Geoffroy on Big 12 Conference shake-up: “We don’t like it.”
By: James Pusey, Staff Writer
Published: Friday, June 11, 2010 9:53 PM CDT
After the University of Nebraska’s announcement Friday that it will seek admission to the Big Ten Conference, the fate of the Big 12 lies with Texas, Iowa State University President Greg Geoffroy said.
Geoffroy met with members of the press on Friday afternoon and said he was disappointed to see Colorado and Nebraska leave the conference this week. Colorado announced Thursday it was leaving the Big 12 for the Pac-10 Conference.
“We’d rather not be in this situation. We’d rather the Big 12 would have stayed together, and hopefully it will stay together in some form. To us, that’s the best outcome,” Geoffroy said.
Geoffroy said there has been almost constant communication between ISU Athletic Director Jamie Pollard and the athletic directors of Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri and Baylor, which are all vulnerable if the southern Big 12 universities decide to depart for the Pac-10.
Geoffroy declined to comment on whether ISU had spoken with or received any invitations from other athletic conferences.
“It’s just too premature at the moment,” he said.
As the Texas Board of Regents prepares to meet on Tuesday to determine the fate of the Big 12 Conference, Geoffroy said the most important thing is for the five vulnerable Big 12 universities to be in close communication as their various options unfold.
When asked whether ISU, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri and Baylor were committed to stick together in the event of a Big 12 collapse, Geoffroy said all five schools have said they would like to stay together. However, he stopped short of saying the schools had made a commitment.
“‘Committed’ is a word that I’m not sure what it means these days,” Geoffroy said. “We thought that some of the other members of the Big 12 Conference were committed.”
He said it is important that ISU remains in a BCS-level conference because of the national exposure that intercollegiate athletics brings to the university. The impact of a drop to a mid-major conference on student recruitment is unknown, Geoffroy said.
“There are a lot of universities around that are top-notch institutions that have no problem recruiting students and are not in the conference affiliations that we’ve been in,” he said.
Much of the current predicament has been outside of ISU’s control, but Geoffroy said the university is doing whatever it can to ensure the best possible outcome.
Iowa’s most powerful political voices also have chimed in on the issue in the last several days, as ISU has been backed up by the likes of Gov. Chet Culver and U.S. Sens. Chuck Grassley and Tom Harkin. Though Geoffroy said he appreciates the support, he said there is only so much they can do.
“It’s certainly gratifying to receive that support, and we very, very much appreciate it, but ultimately what’s unfolding is occurring in other states, and there’s limited influence that our elected representatives can really have,” Geoffroy said.
Despite things not turning out the way he would like them to, Geoffroy said he remains optimistic that ISU will come out of the next couple of months in a good position.
When asked whether what was happening to ISU was fair, Geoffroy smiled.
“We certainly don’t like it,” he said. “It creates a lot of instability and uncertainty about the future, and we were very comfortable in the Big 12 Conference. But I don’t know how to answer the question about fairness.”
James Pusey can be reached at (515) 663-6922 or
jpusey@amestrib.com
http://amestrib.com/articles/2010/06...7123273445.txt