The league's perception is hurt right now big time w/ OU & Texas not both being among the elite. In fact it looks as though there are no elite teams in the Big 12 at the moment although Baylor has yet to play anybody of consequence so they are still somewhat of an unknown. Struggling at Kst doesn't necessarily alarm me unless we see them do it again in conference play.
I don't think there's any question that the league was hurt by expansion. Smaller footprint, Fewer "name" programs. Those things speak to perception, which is important and will drive TV $ long term. The #'s they are throwing around right now for the SEC are mind boggling.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports...eases/1836389/
Also, recruiting is down across the board
http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...k/2014/all/all
although that is likely due to multiple reasons.
I am w/ the others that think TCU was a terrible add. They don't bring anything to the table the league didn't already possess. I would have taken Louisville. Spinning #'s notwithstanding. WVA OTOH was an excellent choice given available options. They will be fine long term they are just adjusting to not getting to play South Florida and UCONN every other week.
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All that said, the other thing that's important to remember is that the reality is that we've just hit the pause button on expansion. IDK about the where or when but I don't believe for a second that it's over.