Thunderstorms, some heavy during the morning hours, then skies turning partly cloudy during the afternoon. High around 85F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected..
Tonight
A few clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 68F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph.
Colorado’s move back to the Big 12 is certainly a sign of the conference’s renewed strength. That’s got to be good for K-State, and for Manhattan.
A few other thoughts spring immediately to mind:
First, it’s yet another reminder that extrapolating from the recent past is not a good idea. Two years ago, at this same time of year, Texas and Oklahoma announced that they were leaving the conference. It was quite easy to declare the Big 12 dead.
Yet here we are, not only with the addition of four schools – BYU, Central Florida, Houston and Cincinnati – but now also with the return of Colorado. The latter is particularly symbolic, since it left for the supposedly greener pastures of the Pac-12 in 2010, another moment at which the Big 12 looked like it was wobbling.
The rationale for its departure at the time never made much sense; nor did the departure of Nebraska, Texas A&M, or Mizzou. (As I’ve written before, I also don’t think the move away will end up benefiting Texas or OU, but that has yet to be determined. What, they need more money?)
But of course I’d be contradicting myself to spike the football, since what I’m saying is that it’s unwise to try to predict the future from current events. I’d guess that the Big 12 will want to add one or three more members, and I could sit here and speculate, but…who would’ve guessed in 2021 that we’d be here right now? At that time the discussion was: What will the drop of tens of millions of dollars in TV revenues mean for the local economy if K-State ends up in the Mountain West? Instead, the money volcano keeps erupting.
Second, I have to say, Jon Wefald was probably right. Again. You might recall that for years he was plugging the idea of an alliance between the Big 12 and the Pac-12, arguing that the Pac-12 was weak and that both would benefit by strengthening each other. A formal deal – prior to the departure of OU, Texas, USC and UCLA – would have been better for everybody, but it appears that it’s beginning to happen by default with the remainders.
Third, in the event you had a momentary lapse of reason, this is not about restoring old geographically contiguous rivalries. This is about television. Colorado – particularly in the person of Deion Sanders – wants to be on the right channels, and the Big 12 has them. College sports is a television show.
Fourth, in the event you think conference realignment is entirely a modern phenomenon, I’m reminded of what my great-grandmother, Lillian Holton, used to say: “We never should’ve let Colorado into the Big Six.” That was 1947. This stuff just keeps going. It appears you should just put it on your calendar for late July every year.
