Conference Consolidation - USC and UCLA Moving to Big 10

[ShelbyGator]

View attachment 45126

Paris is always so classy.

 

[MJMGator]

 

[gingerlover]

at this rate what is left of the PAC 8 and Big 12 will probably need to team up.

 

[neteng]

This made me laugh because its true.

 

[ThreatMatrix]

The ACC contract lasts until 2036. However if enough teams leave, then the contract becomes null. How many teams? Don't know. Also don't know if ND has the same contract. But...
ND prob to the Big * (for now on referred to as the Big Splat) however SEC is not out of the question. Clemson FSU UM and NC on the table. SEC takes 2, Big * takes 2.
Look for this to shake out over the summer.

Yeah, the PAC 12, Big 12, ACC become irrelevant.

 

[neteng]

Yeah, the PAC 12, Big 12, ACC become irrelevant.

become?

 

[ThreatMatrix]

I'd more like to see 4 conferences of 10 or 2 of 20. Enough with teams that don't need to be a part. I don't believe there are even 40 teams worthy but it's a solid number.

Very true. Hard to find 40 teams that matter.

 

[Nalt]

Very true. Hard to find 40 teams that matter.

Over the life of the CFP there hasn't been more than a dozen teams with probably a few that were close to good enough...

 

[Avenger48c]

The ACC contract lasts until 2036. However if enough teams leave, then the contract becomes null. How many teams? Don't know. Also don't know if ND has the same contract. But...
ND prob to the Big * (for now on referred to as the Big Splat) however SEC is not out of the question. Clemson FSU UM and NC on the table. SEC takes 2, Big * takes 2.
Look for this to shake out over the summer.

Yeah, the PAC 12, Big 12, ACC become irrelevant.

I think the SEC takes all four of those and the Big >10 takes ND and more west coast schools - Oregon and Washington are obvious candidates and they could add their little brothers or more of the Cali schools to get to whatever number they want - 20, 24, who knows. They (claim to) care a lot about academic prestige, so Berkeley and Stanford would bolster that.

I don't know much of anything about the terms of the ACC's media contract, but if there's a majority vote clause to dissolve the rights deal, I wonder if we'll see a full on SEC raid of the ACC. Picking up just Clemson, the nulls, and the CoCaines may not be possible from a media buyout perspective, but if you add, say, VaTech and the four NC schools, you'd have a majority of the ACC (8/14 or 15 if ND gets a vote) to vote for whatever you wanted. Maybe you skip some of the NC schools and snag Syracuse and/or BC to get some northeastern media exposure, or maybe you use the plan as leverage to snag ND out instead of one of the above - that would be quite a move, but if anyone in CFB could make it happen, it's Sankey.

A conference with 24 members gets cumbersome from a scheduling perspective, but you could move to a 9 game schedule, do 2 perms + 7 rotating opponents, and still see everyone every third year, or twice as often as we see the West now.

All of this is just musing, but it'll be interesting to see how the chips fall in the end. It's good to be on the inside looking out rather than the outside looking in - I wouldn't want to be a fan of, say, Utah right now.

 

[blueGATOR]

Lincoln Riley entering the transfer portal

 

[NoGaGator]

CTC was for Coast to Coast since that's now what THE Big whatever has. With that footprint, They'll pass the SEC in having eyes in major markets.

Hopefully it all evolves into 2 twenty team leagues with relegation. Either North/South or East/ West, would still favor SE teams.

 

[gatorkev85]

Very true. Hard to find 40 teams that matter.

Make a criteria of something like in the last 30 years your a automatic qualifier if (power 5) you've won a national championship, made the playoffs, won your division at least 5 times, finished inside the top 10 more than 5 times, (non power 5) if you've beaten at least 10 top 25 teams in the last 5 years, beaten a top 5 (power 5) team in last 5 years.

The point would be to cut the fat of teams like Vandy, Kansas ect and get to playing only capable teams from now on.

 

[gatorev12]

Further college football realignment is all-but certain now with the latest moves--and the reality is that the Big 10 and SEC will both get bigger since what's remaining won't stand a hope of long-term competition vs the revenue both super-conferences can generate.

I tend to think that 20 is the "target" for both conferences--which means 4 more schools for each.

Big 10 will likely scoop up Notre Dame, Washington, Oregon, and Stanford. All bring in premium markets, usually decent football programs, competitive other sports, and most are great academic schools. Cements the Big 10 as a Midwest and West Coast conference.

The SEC is rumored to go after (in descending order) Clemson, f$u, miami, Oklahoma State, UNC, VTech. Call me crazy, but I don't think the SEC necessarily needs *more* football powerhouses: we have plenty of those already. Bama, Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, LSU, georgia, Auburn, Texas A&M, and even Tennessee are all college blue-bloods. Even smaller schools like Ole Miss and Arkansas have history; and programs like South Carolina and Miss State sell out year after year. I tend to think the conference needs to think in terms of new markets and tv revenue.

Out of the potential options, VTech is probably the best in terms of what it can deliver: a football-crazy program in a new state, an always-respectable bball program...and one that is far more relevant in the DC market than Maryland is. Adding Clemson brings a marquee program with recent championships (and usually decent at basketball too).

The rest? Meh. SEC already is bringing in OU, we don't necessarily need two Oklahoma teams. f$u and scUM? Neither are exactly powerhouses anymore and given neither has managed to dominate the ACC, expecting them to do well in the SEC is laughable.

So what then? I vote two new options: Arizona and Arizona State. Hear me out

1) gives the SEC a presence in a fast-growing state AND one that poaches a lot of talent from California.

2) from a tv revenue perspective, both schools are close enough to LA and San Diego that tv execs selling a new SEC contract will have to factor in those markets--plus nearby Vegas. In addition to a top 5 city population in Phoenix.

3) Arizona might be a garbage football program, but they do bring a good basketball program with them to compete with us and Kentucky (and if we add in VTech and Clemson, that's further burnishing conference bball status).

4) most importantly: neither of those two schools will be able to threaten any of the existing powers-that-be. They'll be lucky to get in and will essentially be cannon fodder for programs that want to win national championships every year. Sure, every now and then, one will put together a run--but it's hardly like they'll ever be a consistent threat in the way that a rebuilt miami would be.

Thoughts?

 

[Gator By Marriage]

Further college football realignment is all-but certain now with the latest moves--and the reality is that the Big 10 and SEC will both get bigger since what's remaining won't stand a hope of long-term competition vs the revenue both super-conferences can generate.

I tend to think that 20 is the "target" for both conferences--which means 4 more schools for each.

Big 10 will likely scoop up Notre Dame, Washington, Oregon, and Stanford. All bring in premium markets, usually decent football programs, competitive other sports, and most are great academic schools. Cements the Big 10 as a Midwest and West Coast conference.

The SEC is rumored to go after (in descending order) Clemson, f$u, miami, Oklahoma State, UNC, VTech. Call me crazy, but I don't think the SEC necessarily needs *more* football powerhouses: we have plenty of those already. Bama, Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, LSU, georgia, Auburn, Texas A&M, and even Tennessee are all college blue-bloods. Even smaller schools like Ole Miss and Arkansas have history; and programs like South Carolina and Miss State sell out year after year. I tend to think the conference needs to think in terms of new markets and tv revenue.

Out of the potential options, VTech is probably the best in terms of what it can deliver: a football-crazy program in a new state, an always-respectable bball program...and one that is far more relevant in the DC market than Maryland is. Adding Clemson brings a marquee program with recent championships (and usually decent at basketball too).

The rest? Meh. SEC already is bringing in OU, we don't necessarily need two Oklahoma teams. f$u and scUM? Neither are exactly powerhouses anymore and given neither has managed to dominate the ACC, expecting them to do well in the SEC is laughable.

So what then? I vote two new options: Arizona and Arizona State. Hear me out

1) gives the SEC a presence in a fast-growing state AND one that poaches a lot of talent from California.

2) from a tv revenue perspective, both schools are close enough to LA and San Diego that tv execs selling a new SEC contract will have to factor in those markets--plus nearby Vegas. In addition to a top 5 city population in Phoenix.

3) Arizona might be a garbage football program, but they do bring a good basketball program with them to compete with us and Kentucky (and if we add in VTech and Clemson, that's further burnishing conference bball status).

4) most importantly: neither of those two schools will be able to threaten any of the existing powers-that-be. They'll be lucky to get in and will essentially be cannon fodder for programs that want to win national championships every year. Sure, every now and then, one will put together a run--but it's hardly like they'll ever be a consistent threat in the way that a rebuilt miami would be.

Thoughts?

I don’t know why but Notre Dame always seems more interested in the ACC than the B1G. Doesn’t make sense.

 

[gatorev12]

I don’t know why but Notre Dame always seems more interested in the ACC than the B1G. Doesn’t make sense.

The ACC was the only conference desperate enough to let Notre Dame join up on their terms, letting them be "half-in, half-out."

For the ACC, it was a huge ratings and revenue boost, while also adding a premier football program.

ND wanted a foothold in the South to start getting more recruits from southern states; but also prioritized keeping their traditional rivalry games with USC, Stanford, Michigan, and Perdue. If they have to choose where to be aligned in the coming years, the Big 10 makes the most sense in keeping all their traditional rivals in one conference.

 

[gingerlover]

In all this talk I’m a little surprised Colorado isn’t talked about more for the Big 10. Has a natural rivalry with Nebraska and you would think Denver is a good market. I know they are a shell of their former selves, but so was Nebraska.

 

[MJMGator]

Further college football realignment is all-but certain now with the latest moves--and the reality is that the Big 10 and SEC will both get bigger since what's remaining won't stand a hope of long-term competition vs the revenue both super-conferences can generate.

I tend to think that 20 is the "target" for both conferences--which means 4 more schools for each.

Big 10 will likely scoop up Notre Dame, Washington, Oregon, and Stanford. All bring in premium markets, usually decent football programs, competitive other sports, and most are great academic schools. Cements the Big 10 as a Midwest and West Coast conference.

The SEC is rumored to go after (in descending order) Clemson, f$u, miami, Oklahoma State, UNC, VTech. Call me crazy, but I don't think the SEC necessarily needs *more* football powerhouses: we have plenty of those already. Bama, Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, LSU, georgia, Auburn, Texas A&M, and even Tennessee are all college blue-bloods. Even smaller schools like Ole Miss and Arkansas have history; and programs like South Carolina and Miss State sell out year after year. I tend to think the conference needs to think in terms of new markets and tv revenue.

Out of the potential options, VTech is probably the best in terms of what it can deliver: a football-crazy program in a new state, an always-respectable bball program...and one that is far more relevant in the DC market than Maryland is. Adding Clemson brings a marquee program with recent championships (and usually decent at basketball too).

The rest? Meh. SEC already is bringing in OU, we don't necessarily need two Oklahoma teams. f$u and scUM? Neither are exactly powerhouses anymore and given neither has managed to dominate the ACC, expecting them to do well in the SEC is laughable.

So what then? I vote two new options: Arizona and Arizona State. Hear me out

1) gives the SEC a presence in a fast-growing state AND one that poaches a lot of talent from California.

2) from a tv revenue perspective, both schools are close enough to LA and San Diego that tv execs selling a new SEC contract will have to factor in those markets--plus nearby Vegas. In addition to a top 5 city population in Phoenix.

3) Arizona might be a garbage football program, but they do bring a good basketball program with them to compete with us and Kentucky (and if we add in VTech and Clemson, that's further burnishing conference bball status).

4) most importantly: neither of those two schools will be able to threaten any of the existing powers-that-be. They'll be lucky to get in and will essentially be cannon fodder for programs that want to win national championships every year. Sure, every now and then, one will put together a run--but it's hardly like they'll ever be a consistent threat in the way that a rebuilt miami would be.

Thoughts?

Clemson brings nothing to the table. Nor does Miami or Florida State.
Pick up UNC, Duke, Virginia and Virgina Tech. They add TV markets, MAJOR hoops credentials (TV contracts) and academics.

 

[gatorev12]

Clemson brings nothing to the table. Nor does Miami or Florida State.
Pick up UNC, Duke, Virginia and Virgina Tech. They add TV markets, MAJOR hoops credentials (TV contracts) and academics.

I'm perfectly fine with leaving Clemson out since I tend to think the conference is plenty strong enough as-is, but it would be a pretty high-profile program with recent national championships and some regional interest as well. Culturally, they're a big fit (moreso than most of the other ACC schools you mentioned).

I do see wisdom in those 4...but UNC, Duke, & Virginia are kinda like Bama, Auburn, and georgia in the SEC: schools that are used to dictating things to the rest of the conference & it'll be a huge step back in power for all 3. The faculty and administrators there pretend to care about academics more than football and act like they're above the fray.

It would make for an awesome basketball conference in addition to football though, provided the 3 schools agree to take a step back in overall influence.

 

[MJMGator]

If they want a seat at the table with the big boys, they’re gonna have to swallow their pride…just like Texas did. The ACC has zero clout in football these days. Hoops is their only real bargaining tool for TV contracts and that’s where the money is.

 

[soflagator]

Looks like some of those west coast teams could end up…homeless.