Conference realignment "Rumors" "tweets" "etc"

[puc86]

9 minutes ago, Rocky Style said:

Oh snap!  Okay I am not okay with this outcome.

It’s okay like many generic brands it was made to be intentionally confusing 

[BullyPulpit]

It's looking like Texas and Oklahoma have the Big 12 bending over to keep them in the conference, and this could have been their play all along. Use the SEC to try and get the concessions you want from your conference brethren and if they don't acquiesce you always have the SEC as a landing spot. They have crunched the numbers and realize that if every school just takes a quarter less of a share they will still make more money than they would if Texas and Oklahoma left. The problem for the Big 12 is that they don't know what their contract will look like it 2025 and beyond. The $53 million or so they can offer to Texas and Oklahoma pales in comparison to the $67 million each school in the SEC is projected to make beginning in 2024-2025, and that is without Texas and Oklahoma included. Could Texas and Oklahoma bring enough value to the SEC to drive that number up even further? Surely, ESPN would at least match the $67 million per team that the current contract projects. I could see them sweetening the pot to get it up to $70 million per school annually in order to pull this off. ESPN's motivation has always been consolidation. That is why they tanked the Big East and it is why they are involved in trying to submarine the Big 12. 

[Peatearpan]

20 minutes ago, BullyPulpit said:

It's looking like Texas and Oklahoma have the Big 12 bending over to keep them in the conference, and this could have been their play all along. Use the SEC to try and get the concessions you want from your conference brethren and if they don't acquiesce you always have the SEC as a landing spot. They have crunched the numbers and realize that if every school just takes a quarter less of a share they will still make more money than they would if Texas and Oklahoma left. The problem for the Big 12 is that they don't know what their contract will look like it 2025 and beyond. The $53 million or so they can offer to Texas and Oklahoma pales in comparison to the $67 million each school in the SEC is projected to make beginning in 2024-2025, and that is without Texas and Oklahoma included. Could Texas and Oklahoma bring enough value to the SEC to drive that number up even further? Surely, ESPN would at least match the $67 million per team that the current contract projects. I could see them sweetening the pot to get it up to $70 million per school annually in order to pull this off. ESPN's motivation has always been consolidation. That is why they tanked the Big East and it is why they are involved in trying to submarine the Big 12. 

I say we still offer those other school. Might as well shoot our shot

[BullyPulpit]

It's a done deal. Texas and OU to the SEC. 

 

[BullyPulpit]

This is the beginning of the end of the NCAA and amateurism in major college sports. There is no scenario where teams like USF will be able to compete in the future. Our current TV deal is about $7 million per school. The SEC is looking at $70 million per school in their upcoming deal. They will start paying their players. They have positioned themselves for the next logical step in the process, even if that step is still 5 to 10 years away. Look for the B1G to follow suit in a moment. I think ESPN is really looking to get major college football down to 40 to 64 teams (at most). This is the first move in that process. Going to be an interesting couple of weeks. Buckle up. 

[Rocky Style]

8 minutes ago, Peatearpan said:

I say we still offer those other school. Might as well shoot our shot

There's going to be a lot of shot shooting now.  In random directions.  

[Rocky Style]

Just now, BullyPulpit said:

This is the beginning of the end of the NCAA and amateurism in major college sports. There is no scenario where teams like USF will be able to compete in the future. Our current TV deal is about $7 million per school. The SEC is looking at $70 million per school in their upcoming deal. They will start paying their players. They have positioned themselves for the next logical step in the process, even if that step is still 5 to 10 years away. Look for the B1G to follow suit in a moment. I think ESPN is really looking to get major college football down to 40 to 64 teams (at most). This is the first move in that process. Going to be an interesting couple of weeks. Buckle up. 

This will ruin college football though.  Like I was saying, it's not like pro sports where we will all become Gator fans because ESPN wants us to.  Oh well.

[BullyPulpit]

Just now, Rocky Style said:

This will ruin college football though.  Like I was saying, it's not like pro sports where we will all become Gator fans because ESPN wants us to.  Oh well.

I agree. Most fans only pay attention to the major programs because they are invested in their schools. We Want Bama only means something if you actually have a shot at getting Bama, even if that shot is infinitesimally small. The thrill is gone. The dream is gone. This is the death knell for college football as we know it. 

[Rocky Style]

Just now, BullyPulpit said:

I agree. Most fans only pay attention to the major programs because they are invested in their schools. We Want Bama only means something if you actually have a shot at getting Bama, even if that shot is infinitesimally small. The thrill is gone. The dream is gone. This is the death knell for college football as we know it. 

I have to wonder how building a wall around a few teams is going to help ratings, Pfizer ad revenue, yada yada down the road.  Maybe playoff ratings will continue to drop since it is rigged.

[BullyPulpit]

Yesterday's conference call was at best a shakedown (how much was the Big 12 willing to sacrifice) and at worst performance art in order to say they tried everything to reach an agreement, but the advantages of SEC membership were just too great. Would have been interesting to see what would have happened had they been offered double membership shares. The numbers would have matched what they were projected to get in the SEC. Who will be the next rat to jump off the sinking Big 12 ship? My money would be on Kansas or West Virginia. 

Edited July 26, 2021 by BullyPulpit