USAFMEDIC
Heisman
Posts: 5,914
Joined: Jun 2010
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I Root For: MIZZOU/FSU/USM
Location: Biloxi, MS
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RE: ACC deal makes Big Ten expansion unlikely, Jim Delany says (Link)
(04-24-2013 11:32 PM)BewareThePhog Wrote: (04-24-2013 11:13 PM)USAFMEDIC Wrote: (04-24-2013 11:04 PM)BewareThePhog Wrote: (04-24-2013 04:52 PM)USAFMEDIC Wrote: (04-24-2013 04:38 PM)BewareThePhog Wrote: Did anyone seriously suggest that KU would start to dominate football recruiting in KC? If so, they've been knocking back a few, or perhaps enjoying some herbal supplements.
I do think that the KC area likely has the highest affinity of Big 12 vs SEC in the state, but I don't see Missouri going anywhere else. I do think they very much have their work cut out for them in the SEC, but (and this is not intended to be snarky) while they had some good seasons recently it's not like they were regularly sitting atop the Big 8/12 over the past 3 decades. Missouri is a solid addition for the SEC on many levels, and I can't see them leaving.
BTP... I am referring to a lot of media reports that the KC area was totally against any SEC move and that a lot of the HS players might take a Big XII scholarship. There are Mizzou-Jayhawk fans on both sides of the state line and family members living in opposite states of each other. If Mizzou were to lose out in a recruiting war, the KC area was supposed to be a Missouri weak spot. I am merely stating that from what has happened since our move has proved this to be incorrect. That said, when do we play again?
I do know a few KC-area MU alums that are still annoyed at the move, but I think that they're a minority, and that whole scenario was over-anticipated.
When do we play again? Not for a long time, I suspect. I just don't see a lot of incentive for us to do so.
First and foremost, there has to be demand from the fanbase, and it's simply not there. For all of the comments about hurt feelings (I'm enough of a curmudgeon that I'm just not going to stoop to use the usual message board term), I really don't think that's the case. As has been stated in other places, just as most MU fans have moved on, so have most KU fans. Sure, you can find some "they left the Big12, so screw them!" sentiment, but for the most part KU fans just don't care (although many of us are amused by Kim Mulkey's divorce analogy). While we're still watchful of what's happening in realignment, as far as the actual competition goes we do genuinely like the round-robin format of the current Big 12, and don't feel a void.
That leaves the cold-hearted calculation of what's in our best interests. To address specific sports, let's start with basketball. Fully acknowledging that this will come off sounding like an arrogant KU hoops fan, there's simply no incentive for us to schedule MU out-of-conference. We don't need them to visit in order to fill our arena, and we're able through tournaments and direct scheduling to get high-profile games on our schedule. We're certainly not fleeing for competitive reasons. We did recently start a new series with former Big 12 school Colorado, but their coach played at KU, and we have a significant number of fans in Colorado and Western KS who attend that game. It also doesn't hurt to cultivate a relationship within the Pac12, just in case. (Even if the Big 12 collapses at some point, I think an SEC invitation is so unlikely that I see less of a need to specifically cultivate relationships there.)
As for football, we've got a lot of work to do with our program. While some may not want to admit it, I think that we definitely believe it's prudent to emulate KSU's example in building a program, specifically as it pertains to getting winnable games on the non-conference schedule. At this stage, that usually means teams from non-power conferences, and we still have a long way to climb even against that "lesser" competition. With a 9-game conference schedule, we probably only have one slot each season to use against teams from top-tier leagues, and we probably want to be strategic with those slots. I think that they'd be prudent to use them to build relationships, particularly with schools in the B1G or Pac12. So far that doesn't seem to be the case, aside from a Rutgers series scheduled prior to their move, but I'd hope that it is figuring into future planning.
From MU's side, while playing KU is hardly essential, I think there are still more incentives to make the offer. First, it's a great PR move. Even though Missouri's departure from the Big 12 caused the initial discontinuity in the series, it makes them look good to make the offer, and forces KU to look either petty or calculating (or both). Second, on the football side while MU slumped last year they've played well recently, and KU's recent struggles make us look like a good chance to pick up a win, even though the overall series (both long-term and recent) is extremely close. Third, on the hoops side KU is a marquee opponent who would draw fans to the arena as well as garner good TV ratings. In short, I think MU has more incentive to offer to play KU than KU has to accept.
Good post and many good points. I thought Missouri had requested that the series continue. Coach Self, on the BB side, seemed pretty angry. I just wish that we played both KU and Illinois because we are neighbors. Not in Arrowhead or the Edward Jones Dome, but at the school sites. I guess time will tell. I think your Jayhawks are on the B1G short list now.
Thanks. Bill is an old Big 8 guy, so I suspect that he's a bit irked at the whole realignment thing with so many Big 8 schools having left. I'm just glad that Missouri didn't hire him when they had the chance to do so.
Good point about the games being played at the schools' sites. I understand the appeal of the Arrowhead game in particular since KC straddles the state line, but I prefer when teams play in their home towns. It's really important for the local economies, and I think it's just a better environment. KU's home football environment is light years away from what you'd see in the SEC or at other traditional football powers, but it has improved a lot in the last decade or so and the area around the stadium on game day has taken on a great new energy and feel.
As for being on the B1G's short list, I'm not holding my breath. As much as KU has to offer, there are still enough shortcomings that I could only see an offer coming as part of a well-considered package deal. Once upon a time I thought the B1G could make an amazing stroke by adding KU, MU, OU, and UT, but of course there were too many obstacles for that to happen and now even if some of them could be overcome I just can't imagine it happening with the moves that have taken place in the last couple of years.
If the Texhoma four had split from the Big XII, the rest of us would have probably joined the Old BE and that would now be a thriving conference. Seems like everyone got along in the Big 8 and even in the Big 12, with the exception of Texas. KU football will be back soon. 5-6 years ago we played as 10-0 teams... as far as the KU facilities, they are probably about as good as several of the B1G, PAC 12, and SEC venues, including ours... we count rock seats. lol. You guys seat over 50,000 and it's easily expandable in the end zone. best wishes.
(This post was last modified: 04-25-2013 12:19 AM by USAFMEDIC.)
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