(06-05-2014 12:44 AM)jhawkmvp Wrote:  

(06-04-2014 04:04 PM)XLance Wrote:  jhawkmvp,
As a Kansas fan, where would you like to end up assuming that the Big 12 does die?
I don't think that Texas, Oklahoma or Kansas will have trouble finding a soft spot to land if it becomes necessary.

Honestly, it would depend on where Texas and OU end up. I really love being partners with them in the B12. I think they would all like to stay together, but have little brothers to take care of that might not make that possible (more OU and UT than KU because Kansas is too small and the KSU brand too weak to piggyback to another conference with KU). The PAC, SEC, and B1G all have former Big 8/12 schools that we have strong ties too. Our greatest rival, Missouri, is in the SEC now and unless we end up in the same conference with them down the road that is a dead rivalry unless things change dramatically (primarily due to it being in our best interest to keep their exposure in Kansas City to a minimum IMO).

I can talk pretty openly about all the conferences because I could see KU in all of them depending on how things play out and they all have some good to great points. I think KU is in a second tier of schools that would be a valued asset to any conference, but will have to wait on schools like Texas, UVA, OU, and UNC, that have better markets and/or FB helmet programs, to pass on or accept invites to certain conferences to get our landing spot, most likely. Which schools end up where could change things dramatically financially and competitively in sports, so a conference that is behind now, could vault to the top, or close to the top, with the right schools/markets/brands.

My quick thoughts off the top of my head on the conferences from my perspective as a KU fan (Phog and other KU fans might add to these):

ACC
Pros: Huge footprint. Academically strong. Lot of KU/UNC ties. Basketball season would be insanely entertaining. KU/UNC, KU/Duke, KU/Syracuse, KU/Louisville, etc. That would be basketball nirvana. Football would be easier and less competitive than the B12 so KU would see better results on the gridiron I think. GA/FL FB recruiting opens up. If it happens, most likely the ACC added at least Texas, and more likely, 4 or more other B12 schools.
Cons:Swofford currently runs it. I worry about fit there as some ACC fans can be extremely condescending to schools and fan bases from rural states. Maybe that is just an internet thing. Maybe not. Travel would be a hassle due to distance.

B1G
Pros: Best fit culturally and academically. Academically stellar. Almost exclusively AAU, with the CIC bonus. NU is already there. Financially it is the most powerful conference and will probably remain there for the foreseeable future. Basketball would be great. Match ups with Indiana, MSU, Michigan and others would be great. KU BB recruiting would get great exposure in NY, Chicago, D.C. and other hoops hotbeds. If the B1G goes past 16, then there is a good shot OU and Texas are there as well. Football should be competitive and improve as the current B1G is not as strong in FB as the B12 and IMO is the weakest currently. Shortest travel of the four.
Cons: Football recruiting in Texas would dry to a trickle (though to be honest KU did well under Mason in the 90s recruiting a lot of B1G states) unless UT and OU come as well. Worst FB recruiting grounds of the major conferences (which is showing on the field lately). Colder weather than the B12.

PAC
Pros:Better academically than the B12 by quite a bit. Warmer weather for fall and spring sports. California recruiting for everything. CU is there. KU basketball would probably have the best chance to have the same success as it has in the B12, while still getting UCLA and Arizona on the schedule each year. Would probably be 4-8 other B12 schools as well.
Cons:Worst time zone for games (PST). Travel would be a major hassle due to distance and time zone issues. Fans can be apathetic. Least exposure of all the conferences again related to time zone.

SEC
Pros:Best overall sports conference going IMO. Basketball would square off mostly with Kentucky, and sometimes Florida, for supremacy. KU BB should win similarly to the B12. Gains SE football recruiting to go with Texas. Missouri our greatest rival is there and the rivalry would be reignited. Texas A&M is there and we have some history from the B12 with them. Warm weather for spring and fall sports. Rabid fans. Probably means the SEC is going big and there would be additional B12 schools added as well. Football schedule would see some big name programs every year in Lawrence.
Cons:Not a step up academically from the B12, unless Texas or other AAU type schools are added as well. KU football would eternally struggle to be competitive, most likely, even if they were better just because of all the great schools at the top. Perceived cutthroat recruiting/eligibility issues (real or not).

If conferences only went to 16, and I had a gun against my head, I would probably pick the B1G primarily due to fit/travel and KU FB being more competitive there. But, I would be fine with any of them if the B12 falls apart and all have there good points.

I agree mostly with all of your pros and cons but offer 1 point of view difference about the cons listed for the ACC. I find that their condescension (snootiness) stems from proximity to and involvement with the beltway. The D.C. beltway is the single most arrogant, disconnected, and self absorbed grouping of people I've ever run across and mind you I once did extensive business with the Sea Island, Georgia crowd (most of whom were comfortable enough with wealth and position that they were never condescending to me or anyone else I observed them with. It tends to be a symptom of not only being nouveau riche, but particularly politically entitled, or of the corporate elite. With the research triangle you have many corporate elite types and in Virginia you have the beltway crowd and influence. Outside of Raleigh Durham most of North Carolina is extremely hospitable and the parts of Virginia away from the beltway tend to be as well although there is more of a Northern feel to the hospitality.

Outside of those two areas most of the rest of the ACC both North and South are fine. On the message boards what you are getting are the usual Klingons who aggrandize themselves with the adopted snobbery of their tangential association with the others. The reason it always pisses me off is because the biggest issue with our country right now is the sense of entitlement that the politicians have and the tight control that the corporate elite have over them. We are witnessing such control within the two political parties that now only the children of the trusted lackeys of corporate influence are allowed to hold nominations to replace their parents in office. It is beginning to look more like the House of Lords and should be anathema to Americans. We are a nation of 300 million and can only find a handful of families from which to elect new leadership??? It wasn't nearly this corrupt when I was young, although corruption has always been a factor. The American voter simply would have voted the other way no matter how much PAC money was spent. Now the American voter doesn't read, doesn't get involved, and only votes name recognition and that is how the entitled control the elections. It is also why we have the "cult" of celebrity in our nation. Run two candidates that both do their bidding, one each under the banners of the two party system, make sure the elections are so expensive that the independents either can't afford the structure at the grass roots level to run, or can't spend enough to get recognized by the public, and your candidate will win every time. A former governor here told me that there was no such thing as democrats and republicans that really those titles were the names of the two horses in a two horse race where both horses were owned by the same stable.

Anyway, what you are picking up on is the kind of arrogance that comes from those who are raised counting upon the entitlement of privilege and it is not common outside of a few regions of our country and doesn't reflect the attitude of most ACC fans outside of those at Pitt, UNC, Duke, UVA, and a few from Syracuse and BC who have beltway or corporate connections and with all of them those who spew it are in the minority. I base this on my past travels and knowledge of the folks in those areas. Most Americans are still fairly level headed decent people. But we have allowed those who do the bidding of their corporate masters to rig the election system to perpetuate themselves and it is damaging our democracy.