A little over a year ago, the Big XII conference started down the path of eventual destruction with two schools abandoning the league. Colorado defected to the Pac-12 and Nebraska left for the Big Ten, leaving the other ten schools scrambling for positions. Each school started to look out for themselves, exploring avenues with other conferences in case an impasse could not be reached.
Finally, a wary accord was reached. Texas, the monetary behemoth that seemed to control the destinies of several schools, decided to stay put, with the understanding they could launch a Texas network and not to have share the proceeds. The other schools, several with little choice at the time, agreed to the deal, even if most had to feel trepidation over the future.
What emerged was a compact league of ten schools. It was agreed that in football and basketball, the north/south split would be eliminated. All schools would play each other once in football and twice in basketball. As a sports fan, this was a very appealing plan. As a fan of the Kansas Jayhawks, I knew the school was going to struggle finding a foothold in football, but the round ball schedule was going to be fun. KU would lose 4 games against historically weak competition in the Buffaloes and Cornhuskers and also 2 pre-conference cupcakes. They would gain 6 games against the tough, rough-and-tumble south teams. A conference that already enjoyed a top tiered RPI ranking would certainly vault permanently to the head of the class. Things looked to be settling down and fans began to speculate on what two teams might be added eventually to get the conference back to full compliment. It was fun to discuss this with friends or listen to the talking heads mull over the possibilities on the ever entertaining sports talk radio stations.
The Big XII survived the 2010-2011 school year and said good bye to the exiting schools. On the surface, things looked to be settling down. Underneath the surface though, some schools weren’t as happy as was believed, namely Texas A&M. Things came to a boiling point, it seems, when Texas announced some of the plans for their network. A key point of contention was the Longhorn Network plan to televise high school games. A&M rightfully complained that it would give the Longhorns an even bigger recruiting advantage. I can’t say I disagree and neither did anyone else in the Big XII. It has since been announced those plans have been put on hold. That Texas even considered that idea to be above board shows their arrogance.
Texas A&M decided to be proactive. They made it known they wanted out of the Big XII. Their Board of Regents is obviously tired of playing second fiddle to the Longhorn juggernaut. Discussion and speculation quickly escalated about A&M joining the SEC and possibly taking Oklahoma with them. The SEC decided this weekend to not extend an invitation to the Aggies or anyone else, at this time. They did not, however, close the door on the possibility of future expansion and that maybe invitations could still be tendered in the future.
The foundation of the Big XII seems to be built on shaky ground. If more teams jump ship, it won’t be a good thing for a lot of schools. At this point, is it possible for the conference to be salvaged? Somehow, I don’t believe it can be. Talk persists of 4 super conferences eventually evolving from the rubble of the Big XII. Will all 10 teams be able to find homes in the super conferences? Again, I doubt it.
Since a big portion of this issue stems from football generated revenue, four or five teams could be left out. Baylor has long been a football doormat. They look to be more competitive recently but just how attractive are they. Kansas is a perennial basketball powerhouse and I would hope this would be enough to garner an invitation but for the most part, the Jayhawks are a pigskin wasteland. Kansas State has turned itself around from one of the worst football programs ever to a respectable program over the last 20 years and has improved their round ball status recently as well. Missouri has courted the Big Ten, and possibly the SEC as well. Their rejuvenated football program may make them an attractive school to either of those conferences. Iowa State may be in the worst position of any of the schools as they excel in neither football nor basketball. Texas Tech has had some recent success in football but is located in a very tough place. Since it is so isolated, I am not sure where they would fit. I sincerely doubt Oklahoma will have any trouble landing anywhere and Oklahoma State is well rounded enough to find a good spot as well. Texas is the interesting school because they obviously want to be the big fish in whatever pond they end up in. I doubt though, that many conferences would capitulate to their demands any better than Nebraska did. It would not surprise me if, in the course of the fallout, the Longhorns don’t end up an independent ala Notre Dame in at least football.
As a Kansas fan, I am obviously most worried about what happens to the Jayhawks, and to a certain extent, their chief rivals, Kansas State and Missouri. At this point, the schools need to look out for themselves first but I would hope some loyalty still exists to these long time rivals. It would be a natural geographical fit for KU, KSU, MU, and ISU to look toward the Big Ten. I just don’t know how attractive each of those schools would be to that conference. Since a lot of this is revenue driven, Missouri would bring in the most television sets. KU and KSU would split the already small state of Kansas pie and the Cyclones would overlap with Iowa, already in the Big Ten. I have not been a big fan of the Big Ten, mainly because I think that conference plays a boring, brutal style of basketball but at this point I would want KU to pursue entry to the Big Ten if administrators truly think the Big XII is doomed. I would hope KU would try to bring KSU, MU, and ISU with them if possible but I wouldn’t want them to miss out because of the other schools.
I am in no way assuming KU is a more attractive option for the Big Ten than those other 3 schools, or the Oklahoma institutions, or even the Texas schools. The reason I am discussing KU and the other 3 north schools is that is where my loyalty lies and I do feel geographically they are a good fit for the Big Ten. The KU basketball program is the only national powerhouse program in either football or basketball among those four schools. Missouri has worked their way into the national spotlight in football on a consistent basis over the past few years and K-State has had its share of success over the past 20 too. I have pointed out this seems to be football inspired so KU and ISU could be the ones left out. I just hold hope that the Jayhawk basketball program would gain them consideration despite their football shortcomings.
I truly think the Big XII conference has little time left in its present form. I like the strong ten school make up that is presently in place and I am not sure those schools are even aware of how strong they could be as a conference. It all comes back to Texas and the Longhorns’ apparent need to be top dog. That is just not the way it should be done. I just don’t want KU to be left out in the cold. I would prefer the Big Ten over the Pac-12, simply because I would hate all of those 9pm start times for basketball. Both are better than the alternative options. The next several months are going to be interesting, especially if Texas A&M bolts as it looks like they most certainly will. I worry about Kansas and its chief rivals and where they might land. Everything is speculation at this point but I can’t help wonder if these aren’t the waning days of the Big XII.
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