MEGA Conference Realignment and lawsuits Megathread: Stories, Tales, Lies, and Exaggerations

Advertisement
Then why isn't the ACC top level?


He's full of ****.

It's great to have 2-3 top teams when you have a 10-12 team league.

But as I pointed out earlier, 11 of the top 12 teams in last year's playoff rankings are currently in the SEC or Big 10.

The days of "you only need 2-3 top teams" are over.
 
I appreciate your response, but two of your answers are non answers.

The political angle with the ACC is overblown. We’re not part of Tobacco Road and get no help there, but that’s not why we’ve sucked for 20 years.

On recruiting, you should elaborate. I’d be interested to hear. No one who’s advocated for the Big 12 as an option has explained how we’d sustain Top 10 or even Top 15 recruiting. It’s a huge concern and it can’t be waived off. My position is that we will not beat out the P2 schools with similar NIL when we’ll have worse matchups, less TV/streaming visibility, and less prestige. Why play for Miami in the Big 12 when you can play for FSU, Alabama, OSU, Michigan, UGA, etc. in prime time? We’d get good enough talent to compete in the Big 12, but we’d get smashed in the CFP anytime we made it.

Also, in my opinion, perception matters. If we choose the Big 12, the perception will be “Miami’s not good enough for the P2. They had to run away to a weaker conference to win.” Our rivals will run with it, and sports media will eat it up.

To me, a Miami that’s a consisten top 3-4 team in the P2, with CFP appearances is far more respected, formidable, and in national contention than a Miami team in the Big 12 that gets smashed every time it gets to the CFP because of the talent deficit.

I also agree that realignment is going to continue for awhile. I just don’t think we can afford to make a choice that will diminish our perception, recruiting ability, and regulate us to the CFB g-league. Maybe Yormack turns out to be a visionary and transforms the Big 12 into a conference at parity with the P2. He’s a smart guy, but we can’t afford to take such a risk.
The bigger issue with the kiddy table B12 is that Miami / Louisville addition isn't enough to MAKE the conference ... the programming and access to NATIONAL AIR TIME / visibility is going to more and more be controlled BY the P2. What will provide access to a national TV market? Miami vs Houston or Miami vs Michigan?
 
if the ACC has such a crappy deal and its worth blowing it up over...why doesn't espn just renegotiate the deal to keep the conference together? I might not love the ACC but I like it better than that weird new version of the big 12 we could be a part of.
 
Advertisement
if the ACC has such a crappy deal and its worth blowing it up over...why doesn't espn just renegotiate the deal to keep the conference together? I might not love the ACC but I like it better than that weird new version of the big 12 we could be a part of.
Because it’s probably a lot easier to let something implode and start from scratch then it is to renegotiate and try to make every team, within the existing infrastructure, happy.

Also, I’d MUCH rather be in Big12 with FSU and Clemson than ACC. Playing OSU, Utah, KState, TCU, Baylor, etc is a better draw than UVA, GT, WF, Duke, etc. Especially when you still get to play FSU and Clemson.

The teams obviously aren’t as glamorous as SEC or B1G but let’s remember that this doesn’t necessarily need to be a permanent move. You can make the move to Big 12 over the next 4-5 years and then eventually jump to SEC or B1G when their new deal is up in 2029.
 
Because it’s probably a lot easier to let something implode and start from scratch then it is to renegotiate and try to make every team, within the existing infrastructure, happy.

Also, I’d MUCH rather be in Big12 with FSU and Clemson than ACC. Playing OSU, Utah, KState, TCU, Baylor, etc is a better draw than UVA, GT, WF, Duke, etc. Especially when you still get to play FSU and Clemson.

The teams obviously aren’t as glamorous as SEC or B1G but let’s remember that this doesn’t necessarily need to be a permanent move. You can make the move to Big 12 over the next 4-5 years and then eventually jump to SEC or B1G when their new deal is up in 2029.
First, anybody joining the Big12 is going to be expected to sign on with a GOR. And to get teams like FSU, Clemson, or us, they're going to go the private equity route, so the GOR is going to be 10 years minimum, maybe 15-20. The Big12 rumors are meaningless because nobody is going to join that conference with the target being B1G and SEC. No school president that we end up hiring is going to trade away ACC associations for Big12 associations unless the ACC has been decimated and there is no other choice.

I don't hate the Big12, I think they got a nice thing going and I want to see the P4 remain to some degree even if the top 2 in the P4 is much stronger than the bottom 2. But like somebody else said, there's a reason why the Big12 payouts are STILL less than the ****** ACCs which was signed a decade ago.

UVA is one of the most beautiful college towns in the country. North Carolina is always beautiful to travel to. Atlanta is a easy, cheap, fun trip and GT looks like they're on the way out of the ACC basement to the upper half of the conference. I'm not going to say WF and Duke are the most exciting matchups, but every conference has teams you don't get hyped to play, atleast ours make for attractive travel destinations and have solid academic reputations with which to associate.
 
I need to get into the fake insider business. It’s like being a psychic, just make **** up.
Is it fake? Or is it just not something you want to hear?

A lot of bs to sift through for sure, but the noise from the B12 didn’t just come out of nowhere for the ACC schools…

And btw as a caveat, TOC earned some respect in my eyes for confronting a lot of y’all and owning up to an ever-changing situation regarding the SEC/BIG10 outlandish confidence. A lot of this is sadly fluid, and as much as yall want to think we’re top dog still, this isn’t the 80’s and 90’s. Media market matters, but you can’t just walk your way into a P2/3 position due to solely that. You have to win football games, be attractive for viewership nationally as well as locally, and invest in your program (which we’re doing now, hopefully not too late).

So not that my opinion means much, but TOC at least has the balls to admit the situations keep changing instead of dismissing any alternate theories with malice and venom.

There are a few insiders that were beating their chests with supreme confidence two years ago, some that you guys slobber over like fan girls in pathetic fashion as grown men…and they’re nowhere to be found now…funny how that works…
 
Last edited:
They're not "chained" anywhere. They can announce departure tomorrow for the 2025 season and continue the court action. They are waiting for a court ruling on the ESPN media agreement / GOR definition. FSU is receiving (finally) an un-redacted copy of the agreement this week. Once they have a document to actually reference in a filing the door will be open with a minimal (if any) media buyback fee. That is the only reason they are delaying ... lower the exit cost.
Until they check to see if the key they have found unlocks the chain and use it, they are chained.
 
Advertisement
Is it fake? Or is it just not something you want to hear?

A lot of bs to sift through for sure, but the noise from the B12 didn’t just come out of nowhere for the ACC schools…

And btw as a caveat, TOC earned some respect in my eyes for confronting a lot of y’all and owning up to an ever-changing situation regarding the SEC/BIG10 outlandish confidence. A lot of this is sadly fluid, and as much as yall want to think we’re top dog still, this isn’t the 80’s and 90’s. Media market matters, but you can’t just walk your way into a P2/3 position due to solely that. You have to win football games, be attractive for viewership nationally as well as locally, and invest in your program (which we’re doing now, hopefully not too late).

So not that my opinion means much, but TOC at least has the balls to admit the situations keep changing instead of acting like a ****y prick and shutting down alternate theories.

There are a few insiders that were beating their chests with supreme confidence two years ago, some that you guys slobber over like fan girls in pathetic fashion…and they’re who nowhere to be found now…funny how that works…


Appreciated.

I've just shared information as I've gotten it.

The Miami interest and positioning is real. We'd very much prefer the Big 10 and the Big 10 likes us.

The external factors and changes that have arisen over the past 2 years include the Washington/Oregon gambit, the shifting tides of public opinion on "killing" longtime conferences (which the Big 10/SEC presidents fear), the ever-changing amounts of money that ESPN/Fox/CBS/NBC are willing to spend to lock down the best games, the NUMBER of conference games that may be played soon, and the constant changes of university presidents/ADs, some of which has changed what was once near-unanimity into a more complicated vote-count.

Thread started two years ago. And somehow, the negative people on the board are now trying to either (a) "take credit" for random guesses they made two years ago, while patting themselves on the back for being such geniuses, or (b) tear down the people who have contributed information and analysis to this thread for over 1,000 pages because the changes in the landscape have altered our Big 2 chances and/or timeframe.

Porsters gonna porst.
 
if the ACC has such a crappy deal and its worth blowing it up over...why doesn't espn just renegotiate the deal to keep the conference together? I might not love the ACC but I like it better than that weird new version of the big 12 we could be a part of.
It's not THE DEAL ... it is the TEAMS IN THE CONFERENCE. Nobody is going to pay more to close the gap with the B10 / SEC to watch BC, Cal, Syracuse, Wake Forest. That is the core problem.
 
A whole lot of **** being thrown against the wall by a bunch of supposed insiders who have heard so much when it is all just the info these conferences want leaked out.

Maybe the Big 12 is FSU and Clemson's best offer by I highly doubt it.

This info can be getting leaked for multiple reasons, two main reasons would be:
1) The B1G and SEC are avoiding future lawsuits by not negotiating with any teams
2) FSU and Clemson is supposedly negotiating with the Big12 to try to up the ante on the 1/2 share options they are getting from the B1G and/or SEC
 
Advertisement
Until they check to see if the key they have found unlocks the chain and use it, they are chained.
UH, that is exactly what both FSU and Clemson ARE doing ... and so far their efforts have been supremely successful. It is now accepted fact that the CURRENT ESPN media agreement runs only through seasons 24,25,26 and NOT through 2035 as previously believed. It is also now common knowledge that ESPN's option to extend expired on January 1, 2021, and the "option to extend" that was granted by Phillips without conference approval (granted in August 2021) may not be legal / valid even if ESPN decides they want to exercise it. THEY CAN LEAVE ... both of them and any other program that wants out simply by paying the approximately $130M ACC exit fee. They are suing in attempt to eliminate any media buy back and also to potentially lessen the exit fee cost. They are not chained, they are leaving and are working in the court to lower the cost of leaving.
 
You realize how far AHEAD of CIS the Warchant Realignment thread is? They passed 100,000 posts yesterday and we are just over 20,000. Now a lot of that was the required "best chicken sandwich" debate, and then apparently a couple thousand @Genetics self flagellation posts, but the "FSU to the B12" boosted the page and post count like a Cape Canaveral moon shot!! Talk about panic!!
So best chicken sandwich is pub sub
 
A whole lot of **** being thrown against the wall by a bunch of supposed insiders who have heard so much when it is all just the info these conferences want leaked out.

Maybe the Big 12 is FSU and Clemson's best offer by I highly doubt it.

This info can be getting leaked for multiple reasons, two main reasons would be:
1) The B1G and SEC are avoiding future lawsuits by not negotiating with any teams
2) FSU and Clemson is supposedly negotiating with the Big12 to try to up the ante on the 1/2 share options they are getting from the B1G and/or SEC


That last point is key. Reminds me of what Marsellus Wallace said about pride.

Look, I'll be the first person to say I DON'T WANT TO take a half-share. But Washington-Oregon ****ed things up for all of us.

So if yesterday's price is not today's price...then you have to figure out how to manage your pride.

Washington-Oregon dumped a bunch of chum in the water. We may have to sacrifice a limb or two to survive.

I'm fine with half-shares if there is a HARD date for going to full-shares. No more of this Rutgers-Maryland "whoops, we're not quite ready to pay you full shares" bull****.
 
Last edited:
Advertisement
Is it fake? Or is it just not something you want to hear?

A lot of bs to sift through for sure, but the noise from the B12 didn’t just come out of nowhere for the ACC schools…

And btw as a caveat, TOC earned some respect in my eyes for confronting a lot of y’all and owning up to an ever-changing situation regarding the SEC/BIG10 outlandish confidence. A lot of this is sadly fluid, and as much as yall want to think we’re top dog still, this isn’t the 80’s and 90’s. Media market matters, but you can’t just walk your way into a P2/3 position due to solely that. You have to win football games, be attractive for viewership nationally as well as locally, and invest in your program (which we’re doing now, hopefully not too late).

So not that my opinion means much, but TOC at least has the balls to admit the situations keep changing instead of dismissing any alternate theories with malice and venom.

There are a few insiders that were beating their chests with supreme confidence two years ago, some that you guys slobber over like fan girls in pathetic fashion as grown men…and they’re nowhere to be found now…funny how that works…
I have no doubts that the Big12 commissioner thought about possible ways to mortgage out his conference in order to theoretically attract FSU and Clemson. The man shot his shot, it's a shame Jim Philips hasn't done the same. But just because a meeting happened doesn't mean things are likely. This information came from John Kurtz, the interview he did that gathered the initial information is on youtube.

But that said, the WVU poster that got posted earlier that the post was responding to IS full of ****. History has shown he is full of ****. That WVU poster has previously admitted he makes **** up. If any of these online personalities had any shred of information they would have said something about OU/UT or USC/UCLA/OU/UW moves. Instead the majority of them are either jaded WVU fans or grifters trying to cash in on the high click count associated with the demand on conference realignment talk.
 
I hate the idea of going to the Big 12-even if we were to win it 5 times and get into the playoffs. The message it sends it "Second Class". I would prefer to be stuck in the ACC for 6-7 more years. That gives us time to show that we are serious about winning. I will say that our fate solidly rests on Mario and staff. Win big and things will work out. We are a great villain to match PSU, UM, and OSU-especially if we beat them regularly. Be like the last 20 years and we deserve to sit at the kiddies' table...........
 
Advertisement
Back
Top