Was it worth it? Was it worth the million or more dollars the Kansas University Athletic Department raked in for playing the Kansas-Missouri game in Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium, taking the game away from Lawrence and KU’s Memorial Stadium?

Obviously, the answer depends on whom you ask.

KU Chancellor Robert Hemenway and Athletic Director Lew Perkins placed dollars and a desire to make friends in Kansas City ahead of other considerations. They would answer the above with a resounding “yes!”

This was a very special season for the Jayhawks, and they compiled a great record. With No. 2-ranked KU playing fourth-ranked Missouri, the traditional game carried far more rewards than a normal KU-MU game.

Hemenway and Perkins gave away the home field advantage KU would have enjoyed. That advantage might have meant a great deal in this pivotal clash for the nation’s No. 1 ranking. It’s a game that probably won’t be matched for years, if ever.

If coach Mark Mangino and his players were asked “was it worth it?,” they probably would say publicly that it was OK to play at Arrowhead. But if they could give their honest answer, chances are they would have given most anything to play the game in Memorial Stadium, filled to capacity with screaming KU fans.

But a coach doesn’t disagree with his boss, and the players were good sports. Nevertheless, KU coaches and players were dumped on by the powers at KU.

Maybe the home-field advantage would not have made any difference, but we’ll never know.

Ask Lawrence business people “was it worth it?” and there would be an angry and emphatic “no.”

Ask many others about taking a college game off campus and moving it to a professional field, and again the majority would probably say “no.”

The fine Missouri football team and its coaches played a great game and won the spoils of such a fight – not just the thrill of winning and the dollars but also national exposure, recruiting help and the opportunity to play for a national title. These all are big “wins” for the team from Columbia.

But the true and biggest winner is Kansas City and the Kansas City Chiefs organization – not Lawrence or Columbia.

The national attention and exposure focused on Kansas City and Arrowhead Stadium could not be bought. Revenue for tickets, concessions and parking, along with a major shot in the arm for Kansas City retailers, restaurants and hotels on one of the nation’s busiest shopping days and the accompanying sales tax revenue for Missouri all combined for a tremendous payoff for Kansas City.

Consider what a similar game pitting the nation’s second- and fourth-ranked teams in KU’s Memorial Stadium would have meant for KU, Lawrence and Kansas. It was probably a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and KU officials gave it away.

Granted, neither Hemenway nor Perkins had any idea the game would have such significance when they agreed to the deal. Regardless, the pact never should have been signed. Kansas City officials and Chiefs officials knew what they could reap and had tried many times to get KU officials to give away their home-field advantage. Missouri officials had said for years they would agree to play the game in Kansas City if it was KU’s home game, but they would not give away the historic game if it was scheduled to be played in Columbia.

Who knows who gave in first? KU athletic and administration officers had rejected the plan before, but apparently the dollars this year became too attractive for those on Mount Oread to pass up.

College games should remain on college campuses.

It is highly unlikely next year’s KU-MU game will garner as much attention as this year’s battle, but Kansas City and Chiefs officials will do everything they can to hype it to the maximum.

What happens after the two-year deal comes to an end is anyone’s guess – at least that’s what the public is being told. Grand-sounding enticements are sure to be offered because Kansas City wants this game on a permanent basis. They don’t care who wins the game. What they are interested in is the national spotlight and the dollars brought to Kansas City.

It is hoped KU officials will have the courage and backbone to say “no” and return the game to Lawrence, at least when it is KU’s “home” game.

Unfortunately, in the world of college athletics, money seems to be calling the shots, and egos play such a huge role with many of the actors in this sports scene loving the spotlight and attention. Egos and dollars are a powerful lure.

Congratulations to the Missouri players and coaches for the way they played the game. Too bad their fans didn’t perform as well.

Once again, congratulations to KU’s players and coaches. Thanks for a great season, and best wishes for a post-season bowl game victory.