Berry Tramel

Missouri governor does Mizzou no favors

Posted December 20, 2009 by Berry Tramel Comment on this article Leave a comment

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon made no friends in the Big 12 a couple of days ago when he weighed in on the University of Missouri considering a move to the Big Ten. Nixon supports the move, for academic reasons.

Which is fine. If the Big Ten calls with an invitation, Missouri would accept so fast, it would make heads spin. And academics would be a major reason why. But throwing your current league members under the bus, well that’s bad form.

Ugo Chinasa stops Derrick Washington for a loss during the college football game between Oklahoma State University (OSU) and the University of Missouri (MU) at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Okla. Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009. Photo by Steve Sisney, The Oklahoman ORG XMIT: KOD
Ugo Chinasa stops Derrick Washington for a loss during the college football game between Oklahoma State University (OSU) and the University of Missouri (MU) at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Okla. Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009. Photo by Steve Sisney, The Oklahoman ORG XMIT: KOD

Nixon’s quote: “When you compare Oklahoma State to Northwestern, when you compare Texas Tech to Wisconsin, I mean, you begin looking at educational possibilities that are worth looking at.”

Well, several things. Compare most any university to Northwestern, and it comes out second-best. That includes Missouri, Wisconsin and most every other school in the Big Ten. Academic elitism doesn’t play very well with me. Maybe it’s commonly accepted in academia, but it comes off as straight arrogance most of the time.

But even if it’s all true, and Texas Tech is somehow inferior to Wisconsin, which I’m not conceding to anyone but we need to get on with the discussion, Nixon’s statement has got to be one of the most ill-conceived strategies I’ve heard in a long time.

If Missouri gets an invite from the Big Ten in the next 12-18 months, all Nixon did was make life miserable for Mizzou between now and then. If Missouri stays put, Nixon created enemies for MU at the Big 12 bargaining table for the foreseeable future.

Oklahoma State and Tech should be aligned with Mizzou on most matters. Among Big 12 schools, all three are mid-level in budget and mid-level in success. The conference heavyweights are Texas, Oklahoma and Nebraska, and when you add basketball, Kansas. Then comes Texas A&M, OSU, Tech, Mizzou. Maybe Colorado but maybe not.

How would you like to Mizzou athletic director Mike Alden, the next time he has to work with Tech’s Gerald Myers and OSU’s Mike Holder? Or better yet, Mizzou president Gary Forsee at the table with OSU president Burns Hargis or Tech president Guy Bailey?

Hope Missouri isn’t looking for a sympathetic ear anytime soon. Hope Missouri doesn’t need a vote on revenue sharing or any other contentious issue in the Big 12. I can’t imagine one Big 12 school being happy with Missouri right now. Not because Mizzou admitted to some interest in the Big Ten — everyone knows you have to look out for yourself — but because the governor of Missouri, an MU grad, decided to start calling out Mizzou’s fellow league members.

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