With the Big 12 averting full-fledged self-immolation due to an 11th-hour deal that preserved the conference in a ten-team incarnation, reactions from across the now poorly-named Big 12 have been varied. For Iowa State, Kansas State, Kansas and Missouri, the conference’s survival gives them at least a reprieve (and maybe more) from major-conference limbo. Indeed, the fans at our Iowa State, Kansas State and Kansas blogs were more or less ecstatic about the Big 12 staying together, while our Missouri blog cautioned that the new arrangement may prove to be no more long-lasting than the previous one, as long as the conference so clearly revolves around Texas and only Texas.
Reactions From Around The Big 12 After The Conference Survives
Meanwhile, the Aggies faithful were less than enthused after their dalliance with the SEC fizzled and they re-embraced the status quo in the Big 12.
Below are reactions from across SB Nation’s Big 13 blogosphere.
No away around it, Texas, and to a lesser extent, Oklahoma and Texas A&M stand to make out quite well. The conference has always revolved around Texas, and that’s why this morning’s news held so much importance. But any pride that schools like Iowa State and Kansas State had needed to be swallowed to avoid the unknown. The situation moving to the Big East may have been better initially, but that situation was in NO way more solid than what the Big 12 has become. The Big 12 is under Texas’ thumb. Probably always will be. But Iowa State doesn’t have the sort of financial resources or athletics history to make it on its own. And as far as the horses of the college athletics world go, there’s worse options than Texas. They are staying on top. And we will have to continue to deal with what they want. But we have to. And we need to.
Forget everything I said about going to the Big East and getting away from Texas. Screw that. Give me Texas. I want that money.
Kick back, relax, and enjoy. The Big 12 lives, we’re all getting rich, and Colorado and Nebraska, you can cut those buyout checks to “The Big 12 Conference”. We have a practice facility to build for Frank.
All signs point to 10 being the final number. That being the case the Big 12(-2) will likely move to a conference schedule that would include all 9 opposing teams and an outright conference champion.
The bad news is Kansas now has to play Texas, Oklahoma and Texas Tech every year. The old two on, two off system gave Kansas a small reprieve from the gauntlet in the south by switching it up every other year, but that will no longer be the case.
[As for basketball, you] take away two bottom feeders in the league and you have addition by subtraction. The Big 12 was a strong as ever last year with Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Texas, Texas A&M, Baylor and Oklahoma State all finding their way into the tournament. 7 of 12 teams, the most ever by the conference. [...] Kansas remains well positioned to recruit at an elite level. Bill Self has one of the most competitive leagues to sell and the Jayhawks should be battle tested and well prepared come March.
Revenue sharing and inequality are eventually going to kill this conference. It is almost certainly going to happen one day. As soon as this TV deal fails to suffice in comparison to that of other major conferences, the same issues are going to pop up. This is only a band-aid, and it’s hard to see it as anything but that. And part of the reason I felt so disappointed when this was announced was simply that ... honestly, I wanted to be done with this. I wanted this to be the Summer of Expansion, and I wanted to be done with the issue forever and ever (unless they ended up in a worse conference, ahem). Instead, we stare at a future with another potential breakdown on the horizon. Healthy conferences have members who feel like equals. That has never been the case in the Big 12.
The leadership of Texas A&M is a bunch of cowards. They had a chance to enact real change, and instead opted for the same old crap. I am embarrassed those morons are representing my university.
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