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

[AllThingsKC]

I'm hearing Deaton has delayed his trip to India, but not cancelled?!

[beautyfromashes]

Maybe Missouri is staying in the Big 12 and we can move this whole thread to the rumors section.

[AllThingsKC]

Even if Missouri is staying (which I don't think they are), why move this thread to the rumors section? This thread isn't completely about Missouri.

[KC-wildcat]

Been away from the situation since last Saturday.

Is Missouri still in the Conference? If so, why?

TIA.

[AllThingsKC]

Been away from the situation since last Saturday.

Since Saturday? Are you just now recovering from watching K-State's "very good defense" and "very good rushing attack"???

Is Missouri still in the Conference? If so, why?

Unofficially, no. Officially, yes. Looks like we're just waiting for the official announcement. Why the delay? From the best I can tell, it has to do with exit fees, West Virginia, and the Big East. I could be wrong, but it is my understanding that adding West Virginia *somehow* lowers MU's exit fees. The main problem is whether or not the Big East will let WVU leave for 2012. That could dictate when/if Missouri leaves the Big 12. In other words, it's one giant legal mess.

Or, maybe Missouri is simply PROUD MEMBERS OF THE BIG 12 CONFERENCE. And, until proven otherwise, that is the case.

[aknowledgeableperson]

As a way to keep the tournament in town, some have thought about Livestrong Sporting Park. It’s a beautiful facility, and while it’s not downtown Kansas City, there are some restaurants and bars in the Legends shopping area.

Part of Sporting Kansas City’s vision in building the beautiful $200 million stadium is that it is versatile enough to host all sorts of different events. Here’s what Sporting KC CEO Robb Heineman said when I asked him about this:

“It’s a long shot. There’s a ton of steps that have to happen. The economics are really substantial. Quite candidly, they’re substantial enough that I’m not sure it wouldn’t justify just building a different areana for it. Is it something we’ll run the numbers on? Sure.


Read more: http://mellinger.kansascity.com/entries ... z1ckGdN4J6

[chingon]

I think its nice just to see the words "and while its not downtown Kansas City" printed in earnest.

[KCPowercat]

What am embarqssing level of waste that would be.

[aknowledgeableperson]

Interesting. It just might be the Big IX next school year and the following year.

The Big East filed a breach of contract lawsuit against West Virginia, seeking an order requiring the Mountaineers to comply with league by-laws about giving 27-month notice to leave the league as well as damages resulting from the school's improper attempt to withdrawal.

Commissioner John Marinatto issued this statement:

"Today’s legal action underscores The Big East Conference’s stated position that it will vigorously pursue the enforcement of its rights and West Virginia University’s obligations under the conference’s Bylaws which West Virginia formally agreed to and helped construct."


Read more: http://campuscorner.kansascity.com/node ... z1cnlgDHwv

[kcmetro]

See ya Mizzou. I'm glad these clowns are finally out of the Big 12. I'm fine with the rivalry ending more-so than the potential loss of the bball tourney from the Sprint Center. Otherwise though, I'll have fun watching them come in 10th place every year in the SEC.

[Highlander]

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[cityscape]

I think Missouri made a silly decision. Although, I believe that they'll be ok. Not better than if they'd stayed in the Big XII but just ok. Only time will tell of course. I agree with most that there was a MUCH better way to handle this and Missouri just never seemed to really give a shit. If I was Missouri I would have used this as one massive bluff and announced intentions to stay in the Big XII after their demands were met (which they basically were). Missouri can't really believe that the SEC is a better "fit" than the Big XII, I would love to see the official comparisons the board used to weigh the decision. Good luck Missouri, it will certainly be interesting.

[KCPowercat]

Ku should do exactly what ut is doing regarding a&m. Don't play them. Ever.

[MidtownCat]

Stewart Mandel bringing it strong.

The Presidents and Chancellors of the Southeastern Conference are pleased to welcome the University of Missouri to the SEC," Florida president Bernie Machen said in a release. "[Mizzou] is a prestigious academic institution with a strong athletic tradition and a culture similar to our current institutions."

With all due respect to Dr. Machen, the only part of that last sentence anyone could back up with facts is "academic institution." Missouri's "strong athletic tradition" consists of winning its last conference championship in football in 1969, despite playing in leagues largely ruled by two contenders: Oklahoma and Nebraska in the Big 8 and Oklahoma and Texas in the Big 12. Now it will be joining a conference in which five different schools have won BCS championships.

As for "a culture similar to our current institutions?" Saturdays in Columbia, Mo., in no way resemble the scene Saturday night in Tuscaloosa. But don't worry, the Tigers are joining the East; few cultures are as similar as Florida and Missouri.

In its mad quest for television sets, the SEC, presumably intent on starting its own network, has irreparably diluted what had become the nation's premier product. At its core, the charm of the SEC was that it really was one of the last conferences in which all 12 schools were geographically and culturally similar. The same scene we saw Saturday night in Tuscaloosa takes place in similar variations every week in Auburn, Baton Rouge, Oxford and Athens. Visiting fans make road trips in droves, because they can. Missouri, on the other hand, is an average 600-plus miles from the rest of the conference. Walk around an SEC tailgate lot or tune in to the Paul Finebaum Show and you'll quickly learn just how poorly this move is playing with the constituents.

STAPLES: Questioning Missouri's conference move? You'd have done the same thing

New members Missouri and Texas A&M won't threaten the continued dominance of Alabama and LSU. They are likely the league's next South Carolina and Arkansas, the former of which took 20 years to reach its first conference title game, the latter of which made its first BCS bowl last year. But paired with the NCAA's recently approved stricter admissions standards and the SEC's own move last spring to cut down on oversigning, the league's golden era is likely drawing to a close.

Its top teams will still sign the best recruits, largely because those players live in the South. But we may not see too many squads quite as loaded as the pair that butted heads Saturday night. And while they'll never stop tailgating on the Quad (Tuscaloosa) or the Grove (Ole Miss), a little chunk of the league's signature charm will die the first time South Carolina plays a conference road game in the other Columbia.

The SEC obviously timed Sunday's announcement to avoid overshadowing Saturday's all-important game, but the news made for an interesting juxtaposition nonetheless. Saturday represented all that's been great about the SEC the past five years. Sunday touched off everything that will be awkward about the league in the future.

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/w ... z1d1JailH1

[MidWestSider]

I'm beginning to think people forget the purpose of college is education. College athletics generate revenue to fund programs that serve a 'greater' purpose in life than sports. Why wouldn’t KS continue to play MU? If that game will generate more money for your institution than scheduling a non con Washburn?

The attitudes that have been displayed by people that are supposed to be educated has been mind-boggling to me, Its nothing short of petty and childish.

[MidWestSider]

"The majority of Kansas fans don’t give a flip about playing Missouri.” -Bill Self

Really?? Making tshirts that say Muck Fizzou, Tons of Banners and Posters, Special chants, guaranteed ESPN Big Monday game

Really Bill?

[kcmetro]

Ku should do exactly what ut is doing regarding a&m. Don't play them. Ever.

I really hope we never play them again.

[NDTeve]

All I can think of is the quote from Tombstone...

[lock+load]

Of course KU fans enjoyed the MU rivalry, but I imagine most are ready to let it go. MU moved on and so will KU.

[AllThingsKC]

My wife asked a great question in 2007.

Why do you still work for a newspaper?
At the time, I was in my fifth year at The Tampa Tribune. I was professionally satisfied. I loved my co-workers, even if I didn't always love my bosses. But my wife made a great point. Using the Web, I could send information to China in less than a second. Considered from that perspective, printing the news once a day on dead trees didn't exactly seem like a sustainable business model in the long term. Layoffs already were rumored. At 28, I probably had at least 35 years worth of work life ahead of me. I needed a better plan.

Anyone who has tried to plan for their professional future in an uncertain economy can understand that feeling. Which is why everyone should understand why Missouri is leaving the Big 12 for the SEC. Yet a lot of people seem to think Missouri has made a foolish move. Those people continue to shut their eyes and pretend major college sports isn't a business, so they'll probably rip the move for two reasons.

• The increased challenge of competing for football titles in the SEC.
• The possible death of long-contested rivalries.

The first reason is completely illogical. Why? Look at it in reverse. If conference affiliation were determined by the ability to compete for championships, wouldn't schools hop leagues in search of football trophies? If they did, Vanderbilt would have left the SEC decades ago. Iowa State might never have even joined the Big 12. Heck, Missouri hasn't won an outright conference title in football since 1960. By that logic, shouldn't the Tigers have sought membership in Conference USA? That would never happen. Nearly every conference move in the past 50 years has been in search of more money and security.

As for the rivalries -- specifically the Border War with Kansas -- it would be sad to see those meetings end. While that would be partially Missouri's fault, the Tigers wouldn't deserve full blame. If Missouri offers Kansas an annual home-and-home series or a lucrative neutral-site game and Kansas says no, that's on Kansas. This is especially true in basketball, where schools have double-digit out-of-conference schedule slots to fill.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/w ... &eref=sihp

By the way, other great non-con rivalries include:
Florida/Florida State
Georgia/Georgia Tech
South Carolina/Clemson
Kentucky/Louisville