Bye Bye Mizzou

I really hate to say all of this, because Kansas and Missouri have one of the longest standing rivalries in the country—goes back to a time where some of the fans in the stands were old enough to remember people who were killed in the border wars.  If KU and Missouri do go their separate conference ways, it will truly be a sad, sad day.  Some of my best friends are Mizzou faithful, and getting the chance to banter back and forth about the rivalry is something I truly look forward to every year.

But I’ve come to the conclusion that it probably has to happen.  I don’t blame Missouri for annually looking towards greener conference pastures.  They are blessed to have landed in a state where two large metros bloomed to their east and west, and one in which no second major athletics player ever materialized.  They continue to be in a better situation to be successful in athletics than nearly any school in the union, and they SHOULD feel like they have a valuable commodity.

But as some have questioned how the Big 12 conference can go on if Missouri leaves, I think the question that has to be asked is how can conference stability be gained if Missouri STAYS.

Now, if the “super conference” model ever really does come to pass, with the four 16-team leagues going off on their own to have their own college football empire and all, I think we’re going to all look foolish for ever trying to keep the Big 12 together in the first place.  In that sense, and in the sense that Missouri has real, natural options, I seriously would hold no animosity towards Missouri if they were to leave at this time.  Perhaps they’d be the only wise one in the bunch—at least amongst those with options (and I really don’t know if anyone else DOES at this point, although I suspect that OU could call the SEC today and be admitted ahead of Missouri, if they were willing to leave Oklahoma State behind).

But if the league goes forward WITH Missouri, you know that this cycle will never end.  Every year, it’s going to come up again.  Where does Missouri want to go now?  If they finally catch on somewhere else, will everybody be scrambling to find a new home (again)?

I hope the reports of Missouri’s offer from the SEC are real, and frankly, I kind of hope they take it ASAP.  Time for the remaining eight to sign on four committed replacements to get the league back to 12.  If the era of the super conference comes, and Kansas gets left out in the cold later, so be it.  In a sense, we’ll be no worse off than we are today.  Football is already sub-par, and it will take a lot more than an inferior conference alignment to kill what KU has in basketball.

In a sense, Kansas has already thrived in an inferior basketball league.  Not that Big 12 basketball is awful, by any means.  But any league that allows one school to win seven conference basketball titles in a row (and nine of the last 10) can’t REALLY be taking the sport all that seriously, anyway.

Time to roll the dice with those who want to be here, and move on.