac-10. If they hit the Pac-10 without Texas A&M, the new conference will want another team. That other team could be Baylor, saving them from their fear of being alone.

In this scenario, you've Iowa State, Kansas State, Missouri, and Kansas alone. This is bad news. They would have to join the Mountain West Conference, the Big East, or the Missouri Valley Conference. The Big East would be a far stretch, so let's rule that out. The Mountain West Conference would probably have no interest in Iowa State, so that school would have to fend for itself. The Missouri Valley Conference is the best bet for them all staying together, but that conference sucks, has no recruiting power, and offers very weak funding compared to a major conference.

[Milk 1027]

I hate this.


I am and have always been a Big 12 fan. (I'm a Texan at heart). I really hope the Texas schools stick together.
In fact I wouldn't mind seeing UTEP, TCU, and Rice jump in the Big 12 to form a Texas powerhouse conference.

But that's just me dreaming

[PQ]

If Texas and Oklahoma end up in different conferences I am DONE with college football.

[Milk 1027]

Originally Posted by PQ

If Texas and Oklahoma end up in different conferences I am DONE with college football.

The only game I watch religiously besides USC vs UCLA is the red river shootout.

[Jekyll-N-Hyde]

Originally Posted by PQ

If Texas and Oklahoma end up in different conferences I am DONE with college football.

Just heard on Tv tonight that Our Game each year alone boost the TV ratings for the big12 78%

if we lose the UT/OU game and the UT/atm Game im going to Cry history is at stake and SOB's want to mess it up over what ? $$$$$$$$$$$$$$

BS

[Jay2SS109]

.

[The_Blur]

Texas is suddenly on the fence. A TV deal in the Big 12 could be close to Pac-10 numbers. Texas' decision will likely carry the support of other schools in Texas and Oklahoma.

Texas A&M appears to be leaning heavily toward the SEC. A meeting at that school will decide Wednesday.

The Mountain West Conference wants Kansas and Missouri. Kansas will likely lobby to keep Kansas State in the mix.

According to people at the school, Kansas prefers the SEC if it could have its way.

I would like to see the Big 12 stay together and invite some neighbors to join, like Memphis, Houston, TCU, or some other teams. The survivors of the Big 12 might be better off without Colorado and Nebraska.

[BigRigMike]

I really hope the Big 12 keeps it together. As a Big Ten fan I was hoping that they would have been able to add Notre Dame to get to 12 teams and stop.

I think Big 12 fans can blame this all on Notre Dame because if they said they wanted to join the Big Ten then I bet that would have been the only move this year. I really dislike Notre Dame but they would fit really well into the Big Ten.

[rmpackers]

Wow, folks you need to think outside the box and perhaps read a newspaper that doesn't have Texas in it's name.
We will miss Oklahoma the most, we have a great deal of respect and admiration for them and the team.We also have strong ties to Kansas and Turner Gill is our "son." Texas can go and suck rotten eggs on the other hand, being nothing but the deep pocketed thugs that always get their way, they lied 3 times to Dr. Tom about their intentions. We didn't want them in the Big 8 to begin with. I too felt a pang of saddness for the death of the Big 8 when the last Regent voted Friday, but have no regrets leaving this pathetic commissioner and his handlers behind.
You have to do what is best for your family, and this is by far the best thing we can do.