The broader impact of realignment

[Trice]

The thing that scares me most about realignment is not so much who we end up playing - although certainly the Big 12 gives us the best competition of any conference right now - but the hit we take in prestige at the university level. And not just nationally, but in our own state.

We lose TV revenue - and a broader audience to see our advertising - from being in a smaller league.

We lose research dollars because we lack the connections with other strong research institutions to compete for large grants.

We can't recruit or retain quality faculty and staff, which ties closely with and accelerates the loss of research dollars, not to mention hurts the student experience, rankings, etc.

We lose enrollment tuition because of the perception that we're a lesser university.

And here's something else nobody's mentioned. There are a lot of major donors, corporate and individual, who give to all of the Regent institutions - or at least to both Iowa State and Iowa. Now, maybe that's out of the goodness of their hearts. Or maybe it's partly (or wholly) for political reasons, so as not to upset a sizable portion of the state.

But how many of those folks, judging for themselves that ISU is no longer on par with Iowa as a major university, greatly diminish - or outright withdraw - their support for ISU?

This realignment could really launch an ugly downward spiral. The people who sit back and say they're not worried about this because they can't control it should really pull their heads out of the sand and get engaged. It is not an exaggeration to say this could shape the future of Iowa State.

 

[chuckd4735]

EXACTLY! Most people here, as well as the entire media, are just focusing on the effects of this on our athletic department. The implications go far beyond that, and without a major conference, ISU will become more irrelevant than we already are. It will be so sad.

 

[ornryactor]

I'm so glad you posted this list! I was getting really tired of seeing only 17 of the 20 front-page topics saying all these things. Now if we can just start two more threads that repeat this stuff yet again, perhaps we can oust those darn Virgin Islands and Lost discussion threads!

 

[chuckd4735]

I'm so glad you posted this list! I was getting really tired of seeing only 17 of the 20 front-page topics saying all these things. Now if we can just start two more threads that repeat this stuff yet again, perhaps we can oust those darn Virgin Islands and Lost discussion threads!

There is hardly anything on this site discussing the implications of conference realignment outside of the athletics department.

 

[Tornado man]

Great post.
Lots of ISU faculty members - responsible for securing funding, recruiting bright students, and keeping ISU competitive with our peer institutions - are worried and tense right now. They see the broad implications if the Big 12 is decimated.
For the umpteenth time, the MWC is not an OK option for Iowa State.

 

[Trice]

I'm so glad you posted this list! I was getting really tired of seeing only 17 of the 20 front-page topics saying all these things. Now if we can just start two more threads that repeat this stuff yet again, perhaps we can oust those darn Virgin Islands and Lost discussion threads!

Strange, I've seen very little discussion of the non-athletic impact. And given this is probably going to shape ISU - the university, not just the "Cyclones" - for the next few decades, I don't think we can hammer this home enough.

The beauty of being able to read is that you can quickly discern what is of interest to you and what isn't. If you don't like it, skip it.

 

[Wesley]

It will hurt like the devil if we go MWC combo or MAC transfer. The big game will always be our Iowa Superbowl. We might be competing with UNI for bball players. Wait. We already are.

 

[Trice]

Great post.
Lots of ISU faculty members - responsible for securing funding, recruiting bright students, and keeping ISU competitive with our peer institutions - are worried and tense right now. They see the broad implications if the Big 12 is decimated.
For the umpteenth time, the MWC is not an OK option for Iowa State.

It may not be OK, but it might be the least-worst option we have. So in the end, it may have to be OK.

But in all honesty, is the Big 12 really that prestigious from an academic standpoint? Do we really benefit that much academically from being associated with most of these other schools? Do we have the research/academic relationships with our conference partners that Big 10 members do?

My perception - and it's very possible I'm wrong - is that most of our benefit from the Big 12, even on the academic side, comes from the athletic association with these other 11 major institutions. In other words, it's mostly an image thing - the company we keep, etc.

 

[Wesley]

It may not be OK, but it might be the least-worst option we have. So in the end, it may have to be OK.

But in all honesty, is the Big 12 really that prestigious from an academic standpoint? Do we really benefit that much academically from being associated with most of these other schools? Do we have the research/academic relationships with our conference partners that Big 10 members do?

My perception - and it's very possible I'm wrong - is that most of our benefit from the Big 12, even on the academic side, comes from the athletic association with these other 11 major institutions. In other words, it's mostly an image thing - the company we keep, etc.

Okay. We add Wyoming and have a chance to win the North every year. That works for me. I would guess that Mizzou is out of luck also, otherwise we would be hearing more from them.

 

[mred]

I would guess that Mizzou is out of luck also, otherwise we would be hearing more from them.

My guess:

The Big 10 will add Nebraska now to make 12. They'll also take Notre Dame ASAP if ND is willing. They may take their sweet time investigating their other options at that point and deciding whether to have 12, 14, or 16 schools. Missouri (and other schools) may like an answer now, but the Big Ten is probably only interested in accelerating their timeline for Nebraska, nobody else.

 

[Tornado man]

It may not be OK, but it might be the least-worst option we have. So in the end, it may have to be OK.

But in all honesty, is the Big 12 really that prestigious from an academic standpoint? Do we really benefit that much academically from being associated with most of these other schools? Do we have the research/academic relationships with our conference partners that Big 10 members do?

My perception - and it's very possible I'm wrong - is that most of our benefit from the Big 12, even on the academic side, comes from the athletic association with these other 11 major institutions. In other words, it's mostly an image thing - the company we keep, etc.

Exactly. It's the exposure. I talked with a head of a department in the College of Engineering over the noon hour - he pointed out that ISU's membership in the Big 12, and playing the heavyweight schools that are on TV so much, is invaluable to ISU from an image standpoint. He openly predicted that grants, academic recruiting, and fund-raising will be severely impacted.
When I say "not OK," I mean to maintain ISU's current level of academic and research influence.

 

[weR138]

The thing that scares me most about realignment is not so much who we end up playing - although certainly the Big 12 gives us the best competition of any conference right now - but the hit we take in prestige at the university level. And not just nationally, but in our own state.

We lose TV revenue - and a broader audience to see our advertising - from being in a smaller league.

We lose research dollars because we lack the connections with other strong research institutions to compete for large grants.

We can't recruit or retain quality faculty and staff, which ties closely with and accelerates the loss of research dollars, not to mention hurts the student experience, rankings, etc.

We lose enrollment tuition because of the perception that we're a lesser university.

And here's something else nobody's mentioned. There are a lot of major donors, corporate and individual, who give to all of the Regent institutions - or at least to both Iowa State and Iowa. Now, maybe that's out of the goodness of their hearts. Or maybe it's partly (or wholly) for political reasons, so as not to upset a sizable portion of the state.

But how many of those folks, judging for themselves that ISU is no longer on par with Iowa as a major university, greatly diminish - or outright withdraw - their support for ISU?

This realignment could really launch an ugly downward spiral. The people who sit back and say they're not worried about this because they can't control it should really pull their heads out of the sand and get engaged. It is not an exaggeration to say this could shape the future of Iowa State.

Exactly right.

AND with Branstad in office soon he can use all of this to reemploy the Pomerantz doctrine of making ISU a satalite campus of the U of I system.

 

[Trice]

Exactly. It's the exposure. I talked with a head of a department in the College of Engineering over the noon hour - he pointed out that ISU's membership in the Big 12, and playing the heavyweight schools that are on TV so much, is invaluable to ISU from an image standpoint. He openly predicted that grants, academic recruiting, and fund-raising will be severely impacted.
When I say "not OK," I mean to maintain ISU's current level of academic and research influence.

Understood.

 

[ontheverge]

Trice, good post.
What happens this week could change the landscape of ISU forever.

 

[ornryactor]

There is hardly anything on this site discussing the implications of conference realignment outside of the athletics department.

Strange, I've seen very little discussion of the non-athletic impact.

Perhaps I just happen to pick every thread that mentions these points, or perhaps you both just manage to miss most or all of them. I've seen a prolific amount of discussion on every point listed above. It doesn't make them any less valid, I just see this as highly repetitious. But I guess if we're not reading the same stuff and you aren't seeing it, then carry on.