Am I the only one who feels like our administrators aren't acting like they just received the horrible news that we think they did?
Doug Girod, Travis Goff and Bill Self are probably about the only people involved here who REALLY have a good idea of what KU's position is. Maybe a top donor, or two, that's it.
Now, I want you to imagine that when the realignment kicked off, Girod/Goff put feelers out to the brass at B1G/ACC, and there just wasn't any interest, right? Then, the B1G/ACC/PAC Alliance formed on Aug 24, and that reportedly sealed OU/Tex as an isolated move, right?
That's what you and I are to believe.
So if that's true: Girod, Goff and Self must now understand that KU is relegated to the Little Eight. A much poorer and less visible conference, where Kansas is immediately the "Big Dog"... only real flagship remaining, highest endowment, highest athletic revenue, best brand by a mile. So they have accepted it. No other choice. Make all the hard budget cuts, get over it and move forward, right?
Before going into some of the actions below, its important that you understand that, if the above is true, this confirms all of their worst nightmares, that Kansas has ran out of time to fix football and it cost us everything. This would be probably the most devastating news that any admin or coach has ever received at Kansas. The cuts to budget and visibility are incredibly severe, and will have long-lasting impacts on recruiting and attendance.
On to actions:
Doug Girod: On Aug 30, a week after the Alliance is confirmed, a Chancellor, sends out this curious message pleading with fans to get to the opening football game:
Bill Self: Aug 27, 3 days after Alliance is confirmed, goes to the KC Star to bolster the case. He also follows Girod's lead and announces he is attending the game and encourages others to do the same. Also gives a very passionate game week prep speech to the football team. Yes I know he's spoke to the fball team before.
https://www.kansascity.com/sports/college/big-12/university-of-kansas/article253777808.html
Travis Goff: Greeting every player as they arrive to the complex pregame and then leading the victory chant in the locker room:
In general, for all three: They are incredibly upbeat, confident and positive every time they speak.
Now, does this all strike you as consistent for administrators that just ran out of time to fix football and were just given a hard "No" from the life raft that could have saved them from 60% budget cuts and generally the worst news KU has ever received? It kind of doesn't to me. These sound more like administrators who have been told to "sit tight and be patient", and are frantically working to address anything that could ruin their chance at a near-term invite.
Look, maybe our admins really were told that there was no chance for B1G/ACC and are just trying to be strong positive leaders.. If so, damn they got a good poker face, because this is close to a death penalty for Kansas. Mizzou and Nebraska would own Kansas City within a decade. Attendance would go to hell. Half our sports dropped. Recruiting for Bill Self just got harder. Need I go on?
Something just feels off. I'm not totally buying that KU is screwed. I think our brass knows something that gives them good reason to think that we still have a shot to escape to a P4. Or maybe this is all fantasy on my part.
Doug Girod, Travis Goff and Bill Self are probably about the only people involved here who REALLY have a good idea of what KU's position is. Maybe a top donor, or two, that's it.
Now, I want you to imagine that when the realignment kicked off, Girod/Goff put feelers out to the brass at B1G/ACC, and there just wasn't any interest, right? Then, the B1G/ACC/PAC Alliance formed on Aug 24, and that reportedly sealed OU/Tex as an isolated move, right?
That's what you and I are to believe.
So if that's true: Girod, Goff and Self must now understand that KU is relegated to the Little Eight. A much poorer and less visible conference, where Kansas is immediately the "Big Dog"... only real flagship remaining, highest endowment, highest athletic revenue, best brand by a mile. So they have accepted it. No other choice. Make all the hard budget cuts, get over it and move forward, right?
Before going into some of the actions below, its important that you understand that, if the above is true, this confirms all of their worst nightmares, that Kansas has ran out of time to fix football and it cost us everything. This would be probably the most devastating news that any admin or coach has ever received at Kansas. The cuts to budget and visibility are incredibly severe, and will have long-lasting impacts on recruiting and attendance.
On to actions:
Doug Girod: On Aug 30, a week after the Alliance is confirmed, a Chancellor, sends out this curious message pleading with fans to get to the opening football game:
Bill Self: Aug 27, 3 days after Alliance is confirmed, goes to the KC Star to bolster the case. He also follows Girod's lead and announces he is attending the game and encourages others to do the same. Also gives a very passionate game week prep speech to the football team. Yes I know he's spoke to the fball team before.
https://www.kansascity.com/sports/college/big-12/university-of-kansas/article253777808.html
Travis Goff: Greeting every player as they arrive to the complex pregame and then leading the victory chant in the locker room:
In general, for all three: They are incredibly upbeat, confident and positive every time they speak.
Now, does this all strike you as consistent for administrators that just ran out of time to fix football and were just given a hard "No" from the life raft that could have saved them from 60% budget cuts and generally the worst news KU has ever received? It kind of doesn't to me. These sound more like administrators who have been told to "sit tight and be patient", and are frantically working to address anything that could ruin their chance at a near-term invite.
Look, maybe our admins really were told that there was no chance for B1G/ACC and are just trying to be strong positive leaders.. If so, damn they got a good poker face, because this is close to a death penalty for Kansas. Mizzou and Nebraska would own Kansas City within a decade. Attendance would go to hell. Half our sports dropped. Recruiting for Bill Self just got harder. Need I go on?
Something just feels off. I'm not totally buying that KU is screwed. I think our brass knows something that gives them good reason to think that we still have a shot to escape to a P4. Or maybe this is all fantasy on my part.
