Conference Dominoes
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My head’s been spinning lately over the most recent churn in conference membership. We all know about OU and UT leaving the Big XII for the SEC and the AAC schools joining plus BYU. But it’s been intriguing to watch the scramble of all the leagues further down the food chain.
Now nearly half of Conference USA is taking off for the AAC, and another three schools just announced Friday that they’re off to join the Sun Belt, effective June 30. Meanwhile Conference USA is picking up four new members, leaving lots of charges and countercharges all around.
Got all that? Me neither.
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And the KU admin is working hard on leaving the Big 12. Not a coincidence there are rumors of a half billion dollar stadium renovation and $2b+ capital campaign coming next year.
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What’s struck me is the recent influx of former NAIA schools into the mid-majors. A lot of those one-bid NCAA conferences now have members that I remember watching years ago at the NAIA tournament in KC. NBA stars Willis Reed, Scottie Pippen, Lucious Jackson, Jack Sikma and others all got their first national exposure there. With NAIA membership decreasing at a rapid rate, good luck finding pro prospects at that tournament nowadays.
