BCS leagues expanding - yeah?

After Bradley and Northern Iowa, the Jayhawks want nothing to do with the Valley ... nothing! Anywhere but the Valley!

Actually, KU, Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa State and Washington University in St. Louis were founding members in 1907 of the Valley before turning into the Big 8 and Big 12. The Jayhawks share a lot of history with Nebraska, and it's going to be a sad day Friday, because that will be it, but it's inevitable. No way can these schools spend another year together, let alone 10 minutes.

As Stewart Mandel at SI.com put it, with what's about to happen, "Kansas becomes a LeBron-like free agent." Should be an interest summer filled with rumors, back-room meetings and uncertainty.

 

Kansas is going to sign with the Knicks?

 

Chris Dufresne weighs in:

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-0609-dufresne-college-football-20100609,0,3037773,full.column

 

Clippers. Or was it Bulls?

 

Can someone explain why Kansas would be a top free agent? They aren't going to a BCS conference. They're screwed no matter what happens and their AD is about to be called into a grand jury.

 

SI.com's Stewart Mandel explains ...

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/stewart_mandel/06/07/expansion-scenarios/index.html

6. Kansas becomes a LeBron-like free agent.

One of the great mysteries amid the ongoing Pac-16 speculation is what will become of Kansas, which, while not necessarily a football power, has a huge alumni base, sits in a decent TV market and, most notably, boasts one of the nation's most prestigious basketball programs. It's seems hard to believe the Jayhawks will fade into the wilderness.

Kansas has pledged its loyalty to the Big 12, but if the league implodes, who's to say the Big Ten wouldn't couple KU with Missouri? For all we know, Jim Delany prefers the Jayhawks. If not the Big Ten, what about the basketball-centric Big East, which knows no geographic bounds (see: Marquette)? It could be that KU can't go anywhere without K-State, thus diminishing its appeal, but if not, another major program could be changing major conferences.

 

Mandel is the guy who thinks the BCS is the best thing since sliced bread.

There has only been one sport discussed during all these expansion talks.

Blair Kerkhoff Disagrees...

What this says about KU basketball is especially frightening: The storied program somehow is not significant enough to elevate the Jayhawks, much less both schools, into the next dimension of college athletics riches.

Check out the scoreboard. Kansas basketball — coming off a season in which it ranked first nationally, three years removed from a national championship, by far the Big 12’s greatest team by championship banners and on the short list of nationally significant programs — is not part of the Big Ten or Pacific-10 expansion speculation.

Baylor football — coming off a season in which it finished last in the South Division for the 13th time in 14 years, has never been to a bowl game as a Big 12 member, and its collective conference record of 14-98 is by far the worst in league history — gets support as a Pac-10 expansion team.

Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2010/06/07/2000262/expansion-talk-questions-power.html#ixzz0qLehmfU4

 

I can't see any possibility that Carolina leaves the ACC. Even at basketball schools, apparently football still makes the most money, but I can't see them bolting one of if not the premier basketball league for a football conference.

They wouldn't give up the conference games against the Tobacco Road schools. They would still play them, but winning the ACC over Duke is equally as important as national championships.

The NC Legislature as stepped in on stuff like this in the past. After a couple of brawls between NC State and East Carolina, the two wanted to stop playing. The state legislature passed a measure that said yes you will.

 

So is there still some announcement coming from anyone today?

Holy fuck this shit is confusing.

 

I would love to read an in-depth look at just how much money we're talking about. Just for the sake of discussion, let's say one of these new bloated conferences manages to swindle another $100 million a year from TV and bowl connections. (Whether that's a reasonable figure to toss out there, I don't know.) Divided 16 ways, that doesn't look so impressive. Then triple a school's travel budget for all the minor sports (you're not putting the softball team on a bus from Austin to Eugene, Ore.), and when it's all said and done, aren't we talking about not very much money at all?

 

My guess is in the Pac-16 there would be very little inter-divisional play, or none at all, in non-revenue sports because of travel. They'd play a double round robin within the division.

 

Here are the questions that are driving me crazy today:

It's clear Nebraska is pissed because Osborne thinks the Big 12 is biased toward Texas, how much more revenue does Texas get than anyone else in the Big 12?

If Texas has such a sweetheart deal in the Big 12, why would it leave? Why not just replace NU and MU with two more Texas schools to further kiss the ass of the Texas legislature?