NCAA NCAA Re-Alignment

[AJ_2000]

It's pretty much the end of the Big XII if the vote gets up, which needs 11/14 of the existing SEC. It's their 2 biggest football schools = TV revenue

Pretty sure that A&M won't be supporting that vote, so are there 3 others that are worried at their chance for glory over the additional TV revenue.

But it should mean more meaningful games in the SEC schedule, unless they're both put on the East conference so Bama can play them every 7 years

 

[aussiedude]

I think Texas moving will have a hold up again. They would of moved to the Pac-10 last time. but they demanded they keep the Longhorn Network and refused to have it shared with the other teams. but seeing as the SEC will be 100% under ESPN from next season it might not be a holdup anymore. but they might want to turn it inot a full time 2nd SEC network. dont think they can kill it since they still have like 10 years on the LHN deal.

in an ideal world it would move to a big 4 [Pac-12, Big10, ACC, SEC]

 

[Dirty Bird]

It's pretty much the end of the Big XII if the vote gets up, which needs 11/14 of the existing SEC. It's their 2 biggest football schools = TV revenue

Pretty sure that A&M won't be supporting that vote, so are there 3 others that are worried at their chance for glory over the additional TV revenue.

But it should mean more meaningful games in the SEC schedule, unless they're both put on the East conference so Bama can play them every 7 years

Id go
Texas, Oklahoma BigXII ---> SECw
Alabama, Auburn SECw ---> SECe
Missouri SECe ---> SECw

But, if those changes are made, do you still need cross-divisional rivalry games?

3 of the 7 matchups would now be in the division, and do we really lose much by losing LSU–Florida, Mississippi State–Kentucky, Ole Miss–Vanderbilt and Texas A&M–South Carolina.

Maybe LSU-Florida, but Florida gains Alabama instead, so who cares.

 

[Dirty Bird]

Another question I have
Would the SEC Championship stay in Atlanta?

I for one wouldn't be shocked if they do what the Big XII used to do before contracting (they rotated between North [St Louis/Kansas City] and South [San Antonio/Houston/Dallas]) and rotate between East (Atlanta) and West (Dallas)

 

[aussiedude]

Another question I have
Would the SEC Championship stay in Atlanta?

I for one wouldn't be shocked if they do what the Big XII used to do before contracting (they rotated between North [St Louis/Kansas City] and South [San Antonio/Houston/Dallas]) and rotate between East (Atlanta) and West (Dallas)

They have a deal with Mercedes Benz stadium till the end of the 2027 season.

 

[juddy_Like]

I hate this. It’s changed the sport forever. Not so much for how big the top schools will get, more so the slow death of the smaller schools. It’s essentially created a new tier; Group of 5, Power 5 (or now 4 or even 3) and the SEC on its own level now. I just can see the smaller schools wither away.

As for the scenarios:
- West Virginia aren’t smart enough for the B10 and wasn’t wanted by the ACC 10 years ago.
- I can see P12 add Ok State and a couple of the Texas schools.
- Kansas to the B10 makes the most sense but I doubt the conference will be in any rush. Thinking it’ll be a wait and see approach.

 

[aussiedude]

AAC are open to taking some.

Not sure who the Pac-12 would listen to. they didnt want OK State last time. but have a new leadership group running it. Finally got Larry Scott out the door after doing his best to almost kill the confrence. I think they would look at some MW teams. Boise has been talked abotu but last time didnt have the academic scores to enter.

AAC will take Tech and Baylor. neither are sexy enough for the Pac or Big10 unless they want them just for the recruiting access to Texas.

 

[aussiedude]

News today about the potential expanded playoffs. 12 is the number talked about. 6 top ranked confence champions and 6 highest ranked non champ teams. Its getting talked about for the first time at a serious level.

Another round of confrence realignment isnt having any negitive fallout on the push to expand the playoffs.

 

[aussiedude]

a big one will be if ND chose to enter a confrence for football. likely the ACC.
Then BYU will be thinking about going to a weak Big12 should ti still exist or enter the Pac-12. dont think they can stay independent.

 

[Exe Gesis]

ESPN finds itself in a potential college football legal mess

Posted by Mike Florio on July 29, 2021, 9:33 AM EDT

College football has become a very big business. ESPN has become a very big part of that very big business. And in the opinion of one of the big conferences that carries “Big” in its name but is currently a little less big, ESPN has stepped into a big pile of something foul and smelly.

Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby sent on Wednesday a cease and desist letter to ESPN, accusing the four-letter network (without four-letter words, but he surely was thinking them) of trying to get other members of the Big 12 to join Oklahoma and Texas as former members of the Big 12.

The letter is a warning shot at ESPN, telling it to stop doing whatever it’s been doing to destabilize and potentially destroy the Big 12. If ESPN, which issued a statement saying that the allegations “have no merit” (shockingly, ESPN didn’t say, “Well, you caught us”), has not been trying to play puppet master with the various conferences with which it does business, ESPN doesn’t need to do or stop doing anything. If ESPN has decided to maximize its interests by working with schools to create a more potentially profitable (for ESPN) configuration of teams and conference, it has a problem.

Litigation definitely could ensue. The letter from Bowlsby to Burke Magnus of ESPN reminds ESPN that the Big 12 members have “contractual obligations” to the conference. Bowlsby then accuses ESPN of engaging in an “apparent attempt to interfere with and to induce our Members to breach these contractual obligations to the Conference and to encourage further conference realignment for the financial benefit of ESPN.” The letter also points out that the TV contract between the Big 12 and ESPN includes a promise rom ESPN to not “take any actions likely to impair, or [that are] inconsistent with the rights” the Big 12 acquired under that deal.

Thus, ESPN could face both a claim that it breached its contract with the Big 12 and that it intentionally and tortiously interfered with the contractual rights and expectations between the Big 12 and its current or former members. The so-called tortious interference claim is far more significant, since it carries the possibility of punitive damages based on the massive balance sheets of ESPN and its parent company, Disney.
Even if ESPN ceases and desists (if it’s doing anything from which to cease and desist), the damage may already be done. The letter mentions “ESPN’s potential involvement” in the recent departure of Texas and Oklahoma for the SEC.

Regardless of where this goes from here, the attachment of Bowlsby’s unintelligible signature to the top of the second page of the letter provides even more proof that college football isn’t about college or football. It’s about money. It’s about making as much of it as possible. And it’s about keeping as much of that money from the players as possible, in order to generate even greater profits for the schools and salaries for the coaches and executives, including the commissioners of the conferences to which they belong.

It’s about money for the broadcast partners, too, and it’s entirely possible that one or more employees at ESPN, drunk on the possibilities of the new NIL rules allowing the best schools to become even better if their recruits are playing the other best schools and sponsors become more inclined to pump more and more money into the pockets of the players from those schools, decided that the current conference structure needed to be revisited. That it needed to be revised. That the financial interests of ESPN would best be served by creating tiers of college football conferences with clear and bright lines between them, with the best of the best schools always facing each other — and generating even higher ratings for the games ESPN televises.

So the temptation is there. The question is whether ESPN gave in to it, and whether the Big 12 can prove it, if the Big 12 is serious about making sure that the TV networks, in their efforts to make as much money as possible, steer clear efforts to reposition the conferences and schools, in their efforts to make as much money as possible.

The mere fact that Bowlsby sent the letter shows that the Big 12 is seriou

 

[drd23]

 

[aussiedude]

$$$$ talks. all the bitching and moaning from Texas A&M and they vote yes.

from 2025 OU and Texas will join.

 

[Dirty Bird]

So UCF, Cincinnati, Houston and BYU are joining the Big XII

Here are the following rumours I've been hearing

1 - MWC after Memphis and SMU - Did not pick up the phone
2 - MWC fallback option is Montana and Montana State - Did pick up the phone
3 - AAC trying to poach Colorado State and Air Force - Seemed a good chance, however, CSU wavering, Air Force boosters (who are largely funding $70M renovation to their stadium) applying pressure to stay put.
4 - Big XII waiting for pac-12 tv deal to be sorted, as next tv deal to be negotiated is them. If they dont lose out too much on a per team basis, will add Boise State and Memphis. However, if it will disadvantage the 12 teams too much, they'll stick to 12 and not add BSU/Memphis
5 - If Boise State leaves, San Diego State will seriously look at going independent and place their non-football into the Big West.

 

[Dirty Bird]

I actually want the MWC to solidify NOW.
Go grab Montana, Montana State, SDSU and NDSU.

You take the #2, #4, #7 and #11 FCS schools
Montana - 25,217 seat stadium who sell it out
Montana State - 17,777 seat stadium who sell it out
North Dakota State - 18,700 seat stadium who sell it out
South Dakota State - 19,340 seat stadium who go at about 80% capacity

And I thought of that before I even contemplated divisional re-alignment

That would move Boise State and Utah State into the West and the 4 new schools would go into the Mountain.

 

[Dirty Bird]

 

[Dirty Bird]

ACC Expansion talk and potential vote scheduled for Friday Morning (their time)

Stanford Cal and SMU offering reduced (and I think Stanford/SMU are offering close to nil) payouts.

The extra money the tv contract would get to go the way of FSU/Clemson to keep them happy in the short term.

And apparently there's a clause in their tv contract saying that if the conference falls below 12 teams, the league and network renegotiates. So this would be a keep Clemson/Florida State happy now, cover our arse incase scenario.

Would pave the way for WSU/OSU joining the mwc (or a merger) - That'll be interesting. WSU/OSU would want to hang onto the ncaa credits, but the MWC would rather hold the current tv deal, rather than being forced to renegotiate early potentially getting stuck on something worse. But I wouldn't be shocked if ESPN goes for more west coast content driving the deal up, because they don't have much access to the west atm. All ESPN has is a small amount of BigXII inventory. They do have 5 schools in the mountain timezone (Though, Arizona doesnt have DLS, so do they change to Pacific or central for half the year?) but would ESPN prefer one of the MWC's 7 pacific schools? (Plus Hawai'i?)

 

[aussiedude]

I think Stanford and Cal start at about 40% and SMU are nothing for up to 7 years. But i think its only TV money they will all still get NCAA Credits for stuff like bowl payouts and other championship sports payouts.

At one stage Stanford were going to join free, but Cal wasnt going to get enough to survive, so Stanford and Cal will now take the same share.

 

[Dirty Bird]

Twitter lighting up - Stanford, Cal and SMU ACC bound.

 

[aussiedude]

We have known that someone flipped for about a week when talks started again. I think NC State flipped because they wouldnt get a SEC invite like the others.

 

[aussiedude]

 

[aussiedude]

NC State was always the weak link. Clemson, FSU and North Carolina would all get invites at full share if they found a way out of the GoR.

 

[aussiedude]

While im glad we have a new home, and we will keep "the Game" going for now, and wont lose the Notre Dame yearly game. I still feel hollow because the Pac has died and now Oregon State and Wazzu are stranded and likely going to have to enter the MW, I dont think the money makes sense for the American.

I also fear both schools [and Cal to a lesser extent] might need to kill some non money making sports to balance the books given the debts all 3 are in.

 

[aussiedude]

While 9 years sounds like a long time. The SMU boosters pushed and are digging deep. SMU were only going to get like $2m a year from the AAC.

 

[aussiedude]

If the ACC still exists in 10 years, all 3 will finally be a full share. It will be interesting to see who out of the ACC and Big12 die next.
I think the ACC lasts another 5 years or so before FSU and Clemson find a way out and UNC follow.

 

[aussiedude]

Looks like they are MW bound but there is still talk of them trying to take MW teams and rebuild the Pac.