57 Days Until Kansas Football: What did Chancellor Girod Mean?
Minor waves made their way through Kansas Jayhawk Twitter on Thursday when the Lawrence Journal-World published comments Chancellor Douglas Girod he made in a brief interview with the paper.
Specifically, many people latched on to a specific quote where he trailed off midsentence. "I think we are well positioned to land in a good place. I don't know where that place is...". We ended up with that being one of the main takeaways from the interview, as the following tweet shows:
The remainder of the article talks about the world of conference realignment that we are now living in, and it is well worth the read if you haven't already seen it. But it seems that a LOT of people are reading REALLY far into what he did (and didn't) say, so it's worth taking a look at what exactly he said.
Where Kansas will "land"
The biggest question I've seen has been surrounding the implications of the first sentence quoted above. Specifically, why did he pick those specific words?
While we constantly talk about conferences "landing" a particular school or individual schools finding a good "landing spot", that doesn't necessarily mean that the expectation is that the Jayhawks will move to another conference. The reality of the situation is that these changes have unsettled the entire landscape of college football, and unless you are on solid footing in the Big Ten or SEC, everyone is looking for a soft landing spot, whether that is in their current conference or a new conference.
Supporting the Big 12
Girod made it a point to mention the support for the new commissioner of the conference as the first in a list of items that the school is focusing on, and for good reason. Remember that he was one of the people heavily involved in leading the search for the new commissioner, and with both Texas and Oklahoma leaving the conference, there is a power vacuum at the top of the conference hierarchy. It's not a guarantee that Kansas will be able to step into that, but it's to their benefit to be as involved as possible in shoring up the conference.
Additionally, it is absolutely in the Jayhawk's best interest to make the Big 12 as strong as they possibly can. Even if it's just as a "safe" option to fall back on, it is much better to make the current situation as strong as possible in case a Big Ten invite never comes. And to be honest, there isn't realistically anything that the Big 12 can do to hold onto a school that is targeted by the Big Ten or SEC, but making the conference as resilient as possible for when that eventually happens will make those moves as palatable as possible, no matter which side you are on.
Lessening Importance of Regional Rivalries
In his comments, Girod acknowledged the dirty little secret that has become increasingly clear to anyone involved in the sport: regional rivalries don't really matter any more. It's been an unfortunate casualty that has been consistently racking up victims since the first few rounds of realignment.
But the loss of regional rivalries isn't ALL bad. Yes, much of the history in those regional rivalries is quirky little things that add charm to the sport. But with the consolidation of national powers into a smaller number of conferences, more opportunities are created to set up marquee matchups. I'm not saying that I like it, but it is the new reality, and we have to make the best of it.
Enhancing KU's image
In the same sentence that Girod talked about strengthening the conference, he also highlighted the multiple efforts that Kansas is focusing on to enhance its own standing in college athletics. Sure, there was some ambiguity as to whether he was referring to the conference or Kansas specifically, but the points he highlighted are very applicable to both.
His reference to strengthening the brand and the position with media partners was clearly a reference to upcoming media rights negotiations and the overall health of the conference, but it also applies to the Jayhawks, who have a lot of work to do to shore up their own reputation. Especially when the football program still has a lot of work to do, both on and off the field, to make sure it doesn't hinder efforts by the school to position itself favorably in the next round of realignment.
Like Girod, I am confident in the spot that the Jayhawks are in. They have one of the most recognizable (and valuable) basketball programs in the country. They are an AAU institution. KU Med just received an important cancer designation that will enhance its reputation significantly. There are a lot of things to like about what the University of Kansas has to offer, whether that ultimately is in the Big Ten or as one of the leading schools in a strong Big 12 conference.
Join the discussion! Come talk about this or any of our articles on the Blue Wing Rising Discord Server.
Follow Blue Wings Rising on Twitter.
Listen to the official podcast of Blue Wings Rising: The Rock Chalk Podcast.
