When they asked the legendary Willie Sutton why he robbed banks, he replied: “That’s where the money is.”

So was there any doubt in your mind that in view of the $1 million-plus loot produced by Kansas-Missouri games at Kansas City’s Arrowhead stadium The Suits again would bypass on-campus confrontations? K.C.’s where the money is, at least for the athletic departments — if not for the Lawrence-Columbia people who would like to share more of such cash, particularly in these hard times.

In the 116 KU-MU games to date, 23 have been played in K.C. Kansas holds a 12-7-3 advantage for such outings, often on Thanksgiving Day. The series began in 1891 and the first 16 meeting were in Kansas City. Then there was conflict over rental costs for the K.C. field so the 1907 game went to St. Joseph, Mo. Officials were elated that both teams cleared $2,200, but they didn’t go back.

It was back to K.C. until 1911 when the first KU-MU on-campus game, a 3-all tie, was here. Lawrence-Columbia business people said they were tired of seeing the money siphoned off to Kansas City and the sports guys listened. In 2008, forget it.

Dinosaur that I am, my preference is for college football on college campuses. Too often anymore, it’s not. I can understand the worship at the money pit, but what I can’t accept is the way the tickets are doled out and the fact that (get ready for the barrage) Missouri fans in K.C. seem a little testier and fangier than others the Jayhawks encounter, including Kansas State zealots.

Little wonder fans scream when the KU-MU-Arrowhead totalitarians give first preference to Kansas City Chiefs season ticket-holders. Why the hell do they deserve such a handout? Got to snicker about that this year. The Chiefs are the most pathetic team in pro football and their pained patrons may not even turn out for the kind of good game Kansas and Missouri might be.

Then there are the high parking fees, overpriced concessions, traffic jams, rest room jam-ups and all the other inconveniences that only fatten the purses of the sponsors and rob from the enjoyment of an occasion.

But at least they could keep KU and MU pockets of people together instead of mixing them into sections where feelings can run high, insults are hurled, profanity pounds the ears of kids and women and drunks make boorish butts of themselves. On-campus games have been known to feature bad actors and poor security, but they can’t come close to a hot rivalry in an urban setting where the Mizzou faithful can get so hostile. Whatever happened to old-fashioned fun and respect?

Last year, Jerry Dobson, the KU geography genius, and his party were stuck among a batch of Missouri folks and one of their guys got pretty tacky trying to rub it in as MU dominated.

Fed up, Dobson stared the dolt in the face and explained: “I’ve got a combination Georgia and Tennessee background that includes some pretty good football. I know what GRACIOUS WINNERS are.” The guy immediately adopted a decent, positive approach; no more trash. Jerry was lucky. No gun or club. But it was just another symptom of how the “Arrowhead experience” discourages participants.

Still, it looks like, since that’s where the money is, we’re stuck with The Beast to the East for a long time.