Sorry, I don’t want to be a troll but…. Every Big Ten forum looks at the University of Kansas like it is some big 12 bottom feeder, with bad academics, and nothing to offer the great Big 10 conference. KU’s atheletic department has grossed in the top 26 schools for the last five years (at least). Yes, most of it is due to basketball, which you might not care about, but our b-ball program makes more than a lot of football programs. We are an AAU school, unlike NE (who we make roughly the same amount of money as with our sports every year) and our media market is much bigger than Nebraska’s. KU Basketball is a national brand. The fing Jayhawk is one of the top 5 most recognizable mascots in college sports. We gross more than 20 million dollars a year for our sports programs than Missouri does. Further, although we are down in football at the moment, we won a BCS bowl game just four years ago.
Last point, Delany was one of the ones who started this 16 team realignment thing, by carrying on with MU last year. The Big 10 is not above the fray in any of this and the fact that it may stay put at 12 teams once the East and the 12 implode is deplorable. Delany made it clear last year ,when he was in talks with MU, that 16 team conferences were coming and the Big 10 was being proactive. Further, he gave every indication that the BIG was likely expanding to 16. When NE left, and MU was left begging for the invite, Delany changed his tune and claimed the a 12 league conference was enough. However, he (along with UT, NE, the PAC, Atm and others) destroyed the big 12.
In truth 16 league conferences are a bad idea. Certain teams, enter Minnesota, don’t make crap in a division and bring revenue down. Yet, Delany and the Pac comiss sold the idea of the 16 team conference last year and every college in an unstable conference is making it happen because Delany and others have said it’s the future, its only about football, and media markets. That is obviously not true. The big 12 discovered that losing CO actually would increase our revenue when we signed, the now doomed, deal with fox. Co is the Denver market. The 2ndlargest media market in the Big 12 and they were costing us money. ISU brought more to the table than that program. Media markets don’t matter if no one is watching or cares. If football is the only real potential revenue why do Duke, North Carolina, and Kansas make more or as much in sports revenue as Illinois or Nebraska?
I’m sure some smart guy is going to point out that this is all about football and KU, despite its recent BCS win, is not a good football program. If that is the criteria for the big 10 there are only 3 programs out there for you. UT, OK, and Norte Dame. UT and OK are not headed your way. Pitt and Syracuse are gone as well. You can grab Rutgers who will suck of the teat of the conference or you could grab a team that will bring actual value and revenue to your conference once b=ball season comes around or not. Sadly, if reversed, a case could be made that, besides OSU, MI, Penn and maybe MI state/ ILL / Iowa, every other school in your conference should go to a dying big east when your conference dissolved.
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Sorry, I don’t want to be a troll but…. Every Big Ten forum looks at the University of Kansas like it is some big 12 bottom feeder, with bad academics, and nothing to offer the great Big 10 conference. KU’s atheletic department has grossed in the top 26 schools for the last five years (at least). Yes, most of it is due to basketball, which you might not care about, but our b-ball program makes more than a lot of football programs. We are an AAU school, unlike NE (who we make roughly the same amount of money as with our sports every year) and our media market is much bigger than Nebraska’s. KU Basketball is a national brand. The fing Jayhawk is one of the top 5 most recognizable mascots in college sports. We gross more than 20 million dollars a year for our sports programs than Missouri does. Further, although we are down in football at the moment, we won a BCS bowl game just four years ago.
Last point, Delany was one of the ones who started this 16 team realignment thing, by carrying on with MU last year. The Big 10 is not above the fray in any of this and the fact that it may stay put at 12 teams once the East and the 12 implode is deplorable. Delany made it clear last year ,when he was in talks with MU, that 16 team conferences were coming and the Big 10 was being proactive. Further, he gave every indication that the BIG was likely expanding to 16. When NE left, and MU was left begging for the invite, Delany changed his tune and claimed the a 12 league conference was enough. However, he (along with UT, NE, the PAC, Atm and others) destroyed the big 12.
In truth 16 league conferences are a bad idea. Certain teams, enter Minnesota, don’t make crap in a division and bring revenue down. Yet, Delany and the Pac comiss sold the idea of the 16 team conference last year and every college in an unstable conference is making it happen because Delany and others have said it’s the future, its only about football, and media markets. That is obviously not true. The big 12 discovered that losing CO actually would increase our revenue when we signed, the now doomed, deal with fox. Co is the Denver market. The 2ndlargest media market in the Big 12 and they were costing us money. ISU brought more to the table than that program. Media markets don’t matter if no one is watching or cares. If football is the only real potential revenue why do Duke, North Carolina, and Kansas make more or as much in sports revenue as Illinois or Nebraska?
I’m sure some smart guy is going to point out that this is all about football and KU, despite its recent BCS win, is not a good football program. If that is the criteria for the big 10 there are only 3 programs out there for you. UT, OK, and Norte Dame. UT and OK are not headed your way. Pitt and Syracuse are gone as well. You can grab Rutgers who will suck of the teat of the conference or you could grab a team that will bring actual value and revenue to your conference once b=ball season comes around or not. Sadly, if reversed, a case could be made that, besides OSU, MI, Penn and maybe MI state/ ILL / Iowa, every other school in your conference should go to a dying big east when your conference dissolved.