UK Football will never be above average. Why? Long.

[SkyPrince1]

I agree that expansion is not good for UK football. I don't agree that UK's lack of instate talent spells doom.

Ole Miss is competing at a high level b/c they decided that they want to compete. Mississippi has more talent than Kentucky, but not by a lot AND they have to compete with MSU, LSU, the Alabama schools to keep it there. UK only has to compete with a lesser state school (UL) to keep its home grown talent.

If UK "ponies up" and acts like a big boy, they can be a big boy.

Who exactly "ponies up"?

 

[Deeeefense]

This is just not accurate. Of course basketball is not an "afterthought" such as soccer or tennis or golf, but Football is THE dominant sport in America. It's NFL and then college football and there is a large drop-off after that. Even within basketball, college basketball has suffered a big drop-off in popularity since its heyday in the 80s.

Every single expansion and conference realignment decision is made based on A). football and b ) a school's academic reputation. Basketball is not even a consideration (this is why schools like Duke and Kansas don't move the needle at all when expansion candidates for the SEC and Big ten are being considered).

Even at UK, football pays the bills.

That is true. If you go outside the state basketball has almost no following. Where I live In the Chattanooga area we have a lot of UT fans but also al to of Georgia and Alabama fans as those states border and the few I know that actually have any interest in basketball usually only watch the game when the tourney starts up. But in the last decade it seems the fans of traditional basketball powers like Kentucky and North Carolina have lost a lot of interest due to the one and done system, and the style of play base on rules that seemed to be modeled after the NBA. To me college basketball has essentially become just a development league for the NBA.

The SEC isn't just a football conference it, along with the B10 are the two premiere football conferences. If you don't have a competitive football team in one of those conferences you are a joke, and you will mocked and ridiculed by other fans - I can painfully attest to that.