Hurricane Warnings in Manhattan Kansas

In yet another sign of how times have changed since Ron Prince took over for retiring Bill Snyder, the Wildcats have nearly completed a contract with the University of Miami (not Ohio) for a home and home series in the 2011 and 2012 seasons. K-State will travel to Miami in 2011 and the 'Canes will be in Manhattan the following year.

"Ron (Prince) wants to have one marquee game on the schedule every year," Kansas State Athletic Director Jim Epps said. "That could also include teams from the Mountain West Conference and Conference USA. He's been very open-minded about playing the best schools out there."

As a Wildcat fan who has consistently had to defend the Wildcat program for their scheduling philosophy in the past, I am happy to see that Coach Prince has made a commitment to play one "Big-Name" school every year. This is good for the program for several reasons. First, it will better prepare the team for the Big 12 but more importantly, it will, most likely, put KSU on National TV in the pre-season. It will also eliminate the "they don't play anyone in non-conference" arguement that has been used against the Cats in the past to keep us out of Tier 1 bowls.

It kind of makes you wonder about the "no one will schedule a home and home series with us" arguement that the Athletic Department has been using over the last 10 years to justify the likes of Western Kentucky and McNeese State.