Weiberg hopes Big 12 learns to share

[Blackshirt]

Apparently Kstate is in the corner pouting..

 

Weiberg hopes Big 12 learns to share

 

Kevin Weiberg stepped down from a job that paid him roughly $700,000 per year last month to take a job that, relatively, is obscure.

 

He's the vice president of planning and development for the Big 10 Network. He was the commissioner, the head honcho, of the Big 12 Conference.

 

If your reaction was like mine, it probably ranged somewhere from "Hmmm" to "What is he thinking?"

 

The thing about Weiberg is that he is a thinker. And he thinks this is the right move at the right time. He just secured an extension of the Big 12's television package with ESPN and ABC. Revenues in the conference have nearly doubled since he took over as commissioner in 1998, to $106 million during the 2006-07 school year. Since expanding to 12 schools in 1996, the league has remained stable.

 

About the only thing Weiberg wasn't able to accomplish in nine years was getting everybody to agree that a conference is only as strong as its weakest member.

 

The Big 12 does not share television revenue equally and that really bothers some of the conference's members.

 

For instance, last year Texas was awarded $9.68 million in television revenue. Kansas State received $6.47 million.

 

When you look at it from the Texas perspective, here's what you see. The Longhorns are often in the hunt for a national championship. They're on TV more than Larry King. They're the monster program in the conference with more money than they know how to spend.

 

From the Kansas State perspective, here's what you see. The Wildcats aspire to be more like Texas. K-State would like to continue to expand its football facilities and could use that extra chunk of change every year far more than a Texas.

 

"The bigger-budget schools do tend to look at these (revenue sharing) issues from a different type of prism," Weiberg said. "I'm a proponent of revenue sharing. My feeling, my background in the television area in particular, is that the more conferences can share money equally the better off they are."

 

But in the Big 12, it's a difficult sell.

 

Texas and Nebraska carry a lot of weight and neither school wants to share television revenue. Whether that's a selfish or practical viewpoint is open for debate.

 

"There have to be changes in the mindset when the administrators from these schools come to the table," Weiberg said. "They can't just come there thinking about what their share is going to be. They should think about trying to grow the whole."

 

The Big 12 splits half of the television revenue it receives evenly. The other half is based on the number of television appearances. Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Texas A&M are on ESPN and ABC a lot more than the other schools. At the most recent Big 12 meetings, revenue sharing wasn't even discussed.

 

But it's talked about in hushed tones in every athletic department in the conference. Especially by those athletic directors and presidents who don't believe their schools are getting a fair share. It's a growing concern, a battle of the haves and have nots.

 

"Our basketball revenue from television is more equally shared," Weiberg said. "And in football, the difference is only a couple of million dollars. It's not huge in terms of its impact on the overall budget. It's more symbolic."

 

It's strange, because the formation of the Big 12 -- a combination of eight schools from the old Big Eight and four from the former Southwest Conference -- has been a win-win for everybody. The Texas schools have given a boost to exposure and recruiting. But they have also stolen much of the thunder from the six schools that now comprise the North Division of the Big 12, where none of the football programs stand out from the others. Oklahoma and Texas have been dominant for several years and Oklahoma State, which has spent millions and millions of dollars on its football facilities, is trying to get to that level.

 

While the conference is awash in money, the camaraderie of the schools could be better.

 

"It's like trying to get a family on the same page," Weiberg said. "Being the commissioner was a multi-faceted role. You can't over-simplify it. I used to joke with our (Big 12) staff that there were times when I spent as much time negotiating with our own members as I did with the television entity. That probably needs to improve in the future."

 

How much of a threat is the acrimony? The members of the Big 12 recognize they're part of a cash cow. The equal revenue issue is a problem, but it's not going to bring down the conference.

 

Weiberg, meanwhile, thinks he took the Big 12 as far as he can because of his fundamental belief in revenue sharing. It will be interesting to see how the next commissioner approaches the subject because the power schools aren't open to change.

 

"It was a good time for me to make a change," said Weiberg, who grew up in Anthony and is a former assistant athletic director at Wichita State. "Most of the major business decisions for the next two to three years have been made. There was a period of time here coming up that it would have been more of a caretaker role rather than working on big, substantive projects. It just felt to me like a new person might have a better chance to take on some of our issues than I would."

 

http://www.kansas.com/sports/lutz/story/117572.html

[skrsOVRsc]

So youre saying we should give money to those who suck and no one cares about.......ya thats the competitive spirit alright.........or charity

[Hunter94]

the legitimacy of any conference is, as was said, the strength of the weakest "sister". if the north does not get stronger, ie. the traditional weaklings, then yes, NU may be better served to try to get in another conference. for those of you paying attention, this subject has already been aired......this subject explains why. duh.....they are related.

[TrueHuskerFan]

So youre saying we should give money to those who suck and no one cares about.......ya thats the competitive spirit alright.........or charity

Communism at it's best! Screw KSUcks.

[zoogs]

It seems legitimate; we're part of a conference, we're not independent, after all. Besides, if the NU moves to the Big 10 (which would make 12 schools, interestingly enough), then it *will* share, because that's what they do, right?

 

"There have to be changes in the mindset when the administrators from these schools come to the table," Weiberg said. "They can't just come there thinking about what their share is going to be. They should think about trying to grow the whole."

 

If we want the Big 12 to be as nationally competitive as we'd like it to be, then it is time to start thinking about the whole. The solution, in my view, is not to bolt to another conference with "better" teams. It's to make the teams in our conference better. Every team has to start somewhere. Inadequately funded schools aren't going to turn into national stalwarts overnight, or without help...we're part of this conference, and we should do our share for it.

[TrueHuskerFan]

I honestly think the rumors about Nebraska going to the Big 11 are just that, rumors. I haven't heard anything from a reliable source on the subject, I think it's all just wild conjectures.

[Hunter94]

maybe at this point, i would have to agree, but down the road, 2-4 years from now?? i would suggest it is a distinct possibility.

[Landlord]

I agree with zoogies, it's a vicious cycle in which the top notch programs that already have the excellent facilities and etc. get more money when they don't need it, while the lesser teams, try as they might, can't improve because they aren't getting the same deals as the bigger schools.

[skrsOVRsc]

maybe at this point, i would have to agree, but down the road, 2-4 years from now?? i would suggest it is a distinct possibility.

I dont know, that seem like a bit of a stretch.

[strigori]

At this point, it may become a thing of need to enter into splitting it evenly. The North teams have been suffering in recent years, and are bringing down the whole conference. If, and it may be a big if, splitting the tv money evenly will get Kansas, Kansas State, and Colorado back to their 90s forms, it would be well worth it.

[Necava Husker]

But they have also stolen much of the thunder from the six schools that now comprise the North Division of the Big 12, where none of the football programs stand out from the others.

This is wishful thinking in Kansas. What a tool.

[strigori]

But they have also stolen much of the thunder from the six schools that now comprise the North Division of the Big 12, where none of the football programs stand out from the others.

This is wishful thinking in Kansas. What a tool.

Definatly a kansas homer. Any other publications put it as NU and MU and then everyone else

[skrsOVRsc]

This may not be my frontal lobe I'm using here, but I would'nt piss on a KSUcks player if they were on fire in my house.

[zoogs]

But they have also stolen much of the thunder from the six schools that now comprise the North Division of the Big 12, where none of the football programs stand out from the others.

This is wishful thinking in Kansas. What a tool.

Definatly a kansas homer. Any other publications put it as NU and MU and then everyone else

 

Huh? MU? Wait, there's another competitive program in the Big 12 North? Did Michigan come in or something? :-P

[JGS30]

But they have also stolen much of the thunder from the six schools that now comprise the North Division of the Big 12, where none of the football programs stand out from the others.

This is wishful thinking in Kansas. What a tool.

Definatly a kansas homer. Any other publications put it as NU and MU and then everyone else

 

Huh? MU? Wait, there's another competitive program in the Big 12 North? Did Michigan come in or something? :-P

 

I have to agree with Weiberg. The conference must come to an agreement to share the revenue, otherwise Texas and Oklahoma will continue to dominate the division and the North, even though Nebraska is still a major player, will continue to get left behind. Teams like Colorado, KSU, KU, MU, and dare I say it to an extent NU cannot continue to let Texas call the shots. There has to be sharing of revenue, t.v time, etc...or else I believe our conference will continue to be a two pony show with Texas and OU leading the way. Sorry to say that.

 

"It's BCS". "That's why they called it" "That was the result of the game".

"That's right, dollar signs"! And I'm not gonna sit here and get pushed around just because we're not the top spenders in the conference". - Coach Mangino after the 17-14 loss to Texas in 2004.