The "New" Pac-10?

[slotdirt]

I'm not missing any point. I get it's about money. I understand that is why Kansas and Missouri are getting left behind on the football side. That being said, it's absolutely foolish to suggest that Kansas and Missouri and those couple other schools are going to end up in a conference that doesn't have a major television package when all of this is said and done.

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by slotdirt

I'm not missing any point. I get it's about money. I understand that is why Kansas and Missouri are getting left behind on the football side. That being said, it's absolutely foolish to suggest that Kansas and Missouri and those couple other schools are going to end up in a conference that doesn't have a major television package when all of this is said and done.

What conference do you think they are going to if the Big 12 continues to fall apart? It isn't foolish, it is reality.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201...html?eref=sihp

[slotdirt]

Ok, let me type this again:

I'm not suggesting KU/K-State/ISU/Mizzou are going to a conference that CURRENTLY has some big major television package (though I've read rumors that a Kansas-Big East discussion is ongoing), I'm suggesting that whatever conference those four plus Baylor end up in if this plays out the way it looks it might will absolutely, no doubt about it, have a major television package for, at the very minimum, college basketball.

The end.

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by slotdirt

Ok, let me type this again:

I'm not suggesting KU/K-State/ISU/Mizzou are going to a conference that CURRENTLY has some big major television package (though I've read rumors that a Kansas-Big East discussion is ongoing), I'm suggesting that whatever conference those four plus Baylor end up in if this plays out the way it looks it might will absolutely, no doubt about it, have a major television package for, at the very minimum, college basketball.

The end.

You seem to be the only person in the country that has this opinion. Seriously if you think that Iowa state, Kansas State, Missouri, Baylor, kansas and a few other minor teams are going to get a major TV contract you are crazy.

[Cannon Shell]

UPDATE: The Texas legislature may inadvertantly save the Big 12 if it continues to try to tack Baylor onto Pac-10 expansion. Colorado is moving to accept a bid first, which would make it more unlikely the Pac-10 would succumb to the political wrangling that aims to move the entire Texas contingent of the Big 12 into the westernmost BCS conference.

If Texas decides it would rather make the lion's share of the football money in a UT and the 11 Dwarfs scenario, the monolithic school could press for TCU, Boise State and/or Utah to fill out the Big 12, giving those burgeoning football powers a chance at a BCS bid each season, while maintaining a strong hoops tradition by retaining Kansas, Kansas State and Baylor.

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While they might not really want the Big 12 to break up, it still has to sting a bit that the likes of Kansas and Kansas State are never mentioned for realignment. They're left out in the cold with other football also-rans like Iowa State and Baylor.

If the Big 12 sends Missouri and Nebraska off to the Big Ten, and Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Colorado heads to the Pac-10, where does that leave the other four?

Basketball-wise, that's not a bad group. In the full spirit of speculation, we can imagine that the lonely four could negotiate as a group, looking first to Conference USA. Whether they would join the existing schools or siphon off top regional programs like Memphis, Houston and UTEP to form a new conference is an interesting question. In fact, throw Southern Miss into that group, and Iowa State would be facing two former Cyclone coaches each season in Larry Eustachy and Tim Floyd.

Since they would have to align with other Division I football programs, the only conferences that merit much of a look are the MAC and the Sun Belt. Neither makes much sense on a budgetary or competitive level. It could be that top members of each would be asked to join a new mega-conference along with some C-USA teams.

Some columnists have opined that the Jayhawks might look good to the Big East or SEC, which could possibly value the basketball end of things enough to take on a school with little football relevance and even less geographical benefit.

The big moves are somewhat obvious. The Pac-10 and the Big Ten are grabbing revenue-producing football powerhouses, and none of the possible leftover Big 12 candidates fit that bill. Watching those four schools try to pick up the pieces might be one of the more interesting storylines in the next few months.