July 1st Realignments

[walksalone]

If this was already covered, then my apologies.

 

It seemed like Nebraska going to the B1G was something like this...

 

NEBRASKA JOINS THE B1G!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

and Colorado joining the Pac-12 was like this...

 

Colorado joins the Pac 12

[JoeHuskers!]

Colorado joined the Pac12? I didnt hear anything about it LOL

[n.e.husker]

When does boise st. join the mountain west?

[GSG]

When does boise st. join the mountain west?

 

They were July 1st as well

[huKSer]

Colorado joined the Pac12? I didnt hear anything about it LOL

Even worse is Utah joining the Pac 8+2+2

[The Dude]

Colorado left? Good on them.

[tmfr15]

Bring on the freaking season. Wooo HOOO

[walksalone]

Just with all the fuss that was made over us leaving to the B1G, and CU going to the Pac-12 with just little or no fanfare, I was wondering if them going to the Pac-12 was a bigger move up than us going to the B1G...

[knapplc]

Just with all the fuss that was made over us leaving to the B1G, and CU going to the Pac-12 with just little or no fanfare, I was wondering if them going to the Pac-12 was a bigger move up than us going to the B1G...

 

Oh no, absolutely not. I would consider Colorado to the Pac-12 a lateral move, if all things had remained equal. The Big XII with Nebraska and Colorado, intact, was a fine conference that made its schools good money, gave them a national stage on which to perform, and gave them the opportunity to go to a BCS game whenever they had a good team. They have the exact same chances in the Pac-12 as they did last year.

 

However, all things are not equal. The Big XII is a wounded beast and many of their wounds are self-inflicted (see: complicity with Texas). Those wounds will likely fester rather than heal, with Texas always wanting to increase their slice of the pie, often at the expense of their conference mates. Because of this, Colorado's move to the Pac-12 was not only a big move, but a brilliant move for the Buffs.

 

Say what you will about their coaches and coaching tactics over the past couple of decades, and their administration's frequent bungling, and their fans asshattery, and.... well, I could go on and on. Say what you will about all of that, the preemptive strike launched by Colorado last year, when it appeared to be a fait accompli that Texas would lead an emigration of half the conference to the Pac-10, then the Texas legislature threw a hissy fit and it looked like Colorado was getting stiffed in favor of Baylor, saved their program from irrelevance. Colorado now finds themselves in a stable, fair-play conference, with whom they already have strong ties (the majority of CU's non-resident students are Californians). They have a spiffy new TV deal, solid income, and a secure future and at the same time they freed themselves from the tyranny of the Big XII and Texas' greed. That is a monumental win.

 

But.

 

That is not nearly as great of a Win as Nebraska's. Nebraska's move to the Big Ten is the kind of move that will set the stage for the next 100 years of school growth. It sets us up amongst academic institutions with whom we are not peers - but soon will be. Academically Nebraska is like The Little Engine That Could - always trying, but never quite getting up that hill. The AAU ouster was the perfect example of how we're viewed by the rest of academia. We are not respected because we are, at best, a middling school. But with the sharing of research, top-tier students, and especially the CIC, expect Nebraska's prestige in the academic world to grow steadily for the next two decades and beyond. While Colorado saved their athletic program, Nebraska saved the entirety of its institution.

 

Moving to the Big Ten also sets us up with the preeminent conference-owned TV network, and it places us among more of the nation's elite football teams than we had ever rubbed shoulders with before. With some small regret we leave Oklahoma behind, but that ship had long since sailed. We replace OU and Texas with Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State, three of the most storied football programs in the game. That is a definite upgrade. Add to that Wisconsin, Michigan State and Iowa, and occasionally Northwestern and Purdue, and we have a home in a very respectable football conference.

 

As time rolls on and we see the ever-increasing reach of Texas Athletics into the pocketbooks of the remainders of the Big XII, the stability and equanimity we have gained in the Big Ten will become more and more apparent. While I anticipate some bumps in the road - the honeymoon phase can't last forever - overall our arrival in the Big Ten should usher in what we may look back upon in 50 years as the Golden Age of the University of Nebraska.

[gratefullred]

I can not think of another athletic program that has fallen farther, and faster than CU. National Champs in 1991 to being unable to be competitive, unable to upgrade facilities, unable to raise enough money to fire a coach. This is why they are irrevelant.