Man Up!
With all of the tomfoolery going on in the sporting world I think that’s it is only appropriate that athletes and/or organizations are recognized for their asinine behavior. So starting today I will provide you with a weekly column suitably titled “Man Up”. “Man Up” will spotlight the athlete(s) and/or organization(s) that need to be called out on their ridiculous behavior.
Today’s honor goes to the Big East, Big 12, and Missouri. With conference realignment landscapes changing day by day it’s time for some people to make some decisions. First and foremost it’s important to point out that most big conference decisions regarding the Big East and Big 12 are on hold until Missouri makes a decision. Most people already have Missouri headed to the SEC and while that may turn out to be true, at this moment Missouri is still a member of the Big 12, therefore the Big 12 is a complete conference. Missouri needs to “Man Up” and make a decision. If you’re headed to the SEC then by all means go!
Now understandably the Big 12 is trying to stay ahead of the curve and plan for Missouri’s departure if and/or when it happens, so on Monday many sporting news outlets across the nation reported that the Big 12 would accept West Virginia contingent upon the departure of Missouri. Now not to be outdone by Missouri the Big 12 is suddenly becoming indecisive as ever because twenty-four hours later West Virginia’s spot was no longer guaranteed and then entered the possibility of Louisville replacing Missouri. The Big 12 really needs to “Man Up” and decide who the contingent tenth member will be if Missouri decides to leave. According to multiple sources not only are Louisville and West Virginia being considered as possible replacements, but so is BYU. Talk about fickle! In 24 hours West Virginia went from having a solid way out of the Big East onto the chopping block. It has to hurt a schools pride when you’re turned down by multiple conferences. West Virginia wasn’t good enough for the ACC or the SEC and the Big 12 is currently having second thoughts. That’s tough! As far as the Big 12 is concerned it’s a bad look to invite someone to prom and then change your mind the next day. Make a decision and stick with it!
Finally the Big East needs to “Man Up” and make some decisions about the future of their conference. If the Big 12 decides upon Louisville or West Virginia the Big East is going to be down 3 teams since Pittsburgh and Syracuse have already decided to bolt to the ACC. I keep hearing mumblings that the Big East is considering adding Air Force, Navy, Houston, Boise State, SMU and Central Florida. The Big East currently has an automatic BCS bid that is set to expire in 2013 and if that’s the best they can do in football that automatic bid is in serious jeopardy. With that being said maybe the Big East should also be focusing on maintaining a decent basketball conference; kudos to Slick Rick Pitino for suggesting Memphis and Temple who both have decent basketball programs.
I’m sure I’m not the only fan that would like for this fiasco to come to an end….sooner rather than later. While I understand that these issues are a bit more complex than just replacing schools I’m sure that it can be handled without all the drama so Missouri, the Big 12, and the Big East….do all of us fans a favor and “Man Up”!
