Sad article on conference expansion

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Handsome Pete

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http://www.kansascity.com/2010/06/10/2008130/is-this-the-worst-day-in-kansas.html

Thought this was worth sharing. It is a long article from the Kansas City paper titled "Is This the Worst Day in Kansas City Sports History?"

While we are discussing the relative merits of adding Nebraska and continuing on to conference domination, there are a bunch of schools that are on the outside looking in. All of these schools have alumni like the guys and gals on this board and I couldn't help but feel a bit of a pit in my stomach reading this article.

Schools like Kansas and Missouri will never be mid-majors. I hope they find their way in this new era. And I hope everyone has an appreciation for how truly revolutionary these present days and weeks are in the scope of college sports history.
 

This is the beginning of the end and a very sad day for Division I college football as we have always known it - and loved it. Tradition is what has always made college football special even if your favorite team was a habitual loser. We are now losing that tradition and long standing natural rivalries are being torn apart.

The future of Division I college football will be primarily about money - and the relatively few schools who will have it. Those schools will be able to use their money to win conference and national championships to the almost total exclusion of the large majority of schools where all hope will die that they will ever be able to put together a dream season where everything comes together for them.
 

Handsome Pete said:
http://www.kansascity.com/2010/06/10/2008130/is-this-the-worst-day-in-kansas.html

Thought this was worth sharing. It is a long article from the Kansas City paper titled "Is This the Worst Day in Kansas City Sports History?"

While we are discussing the relative merits of adding Nebraska and continuing on to conference domination, there are a bunch of schools that are on the outside looking in. All of these schools have alumni like the guys and gals on this board and I couldn't help but feel a bit of a pit in my stomach reading this article.

Schools like Kansas and Missouri will never be mid-majors. I hope they find their way in this new era. And I hope everyone has an appreciation for how truly revolutionary these present days and weeks are in the scope of college sports history.
Click to expand...

Too bad, so sad for them. If Kansas and Kansas State had better academic programs they would have been serious considerations for the Big Ten.
 

UpnorthGo4 said:
This is the beginning of the end and a very sad day for Division I college football as we have always known it - and loved it. Tradition is what has always made college football special even if your favorite team was a habitual loser. We are now losing that tradition and long standing natural rivalries are being torn apart.

The future of Division I college football will be primarily about money - and the relatively few schools who will have it. Those schools will be able to use their money to win conference and national championships to the almost total exclusion of the large majority of schools where all hope will die that they will ever be able to put together a dream season where everything comes together for them.
Click to expand...

I agree completely, the way the conference lines up its divisions and rivalry games will be telling. I think the changes taking place will add initial excitement, but in the long run will lead us down a path of change that will lead to the playoff system that so many people are demanding. Frankly, given the growing importance of finances in college athletics, I think we will see a system that soon looks lots like the NCAA Hoops tourney. Some wonderful years yes (see 2010 FF) but more likely a monopoly of a small number of mega-powers. Most years, I couldn't care less about the FF because its really a monoploy of about 8 schools (is it really exciting to see if Kentucky, MSU or Duke along with a few others are in the final every year?). Add the larger revenue differentials between a school like Ohio State and Minnesota, include the fact that unlike hoops one or two players can't change the fortunes of a team on their own and presto... Welcome to the Ohio State, Texas, Florida and Alabama tournament. It will make the likelihood of a Minnesota or Arizona State or even Iowa or Georgia Tech breakout year that much tougher IMO. We'll see.
 

Handsome Pete said:
http://www.kansascity.com/2010/06/10/2008130/is-this-the-worst-day-in-kansas.html

Thought this was worth sharing. It is a long article from the Kansas City paper titled "Is This the Worst Day in Kansas City Sports History?"

While we are discussing the relative merits of adding Nebraska and continuing on to conference domination, there are a bunch of schools that are on the outside looking in. All of these schools have alumni like the guys and gals on this board and I couldn't help but feel a bit of a pit in my stomach reading this article.

Schools like Kansas and Missouri will never be mid-majors. I hope they find their way in this new era. And I hope everyone has an appreciation for how truly revolutionary these present days and weeks are in the scope of college sports history.
Click to expand...

I have some empathy for them, but not much. My own opinion is that these schools have made their own beds. The strength of the Big Ten has historically been its cooperation and respect for each others schools. The leadership of the Big XII schools has been awful, a large reason we now have Nebraska in the Big Ten is because of the poor shortsighted leadership of the remaining schools of the Big XII (ask a Husker fan about the voting tendencies of their former conference partners). I'd argue that given the way their leadership has acted and the fact that they are decent, not great academic schools, they are by definition mid-major. SCSU has as many students and similar academics as KU and Mizzou and we call them mid-major too. The thing people need to get through their heads is that a great hoops program doesn't make a University. These schools and their fans (through their own priorities) have sealed their own fates. The lesson here is that our leadership and fans/supporters should be watching what is happening in those places as a cautionary tale. Hope this helps. :p
 


I just don't see all the doom and gloom that is being talked about.

Conferences like the Big Ten have equal revenue distribution...that's what allows the smaller schools to compete. The Big 12 is dead because they had a non-equal revenue model and it made some schools pissed.

The bowls are non-revenue equal for conferences...and that is a big reason that whole system will eventually collapse. If we go to 4 super confernces...the majority of D1 schools will be on the outside looking in...and will be forced to make a move that forces a playoff system.

A playoff will earn more money for all D1 schools and for the participating school's conferences...in the end all schools benefit. Scholarship limits have already been put in place to give all schools better competitive balance...that isn't being taken away.

I just think a playoff is inevitable...even if it ends up because the congressmen from Kansas forces it becuase his schools go hosed.
 

Like it or not, big time college sports run on money. The MIAC is right there for those who want college sports the old fashioned way.
 

It is a good thing that ignorance is usually reserved for the young. I have been waiting for another Gopher Big 10 Football Championship for over 40 years and it is now a virtual certainty that it will never come for me. Most of you guys have not witnessed even one Gopher Big 10 Championship, and in all probability you never will.

I will keep attending Gopher games like I have for many years because I have my memories from when the Gopher were champions to sustain me. What is going to keep you guys interested for the rest of your lives? If winning the occasional trophy game is enough then I applaud you for that. Unfortunately, there will never be many Minnesotans who will share your passion for the Gophers.
 

The possibility exists that many schools may revert to being educational institutions. A school like K-State may lose a big piece of it's athletic budget with a very big drop in football $$$. We could end up with 64 schools with major football programs and with the exception of a few roundball schools (Kansas and Memphis) and a few others this may mean large athletic dept shrinkage.

In addition there are rumors of attorneys putting together big time class action lawsuits over the concussion/brain damage issue and one big victory here and college football could be hammered. There are lots of things happening right now that could have far reaching effects on the sport as we loved it when there really was a "Big Ten". This is a sport further into flux than many realize.
 



vinko bogataj said:
I have some empathy for them, but not much. My own opinion is that these schools have made their own beds. The strength of the Big Ten has historically been its cooperation and respect for each others schools. The leadership of the Big XII schools has been awful, a large reason we now have Nebraska in the Big Ten is because of the poor shortsighted leadership of the remaining schools of the Big XII (ask a Husker fan about the voting tendencies of their former conference partners). I'd argue that given the way their leadership has acted and the fact that they are decent, not great academic schools, they are by definition mid-major. SCSU has as many students and similar academics as KU and Mizzou and we call them mid-major too. The thing people need to get through their heads is that a great hoops program doesn't make a University. These schools and their fans (through their own priorities) have sealed their own fates. The lesson here is that our leadership and fans/supporters should be watching what is happening in those places as a cautionary tale. Hope this helps. :p
Click to expand...

I like this post, and the rest of them describing the current situation as academic as opposed to football-oriented. Kansas, KSU, and Missouri are academic bottom feeders. So is Nebraska, truth be told, but they are the tops in the Big XII outside of Texas and TAM. It was a putrid conference academically, and I like the view that those who trade academics for athletics get their just desserts.
 

UpnorthGo4 said:
This is the beginning of the end and a very sad day for Division I college football as we have always known it - and loved it. Tradition is what has always made college football special even if your favorite team was a habitual loser. We are now losing that tradition and long standing natural rivalries are being torn apart.

The future of Division I college football will be primarily about money - and the relatively few schools who will have it. Those schools will be able to use their money to win conference and national championships to the almost total exclusion of the large majority of schools where all hope will die that they will ever be able to put together a dream season where everything comes together for them.
Click to expand...


Absolutely correct. I share the sadness. I just read on another board about the pres of FedEx offering any BCS conference $10 million a year to pick up Memphis. The $ is king today. The days when there were only 10 teams in the Big 10, and the desired end-game for any Big 10 team was the Rose Bowl, is a fading memory. We'll be at 16 teams before we know it. We live in interesting times.
 

Recruits

Let's say Kansas and Missouri are left with no conference, and they go Mountain West or some made-up conference with the remnants of the Big12. Unless the MWC grows consideraby in stature from this, they will be in a conference with no good TV contract, exposure, etc. Now, both KU and Mizzou had some good teams in the last 5 years. What "good" recruits will go there now if they lack any exposure and have no BCS tie-in? While you can certainly sympathize with some of these schools, does this become a boost for the Gophers? We won't get a bunch of blue-chip recruits, but the best 3-star and occasional 4-star who went to KU and Mizzou now must look much more favorably at MN, IL, IA, etc, right?
 

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