(01-11-2019 11:30 PM)ICThawk Wrote:  

(08-31-2018 02:55 AM)JRsec Wrote:  

(08-31-2018 02:37 AM)jhawkmvp Wrote:  A few things about Kansas. We are a good buy currently. Our FB is at it's worst point in our history, by a long shot, and it is really hurting our revenue. KU FB has been mostly mediocre historically, beaten by the conference leaders pretty easily, but usually competitive with the middle and bottom. Basically Oklahoma State and KU were similar programs historically until the last decade or so (they got Boone/Gundy and we got a bunch of circus clowns). When we were last competitive under Mangino we sold out. No school has fans that will show up when you do as badly has we have the last 8 years. Our AD revenue last year was $95M, a few years earlier it was around $110M. If our football was competitive we would be making $125-130M currently. Get competitive and throw in a new stadium, if it gets done (and if it does we were assured of a landing spot somewhere), and our WSJ valuation will jump probably a $100M or more (which is into KSU/OSU territory).

Our last AD, Sheahon Zenger, was an imbecile and our previous chancellor did not care for sports. Our new Chancellor, Douglas Girod, is a sports fan who has been attending KU FB games for years, and he helped turn a struggling KU Med around. The new AD Long will get FB competitive again. We are paying him among the highest salaries for an AD in the country and I am pretty confident KU will pay pretty well ($4M+) to our next football coach, which along with Long's connections should allow us to land a solid coach. When KU has a solid coach we are competitive (Gottfried, Mason, Mangino).

As far as the SEC goes, I think KU and the SEC are about a perfect fit athletically. SEC FB already has more than enough good to great teams. The SEC would gain by having more easy wins on the schedule of their top schools. KU would almost certainly remain mediocre, but would get more talent on the roster, win more out of conference, and play competitively with the middle and bottom schools each year, but be an easy win for the top of the conference. In basketball, no conference would gain more by adding Kansas than the SEC. It would give you one of the top BB brands to help drive ratings/ticket sales for all your BB programs when they play Kansas, while also giving both Kansas and Kentucky a foil of the same stature. The Kentucky/KU games have been ratings gold the last few years and would give the SEC it's Duke/UNC type BB rivalry. The KU and MU rivalry would be restored.

I have said on here before my hope is KU ends up in the SEC or B1G, if the B12 dies, because those conferences have passionate fans like the B12 has and are closer geographically. The ACC is too far away and I have lived in 2 PAC states and all sports talk/attention there is mostly centered on the pros.

I noticed you reading the who should we take from the Big 12 thread the other night.

I think the perfect additions for the SEC to 16 are Texas and Kansas. I also figure this might be the best thing that could happen to Iowa State. Should the Big 10 take Oklahoma then Iowa State may make the most appealing partner if Texas and Kansas are off the board.

Iowa State / Iowa (Cyhawk) becomes an annual Big 10 rivalry. Oklahoma / Nebraska are reunited. Texas / A&M and MU / KU are reunited and both conferences move to 16 in acceptable and profitable ways.

I would be very good with that ending. I just don't know how likely it is that Kansas would want to come to the SEC. Or how likely it would be that Texas would not care to bring along another Texas school.

I also figured if Texas and Kansas came to the SEC that it might well help Oklahoma politically to separate from OSU since the SEC was the only conference likely to take both.

Thoughts?

Wonder if KU is already becoming a SEC football school with all of Les' hirings (understandably he hires those he knows and of course that is heavily SEC people)

http://www2.kusports.com/news/2019/jan/1...-senior-s/

Texas and Kansas makes a great deal of sense.

I tend to think Texas Tech might be required to seal the deal with Texas though if for no more reason than playing a ton of in-state schools has been good for UT historically and I think their Legislature will try to push it as well. Speaking of the Legislature, I wouldn't be shocked if they tried to push Houston as well, but that's a different discussion.

But if ESPN wants Kansas in the SEC, and I tend to think they do, then the trouble is finding the most compatible partner.

My earlier question about Oklahoma and Oklahoma State was predicated on the notion that a separation couldn't occur, but if it can occur then that opens up a ton of possibilities.

Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, and Kansas is an incredibly strong 4 team haul.

Nothing particularly wrong with Oklahoma State, but it's a secondary school in a small state and they don't really have a national brand.

Personally, I like 20 more than 18 as the divisional structure will have a lot more advantages if you can divide into an even 4 rather than an odd 3, but the biggest problem is acquiring solid schools when the ACC is not available to crack.