It is difficult to judge and I am not in the college circles like I was at one time. My comments are general in nature, so take them for what they are worth.
Most of my KS friends know I am a die hard Husker and have continued to ask me why Nebraska ever left the B12 in the first place. They are proud of two major, but distinct colleges in Kansas State and Kansas U. In KS, if you talk football, you are likely speaking to a KSU fan and if you are talking BB you are talking with a KU fan. Some of shine is off the FB at KSU but they have defeated OU two years in a row. I also believe the general pop would like to see both schools in the same conference, almost at the risk of being left out. I also believe they have great faith in their BB program at KU that would transcend most league affiliations. KU has a tremendous presence all over the state with medical centers everywhere. K-State has more ag related sites that are smaller. In my little town of Salina, pop 45,000 we have a KU school of Med to train doctors for rural health care and a KU nursing program. K-State has a satellite campus with a primary emphasis on aviation and a few other degrees plus transfer.
All this is to say, the state is attached to both schools at some level and allegiances cut across lines. KSU may be looked down on by some as being less than KU, that has been often said in the state, not sure if it is true or not and that is based on their programs. Ag is as glorious as medicine.
All that said, I would not be surprised if Kansas took full advantage of the opportunity to escape the declining B12 and would welcome the additional money, who wouldn't. They could easily schedule the rivalry game every year in each sport much like we do with Creighton and Iowa/State do. People are concerned with being left out in the cold and part of some mountain west league.
To me, all this really shows the difference between schools that are currently above average (good) and those that were or never were. Sadly, as much as us Husker fans think we have a blue blood program - when you combine current trends and high academics (I question how much this is considered) then you have to wonder what draw a state of 2 million really has.
This will all be interesting and there are going to be some really upset fan bases left wondering what happened. It was too easy to get by with OK teams in major sports, I don't think that is true anymore. Just my opinions of course.