More conference realignment talk

[Uncle Rico]

UCLA and USC to the Big 14/16 is a done deal

[WhiteTrash]

Don't surprised to see BYU try to get out of the Big 12 and go to the Pac instead.

I can't imagine the B12 wouldn't have a iron clad agreement with BYU or the other 3 new schools. That would be an epic gaff on the B12.

Not that loosing BYU would be horrible  just in this environment all these conferences have to be certain teams are locked up. Now an existing B12 could be more realistic for the P12.

The B12 grabbing the AZ schools might be the most likely.

[The Sultan]

UCLA and USC to the Big 14/16 is a done deal

Kinda incredible that this was kept private until less than six hours from becoming official.

[Uncle Rico]

Kinda incredible that this was kept private until less than six hours from becoming official.

Gonzaga to the Big East should be announced shortly

[WhiteTrash]

Gonzaga to the Big East should be announced shortly

Wouldn't surprise me.

Hearing UNC to Big10. Not a new rumor I know but sounds very likely.

[Uncle Rico]

Wouldn't surprise me.

Hearing UNC to Big10. Not a new rumor I know but sounds very likely.

That was always Jim Delany's great white whale as a Tar Heel alum.  They fit with academics.  I think the push will be to get 20, 2 on the eastern time zone and 2 on the western time zone

[WhiteTrash]

That was always Jim Delany's great white whale as a Tar Heel alum.  They fit with academics.  I think the push will be to get 20, 2 on the eastern time zone and 2 on the western time zone

Coach K will be tuning in his grave .......oops! 

[GoldenWarrior11]

From a basketball perspective, this devalues the PAC considerably.  UCLA is one of the top blue bloods in the game.  Unless the PAC backfills with Kansas, that is a basketball brand they cannot replace.

If the PAC TV deal with Fox is now driven down, this also helps the Big East's position with Fox for its next TV deal, especially if more PAC programs are poached by the B1G.

[Uncle Rico]

Coach K will be tuning in his grave .......oops! 

I'm willing to bet Coach K had an inkling on the near future of college athletics.

Duke could get left behind.  The next few weeks are going to be wild

[forgetful]

Wouldn't surprise me.

Hearing UNC to Big10. Not a new rumor I know but sounds very likely.

If so, I'd expect the Big10 to grab 2 teams. Likely UNC/Duke to keep the rivalry.

But wouldn't be shocked if it was UNC/Virginia.

They are going to want to grab top academic schools.

[Uncle Rico]

From a basketball perspective, this devalues the PAC considerably.  UCLA is one of the top blue bloods in the game.  Unless the PAC backfills with Kansas, that is a basketball brand they cannot replace.

If the PAC TV deal with Fox is now driven down, this also helps the Big East's position with Fox for its next TV deal, especially if more PAC programs are poached by the B1G.

Fox and ESPN are the driving forces behind realignment.  Fox almost certainly helped nudge USC and UCLA out the door.  Fox will have plenty of programming from Pac-12 schools leaving for the Big Ten.   

[The Sultan]

If I were the Big Ten, I would go all in on the west coast.  Oregon, Washington, Stanford, Cal.

Then the remaining six can join up with the Big 12 to make a decent conference.

Cause I think the problem with any ACC school is the grant of rights issue.

[Uncle Rico]

If I were the Big Ten, I would go all in on the west coast.  Oregon, Washington, Stanford, Cal.

Then the remaining six can join up with the Big 12 to make a decent conference.

Cause I think the problem with any ACC school is the grant of rights issue.

The Big Ten TV deal is going to be over a billion dollars.  If they want to poach ACC schools, the money will be there

[WhiteTrash]

If so, I'd expect the Big10 to grab 2 teams. Likely UNC/Duke to keep the rivalry.

But wouldn't be shocked if it was UNC/Virginia.

They are going to want to grab top academic schools.

I don't see rivalries playing any role in this.

[Uncle Rico]

I don't see rivalries playing any role in this.

They won't.  Nor will state brotherhood, such as Virginia/Virginia Tech

[Dickthedribbler]

Can Notre Dame somehow get screwed in all of this ( I hope).

[MUeng]

I envision a state where for football only, the 2, 30 team leagues breakaway and form a professional minor league system funded by donors and tv contracts. They remain affiliated with their respective schools by name and campus location only. They won't go to school, are not students, won't  be held to ncaa restrictions, and get paid 50-100k a year to get ready for the nfl. NFL teams will fund their minor league farm schools as well, so roughly 2 farm schools per NFL team.  It's all driven by money. The "school" aspect only gets in the way so let's call it what it is. Minor league sports. I'm in.

[WhiteTrash]

I envision a state where for football only, the 2, 30 team leagues breakaway and form a professional minor league system funded by donors and tv contracts. They remain affiliated with their respective schools by name and campus location only. They won't go to school, are not students, won't  be held to ncaa restrictions, and get paid 50-100k a year to get ready for the nfl. NFL teams will fund their minor league farm schools as well, so roughly 2 farm schools per NFL team.  It's all driven by money. The "school" aspect only gets in the way so let's call it what it is. Minor league sports. I'm in.

I agree. I also seeing the end game with all school affiliations going away; more money if you can cast a wider net for fans.
Bring it on!!

[Dish]

Interesting that Apple immediately reached out to the Big 10 this afternoon to ask to get back to the table for their upcoming media rights deal. This next tv package (Fox already has a deal for half the conference games) is going to be mind blowing dollars for the Big 10.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

I envision a state where for football only, the 2, 30 team leagues breakaway and form a professional minor league system funded by donors and tv contracts. They remain affiliated with their respective schools by name and campus location only. They won't go to school, are not students, won't  be held to ncaa restrictions, and get paid 50-100k a year to get ready for the nfl. NFL teams will fund their minor league farm schools as well, so roughly 2 farm schools per NFL team.  It's all driven by money. The "school" aspect only gets in the way so let's call it what it is. Minor league sports. I'm in.

I agree. I also seeing the end game with all school affiliations going away; more money if you can cast a wider net for fans.
Bring it on!!

Don't see it. Without the school affiliation, college football is just the G league for football. Minor leagues arent really known for their high attendance and tv viewership

[PJDunn]

Agreed. No one is going to watch the Ann Arbor minor league football club. A stadium of 100K is consistently packed for the U of Michigan.

Going back to a previous post... how does Notre Dame get screwed? It would make this mess a little more palatable.

[forgetful]

I don't see rivalries playing any role in this.

The rivalry is only part of it. The other is academics.

The B10 will be looking through the following list:

Duke
Virginia
Washington
Georgia Tech
Colorado
Arizona
Utah
Kansas
UNC
Oregon
Pitt
Stanford

Of these I'd think they'd exclude Utah, Kansas and Pitt, either because they lack clout or lack large media markets.

For major national brands, UNC, Duke, and Stanford stand out as national academic powerhouses and national fan bases (Stanford less so, but they also bring a major metro area and are elite academically).

Washington and Virginia both bring elite academics and major markets.

Really if you want to add 2 east coast schools, you have Duke, UNC, Virginia, and Georgia Tech. From a sports perspective Georgia Tech brings very little, so pick your choice of the other 3.

[WhiteTrash]

Agreed. No one is going to watch the Ann Arbor minor league football club. A stadium of 100K is consistently packed for the U of Michigan.

Going back to a previous post... how does Notre Dame get screwed? It would make this mess a little more palatable.

If attendance had anything to do with what is happening,  UCLA would be in the MWC.

[brewcity77]

Is it though? I really don't know if that's the case. These schools are going to be making even more money, and the BE has a media deal that ends in 2025. Last time they had a partner who needed programming. Is that partner, or another one, going to make a similar or better offer next time?

I am not convinced they are.

I'm nervous about where we stand. Ratings aren't great by any means and the most lucrative offer could be from a streaming service with limited reach. The sheer financial might of the SEC/B10 is going to make the arms race almost impossible to keep up with. Pretty sure that Kansas rumor was from a troll account.

We have tradition and dedicated fanbases, but they're small compared to the big state football schools. We'll never draw comparable ratings which will likely prevent the truly big TV revenue. It's a tough spot. Kansas and Gonzaga would be game changers. That's why geography shouldn't be a consideration.

[mug644]

Realignment will come full circle when Boston College, Pittsburgh and Syracuse come crawling back to the Big East to save their basketball programs.  There is zero chance that they get elevated and 100% chance that they get left behind.

This is why I think Gonzaga to the Big East is less likely. The big schools will make major, national conferences and smaller schools will consolidate. Gonzaga to the Pac-whatever and former BEast schools coming "home" seems feasible.

At least until the next shuffle.