In its prime, the Big 12 was one big dysfunctional, yet talented, family. There were heated rivalries and die-hard fans across the Midwest, and this conference seemed to be one that would last quite a while.
Oh, if only it were so.
In 2011, not long after its establishment in 1996, the allure of bigger paychecks and media coverage yanked two high-quality teams out of the conference. The Universities of Colorado and Nebraska, two strong programs, were out. Yes, we would miss having that strong football presence from the Cornhuskers, but life went on. We got over it.
But then, it started to get personal. This year, two powerhouses, University of Missouri and Texas A&M, decided to follow the path of fame and fortune toward the Southeastern Conference (SEC). What will we do without them? In reality, we’ve lost two of the most successful football programs in the conference.
And that’s just it – the other conferences want strong football programs. Football is the moneymaking sport. Of course, it takes thousands more fans to fill up a football stadium than a basketball arena. And if the team is good, that stadium will be full every week. In comparison, the great basketball programs are left in the dust.
Now, I bleed crimson and blue. And the University of Kansas is clearly one of the strongest, if not the strongest, basketball program in the conference. My parents and several other members of my family have attended or are attending KU. I grew up with the notion that Jayhawks are good, and Tigers are bad. To this day, I steer clear of anything gold and black. So when I heard that Missouri, our true deep rival, was leaving the conference, I was angry. I had even more reason to hate them.
I was mainly angry because it’s not everyday that you find a rivalry like the one between Kansas and Missouri. It dates back to the days of the American Civil War, when the pro-slavery Missourians and the anti-slavery Kansans engaged in bloody conflict for several years. Lawrence, where KU is now located, was the center of the violence. When pro-slavery Missourians attacked in the Sack of Lawrence (1856), Kansas became known as “Bleeding Kansas.”
Now, everyone has addressed that this is war and conflict are in our history. No true violence still exists between Kansas and Missouri, but the hatred between the two universities is still very much alive. This is a rivalry for the books. I recently talked to a friend who visited MU. Their reaction? “Wow, they really do hate KU over there.” I don’t know if there is such a deep-seeded rivalry in all of college sports. Yes, other colleges may say that they are rivals with KU without much reasoning (cough cough Wildcats), but the Big 12 would not be the same without this classic border rivalry.
According to Sam Mellinger of The Kansas City Star, this battle will never truly end – it will turn from an actual battle to a cold war. These two teams are still full of hatred for the other, but no action against each other, in essence, will be taken.
Despite the fact that the rivalry can still exist, there are some things that will always remind us of the thriving conference of the past. In KU’s fight song, these lyrics appear:
“Got a bill that’s big enough
To twist a Tiger’s tail,
Husk some corn and listen
To the Cornhuskers wail”
I guess we’ll have to change those lyrics around to include our newcomers: the Horned Frogs of Texas Christian University and the Mountaineers of West Virginia University. Until then, that song stands as a reminder of the prior greatness of the Big 12. Yet these new, incoming teams show that the Big 12 has strength and will (hopefully) now remain unified for the long haul.
