Because it's been a whole week since we discussed expansion...
by Kyle McCann't on Mar 7, 2010 2:01 PM CST
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PrintThere were two interesting developments in Manhattan, KS this week (and, no, Iowa State beating the Cats on their Senior Night is not one of them).
1.Kansas State signed basketball coach, Frank Martin, to an extension that brings with it a significant pay raise.
2.Earlier in the week Kansas State University president, Kirk Shulz, unveiled an (overly?)ambitious plan to elevate KSU into a top 50 school (they are currently tier 3) over the next 15 years.
What's the link to Big Ten expansion? This may be giving our humble conference too much credit, but my takeaway is that the ramifications of Big Ten expansion and the entire process leading (or not) to it are setting layers upon layers of forces in motion with effects more wide-reaching than first suspected. Sure, there have been the expected overtures from willing participants (Mizzou, Rutgers, Pitt) and controlled leaks (Nebraska, Wisconsin) from parties hoping to position themselves better for their own purposes. What we haven't really seen is movement from the "also rans" category of schools (Iowa State, Baylor, Texas Tech, etc.) that figure to be left without a chair when the music stops (or at best, a rickety, splinter-ridden chair with exposed nails). This is the first I've seen of a university from this pool trying to force itself into the discussion. Of course, with a 67-30 record over 3 years, the Martin extension was already well in the works. But the scale of the deal shows a real commitment to the sport from a school whose brightest days have been on the gridiron. The top 50 goal is really where I see the effect of Big Ten expansion come into play. Obviously, it would be foolish for any university president to not state the desire to enhance the academic reputation of their institution. But why now? And why aim so high? Is it an attempt to get the Big Ten/Pac 10 to notice them? Was it done with the intention of convincing Texas that the Big XII can become a league committed to similar ideals?
It would be nice to think that Kansas State is just at the crossroads of good fortune and noble ambition, but I cannot help but think that they will be the first of many universities doing everything in their power to make themselves attractive to the power players.
OK, tear it apart!
Unless otherwise expressly indicated by BHGP editors, this FanPost is strictly the viewpoint of the author and is not endorsed by BHGP in any way.
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I dunno
These days, any team based in Iowa beating a top 5 hoopyball team is a fairly interesting development.
(And KSU wouldn’t be a good Big Ten match.)
At this point, Iowa should just declare themselves the world's 1st professional wrestling team and give the rest of the NCAA a chance.
They're still the $2 whore of expansion choices.
No matter how much makeup they put on or what kind of dress they buy… they’re still a $2 whore.
If the B10 is going to expand into Kansas, there’s only one school they should be looking at, no matter how many Power Towels the other Kansas school may try to woo us with.
"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"
Once upon a time
K-State had good basketball. They had a good coach in Jack Hartman, which regularly competed for the B8 championship and made some trips to the tournament when it was 32 teams. Since Evashevski has been a recent topic for us and rightfully so, it bears mentioning for the KSU folks that during that same time (1957, I beleive) they won a national championship in basketball. The coach was Tex Winter and his groundbreaking offense at K-State was the triangle.
I’m sure KSU signed up the present coach long term because they haven’t had sustained success since the 70s and because they are fed up with all the attention KU gets. Having lived in the sunflower state back then, I can tell you that KU is to Iowa as K-State is to ISU. Nice school in some departments and a surprising number or Rhodes scholars but overall, like most of the B12, not the academic level and stature of the B11 schools. And KSU football was the absolute dregs, far worse than just Northwestern, until Bill Snyder risked career suicide to pull a Hayden Fry turnaround at KSU. But for those 15 or 16 amazing years, KSU is the worst major college football program in the NCAA.
I’m sure everyone is posturing, particularly in the B12, with all the rumors circulating. But KSU to the B11? Nah.
I guess I did a poor job of framing my post.
My intent was not to imply that KSU is a good/logical/possible for fit for the Big Ten (they are not). I was just intrigued that we are already seeing pieces on the board set in motion that had been heretofore ignored i.e. we’ve been talking about kings (UT/ND), bishops (Nebraska/Mizzou) and rooks (Pitt/Rutgers) but ignoring the pawns. This is a much bigger board then we’ve looked at and, depending on the pieces that move and where, we will see other players (definitely the SEC, possibly the ACC) get involved. My post was more an observation of how the whole discussion is affecting the way schools we don’t even think of conduct themselves.
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
I get that.
But it seems like a futile gesture for most of those teams unless the “superconference” plan (4 conferences of 16 teams each) emerges as the way of the future. Schools like K-State simply don’t have enough to offer otherwise.
"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"
Totally agree
that many schools don’t have “what it takes”, but they also can’t be expected to stand blithely by and watch themselves fade into irrelevance without trying something. Again, I see the development as interesting, nothing more.
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
by Kyle McCann't on Mar 8, 2010 12:26 PM CST up reply actions
Oh sure.
Unless they were to listen to the words of the immortal bard, Homer Simpson:
“Kids, You Tried Your Best and You Failed Miserably. The Lesson Is, Never Try.”
"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"
Superconferences
just aren’t going to happen. You might see a bunch of mid-majors form one to get a guaranteed BCS bid, but that’s it.
In 100 years, we'll all be dead.
Superconferences seem unlikely
but so did 12-team leagues in the days of the Big 8 and Pac 8. A “true” national champion seemed far-fetched when we were still splitting champions (Colorado/Georgia Tech, Miami/Washington, Michigan/Nebraska).
Superconferences already exist in college basketball (Big East, Atlantic 10 [and the Big Ten gets made fun of!]) and briefly existed in college football (the WAC was a 16-team entity from ‘96-’99). The basketball comparison is only worth looking at if a playoff existed, but again, who can say with any certainty that it never will? Perhaps the Big Ten would be wise to be out in front of the curve on this as they already were with television.
As it stands, I would prefer the Big 10 keep expansion to only one team, and only expand if that one team is an absolute burnt orange/gold & navy home run. However, I can’t dismiss anything at this point. Those who scoff at change are left unprepared when it arrives.
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
by Kyle McCann't on Mar 8, 2010 12:42 PM CST up reply actions
A "true" national champion still seems far fetched.
by Eyeheartfreedumb on Mar 10, 2010 12:06 PM CST up reply actions
I would say that is true
of all college sports, depending on your definition of “true”.
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
by Kyle McCann't on Mar 10, 2010 4:22 PM CST up reply actions
If a blog is typed in the forest
does it make a sound?
No, I am one of the few people who don’t want an NCAA playoff because I don’t think that system works in college football. The NFL has a much smaller pool of teams with a longer schedule and, as a result, a single elimination playoff consisting of 12 teams seems fair enough. In college, however, a 12 game schedule with over 120 teams in the mix cannot provide you with an accurate picture of who should be in a 4, 8 or even 16 team tournament. I guess that’s what I mean by “true”; what would that even mean in college sports?
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
by Kyle McCann't on Mar 11, 2010 1:22 PM CST up reply actions
So the end of the season
reminds you of your house when daddy used to get home and get a few drinks in him…I have no idea why I said that, you may not have known you father!!!
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
by Kyle McCann't on Mar 11, 2010 4:49 PM CST up reply actions
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