Nina Kult, 2001 graduate in journalism, lives in St. Louis and is an account executive for Common Ground, a public relations firm:

“It’s tragic,” she said. “This is a big part of what Iowa State is. This is who we are.

“Nebraska, along with Texas and Oklahoma, was the game you looked forward to [in the conference].

“Once it [realignment] is done, it’s done. You can’t try to go back on a decision like this. We have to fight now to put the conference back together somehow.”

Dan Kult, 2002 graduate in aerospace engineering, lives in St. Louis and is a flight test engineer for Boeing:

“It’s kind of ridiculous. Nebraska is just doing this for more money. They think they have this big national alumni following, but I tend to doubt that. They’re not as relevant as they think they are.”

“Why would Nebraska give up being in the Big 12 North, which they pretty much win every year in football? That’s gone. I just hope Nebraska gets kicked around by those other teams in the Big 10. That would be sweet retribution.”

“The biggest thing for us is that this will hurt our recruiting. And it could affect our bowl eligibility. The Big 12 had a certain level of clout.”

Jen Hacke, 2001 graduate in broadcast journalism and Ames resident said, “it’s very disappointing knowing that our fate is contingent on someone else, and that it just comes down to money. It’s upsetting.”

“I’m afraid that the Big 12 will be divided up piece by piece and we’ll be forced to step down to a lower conference, which will hurt us financially and academically.”

“I hope [the Big 12] will remain viable. I don’t want to see our conference become so widespread that fans can’t travel. These new locations will mean new teams and the old rivalries will be gone.”

“Hopefully someone else will join our conference, which will benefit us in the end. It’s frustrating that tradition doesn’t mean anything.”