So, last time I talked about the proposed Big 10 expansion and what it could possibly mean to the University of Missouri. As I stated, there are 4 universities being mentioned as possible candidates. It's a hot topic on sites such as ESPN, Fox Sports and most any college message board. There are differences in opinion among Missouri fans as to this being a good move or not. Most that would consider themselves to be traditionalists point out that the university would be leaving behind decade long rivalries with kansas, Nebraska and others that were built up during the Missouri Valley, Big 6, Big 7 and Big 8 days.
While I agree that it would be hard to replace the sheer joy we get from hating some of these programs, you simply can't dismiss the increased revenue that would come from a move. As I said in my last post, the Big 10 distributed 22 million dollars per team last year in the football portion of shared revenue. By that I mean that Indiana received the same amount of television dollars that Ohio State and Penn State received. Missouri was in the upper half of Big XII revenue and made only 13 million. The conference simply doesn't make as much money due to the fact that they have so fewer potential viewers than Big 10 states. Yes, Texas is one of the kings, but Missouri is the second most populous state in the conference and I just don't see people lining up to move to kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska or Iowa. Like it or not, the next television contract may not be significantly better and it's not going to compare to Big 10 or SEC viewership in my lifetime.
So we know that we'll continue to make less money in the Big XII, but would a 9 million dollar payday in football offset the increased costs incurred shuttling non revenue producing teams to Happy Valley, Columbus and Madison? The simple answer would be, probably not. However, there is more, much more in play here than a few dollars in athletic revenue. The big dog here is admittance into the CIC, or Committee on Institutional Cooperation of which every member of the Big 10, plus the University of Chicago is a member. While it may not be as satisfying as kicking a field goal in the final second of a game to finish off the beaks "history awaits" season, we need to remember that the main purpose of a university is to provide a quality education for it's students. The CIC members engaged in over 6 billion dollars of funded research last year. That currently amounts to 500 million per member. Think that the medical and veterinary schools could find something to do with that grant money? In addition member schools have saved over 28 million dollars due to increased buying power and less need to purchase items that can be shared by the member schools. At a time when state budget cuts are threatening funding this is huge. Therefore, while I (and you if you are reading this) are sports fans first, you must agree that financially this would be a huge boon for the university.
So what happens now? We know that the Big 10 has planned a 12 to 18 month study to determine who will receive the invitation. My gut feeling is that they'd still love to add Notre Dame. It's proximity to schools in the conference and it's academics make it the obvious choice. However, they've turned down the opportunity before and I see little chance they'd accept this time. While I think the conference is still extending feelers to them, we'll probably never know since they certainly don't want to be turned down a 2nd time. That leaves us with the 4 institutions previously mentioned, unless they go completely against conventional wisdom and invite someone we haven't considered or decide to add more than one other member. I think that both those possibilities are remote at best. My best guess is that the Big 10 milks this for all that it's worth and makes sure that everyone in the country realizes what a financial windfall this will be for the lucky university chosen to become a member. They've suffered a lot the last few years by bowl game failures and early exits from the NCAA tournament so they absolutely want someone that will boost their standing in the athletic community, but also find a school that matches up academically.
While Missouri doesn't carry the academic reputation of Ohio State or Northwestern, they still are members of the AAU, which is a requirement for membership in the Big 10. It is also a land grant research institution which happens to have a 1 billion dollar endowment. The university is also one of only 6 institutions with a law school, medical school and veterinary school on campus as well as a world renowned school of journalism. This is just nothing to sneeze at and we also have one of the better engineering schools in the country at Rolla which is part of the system. Whether people want to admit it or not, the University of Missouri has much to offer the Big 10, including a pretty damn successful athletic department.
What's going to happen? I have no freaking idea. But I do know that if membership is offered, it will most likely be accepted and maintaining a rivalry with a bunch or corncob hat wearing hicks or Johnson County mama's boys won't play any part in the decision. I apologize for the attempt at being serious in my last 2 posts, but this is a pretty important subject. I promise to get back to my normal self next time. Have a great week and stay warm.
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