They're taking great joy in their ESPN 2 tv numbers from the beat down they received from Coastal Carolina that they've spun into the greatest moral victory since K-State recovered 4 onside kicks against Barry Switzer and OU thirty plus years ago. Without realizing that hardcore college football fans (like me) didn't get a Thursday night game and so were starved for anything to kick off yet another CFB weekend. Hardcore CFB fans (like me) also tuned in to see if a SoCon team could get their first home win against a P5 team and they did by 4 touchdowns (remembering that a Les Miles coached team only lost to the same crew by a single TD). I digress . . .
I have also heard in multiple places that the BiG told KU thanks but no thanks.
The BiG knows they made a BiG mistake by bringing in Rutgers and Maryland and they're not bringing another school who moves zero needles in the only sport that matters.
I'll say it gain, the BiG is already loaded with quality basketball content and basketball drives 15% to 20% of the value of conference media contracts, tops, and that's with throwing every other non football sports into the mix as well.
As far as basketball goes relative to the NCAA tourney payout. If the formula remains the same, the BiG has to ask would a KU be a +1 to all the other usual BiG teams that go to the NCAA tourney every year, or would KU possibly bump a current BiG regular out. I'd say that's going to be a coinflip every year, so some years the BiG may literally net nothing from having KU Basketball while having more mouths to feed at the same time.
For the schools that place value on mere membership and sucking at the rear teats, why do you want football hind teater KU nuzzling into position at the back with you? I suppose if you're a Cornhole fan and if you ever get good again, you'll have an easy road trip and lots of your fellow Cornhole fans to party with in Lawrence just like days of yore. On the flipside, if you're Minn, IL, Iowa or Cornhole, why do want another BiG school in your region when you can walk into places like KC and STL and try to grab kids on the back of BiG membership?