Kansas' Bill Self calls out NCAA hypocrites for silence on .

[rjl]

While the NCAA does plenty of hypocritical things, I don't see how this is one of them.

The NCAA is not pushing for conference realignment, nor do they have much authority to prevent such realignment. The fact that the added travel time of these new conferences is detrimental to APR is not the result of the NCAA pursuing opposing ends, but the schools pursuing ends that are opposed to the goals of the NCAA's APR rules.

The idea that school administrators are being hypocritical is more plausible if they simultaneously espouse the importance of educating their student athletes while approaching conference affiliation in such a way that it hurts their athletes' chances of succeeding in the classroom.

If anything, the NCAA's APR rules are a check upon the excesses of the mega-conference. To the degree that these conferences sacrifice student achievement for monetary gain, the APR rules provide a punishment mechanism, which is about all the NCAA can do to discourage academically detrimental conference decisions.

Not having the power to do something is one thing, choosing to remain silent on the issue is another.

And what would you have the NCAA do?

It's not like conference realignment in an inherent moral evil that must be condemned. It is an action that is the right of the schools involved and has certain advantages and disadvantages. To that end, the NCAA APR rules exist to punish schools that choose to ignore the academic impact of these kinds of decision instead of finding ways to make sure their athletes are succeeding in the classroom.

I wouldn't "have" the NCAA do anything.

But Self does have a point. Conferences which are no longer geographically aligned but rather financially aligned, and, as such, may be located much further apart than heretofore seen, might create significant academic issues. If this distance leads to more class absences, and if there is a correlation between class absences and scholastic performance (and why wouldn't there be?), the NCAA's silence on the matter is disconcerting given their purportedly increased initiative in the area.

Self is probably wise enough to know that his letter to the NCAA is more about spawning discussion on the topic than it is pushing the NCAA to action. If this was just about the latter, Self could have just written a letter and left it at that. Rather, Self has been publicizing his viewpoint; the letter to the NCAA is more than likely just ceremonial action in order to draw attention to his argument.

As for what the NCAA can do, I am not certain. Perhaps issue an advisory opinion? I do not know. But, depending on how much credence you lend to Self's argument, you can take the NCAA's silence as a sign that they are more about the money than they are the grades.

[shoxtop]

If Bill would be open to scheduling home and home games against another Division 1 school a few hours from Lawrence, I might be more sympathetic. Speaking of hypocrites....

I disagree with your describing Self as a hypocrite when referring to the subject of whether or not to schedule WSU. I believe Self would be the first to agree that it is a matter of money, plain and simple. KU makes much more money from out of conference HOME games than away games. Nothing hypocritical about it -- just plain business.

I really doubt the reason we don't have home and homes against KU is economic. Is KU really hurting that bad for money? Plus, they should have a windfall profit this year now that the ticket skimmers are gone.

I love Wichita State and have been a season ticket holder for quite a number of years (although not as many as some on here). Do you really think that KU is afraid to play WSU? I would venture to say that eight or nine times out of ten, KU would be the victor. Are they really afraid of those one or two times in a decade that they MIGHT lose? I hardly think so.

The 8 or 9 times out of 10 argument is used everytime a mid beats KU. Fact is, over the last 5 years when playing "good" (tournament teams which I'm aware we have not been during that time frame) mid-majors, KU has only won 2/3 of the time. While that does not help the case that WSU would win that many times considering we have not been a "good" mid-major the last 5 years, it does get a little old hearing that argument come up anytime KU playing a mid comes up. Not to mention almost all of those games were played on neutral courts. THERE'S A REASON THE GAMES ARE PLAYED! (Or not played in this instance)

[tw805]

If Bill would be open to scheduling home and home games against another Division 1 school a few hours from Lawrence, I might be more sympathetic. Speaking of hypocrites....

I disagree with your describing Self as a hypocrite when referring to the subject of whether or not to schedule WSU. I believe Self would be the first to agree that it is a matter of money, plain and simple. KU makes much more money from out of conference HOME games than away games. Nothing hypocritical about it -- just plain business.

I really doubt the reason we don't have home and homes against KU is economic. Is KU really hurting that bad for money? Plus, they should have a windfall profit this year now that the ticket skimmers are gone.

I love Wichita State and have been a season ticket holder for quite a number of years (although not as many as some on here). Do you really think that KU is afraid to play WSU? I would venture to say that eight or nine times out of ten, KU would be the victor. Are they really afraid of those one or two times in a decade that they MIGHT lose? I hardly think so.

The 8 or 9 times out of 10 argument is used everytime a mid beats KU. Fact is, over the last 5 years when playing "good" (tournament teams which I'm aware we have not been during that time frame) mid-majors, KU has only won 2/3 of the time. While that does not help the case that WSU would win that many times considering we have not been a "good" mid-major the last 5 years, it does get a little old hearing that argument come up anytime KU playing a mid comes up. Not to mention almost all of those games were played on neutral courts. THERE'S A REASON THE GAMES ARE PLAYED! (Or not played in this instance)

It comes up a lot because that's how KU fans console themselves after they get punched out by a so-called "lesser than" every freaking year in the tournament. I get really tired of having the, "Oh, how many times do you think [insert school here] would beat KU out of ten?" conversation around the office. The answer is once. The time it counts. KU fans should let us know when they start giving out awards for "team random fans think could win more hypothetical games of a fixed number." But I take solace in the fact that they may soon be having that conversation with fans of the other Sun Belt schools.

[Kung Wu]

It comes up a lot because that's how KU fans console themselves after they get punched out by a so-called "lesser than" every freaking year in the tournament. I get really tired of having the, "Oh, how many times do you think [insert school here] would beat KU out of ten?" conversation around the office. The answer is once. The time it counts. KU fans should let us know when they start giving out awards for "team random fans think could win more hypothetical games of a fixed number." But I take solace in the fact that they may soon be having that conversation with fans of the other Sun Belt schools.

Seriously, you Awesome Sauce Malone and BOBB have the most perfectly suited avatars.

[shockrah]

From Paul Suellentrop's Blog:

http://blogs.kansas.com/shockwaves/2011/09/14/mvcs-biggest-myth/

[jocoshock]

If Bill would be open to scheduling home and home games against another Division 1 school a few hours from Lawrence, I might be more sympathetic. Speaking of hypocrites....

I disagree with your describing Self as a hypocrite when referring to the subject of whether or not to schedule WSU. I believe Self would be the first to agree that it is a matter of money, plain and simple. KU makes much more money from out of conference HOME games than away games. Nothing hypocritical about it -- just plain business.

Any argument about money evaporated the minute KU considered playing USC in WICHITA..... If they can play a school from California in Wichita and call it a home game for the CA team, they can play WSU in the same arena... therefore it is hypocritical of him to use that argument...

[tw805]

It comes up a lot because that's how KU fans console themselves after they get punched out by a so-called "lesser than" every freaking year in the tournament. I get really tired of having the, "Oh, how many times do you think [insert school here] would beat KU out of ten?" conversation around the office. The answer is once. The time it counts. KU fans should let us know when they start giving out awards for "team random fans think could win more hypothetical games of a fixed number." But I take solace in the fact that they may soon be having that conversation with fans of the other Sun Belt schools.

Seriously, you Awesome Sauce Malone and BOBB have the most perfectly suited avatars.

I can't tell whether you just complimented us or kicked us in the groin! Well played!

The upper end of the KU athletic department always says it wants to play either home games or games on national television. If the game won't be on national TV, they don't want to leave Lawrence. If it will be on national TV, they'll fly to Siberia. If that's your rationale, which has been explicitly stated to be entirely revenue driven, it's fair enough.

But now that the University of Texas appears ready to deliver that very same message to KU, the folks at KU want to cry about their own game being played against them. That's the - well justified - reason for all the schadenfreude.