SHR - Yet again, realignment

[RhinoD]

Just saw a report that the BIG10 is looking to add Florida State, Clemson, Oregon and Washington by the end of next week... It's becoming clear that the BIG10 and SEC are most likely going to be 24-team super leagues in the next 5 years or so. With the ACC and Pac12 dismantling.

With that in mind, I saw a model that has the Sun Belt adding 8 teams as well... The teams I saw added were -- Charlotte, FAU, Memphis, South Florida in the East... SMU, Rice, Tulsa and UTSA in the West.

Thoughts?

 

[HerdyGurdyMan]

Just saw a report that the BIG10 is looking to add Florida State, Clemson, Oregon and Washington by the end of next week... It's becoming clear that the BIG10 and SEC are most likely going to be 24-team super leagues in the next 5 years or so. With the ACC and Pac12 dismantling.

With that in mind, I saw a model that has the Sun Belt adding 8 teams as well... The teams I saw added were -- Charlotte, FAU, Memphis, South Florida in the East... SMU, Rice, Tulsa and UTSA in the West.

Thoughts?

If the Sun Belt adds all those teams can we change the name of the conference to the "Big Sunbelt?"

 

[BleedsGreen33]

Also it's being said that AZ is a lock to the Big XII now and AZST and UTAH will follow.

As far as the SBC is concerned it would be beyond stupid to add 8 more teams just as it makes zero sense for the the B1G, Big XII, and SEC to do it. There's no way to have all the teams face each other which makes it difficult to send teams to the championship game. There's a potential with that many teams to have several undefeated or 1-loss teams that haven't faced each other and then politics decides who gets to play for the conference. No thanks. I'd be all for adding ECU and USF, but outside of that. No.

 

[TwolfHerdfan]

If we add any teams, I would be for ECU in the east and SMU for the west. Other than that, not excited about anyone else. jmho

 

[Jbabbington]

If we add any teams, I would be for ECU in the east and SMU for the west. Other than that, not excited about anyone else. jmho

ECU in the east, and WKU in the west would entice me.

 

[The Real SamC]

Thoughts?

- The ACC has a "grant of rights" until 2036. This means that any team that leaves the league still has its TV rights belonging to ABC, ESPN, ESPN+, and the CW (CW picked up the last choice ACC game starting this year). That means no team can leave the ACC, unless Disney is willing to forgo that. Disney is bleeding money because of its stupid streaming ventures, woke politics, and "cord cutters". So FSU and Clemson and everyone else, has to stay where they are.

- The Pac 12 was/is run by morons. In the last TV deal is got into this stupid pissing match with DirecTV, which means you can't get the Pac 12 Network on it. DirecTV is what you have if you are a sports fan, and 100% what you have if you are a Sports Bar. Then in the new TV deal, it diddled around until all of the other conferences had made deals and the networks had figured out that the ratings for the set of games they would show each weekend would be about the same whether the Pac 12 was included or not, and they all passed. Then they tried to get on streaming, which all streamers lose money. So, yes, it is going to explode, and soon. Heck, Colorado was willing to move down to the mid-major Big 12 Leftovers. That is how bad the Pac 12 is getting. So they can "raid" the MWC, but what is there that moves the needle? And don't answer Boise State. That act won't work if they have play major schools every week. San Diego State? Maybe. UNLV has potential, but has never really been relevant. Or everybody can find a home. Problem is that some teams don't add much to any major conference, or even to the mid-major Big 12 Leftovers. So maybe the MWC gets Oregon State and Washington State and that makes the MWC better.

- So what about the SBC? Don't add teams just to add teams. If Disney is not willing to pay more, substantially more, for the SBC rights, stand pat. I get what the majors, and the Big 12 Leftovers and even the lowly AAC are doing. Create national packages to be sold to rival networks. Fine. What does that have to do with us? Nobody in the MWC is going to move. The MAC is the MAC, many of those schools are more likely to drop football than try to move up. So that leaves CUSA and the AAC. I think the AAC act of claiming to be "power 6" and all of that idiocy will be played until everyone figures out that it is, and always was, bulls***, so that is that. ECU has a good fan base and would fit in the SBC. USF would be OK, but just OK. No body else brings anything to the table.

- So, stand pat and see if the AAC becomes the laughing stock it should be and pick up some refugees in 5-8 years; or wait for the MAC schools to start dropping football (yes, it will happen) and if too many do, pick up some of the ones that don't.

- One last thing, relative to the majors. All the conferences have fillers. Schools that are in that conference before all the new comers came, and which never really are relevant. And which do not add to the TV deal all that much. How long before we see schools like Purdue, or Minnesota, or Kansas State, or in a revived Pac 12, Oregon State, or Georgia Tech or Wake Forest, to find a new home?

 

[BleedsGreen33]

- The ACC has a "grant of rights" until 2036. This means that any team that leaves the league still has its TV rights belonging to ABC, ESPN, ESPN+, and the CW (CW picked up the last choice ACC game starting this year). That means no team can leave the ACC, unless Disney is willing to forgo that. Disney is bleeding money because of its stupid streaming ventures, woke politics, and "cord cutters". So FSU and Clemson and everyone else, has to stay where they are.

- The Pac 12 was/is run by morons. In the last TV deal is got into this stupid pissing match with DirecTV, which means you can't get the Pac 12 Network on it. DirecTV is what you have if you are a sports fan, and 100% what you have if you are a Sports Bar. Then in the new TV deal, it diddled around until all of the other conferences had made deals and the networks had figured out that the ratings for the set of games they would show each weekend would be about the same whether the Pac 12 was included or not, and they all passed. Then they tried to get on streaming, which all streamers lose money. So, yes, it is going to explode, and soon. Heck, Colorado was willing to move down to the mid-major Big 12 Leftovers. That is how bad the Pac 12 is getting. So they can "raid" the MWC, but what is there that moves the needle? And don't answer Boise State. That act won't work if they have play major schools every week. San Diego State? Maybe. UNLV has potential, but has never really been relevant. Or everybody can find a home. Problem is that some teams don't add much to any major conference, or even to the mid-major Big 12 Leftovers. So maybe the MWC gets Oregon State and Washington State and that makes the MWC better.

- So what about the SBC? Don't add teams just to add teams. If Disney is not willing to pay more, substantially more, for the SBC rights, stand pat. I get what the majors, and the Big 12 Leftovers and even the lowly AAC are doing. Create national packages to be sold to rival networks. Fine. What does that have to do with us? Nobody in the MWC is going to move. The MAC is the MAC, many of those schools are more likely to drop football than try to move up. So that leaves CUSA and the AAC. I think the AAC act of claiming to be "power 6" and all of that idiocy will be played until everyone figures out that it is, and always was, bulls***, so that is that. ECU has a good fan base and would fit in the SBC. USF would be OK, but just OK. No body else brings anything to the table.

- So, stand pat and see if the AAC becomes the laughing stock it should be and pick up some refugees in 5-8 years; or wait for the MAC schools to start dropping football (yes, it will happen) and if too many do, pick up some of the ones that don't.

- One last thing, relative to the majors. All the conferences have fillers. Schools that are in that conference before all the new comers came, and which never really are relevant. And which do not add to the TV deal all that much. How long before we see schools like Purdue, or Minnesota, or Kansas State, or in a revived Pac 12, Oregon State, or Georgia Tech or Wake Forest, to find a new home?

I think you and the rest of us are looking at this all wrong. There's something else going on. If we just follow the musical chair rumors we're at least going to have three conferences of 20 teams and in those three conferences will be two divisions of 10 teams that will be divided geographically and almost resemble something that makes sense.

The ACC GoR doesn't matter because the ACC won't exist in the coming months as it will be cannibalized. Clemson and FSU along with Oregon and Washington will give the B1G 20 teams. AZ, AZST, and UTAH give the Big XII 16 teams and the SEC is still at 16. Well you know for sure that the SEC isn't going to stand idly in all of this and the Big XII will make the move to 20.

At the end of the day there will be 4-8 current P5s that will no longer be P5s because of the additions of UCF, Houston, UC, and BYU. Now will the Big XII take Oregon St, Stanford, Cal, and WashSt or will they take 4 teams from the ACC like VT, UVA, Pitt, and Louisville to go along with WVU, UCF, UC for an EAST. What 4 ACC teams go to the SEC?

Will they go to 24.

I don't think this is just about a bunch of idiots. They're trying to kill the NCAA or finally create their own division like Oliver Luck kept talking about.

Also where does ND figure in.

We've reacted to the early steps too quickly wondering why these warm weather teams like USC, UCLA, Clemson, and FSU would want to pay in and northern league where most of it's teams play a third of the games in the snow. Almost as if they knew going in that at the end of the day that won't be the case save for a couple crossovers.
The power brokers are up to something.

 

[RhinoD]

- One last thing, relative to the majors. All the conferences have fillers. Schools that are in that conference before all the new comers came, and which never really are relevant. And which do not add to the TV deal all that much. How long before we see schools like Purdue, or Minnesota, or Kansas State, or in a revived Pac 12, Oregon State, or Georgia Tech or Wake Forest, to find a new home?

This is probably what Im most interested in outside of possible Sun Belt ramifications... If the BIG10 and SEC both end up going to 20 (or more likely 24). They could have a 48-team "division" of their own. But that division would be a lot more attractive without -- Vandy, Rutgers, Purdue, etc.

And what kind of limbo hell does that create for the teams that dont make the 48-team cut?... Is the system then a P2 division and a G6 division? (Im assuming the Pac12 and ACC will cease to exist, and the Big12 will be the 'leader' of the G6). If the 48 "top" programs break free, there are going to be a bunch of butt-hurt folks at places like WVU, Boston College, Syracuse, Oregon State, Kansas, etc.

 

[HerdyGurdyMan]

- One last thing, relative to the majors. All the conferences have fillers. Schools that are in that conference before all the new comers came, and which never really are relevant. And which do not add to the TV deal all that much. How long before we see schools like Purdue, or Minnesota, or Kansas State, or in a revived Pac 12, Oregon State, or Georgia Tech or Wake Forest, to find a new home?

Considering that Kansas State was the Big 12 Champion last year and has beaten Oklahoma three of the past four seasons and five of the past eleven with them you can hardly call them a “filler” or a team that “never are relevant.”

Winsipedia - Kansas State Wildcats vs. Oklahoma Sooners football series history games list

Winsipedia - Database and infographics of Kansas State Wildcats vs. Oklahoma Sooners football series history and all-time records, national championships, conference championships, bowl games, wins, bowl record, All-Americans, Heisman winners, and NFL Draft picks

www.winsipedia.com

 

[wvkeeper(HN)]

One of my joys in old age is to watch Oklahoma and Texas basically become Mississippi State and South Carolina.

 

[Rock98Dog]

Also it's being said that AZ is a lock to the Big XII now and AZST and UTAH will follow.

As far as the SBC is concerned it would be beyond stupid to add 8 more teams just as it makes zero sense for the the B1G, Big XII, and SEC to do it. There's no way to have all the teams face each other which makes it difficult to send teams to the championship game. There's a potential with that many teams to have several undefeated or 1-loss teams that haven't faced each other and then politics decides who gets to play for the conference. No thanks. I'd be all for adding ECU and USF, but outside of that. No.

If you have 24 teams you divide it into 4 regions of 6. You play every team in your region plus one from each of the other three then you have a 4 team conference playoff.

Or you could do 2 - 12 team, play a round robin in your division and only play one OOC game a year.

My guess is the latter, which eliminates having to buy 2-3 games a year and everybody in the conference has 7 home games.

 

[The Real SamC]

The ACC GoR doesn't matter because the ACC won't exist in the coming months as it will be cannibalized. Clemson and FSU along with Oregon and Washington will give the B1G 20 teams.

If FSU or Clemson leaves the ACC, the ACC TV package has the right to every game they play, no matter who they play. So if FSU is playing Ohio State, that game is part of the ACC TV package on ESPN, and ESPN pays the ACC for that game and the remaining ACC teams split the money. The new broadcasters of the Big 10 (NBC, Fox and CBS) don't get to show that game. It belongs to the ACC and to ESPN.

So it is really a circular argument to say "well the GOR doesn't matter because everyone is going to leave". The GOR exists to PREVENT any team from leaving.

Of course, lawyers exist to find out loopholes. But I think that if anyone had ad n out of the GOR, they would have done it already. And, of course, the teams could "buy" their freedom by paying (which is to say the other 3 networks paying) Disney and the remnant ACC big cash.

Also where does ND figure in.

Fun fact about Notre Dame. Their deal with NBC is "big money" and that is why it has this deal. Not true. Notre Dame "only" gets $22M/year. It would make more in any conference. It does it so it can be on TV every week.

But the world is changing. In two ways. The Catholic church is shrinking and, more importantly, becoming much more Hispanic. The years where every big city had Catholic neighborhoods where everyone was a Notre Dame fan, even though they never went to college (anywhere) and all that "Rudy" crap are long in the past.
And EVERYBODY is on TV, every week. The value of being on NBC gets less and less every day, as people sit and watch Netflix etc.

 

[W-S HerdFan]

Sam with the logical post! Well played….

 

[BleedsGreen33]

If FSU or Clemson leaves the ACC, the ACC TV package has the right to every game they play, no matter who they play. So if FSU is playing Ohio State, that game is part of the ACC TV package on ESPN, and ESPN pays the ACC for that game and the remaining ACC teams split the money. The new broadcasters of the Big 10 (NBC, Fox and CBS) don't get to show that game. It belongs to the ACC and to ESPN.

So it is really a circular argument to say "well the GOR doesn't matter because everyone is going to leave". The GOR exists to PREVENT any team from leaving.

Of course, lawyers exist to find out loopholes. But I think that if anyone had ad n out of the GOR, they would have done it already. And, of course, the teams could "buy" their freedom by paying (which is to say the other 3 networks paying) Disney and the remnant ACC big cash.

Fun fact about Notre Dame. Their deal with NBC is "big money" and that is why it has this deal. Not true. Notre Dame "only" gets $22M/year. It would make more in any conference. It does it so it can be on TV every week.

But the world is changing. In two ways. The Catholic church is shrinking and, more importantly, becoming much more Hispanic. The years where every big city had Catholic neighborhoods where everyone was a Notre Dame fan, even though they never went to college (anywhere) and all that "Rudy" crap are long in the past.
And EVERYBODY is on TV, every week. The value of being on NBC gets less and less every day, as people sit and watch Netflix etc.

IF FSU and Clemson do indeed leave they will not be the only ACC teams leaving. If all this smoke does indeed turn into fire then the ACC will no longer exist. If almost every member school leaves then who is left to demand the GoR be enforced?

Also according to the Rivals Mainboard there is an amount a team can pay to buy out of the GoR and the conference. There is a way out of everything if you have the want to. Several ACC schools have been meeting together since May in an effort to find way out of the GoR. No one thought Maryland could afford to leave when they did and they sued to get a buyout. WVU and Pitt sued to get out of the BE. Shoot we just leveraged our way out of CUSA and did it a year earlier than we thought we could. It can be done.

Like I said. There is something else going on for these moves to be happening. Most of the ACC teams leaving just so they can end up in nearly the same makeup just to be under a different conference isn't logical unless there is another motive. USC, UCLA, Clemson, and FSU aren't going to go to a northern conference unless they know something we don't.

I said a couple weeks ago that the SDSU "about face" was a red flag of something on the horizon. They notify they MWC that they were leaving. Popular belief was they they were vying for one of the spots in the Pac-12 vacated by USC and UCLA. Then a month later they're returning to or remaining in the MWC and have to pay court fees. I believe once they started inquiring with the Pac-12 they learned that Colorado was leaving as is AZ and right behind them will be AZST and Utah. Then the long held belief that Oregon and Washington are headed to the B1G.

For the last decade or so we've been hearing how the P5 wants to breakaway and even leave the NCAA all together. They want to be able to do their own thing. That's what the "playoff" was originally for. Then the ACC convinced FSU and Clemson who were then headed to the Big XII to sign that GoR.

There's more to this than just getting more TV money. IF the dominos continue to fall. Maybe they will. Maybe they won't. All I know is they have tried to do this multiple times and so far this has been the most successful play as it appears the Pac-12 is dead.

Also to be clear about ND. I wasn't insinuating they had any sway in this. My question is will they finally realize they don't matter like they used to and start inquiring with the B1G, SEC, or Big XII about being added. They cannot stay the course.

 

[ThunderDrunk304]

I used to enjoy following conference realignment but this is getting really dumb

 

[BleedsGreen33]

I used to enjoy following conference realignment but this is getting really dumb

It has killed what made CFB special. Most of these realignments have destroyed century old rivalry games which brought a lot of passion to the sport.

 

[YouHerdMe]

What do ya'll think this could do to us and the other G5 schools? There's been so much speculation on the realignment or if there will be one, but my main concern is what does this do to us and what little coverage G5 schools get? If the B1G and SEC swallow up all the other blue bloods and create their own division I'm worried us G5 schools will no longer really get any media money like we do with ESPN currently. Sorry if this question has been asked before somewhere else. Pretty knowledgable with football just not with media deals and the politics that go along with it.

 

[wvkeeper(HN)]

I for one will get a lot of enjoyment out of a "rich" Clemson, Florida State, Oklahoma, and Texas going 8-4 every year and never winning a title again.

 

[RhinoD]

What do ya'll think this could do to us and the other G5 schools? There's been so much speculation on the realignment or if there will be one, but my main concern is what does this do to us and what little coverage G5 schools get? If the B1G and SEC swallow up all the other blue bloods and create their own division I'm worried us G5 schools will no longer really get any media money like we do with ESPN currently. Sorry if this question has been asked before somewhere else. Pretty knowledgable with football just not with media deals and the politics that go along with it.

This is a good question with no answer at this point... I think as long as the premise of having a shot at the playoffs exists then it doesn't effect Marshall much at all where Oregon, Clemson, etc play their conference games. We are in the best possible position for our university right now in the Sun Belt and it's not even close (compared to the MAC or current CUSA mess). The Sun Belt has a quality football product, capable well organized leadership, and a market in the southeast/mid-atlantic that loves college football.

Now if the top 48 or the top 72 decide they want to form their own new division with their own playoffs and the rest of us get relegated back to essentially FCS, then who knows.

 

[wvkeeper(HN)]

Like dude. Your team has one 10 win season in the last ten years, and missed bowl games for a large stretch of that. Tallahassee is 100th in the country in media size and Clemson's isn't much bigger.

Hush it.

 

[The Real SamC]

IMHO,

I'm going to make analogies.

IF the SEC adds no one else, and I think this is the most likely outcome, as the ACC is NOT breaking up; and the PAC 12 dies with Oregon, Washington, Cal, and Stanford going to the Big 10 and Oregon State and Washington State go to the MWC, and Utah and the two Arizona schools move down to the Big 12, then the world of college football looks like this:

The SEC. THE GREATEST CONFERENCE IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSE. The center of the college football world. Sixth there is champion anywhere else.

(huge gap)

The Big 10. The home of obnoxious Yankees. Convinced that it is the equal of the SEC every August, assreamed every January. It is USA men's soccer. Talks a big game, but at the end of the day, nobody in Argentina or Germany is scared.

(smaller than you think gap)

The ACC. Everybody has a calendar ticking down to 2036, some with glee, some with fear. Until then it just does what it does. It like joining the service to get college money. You can't wait to get out, but make the most of it while you are there.

(gap the size of the galaxy)

The Big 12 Leftovers. The unknown conference. Its like being a baseball fan and living in Charlotte or Nashville or Indy. You go to the AAA games, root for the home team, rah, rah, rah, but at the end of the day, you wish they would put an MLB team in your area, no one really cares who wins the International League. In a world where you can watch any game at the push of a button, how many are going to push the Kansas State - Cincinnati button? Irrelevant teams in irrelevant places.

(small gap)

The MWC. What the AAC claims to be.

The SBC. Holding its own. Focused universities who know what they are and what they are not.

(huge gap)

The AAC. Look at me, look at me, look at me. I matter. Really I matter. No, no you don't.

(huge gap)

The MAC. The Rust Belt League. Once great states. States so large not everyone could go to the named for the state state school, so this. Really should go Div II.

CUSA. You have to admire them for trying, but really, just go Div II.

As to media, it is not changing. If anything it is going to get better, as ESPN has the foolish idea of selling real ESPN a la carte, which will bankrupt Disney. SBC games are going to be on the internet, mostly, and draw friends and family only, mostly. It is what it is.

 

[RhinoD]

IMHO,

I'm going to make analogies.

IF the SEC adds no one else, and I think this is the most likely outcome, as the ACC is NOT breaking up; and the PAC 12 dies with Oregon, Washington, Cal, and Stanford going to the Big 10 and Oregon State and Washington State go to the MWC, and Utah and the two Arizona schools move down to the Big 12, then the world of college football looks like this:....

I tend to agree with you... the gap between the SEC and everyone else is widening in this current format, which is why the BIG10 is trying to keep up and add good teams in Oregon, Clemson, etc.

I would put the pecking order as follows --
1. SEC -- It's not close, it's really not. The best league is adding Texas and Oklahoma.

++++Big gap++++

2. Big10 -- It's not hard to see what they are doing. Be the first 20 or 24 team league and hope that the strength in numbers propels you to compete with the SEC.

++++Big gap++++

3. ACC -- If it holds out to 2036 before marching to the guillotine, then good for them. But that day is coming. Evolve or die.

++++Small gap++++

4. Big12 -- The island of misfit toys for former P5 also-rans. Still some quality programs, but no one really "wants" to be there.
5. MWC -- G5 bell cow that looks in line to add at least 2 former Pac12 members.
6. SBC -- As you mentioned. Similar, focused, universities in a football loving part of America. An old-school geographic conference that actually makes sense.
7. AAC -- Constantly making moves just for the sake of making moves while diluting their brand with "market" schools who dont traditionally give a rats ass about being good at football.

++++Gap the size of the Pacific++++

8. The MAC -- It's like watching single A high school football... It's still football, but it doesn't look like the "big" schools.
9. CUSA -- Needs to be an FCS league.

 

[awebbOH]

The B1G is not adding four schools by the end of next week. It might add two, Oregon and Washington, and those schools will not receive equal shares as existing B1G members. The earliest they would receive full shares would be during the next round of negotiations. Or, perhaps, never.

The P-12 as we all knew it is dead. Arizona is moving to the B12, and ASU and Utah are likely to follow. If Oregon and Washington leave for the B1G, the P-12 is nothing more than a G5+ conference (though it will retain its autonomous status, which needs to be stripped by vote of the other leagues).

The ACC, as presently constituted, is following the way of the P-12. The ACC is full of middle-dwelling schools that kill the value of the conference. The "name brand" schools in the ACC (not many, by the way) will leave for the B1G or the SEC. The remaining will go to B12 or back to the G5 where they belong.

So, that's going to leave the SEC and the B1G, to a lesser extent the B12, and then everybody else.

 

[rammer101]

If there is movement in B10 and SEC, it seems more logical for Clemson and Florida St to go to SEC

 

[wvkeeper(HN)]

Florida State will be like Texas A&M and Miami. Forever "on the cusp" and never being better than 8-4 in the SEC.

 

[RhinoD]

If there is movement in B10 and SEC, it seems more logical for Clemson and Florida St to go to SEC

You are absolutely correct... But none of this musical chairs BS has been logical... Rutgers, Iowa, and UCLA are now in the same conference. Lol.

 

[Jartard]

 

[wvkeeper(HN)]

 

[i am herdman]

The B1G is not adding four schools by the end of next week. It might add two, Oregon and Washington, and those schools will not receive equal shares as existing B1G members. The earliest they would receive full shares would be during the next round of negotiations. Or, perhaps, never.

The P-12 as we all knew it is dead. Arizona is moving to the B12, and ASU and Utah are likely to follow. If Oregon and Washington leave for the B1G, the P-12 is nothing more than a G5+ conference (though it will retain its autonomous status, which needs to be stripped by vote of the other leagues).

The ACC, as presently constituted, is following the way of the P-12. The ACC is full of middle-dwelling schools that kill the value of the conference. The "name brand" schools in the ACC (not many, by the way) will leave for the B1G or the SEC. The remaining will go to B12 or back to the G5 where they belong.

So, that's going to leave the SEC and the B1G, to a lesser extent the B12, and then everybody else.

The Marquee schools in the ACC are UNC, Clemson, FSU, and perhaps Duke just because of the basketball prowess. UNC and their brand is worth a shit ton of money. FSU because of their football history. CLemson is Clemson and has the name and resources. The issue for FSU is Florida state will perhaps block them along with Auburn, and maybe even Alabama as they sit right there. Clemson likely ok and it sits right in between Atltanta and Charlotte. Duke, migth go just because of basketball and $$$. The prizes of the ACC would be UNC and Clemson. Duke IMO is on the edge, it would all depend how band the SEC would want a basketball school. THey have a national following in basketball. Football brings little to the SEC and they honestly don't deliver the NC market in terms of fans and tv. They have a better national following than they do in NC.

 

[wvkeeper(HN)]

 

[bbneutralfan]

Just saw a report that the BIG10 is looking to add Florida State, Clemson, Oregon and Washington by the end of next week... It's becoming clear that the BIG10 and SEC are most likely going to be 24-team super leagues in the next 5 years or so. With the ACC and Pac12 dismantling.

With that in mind, I saw a model that has the Sun Belt adding 8 teams as well... The teams I saw added were -- Charlotte, FAU, Memphis, South Florida in the East... SMU, Rice, Tulsa and UTSA in the West.

Thoughts?

Would really love to see East Carolina be heavily courted.

 

[herdfan429]

Fans be damned you will bend over and take whatever we do. You will learn to love the northwestern/Washington rival

 

[HerdyGurdyMan]

Fans be damned you will bend over and take whatever we do. You will learn to love the northwestern/Washington rival

My personal favorite odd matchup Big 10 "rivalry" is Rutgers v. Indiana. In 2015 Rutgers was down 25 points, 52-27, late in the 3rd quarter, but they rallied and won the game 55-52. The whole game is on youtube.

 

[wvkeeper(HN)]

Official

 

[BleedsGreen33]

I still think there's more to all of this. If the Big XII hadn't backfilled with UCF, BYU, UC, and Houston all the P5s could have just been absorbed. However now there are going to end up being 4-8 P5s on the outside looking in.

The ACC is next as Clemson is looking hard at leaving and FSU is doing anything and everything it can. Other schools have also inquired.

The B1G now stands at 18 schools and the Big XII stands at 16. Neither of those will hold. IF the B1G gets Clemson and FSU then that's 20. The Big XII is going to look to add four more and the most sense would Pitt, UVA, VT, and Louisville to form that BIG XII East division.

The SEC isn't going to just stand still and watch the other conferences grow. They're currently holding at 14 teams. They'll take 6 away from the ACC leaving 3 schools left.

ESPN, the Big XII, B1G, and SEC will make this happen finding some way to aide in ending that GoR.

 

[herdfan429]

Clemson and fsu will end up in the sec. Unc uva and possibly duke will go big 10

 

[MichiganHerd]

Clemson and fsu will end up in the sec. Unc uva and possibly duke will go big 10

Correct. B1G would preferably want Virginia and North Carolina over Clemson and Florida State. However, Notre Dame is still the biggest catch. B1G, if they were to stop at 20, would likely look to secure the Irish and their cousins, Stanford.

 

[The Real SamC]

Don't really think of these things as "conferences" any more. Think of them as packages of TV rights. Programs with nothing in common who have just joined together to market a set of games to TV. In such a system, being geographically spread out is actually logical (would the NFL be as popular if it had no teams in the west, etc?)

The only remaining questions, IMHO, are:

- Does the SEC really NEED more. It still is the best conference, by light years, and its games have national importance, regardless of where they are played, because they have the best teams. Clemson is really good. In this era. It also kind of backed into a national championship in the 80s. Other than that its been a solid but unspectacular team indistinguishable from schools like Georgia Tech or NC State or so on. It is a fairly small (25K) ag/tech school off the beaten path on the edge of a fairly small state that it isn't named for. Does the SEC need it? FSU hasn't mattered since Bowden. Neither add anything new in TV terms, as the SEC is already in those states. Nor does Miami, which has never won anything without cheating, and now, everybody can pay the players.

- The 4 Pac 12 leftovers. OSU and WSU can slide down into the MWC. Stanford, which is a private school with a mega endowment make it as an independent, as long as it keeps a relationship with Notre Dame. California is another issue.

- The ACC. IF, and I still say if somebody knew how they would have done so already, there is a way out of the ACC, then what does that look like? All of the ACC isn't wanted by the SEC or B10, or even the B12. Would the ACC "backfill". WVU? ECU? There are not a lot of candidates out there, if they want to stay semi-regional. Taking California is not reasonable.

 

[wvkeeper(HN)]

According to Stewart Mandel on the latest Athletic podcast suggested there are serious conversations about Cal-Berkeley just dropping football all together.

 

[herdfan429]

All this does is shut the g5 out of scheduling. Sorry Marshall but we have 18 teams in our conference. We don’t have room for you on our schedule until 2862