This young man seems to believe the hype.

It's Carson Palmer week, the week where we as fans get a chance to let Carson know how we feel about him and what he did both when he was a Bengal and as he became an ex-Bengal.

I say we thank for him both.

The Bengals are better off today than they were the day we found out about Carson's trade request. 

Any employer who has an overpaid, underachieving employee who not only leaves but yields something in return should be celebrated.  I'm going to celebrate Carson cutting the cord today at 3:04.

There are other pressing issues, namely for the University of Cincinnati.

Where should they go?  What should they do?  And who will take them?

All are decent questions.

Conference realignment discussions can be confusing, maddening, and with all the speculation, ultimately useless.  But from a UC perspective, especially from the school's sports fans, what I want to know is how a UC fan would sell their school to other, bigger, more profitable, conferences.

I love UC, especially its sports programs.  I want what's best for the school, its teams, alums, fans, and supporters.  But how would a UC fan sell say the ACC, or the Big Ten, given the following...

The University of Cincinnati does not spend a lot on sports.  In 2011, they spent $43.6 million on athletics.  By comparison, Rutgers and Maryland, the two schools to announce moves this week, spent $60 and $61 million respectively.

To compare further, Louisville spent $81 million, Connecticut spent $63 million, and two pull two notable schools from other conferences, Ohio State spent $122 million on sports in 2011 and North Carolina spent $74 million.

Let's look at the schools who were similar to UC in spending on athletics in 2011...

Iowa State: $48 million
Mississippi: $47 million
Kansas State: $46 million
Cincinnati: 46 million
South Florida: $43 million
Central Florida: $42 million

Kansas State has had some success in football.  They've played in BCS games and they were legit national title contenders until this past Saturday, but let's be real, they're not one of the first six schools you think about when I mention the Big 12.  And the other schools in that mix rarely contend for anything meaningful on the field within their leagues.

There's also the market, which for UC is limited.  Last week, Butch Jones had to beg fans to come to a big football game.  Attendance at UC basketball games continues to be an issue.  And while the facilities around both Nippert Stadium and Fifth Third Arena have gotten major upgrades or have recently been added, both their football and basketball venues need major, major help.  And they need to be better equipped to bring in revenue.

We're in a good-sized TV market, but the market is split among not only the pro sports teams in town, but among major college draws like UK, Ohio State, etc....

It's limited.

Rutgers and Maryland both have financial issues.  As a matter of fact, those two schools handled their finances less recklessly than your average teenage girl. They also occupy some decent geographic and demographic real estate. 

The endowment at UC came back by about $300 million during the recession, and while it's rebounded slightly, it's not where it was.  The academic reputation of the school is arguably at its highest in its history, and that absolutely matters, but there needs to be something a little more concrete for a school to bring to the table.

What does UC bring to the table?

I hear UC supporters lamenting the demise of their league, and they often want to point the finger at the revolving-door leadership of the school.  Instead of complain, sell. If you love the University of Cincinnati and want their athletic conference affiliation to either change or improve, how would you do it, and how would you sell the school?

I'd like to get to this, and the Carson Palmer stuff, today starting at 3:04 on ESPN1530.

Guests
4:04 - Joe Reedy, Cincinnati.com
5:42 - Nick Lachey, Famous Sports Fan

Topics
Are the Bengals better off today than they were 667 days ago?
Was Carson Palmer's overall body of work that bad?
What now for UC and what would you sell to another league?
Some Ohio State fans are trying to change the rules of the game midway through it?

Follow me on Twitter.  We'll have the #MoEggerTQD at 4:33. And don't forget to sign up for  chance to win a Draftmark Tap System.  The fun starts at 3:04 today on ESPN1530.  Any idea what's going here?