Money clearly is the biggest player in collegiate athletics.

Here’s one more sign that the dollar bill is the most important factor in college sports these days.

As Kansas University basketball fans well know, Kansas City’s Kemper Arena and, before that, K.C.’s downtown Municipal Auditorium, have been like second homes to Jayhawk basketball teams. There has been great fan support for the KU team over the years, and Kansas City has been a highly successful and storied site for college basketball.

Unfortunately, Kemper Arena does not measure up to new arenas in other cities, and this weekend’s NCAA tournament games may mark the last time Kansas City plays host to such an event. The same may be true, after a one-year reprise in 2005, of the post-season Big 12 Conference tourney.

Other sites within the Big 12 Conference region have surpassed the Kemper in terms of fan accommodations, team facilities, parking and most other factors that contribute to a great experience for athletes and spectators.

So, how do conference officials go about selecting future sites after the 2005 games in Kansas City?

Is it any surprise it will depend on the highest bid by potential host sites? It will depend on what site is willing to pay the highest dollar to land the tournament.

This past Friday, Big 12 presidents and chancellors voted to initiate a “competitive proposal process” to begin after the final basket of the just-completed tournament in Dallas.

Television contracts, football games scheduled for off-campus sites, the scheduling of specific teams for non-conference basketball games, deals with uniform manufacturers, concession contracts, advertising in the basketball arena — on scoreboards and every other possible spot — etc., etc. It’s all based on what will bring each team or school the most money.

Intercollegiate “sports” no longer are “sports” but rather a giant business enterprise. The only ones not getting a piece of the financial pie — at least they are not supposed to — are the players who fans and TV cameras come to watch and who make the games interesting, exciting and marketable.

What will be the next development in trying to raise more money for collegiate sports?