Hmm. I thought it was just about the sports. But Joe Aistrup, a political science professor at Kansas State University and co-author of Kansas Politics and Government: The Clash of Political Cultures, explains that college conferences are more than sports leagues. Aistrup also appeared on today’s episode of This Week in Kansas to speak on this topic.
More than just athletics
By Joseph A. Aistrup
You can tell much about a university by the athletic company it keeps. Even though most of the headlines regarding the possible demise of the Big 12 Conference are confined to the sports pages and ESPN, the significance of athletic conference affiliation extends far beyond the playing fields into classrooms and research facilities. With conference affiliation comes much prestige, which not only improves the recruiting of student athletes, but also improves the chances of winning substantial research grants.