Those were halcyon days in the mid-1990s when the old Big Eight Conference joined four Southwest Conference schools to form a new major player on the college scene.

Well versed in addition, league officials dubbed it the Big 12 Conference.

They did it for the dollars — mostly money from television rights for football and men’s basketball — and my goodness how the money rolled in.

Unfortunately, at the same time, the transition turned the spring sports at many of the old Big Eight schools — baseball, in particular — into fodder for the old SWC universities.

Colorado had dropped baseball before the merger, then Iowa State gave up the ghost. Nebraska survived nicely, thanks in large part to a brand-new facility it shares with a Lincoln, Neb., independent-league team. Missouri has been up and down.

Kansas and Kansas State, meanwhile, have been down so long in baseball that a .500 conference record would look like a trip to the College World Series.

As the two Sunflower State schools prepare for their annual three-game series this weekend, both are in familiar spots. KU’s league record is 4-10; K-State is 6-12.

Kansas has had 10 straight seasons of losing conference records — two in the Big Eight — and appears headed for still another sub-.500 finish. The Jayhawks will have to catch fire in a hurry if they hope to become only the second KU team to qualify for the Big 12 postseason tourney.

If it isn’t one thing it’s another with Kansas baseball. Last year’s club led the Big 12 in hitting and was OK on defense, but the pitching was awful. This year the hitting hasn’t dropped off much and the pitching has improved some, but the defense — particularly on the infield — has been awful.

And so the question remains: Will KU ever be competitive in Big 12 baseball?

Sunflower showdown ‘humongous’ for KU

I can’t answer that, but I can tell you KU is committed to a level diamond. You can view the latest evidence for yourself if you attend a KU-KSU game Saturday or Sunday at Hoglund Ballpark. You can’t miss the 60×70 foot steel building looming down the right-field line.

This $650,000 indoor workout facility contains three full batting cages and three portable pitchers’ mounds. The privately funded building is heated and air-conditioned for year-round use.

“To tell the truth, I was a little surprised it cost as much as a luxury home,” KU coach Ritch Price said, “but it’s crucial for us to be able to compete against the schools in the warm-weather states. Our boosters and donors have been really generous.”

The east side of the new facility is so close to the right field foul line it will become part of the ground rules.

“It’ll be like (Baltimore’s) Camden Yards,” Price said. “They’ll pad the side of the building and it will be in play.”

Not too far from the workout building is a new scoreboard looming behind the right-field fence. Funded by sponsors, the huge structure features space for a video screen, although that amenity is a gonna-be.

The new scoreboard should be operational in time for the Texas series next weekend, meaning it will be showcased on national television because the KU-Texas game May 8 will be shown on ESPN2 (live if there’s no seventh game of an NBA playoff, delayed if there is).

“That’s huge for our program to be on national TV,” Price said. “It’s fabulous. We’re thrilled.”

A clubhouse down the left-field line is Price’s next potential thrill. That $500,000 structure, also funded by donors, will contain offices, a training room, a players’ lounge and an academic center.

“My goal is to do that next year,” the third-year KU coach said.

Once all that is done, Price wants to make Hoglund Ballpark more fan friendly. He would like to take out the poles that hold the backstop screen and improve the view by installing a cable net system. He also envisions outdoor boxes behind the net and indoor boxes stretched out along both sides of the press box.

Not too long ago, the mindset in college athletics had the horse always pulling the cart. In order to lure donor dollars, coaches had to win, win, win. Now reality has sunk in. Your cart has to be as good or better than the other guy’s.