In 2016, the ten-member Big 12 feigned interest about expansion and invited the entirety of the Group of Five to a rigged American Idol audition to which everyone was told they were talentless hacks. Today, the Big 12 is on the cusped of being culled to eight, and Sun Belt commissioner Keith Gill needs to invite the remaining stragglers into a legitimate conference right now.
Yes, we risk the dilution of quality in the Sun Belt by inviting middling programs like Kansas State and West Virginia into the mix. And do we really want Texas State to share its halo with TCU? I think we do. We should do it for the altruism alone. The Sun Belt is the conference of mercy.
Do it, Commissioner Gill. Send the invitations. It can be a text. Tell them that, because have full hearts, we will accept them into our ranks provided they work to meet our standards. After all, the Sun Belt is a conference on the rise, and we don’t need anchors from a failing ideology dragging us into mediocrity’s lukewarm depths.
Do it right now, Commissioner Gill. Hit “send.” Surely the snooty attitude that led to the Big 12 rejecting the G5 five years ago as evaporated by the heat of humility. I’ve even worked out the conference structure:
| Sun Belt West | Sun Belt East |
| Arkansas State | Appalachian State |
| Texas State | Georgia Southern |
| South Alabama | Georgia State |
| Louisiana | Troy |
| ULM | Coastal Carolina |
| Kansas | West Virginia |
| Kansas State | Baylor |
| Iowa State | TCU |
| Oklahoma St | Texas Tech |
I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to make Kansas a “basketball only” member, Commissioner Gill. We could probably replace them with a stronger program anyway, like FIU.
Do it, Commissioner Gill. We’re all waiting.
Howl Raiser 