A big barrier to KSU advancing in academic status is our role as a land grant university tasked with advancing agricultural and engineering education within the state of Kansas, while KU carries no such burden. It's a structural thing. While I respect KU's academic status, it's not nearly as impressive as you and fellow KU fans believe, and are completely ignorant of KSU's world wide reputation in agricultural research that affect the future of the planet more than anything KU is doing, including the near independent research at your medical center. Congrats on your anthropology and related studies, but they are not earth-shaking.
BTW, AAU status is not driving footba!l or conference realignment.