Excuse me if this has been stated elsewhere... I just haven't seen it. Please attach links to similar articles if they exist, I'd like to read their take.
Every article on conference expansion is about the immediate or near future. Essentially, what will happen to the remainder of the Pac 12, Big 12, ACC, and Notre Dame? Many prognosticators have realignment ending with two principal conferences... call them what you want, the SEC and the Big 10... but if true neither of them are what they once were... and that should be concerning for schools like us.
Let's assume the SEC ends up a few years down the road like this... Kentucky, Florida, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Auburn, Vanderbilt, Mississippi State, Alabama, Ole Miss, LSU, Texas A&M, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, Clemson, Florida State, Virginia Tech, Miami, and North Carolina. 22 teams. Ten of those schools have no (or limited) history with the SEC... they just came for the $$ and recruits. Another, Arkansas, has a greater history with Texas and A&M than it does with the SEC. Most of the additions (if not all) have a better 10-30 year football resume than UK (or they wouldn't have been asked in the first place).
So, what happens down the road when some combination of Alabama, Auburn, Texas, Oklahoma, A&M, Georgia, North Carolina, Clemson, LSU, Florida, Florida State, Tennessee, Miami, etc start looking around with who they are having to share revenue... and how they could maximize their take even more by leaving behind those programs that have disproportionately less value?
It could be argued that Missouri, Vanderbilt, Ole Miss, Miss State, South Carolina, Arkansas, and yes...UK... take more than they give. That those major football programs in major markets could make more on their own.
Is that the next logical step in realignment? We currently feel secure about our place, but not because we provide any value that many other teams in now broken-up conferences couldn't also provide. We feel good (for now) because we happen to be in the conference with the best football teams, and legacy still seems to mean something. What happens when the dust settles, and they start looking around to realize that they can make more if they don't have to share with us?
Every article on conference expansion is about the immediate or near future. Essentially, what will happen to the remainder of the Pac 12, Big 12, ACC, and Notre Dame? Many prognosticators have realignment ending with two principal conferences... call them what you want, the SEC and the Big 10... but if true neither of them are what they once were... and that should be concerning for schools like us.
Let's assume the SEC ends up a few years down the road like this... Kentucky, Florida, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Auburn, Vanderbilt, Mississippi State, Alabama, Ole Miss, LSU, Texas A&M, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, Clemson, Florida State, Virginia Tech, Miami, and North Carolina. 22 teams. Ten of those schools have no (or limited) history with the SEC... they just came for the $$ and recruits. Another, Arkansas, has a greater history with Texas and A&M than it does with the SEC. Most of the additions (if not all) have a better 10-30 year football resume than UK (or they wouldn't have been asked in the first place).
So, what happens down the road when some combination of Alabama, Auburn, Texas, Oklahoma, A&M, Georgia, North Carolina, Clemson, LSU, Florida, Florida State, Tennessee, Miami, etc start looking around with who they are having to share revenue... and how they could maximize their take even more by leaving behind those programs that have disproportionately less value?
It could be argued that Missouri, Vanderbilt, Ole Miss, Miss State, South Carolina, Arkansas, and yes...UK... take more than they give. That those major football programs in major markets could make more on their own.
Is that the next logical step in realignment? We currently feel secure about our place, but not because we provide any value that many other teams in now broken-up conferences couldn't also provide. We feel good (for now) because we happen to be in the conference with the best football teams, and legacy still seems to mean something. What happens when the dust settles, and they start looking around to realize that they can make more if they don't have to share with us?