College athletics is big business – and that is okay. In 2010, the University of Colorado made a business decision to accept an invitation to join the PAC-12, an invitation they had rescinded years earlier. Most fan and critics believe Buff leaders made a judicious choice when it decided to switch conferences.
CU officials justified their decision, in part, by claiming that their academic mission aligned more closely with the schools in the PAC-12 than the Big 12. This discussion makes a nice sound bite that may appease Boulder residents who do not fully appreciate the contribution of the university and CU athletics to their community.
In fact, CU’s claim of academic prowess can be challenged. Boulder’s engineering school and Denver’s medical school are world class. Unfortunately, CU does not distinguish itself in most other areas.
The bottom line is the Buffs had to jump ship if they wanted to retain a “respectable” athletic program. The times they are a changing.
College football appears to be heading towards fewer, but stronger super conferences, i.e. a different structure intended to generate more revenue for the country’s elite programs. CU has a wonderful football tradition, but CU is not one of the country’s top funded programs. Unfortunately, the lack of adequate support makes it unclear whether CU can be is one of the country’s elite programs moving forward.
The switch to the PAC 12 will provide Buff leaders with an opportunity to generate more revenue for their athletic department. There are more CU alumni and major corporations on the West Coast than in Stillwater, Waco, and Lubbock.
On September 6, the Denver Post published an article, “CU President leery of PAC-12 Adding More Teams”. The article stated…
University of Colorado president Bruce Benson said this morning he is wary of further Pac-12 expansion, particularly if Colorado is placed in an “East” division with former rivals from the Big 12 such as Oklahoma and Texas.
Later in the article Benson added..
“One of the reasons – and there are a lot of reasons – we got in the Pac 12 is to play regularly on the West Coast,” Benson said. “When I hear things like East-West divisions, we’re going back to the Big 12 again. I don’t know who’s possibly going, but I sure don’t want to get shorted out of the West Coast.”
The Post article went on to say..
Benson and DiStefano always maintained a major reason for CU joining the Pac-12 was that the schools matched Colorado’s academic mission. While Oklahoma and Texas are on a par with CU academically, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State may not be. “I believe that we should have a robust academic atmosphere among all schools in the league,” Benson said. “What schools have cinch courses or gut courses? We don’t have any and never will. The Pac-12 doesn’t. Some Big 12 schools do.”
Wouldn’t it have been more appropriate for Benson to make some of these comments in private, rather than to the Denver media?
As a newcomer to the conference, does Benson really think he can influence decisions by making public statements about getting shorted out of the West Coast?
What entitles Bruce Benson to use ATHLETICS, specifically the PAC-12 Conference, as a bully pulpit for belittling the quality of learning in the schools of the Big 12? Shouldn’t he be more focused on making sure the CU campuses are the best they can be?
Arrogant or not?