Conference Rumblings...
This post is long overdue. I have been on the road with very limited internet access and yet have somehow have managed to get my fill of conference realignment news.
Where have I been? Well, a lot of places to tell you the truth. I hit the road for a couple of weeks for a mix of research and family time. Upon returning, I repacked and made the drive down to Boulder for a week long conference at CU (one of the newest members of the PAC-10, which we will discuss shortly).
I could write more on my trip or my week at CU, but what I've been captivated by for the past several weeks is the NCAA conference shake-up. Once or twice I had something I was ready to share only to find that it was outdated by the time I was ready to post. Those who follow such things learned several things in how everything unfolded:
1) FOOTBALL IS KING & BASKETBALL IS AN AFTERTHOUGHT... KU, one of the most successful basketball programs in the country and a good school to boot (I'm directing this at you, SEC), was ignored for the most part as the PAC-10 and Big Ten went after teams in the Big 12 that could deliver football.
2) GEOGRAPHY DOESN'T MATTER AS MUCH AS MONEY... NU and CU arguably make more sense in the Big 12 given the geography of travel, but Nebraska's statement on how Texas was taking more than their fair share really made me question whether or not I would have done the same thing. The Big Ten shares revenue equally among conference members. This means Northwestern earns as much in football TV revenue as does Penn State, Michigan, and Ohio State. The Big 12 really does favor the South Division and Texas reaps the benefits more than anyone.
In addition to these general statements, we learned (I learned?) that 3 conferences dictate the rules of the game: PAC-10, SEC, Big Ten. Everyone else's existence is based on the actions of these three. Prior to this I would have included the Big 12 and the ACC (with the Big East being a target because of their lack of football schools). We also learned that Iowa State and Baylor are afterthoughts, especially when push comes to shove, even with their colleagues in the Big 12.
We still don't know what the final fate of the collegiate landscape will look like, but we do know a few things as to how it will change in two years: Nebraska will join the Big Ten, Colorado will join the PAC-10, and the Big 12 will remain a viable conference. I really do sincerely hope that we have seen the end of the major shake-ups. If Conference USA or the Sun Belt is raided by the Big 12 or Big East, I really don't care. I'm speaking only of the major conferences.
And the biggest surprise to me with all of this? Utah leaving the Mountain West without even an 'ahem' from BYU and the LDS faithful. This leaves me to wonder, might they be on their way to the Big 12? Possibly along with CSU?
I'd love to hear feedback on this.
posted by The Bearded | 7:35 PM
2 Comments:
First of all, I agree that is was weird to be in Boulder and realize that it was now Pac-10 country. I still think that part of CU's reasoning for leaving was to be in a conference with schools with whom it shares more of a cultural kinship. After all, Boulder is not exactly a midwest town. Even back in the days of the Big 8 I thought that CU was kind of the odd duck of the conference. This is, of course, not to say that money wasn't involved, but when isn't that the case?
At any rate, it will be interesting to see what all of this means for the future. Texas' choice to stay, while temporarily holding the conference together, shows that they are still holding most of the chips, and it seems like just a matter of time before more malcontents threaten to jettison themselves. We shall see.
I agree with the cultural fit. Boulder is a rare breed much like Berkley and Eugene. There's a reason many refer to CU as the "University of California-Boulder".
However, the travel geography is something different. I doubt the fans will travel as much to other venues in the PAC-10 as they did in the Big 12 (let's hope I'm wrong).
The U of U is a different story. I found it surprising living in Salt Lake how many people I knew traveled regularly to LA and yet rarely traveled over the mountains to Denver.
Regarding Texas...we are in agreement. Stupid Texas.
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