TIME TO FREAK OUT AGAIN ABOUT CONFERENCE REALIGNMENT! THE BIG 12 IS DEAD! MAYBE!

[knucklehead]

The decision should be weighted 80 percent on academics. Students pay a lot for a college degree and invest a lot of time in getting one. Sports is secondary.

Everything I have read indicates that the Big 10 is a plus for academics. They have a large resources sharing network (CIC). Big 10 membership helps in recruiting instructors, results in more collaborative efforts with other shools and research grants.

I'll skip the recitation of MU's academic advantages over other schools because the partisan bickering that would provoke is boring, predictible and superfical. 

[kcmetro]

The Big 10 is an academically prestigious conference, and Mizzou doesn't rise to the standards of most Big 10 schools. But it's definitely an academic peer of a handful of schools in that conference, and with the exception of Colorado, Mizzou is the best academic fit for the Big 10 of any Big XII north school. It's certainly no less impressive than some of the schools widely mentioned as potential Big 10 candidates (Cincinnati, Nebraska, Louisville). Joining the Big 10 could bring MU a lot more money for research and athletics than what its ties to the Big XII currently do.  And the Big 10's generous profit sharing, television contract, and bowl tie-ins would make being a stepchild to the conference's three powerhouses less unpleasant than being Texas' bitch in the Big XII.

With regards to Rutgers: the NYC market probably has more passionate alums/fans of Penn State, Michigan, and Ohio State athletics than it does Rutgers fans.  Apart from Notre Dame, there is no school currently under consideration for admission that would "deliver" a huge share of the NYC market.  And  extending the Big 10 even further away from its Midwestern roots with the addition of a New Jersey school risks seriously diluting the conference's brand.

Any school in the Big XII's north division should be excited to be mentioned as a possible candidate for admission to the Big 10.  MU is the only school in the division whose athletics, academics, facilities, state population, and geography all qualify it for such consideration.  The university should absolutely jump at the chance to switch conferences if the opportunity presents itself.

Would you like to make up more "facts" while you're at it?

http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandrevie ... ngs/page+4

88. Iowa State
96. University of Kansas
96. University of Nebraska
102. University of Missouri

[kcmetro]

Any school in the Big XII's north division should be excited to be mentioned as a possible candidate for admission to the Big 10.  MU is the only school in the division whose athletics, academics, facilities, state population, and geography all qualify it for such consideration.  The university should absolutely jump at the chance to switch conferences if the opportunity presents itself.

None of those have anything to do with MU's qualifications to join the Big 10.  And that statement doesn't even make sense because MU isn't leading in any of those categories besides state population, which doesn't mean much (just ask Iowa).

[MoMan]

Mizzou is not going anywhere anyway.  Moving to the Big X would be an athletic disaster for Missouri, they'd go from being a program on the upswing in football and basketball to perpetual mediocrity.  I'm a Mizzou fan but I get a bit annoyed by all the Big X crap, it's just a way put KU down with the old "we're moving on but you're stuck where you are" nonsense.   Mizzou fans know they aren't going anywhere, way too much to lose.   

Why would moving to a conference that is arguably weaker in both football and basketball than the Big XII doom MU to perpetual mediocrity?  And why on earth would anyone assume that the desire to move to a wealthier, more egalitarian, and more academically prestigious conference than the Big XII is fueled by a spiteful antagonism toward KU?  That sounds more like the assumption of a horribly insecure Kansas fan than of someone who identifies himself as a Mizzou fan.

Note to Jayhawk fans: Decisions made by people unaffiliated with the University of Kansas are not usually arrived at after first asking "How will this impact KU?".  This is particularly true where the MU curators and the state's largest alumni base in St. Louis are concerned--and those are the MU people who will be most responsible for giving the green light to any consideration of conference realignment.

[WSPanic]

Why would moving to a conference that is arguably weaker in both football and basketball than the Big XII doom MU to perpetual mediocrity?  And why on earth would anyone assume that the desire to move to a wealthier, more egalitarian, and more academically prestigious conference than the Big XII is fueled by a spiteful antagonism toward KU?  That sounds more like the assumption of a horribly insecure Kansas fan than of someone who identifies himself as a Mizzou fan.

Note to Mizzou fans: Decisions made by people unaffiliated with the University of Kansas are not usually arrived at after first asking "How will this impact KU?".  This is particularly true where the MU curators and the state's largest alumni base in St. Louis are concerned--and those are the MU people who will be most responsible for giving the green light to any consideration of conference realignment.

Fixed your post for you. If you go back and check - the only person that has claimed this has anything to do with KU was a Mizzou fan.

Good luck to Mizzou in their quest for the unattainable. I for one would like to see them stay. I think it's better for the conference and for all teams in the north. Maybe the Big XII could land another school - but not one with good rivalries and a market the size of St. Louis.

Mizzou fans have been talking about this for as long as I can remember. I have yet to see any evidence that the Big 10/11/12 is considering MU more than any of the 20 other schools mentioned - even after all these years.

[shinatoo]

If its an academic choice I would say it would be Rutgers. If it's an Athletic choice I would say Pitt. If it's balanced then I would put Mizzou in the running. It would be a boon to MU from and academic standpoint and a neutral move at worse athletically. I would put MU at the same slot in football (4th) and probably the same in basketball.

Football:
Ohio State = Texas
Pitt State = Oklahoma
Michigan = Nebraska (Funny how these two teams have tracked together over the years, Nebraska recovering a little faster from the latest depression)
Iowa = Missouri

Basketball:
What a great conference once you look at it. Lots more parity than the Big 12, unless this year is a sign of things to come in the Big 12. I would still put MU in the top five.

If it happens, it will be Pitt.

[LenexatoKCMO]

The B10 isn't really all that much more "egalitarian" than the B12.  There is still about a $70 Million dollar revenue spread between the "haves" (Ohio State) and "have nots" (Northwestern) - pretty similar to that in the B12 (Texas - ISU).  The distribution is fairly similar with a few more teams clustered towards the top (Ohio State, Michigan, Wisconsin, Penn State).  To the extent the B10 is more lucrative overall, it is because of this cluster - and Missouri is never going to be anywhere near that cluster.  If MU were to move to the B10 you have to imagine they are going to be a lot closer to the Indiana-Northwestern end of the pay scale than they are to the Ohio State-Michigan end of the pays scale - in which case the money improvement is likely to be small at best.  

[NDTeve]

If its an academic choice I would say it would be Rutgers. If it's an Athletic choice I would say Pitt. If it's balanced then I would put Mizzou in the running. It would be a boon to MU from and academic standpoint and a neutral move at worse athletically. I would put MU at the same slot in football (4th) and probably the same in basketball.

Football:
Ohio State = Texas
Pitt State = Oklahoma
Michigan = Nebraska (Funny how these two teams have tracked together over the years, Nebraska recovering a little faster from the latest depression)
Iowa = Missouri

Basketball:
What a great conference once you look at it. Lots more parity than the Big 12, unless this year is a sign of things to come in the Big 12. I would still put MU in the top five.

If it happens, it will be Pitt.

Think you meant Pitt not Pitt State. 

[shinatoo]

Purdue and Indiana get the most money from the NCAA/Conferences. The top eight money getters from NCAA/Conference are all big ten teams. The NCAA is HQed in Indiana.

Cowinkidink???

[shinatoo]

Think you meant Pitt not Pitt State.  :D

I think you meant Penn State, which is what I meant. Pitt is not in the Big 10 but will be someday.

However that Pittsburgh State Gorillas have a hell of a football tradition.

[bbqboy]

Pitt would make a lot more sense than Mizzou, from a Big 10 standpoint.

[kcmetro]

Syracuse might make the most sense of all.  Great academics and athletics, plus a huge following in NYC.

[shinatoo]

Syracuse might make the most sense of all.  Great academics and athletics, plus a huge following in NYC.

Agreed, Pitt, Syracuse then MU. Rutgers and Nebraska aren't realistic. Nebraska is the home of the student athlete though.

N is for nowledge.

[LenexatoKCMO]

Agreed, Pitt, Syracuse then MU.

Kidding yourselves if you don't think the list is #1) Notre Dame, #2) Notre Dame, #3) Notre Dame, #4) Notre Dame, #5) Notre Dame, #6) Notre Dame, #7) Notre Dame, #8) Notre Dame, #9) Notre Dame, #10) "something from the big east but we really don't want to get that low on the wish list and we will loose half the support in the league for expansion if we cant get someone from choices 1-9". 

[shinatoo]

Kidding yourselves if you don't think the list is #1) Notre Dame, #2) Notre Dame, #3) Notre Dame, #4) Notre Dame, #5) Notre Dame, #6) Notre Dame, #7) Notre Dame, #8) Notre Dame, #9) Notre Dame, #10) "something from the big east but we really don't want to get that low on the wish list and we will loose half the support in the league for expansion if we cant get someone from choices 1-9". 

Agreed, but Notre Dame isn't going to join.

[NDTeve]

God I hope not. Nothing worse than having all your games on at 11:00 am on what looks like astroturf. Not to mention how boring their basketball conference is. 46-39 games.

[LenexatoKCMO]

Agreed, but Notre Dame isn't going to join.

They have 2-3 years to deliver a compelling TV product before its time to start negotiating the renewal again with NBC.  Kelly better be able to deliver fast because I am sure the TV execs are already feeling like someone has been stealing their money the last ten years+. 

[NDTeve]

When ND and NBC extended it to 2015...Ebersol from NBC said he saw it going for years past 2015.

[im2kull]

Say what you want, but I think all you Jaydork fans are just scared to see MU become one of the perenial "Big Dogs", while KU is left behind in a never ending rebuilding project

[NDTeve]

Say what you want, but I think all you Jaydork fans are just scared to see MU become one of the perenial "Big Dogs", while KU is left behind in a never ending rebuilding project

Wouldn't most teams fear their rival becoming perennially good?...with Pinkel though...the prospect of Mizzou and BIG DOG is not too frightening.