KSU needs the Big 12 to be the tallest midget.
It's hard to predict what will happen, but here's my best guess after reading everything and how I read the tea leaves for 2022 to 2025 and beyond.
Big picture: Big 10 and SEC will be the dominant 2. What does the Big 12 have to do to be the tallest midget and be #3 and still have a seat at the big boy table?
(1) Big 12 will take AZ and ASU, which means Pac 12 is effectively dead. Utah, Colorado joins shortly thereafter. Reluctantly, Washington and Oregon joins with a 12 year or so GOR coinciding with when the ACC GOR expires. Washington and Oregon would want to keep Pac 12 together so they have flexibility to jump to big 10 whenever invited, but bc AZ and ASU have to look out for themselves, them leaving is the next domino that topples the Pac 12. Washington and Oregon won't want to go Independent to wait out a Big 10 invite that might not come for another 12 years. RIP Pac 12.
(2) Next big realignment is when the ACC implodes. It's a foregone conclusion with the top brands jumping into the Big 10 and SEC. Big 12 will lose a few schools too, like Oregon and Washington. At that time, remaining Big 12 will add the most valuable remaining ACC pieces and let the Syracuse, Wake, and BCs of the ACC to die.
Then you effectively have the Big 10 and SEC, and a Big 12 remaining. We won't make as much and we won't have blue bloods, but you can't just exclude half of America by breaking away and forming your own playoff, bc if you do, millions will stop paying attention to the "exclusive country club that is Big 10 and SEC".
The biggest wildcard is Notre Dame. Notre Dame could jump in today, and then bam, Stanford, Oregon, and Washington get to tag along. The best guess right now is that they value their independence and will stay put for now, and maybe re-assess in 2 years. Oregon and Washington would want to wait for those 2 years instead of signing a lengthly GOR, but they may not have the luxury if Pac 12 implodes right now, which is what Big 12 needs to force.
Overall, being the tallest midget is what's best for KSU. We will always be a minnow to the sharks that are the Texas, Ohio State and Michigan's of the world. Our best case scenario is having a seat at the table while making 50 million dollars less a year. I think there's a clear vision and gameplan of how Big 12 becomes the tallest midget, which is what also would be in the best interest of KSU athletics.
I think the better caption for the below picture is Big 12 in 2035
It's hard to predict what will happen, but here's my best guess after reading everything and how I read the tea leaves for 2022 to 2025 and beyond.
Big picture: Big 10 and SEC will be the dominant 2. What does the Big 12 have to do to be the tallest midget and be #3 and still have a seat at the big boy table?
(1) Big 12 will take AZ and ASU, which means Pac 12 is effectively dead. Utah, Colorado joins shortly thereafter. Reluctantly, Washington and Oregon joins with a 12 year or so GOR coinciding with when the ACC GOR expires. Washington and Oregon would want to keep Pac 12 together so they have flexibility to jump to big 10 whenever invited, but bc AZ and ASU have to look out for themselves, them leaving is the next domino that topples the Pac 12. Washington and Oregon won't want to go Independent to wait out a Big 10 invite that might not come for another 12 years. RIP Pac 12.
(2) Next big realignment is when the ACC implodes. It's a foregone conclusion with the top brands jumping into the Big 10 and SEC. Big 12 will lose a few schools too, like Oregon and Washington. At that time, remaining Big 12 will add the most valuable remaining ACC pieces and let the Syracuse, Wake, and BCs of the ACC to die.
Then you effectively have the Big 10 and SEC, and a Big 12 remaining. We won't make as much and we won't have blue bloods, but you can't just exclude half of America by breaking away and forming your own playoff, bc if you do, millions will stop paying attention to the "exclusive country club that is Big 10 and SEC".
The biggest wildcard is Notre Dame. Notre Dame could jump in today, and then bam, Stanford, Oregon, and Washington get to tag along. The best guess right now is that they value their independence and will stay put for now, and maybe re-assess in 2 years. Oregon and Washington would want to wait for those 2 years instead of signing a lengthly GOR, but they may not have the luxury if Pac 12 implodes right now, which is what Big 12 needs to force.
Overall, being the tallest midget is what's best for KSU. We will always be a minnow to the sharks that are the Texas, Ohio State and Michigan's of the world. Our best case scenario is having a seat at the table while making 50 million dollars less a year. I think there's a clear vision and gameplan of how Big 12 becomes the tallest midget, which is what also would be in the best interest of KSU athletics.
I think the better caption for the below picture is Big 12 in 2035
Last edited:
