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Report: B1G to hold call with Kansas regarding potential realignment

Ryan Williamson

By Ryan Williamson

Published:

The reports of Oklahoma and Texas flirting with the SEC and shaking up the college sports landscape is sending shockwaves all over the country. Those shockwaves appear to have reached Lawrence, Kansas.

A new report on Friday from Kansas insider Mike Vernon claims that Kansas has begun to examine its options post-Big 12. That includes a call with the Big Ten.

Since the news of a potential OU-Texas departure from the Big 12 dropped, there has been quite a bit of running around aimlessly by the other Big 12 schools. This morning, reporting detailed a meeting held by the eight other Big 12 programs. Those talks included discussions of who could possibly replace the Sooner and Longhorns in the conference.

This news of Kansas chatting with the Big Ten could add another potential headache for the Big 12 and could spell the end of times for the conference as it is standing. But as mentioned with the OU-Texas departure, there is a lot of contractual obligations the schools hold to the conference, including media rights and an 18-month notice of departure.

However, big programs like OU and Texas certainly seem capable of skirting around some of those things. If they can do that, there could be a possible way for Kansas to follow suit and join the Big Ten.

Geographically speaking, Kansas makes much more sense than Rutgers and Maryland. The Big Ten Network’s reach, which always seems to be included in realignment talks, could now extend to Kansas City if it’s not already there.

From a football sense, adding the Jayhawks doesn’t do much as the program has been a disaster outside of the 2007 season when Kansas went to the Orange Bowl. Adding the Jayhawks in basketball, however, would really toughen up the conference. Imagine seeing Tom Izzo and Bill Self go at it twice a year.

Besides the athletics side of it, Kansas would be a fit based on its membership in the Association of American Universities (AAU). Though many of these decisions rely on money, the Big Ten has made it a priority in recent realignment talks to ensure that its member programs are part of the AAU. This was a major talking point in the addition of Nebraska.

Ryan Williamson