June 19, 2003
Columbia, Mo. - One of the hot-button topics surrounding collegiate athletics on the Division I level revolves around conference realignment. By now, most everyone has heard that the Atlantic Coast Conference is looking to expand from nine teams to 12 teams by getting Miami, Fla., Syracuse and Boston College to defect from the Big East Conference.
As of mid-June, there are still a lot of issues to be settled before this proposed restructuring takes place, but it will be very interesting to those of us in college athletics to see how this will shake out, both short and long term.
While I'm certainly not privy to the details of the process, from the outside looking in, it is fairly clear as to what the conference is attempting to accomplish. For the ACC, they would be improving their standing on the national scene by adding three quality schools who bring with them significant media markets that will likely result in bigger financial payouts for the league. The schools should benefit in that they will be moving to an older, more historically prestigious league that should provide them better financial security and increased exposure, among many other things, which will only serve to help enhance the overall academic mission of each school.
Recently, there have been some attempts by the Big East Conference members to block this expansion, and it remains to be seen just what will take place, and we are hearing talk that Syracuse and Boston College might not be as inclined to make the move. It is my belief that regardless of whether or not those two schools make the jump, that Miami will be a member of the ACC.
Whatever eventually happens, there is no question that this move will create a ripple effect throughout major college athletics, even beyond the arm of Division I-A football. It is likely that the Big East would look to get schools from Conference USA to join their league to make up for the defections, and that creates a void for C-USA that could seriously impact that league's viability. Additionally, there are other leagues such as the Mountain West and the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) that are constantly examining expansion possibilities.
While it is true that the ripple effect would be felt throughout college athletics, there are two leagues that are already in position to withstand such a significant change in dynamics. Those leagues include our very own Big 12 Conference, as well as the Southeastern Conference. These leagues are among the leaders in the industry, and it is a luxury for each of us within these memberships that we only have to sit back and observe what takes place knowing that our futures are on absolutely solid ground.
While we are certainly a biased party to the proceedings, there is no disputing that the Big 12 Conference is one of the top leagues in the country, and we believe it to be the best, top-to-bottom when you factor in athletic success, academic integrity and other factors such as overall compliance with NCAA rules. We have schools with a great affinity for one another, enjoy incredible support from strong fan bases, and have had documented outstanding competitive success. We are also properly positioned from a geographic standpoint, meaning that we don't stretch from New York to Florida, or from Texas to Hawaii, as some conferences or proposed conferences, might be. This might not seem like a big deal, but when you factor in travel expenses for the hundreds of events schools participate in each year, that is a major advantage that we are happy to realize.
One of the more popular topics of discussion related to the proposed ACC expansion is the Bowl Championship Series. Right now, the Big East is one of six leagues who are guaranteed a spot in the BCS games, and it is likely that if all three of the previously mentioned schools leave the Big East, that the league will no longer be a part of that scenario. That would leave five conferences in the BCS, meaning that 58 of 117 Division I-A schools (including independent Notre Dame) would be competing for BCS revenue, which amounts to 90 percent of all bowl revenue that is distributed each year. Obviously, that is not a majority of schools that would have the opportunity, so that could lead to questions of fairness, which have already been raised by some concerned observers, most notably Tulane University.
The next six to 12 months will provide some very interesting answers to these questions, and I would suggest that this time period will be looked back upon as one of the more impactful in the history of collegiate athletics.
Every time there is talk about potential expansion in college athletics, there is speculation that Missouri is in line to make a move. While it is flattering to think that we might be a coveted organization for other top-notch leagues, we are perfectly happy to already be in what we consider the best league in the nation. We have a tremendous leader in Big 12 Commissioner Kevin Weiberg, and we are very satisfied with our affiliation with this conference.
Before I end this month's column, I would just like to make sure everyone is aware of an exciting new feature that has been unveiled on our official website, www.mutigers.com. We recently launched an online ticketing system that now enables anyone with access to the Internet a chance to purchase season tickets or even single-game tickets to Mizzou events. Be sure to check out this feature, and let us know what you think.
As always, I would like to thank-you for taking the time to read this column, and also to thank the fine newspaper editors around the state of Missouri for publishing the article. If you have any comments or questions for me about the above topic, or anything else relating to Mizzou Athletics, please feel free to contact me at aldenm@missouri.edu.