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

[Notsince1985]

Are we in the SEC yet, or nah?

 

[ST26]

No that's not true .... do you know Cribby .... a poster on this site? He has information .... actual information that Radakovich IS and has been exploring exit strategies for some time. Expectations are that a plan WILL be developed.

I do know Cribby. And there is a difference between a plan currently being developed and “will be developed”

 

[Rickd]

I do know Cribby. And there is a difference between a plan currently being developed and “will be developed”

Look ... let it rest. You don't believe anything will happen .... I am more optimistic and believe it will. Good night.

 

[swat1]

Who's Cribby?

 

[Burricane]

No that's not true .... do you know Cribby .... a poster on this site? He has information .... actual information that Radakovich IS and has been exploring exit strategies for some time. Expectations are that a plan WILL be developed.

@Boarcane has really been the one with the most info on what’s going on with us and conference realignment

 

[ST26]

Look ... let it rest. You don't believe anything will happen .... I am more optimistic and believe it will. Good night.

I do think Miami will eventually land in another conference. But I see it happening way down the line

 

[flyguy]

lets hope all these bums in the big 10 and sec just eat each other alive and ***** them out of the play offs. I know we check allot of boxes when it comes to the big ten but remember when they didn't want to play football.

 

[atlCanesFan]

I do think Miami will eventually land in another conference. But I see it happening way down the line

I can see announcement in the foreseeable future, but the actual transition date as far out as 3-5 years.
UT and Oklahoma announced last year 2021 and the entry date is scheduled for 2025 (although they are now shooting for 2024)

 

[Hold My Beer]

No way UM "sticks it out" until 2036 ... that is 14 more season. Insane take. Just look at what the ACC commissioner stated "all options are on the table". He knows the top programs want out and will potentially bail and then litigate to force a modified financial penalty. There is ALSO some possibility that the new agreement that was signed DOES include some "cause" clause. One journalist that was able to compare the original 4 page ACC contract with the new 20 page extension that included the founding of the ACC Network stated that the new agreement contained a "comparable revenue" clause ... that made him believe the agreement was "malleable" rather than iron clad. He read the clause as indicating that if ACC teams were not receiving revenue comparable with similar teams in other conferences they could demand to be released from the GOR. No idea if that is true ... but the mere fact that the Big 2 will be receiving in the neighborhood of $90-100MM and the "top brands" in the ACC will be at around $33MM ... would be grounds for litigation.

**** good post.

UM's administration needs to be focused squarely on securing a place in either one of the two Super Conferences.

UM's attorneys and accountants — in conjunction with the likes of FSU and Clemson and perhaps others — need to develop and solidify an exit from the ACC

 

[Hold My Beer]

I think Miami sticks it out until the contract with the ACC ends(edit: I thought it ended in 2027. Apparently it ends 2036). Just my gut feeling. I hope to god I am wrong though

You would make a good prisoner.

While the other inmates were trying like **** to GTFO, you'd be chilling in your cell, talking bout, "Ain't no reason for them to be doing all that. We locked up for 14 more years."

C.O.'s wouldn't even have to watch you

 

[ST26]

You would make a good prisoner.

While the other inmates were trying like **** to GTFO, you'd be chilling in your cell, talking bout, "Ain't no reason for them to being do all that. We're all locked up for 14 more years."

C.O.'s wouldn't even have to watch you

I thought our contract ended in 2027, which is why I thought we would be in a new conference jn 2028. I don’t think that was an absurd take. It’s very realistic at this point lol

 

[Canesrule230]

The best move for us is leaving and going to either the sec/big. But let's say you're jim phillips and want to aggressively (no holds barred) maintain the acc. What would you do? Would something like this improve the acc competitively and financially?

1. Get rid of the "weaker" teams. And I mean that both competitively and financially. I would axe WF, Syracuse, and BC to start.
2. Bring in programs that help. I would bring in Oregon, Washington, and Oklahoma State.
3. That gets you the following top half in ACC football:

Clemson
Miami
FSU
Oregon
Washington
Oklahoma State

You have to think these teams playing each other more consistently and playing the lower half of the acc would increase ratings. I don't think you'll get the sec/big level payouts but maybe something like this can get us in the 80M per school payout which would at least make us the clear number 3 in the hierarchy of conferences.

 

[Rickd]

The best move for us is leaving and going to either the sec/big. But let's say you're jim phillips and want to aggressively (no holds barred) maintain the acc. What would you do? Would something like this improve the acc competitively and financially?

1. Get rid of the "weaker" teams. And I mean that both competitively and financially. I would axe WF, Syracuse, and BC to start.
2. Bring in programs that help. I would bring in Oregon, Washington, and Oklahoma State.
3. That gets you the following top half in ACC football:

Clemson
Miami
FSU
Oregon
Washington
Oklahoma State

You have to think these teams playing each other more consistently and playing the lower half of the acc would increase ratings. I don't think you'll get the sec/big level payouts but maybe something like this can get us in the 80M per school payout which would at least make us the clear number 3 in the hierarchy of conferences.

Two MAJOR fallacies with what you laid out:

1). ACC commissioner and "acting aggressively".
2). Oregon ... no way they leave the PAC 12 for a struggling ACC. Phil Knight has been very vocal regarding Oregon to the BIG 10 or SEC.

I could see ND and Stanford going to the BIG 10 and then the SEC reacting and taking Clemson / Miami / FSU / UNC.

 

[Canesrule230]

Two MAJOR fallacies with what you laid out:

1). ACC commissioner and "acting aggressively".
2). Oregon ... no way they leave the PAC 12 for a struggling ACC. Phil Knight has been very vocal regarding Oregon to the BIG 10 or SEC.

I could see ND and Stanford going to the BIG 10 and then the SEC reacting and taking Clemson / Miami / FSU / UNC.

1. Agreed and one of the reasons this conference is stuck where its at, the leadership has no sense of urgency. I was just imagining a world where someone with intestinal fortitude at the top actually fought.
2. Slightly disagree, I know Phil Knight will do everything he can to bolt for the sec/big. But it sure sounds like they're not willing to take oregon. In that case wouldn't it make sense for oregon to join a conference that was 3rd best?

Don't get me wrong in the end i would MUCH rather go to the sec/big over staying in the acc. But if we can't leave due to the GOR the least we can do is make the conference better. And while the ACC is struggling its a safer home than the PAC/BIG12 since the GOR is preventing defections. Maybe this way we can bridge the gap between now and 2036 with the option to bolt as we get closer to the end of the GOR effectivity.

 

[Rickd]

1. Agreed and one of the reasons this conference is stuck where its at, the leadership has no sense of urgency. I was just imagining a world where someone with intestinal fortitude at the top actually fought.
2. Slightly disagree, I know Phil Knight will do everything he can to bolt for the sec/big. But it sure sounds like they're not willing to take oregon. In that case wouldn't it make sense for oregon to join a conference that was 3rd best?

Don't get me wrong in the end i would MUCH rather go to the sec/big over staying in the acc. But if we can't leave due to the GOR the least we can do is make the conference better. And while the ACC is struggling its a safer home than the PAC/BIG12 since the GOR is preventing defections. Maybe this way we can bridge the gap between now and 2036 with the option to bolt as we get closer to the end of the GOR effectivity.

I am just not convinced that the GOR is "iron clad" through 2036. I have heard two comments ... one that the penalty decreases substantially in 2 years ... so if that IS true ... the penalty would be less $$ if we joined another conference effective 2024. Second, from comments that one journalist made after comparing the original 4 page agreement and the NEW 20 page agreement, there was a belief that the GOR is not "iron clad" but rather "malleable" due to having some sort of "comparable revenue" clause ... that HE interpreted as ACC conference members needed to be receiving comparable remuneration as similar programs in other conferences. HAVE NOT seen it myself ... no idea what the wording is ... but I would have to believe that Radakovich has his interpretation on any "malleable" clauses that might give UM an out.

 

[Canesrule230]

Yea if there’s language in there to allows us to bolt I agree we need to bail. And I’m 100% confident Rad’s team is on top of it. But if the GOR is iron clad then we should position ourselves to make the acc the 3rd best conference temporarily.

We’ll see though, I hope the former is true and we can bail sooner rather than later.

 

[Hold My Beer]

Try to keep close tabs on this realignment stuff as best I can. The TV execs and decision-makers have managed to keep conference commissioners and school administrators in the dark (not to mention media and us fans).

Felt like what we've seen with Oklahoma and Texas to the SEC and UCLA and USC to the B1G is just the tip of the iceberg.

Next two key dominoes are Notre Dame and North Carolina. Once those two fall, **** will happen quickly IMO.

Still feel like we're about 45% for either the B1G or SEC, probably a better chance for the latter.

A lot of folks think ESPN will ramrod us through for the SEC, but it's Greg Sankey who has the ultimate say-so.

Easy to imagine the SEC presidents Sankey answers to — particularly those whose millionaire football coaches spend time recruiting South Florida — raising **** with their commissioner about "why are we inviting a private school with a small fanbase that plays its games in an NFL stadium" ... and "now that they've got that guy John Ruiz involved" ... blah, blah, blah ...

The Canes fit the B1G profile better — and now with SC + UCLA (and perhaps more West Coast schools, too) any concerns of UM being a geographical outlier would seem to be less an issue.

Like a lot of y'all — just trying to stay both optimistic and realistic while we wait for this game of musical chairs to reach its end point.

 

[3GC]

There is no such thing as an iron clad contract.
People breech contracts every day.
Usually resulting in a mediated settlement.
Iron clad insinuates involuntary servitude.
There's always a way out, why lawyers are rich & I'm not..

 

[Dream School]

Josh Pate said that Jim Delany has still been advising the Big Ten on expansion. He has publicly said that the conference needs to look to the sun belt for expansion opportunities.

https://www.al.com/solomon/2010/05/delany_demographics_in_south_m.html

It's been widely speculated that the Big Ten's study to expand has been about getting the Big Ten Network into more homes. That still very well may be true. Yesterday, though, Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany added a new twist for possible expansion that will get the SEC's attention: Population growth in the Sun Belt.

"We've been blessed in many ways by the economy and density of the population in the 20th century," Delany told reporters at the Big Ten spring meetings. "In the last 20 years there has been a clear shift of movement into the Sun Belt. The rates of growth in the Sun Belt are four times the rate in the East or the Midwest. That has demographic meaning long term for the economy, for jobs, for recruitment of students, for recruitment of athletes, for recruitment of faculty, for tax base."

Before the USC UCLA adds Big Ten Network got around $0.10 per subscriber in Southern California. After it will be over $1.00 per subscriber per month. That is an insane jump. There are over 5.7m TV homes in the Los Angeles DMA, the big ten is still in the business of adding TV homes even while more people cut the cord.

 

[Rickd]

Try to keep close tabs on this realignment stuff as best I can. The TV execs and decision-makers have managed to keep conference commissioners and school administrators in the dark (not to mention media and us fans).

Felt like what we've seen with Oklahoma and Texas to the SEC and UCLA and USC to the B1G is just the tip of the iceberg.

Next two key dominoes are Notre Dame and North Carolina. Once those two fall, **** will happen quickly IMO.

Still feel like we're about 45% for either the B1G or SEC, probably a better chance for the latter.

A lot of folks think ESPN will ramrod us through for the SEC, but it's Greg Sankey who has the ultimate say-so.

Easy to imagine the SEC presidents Sankey answers to — particularly those who millionaire football coaches spend time recruiting South Florida — raising **** with their commissioner about "why are we inviting a private school with a small fanbase that plays its games in an NFL stadium" ... and "now that they've got that guy John Ruiz is involved" ... blah, blah, blah ...

The Canes fit the B1G profile better — and now with SC + UCLA (and perhaps more West Coast schools, too) any concerns of UM being a geographical misfit are less an issue.

Like a lot of y'all — just trying to stay both optimistic and realistic while we wait for this game of musical chairs to reach its end point.

All of this debate is pretty much just something for us to do while we wait for practice to begin then the season. Pretty sure that the BIG 10 and SEC are both saying "We are in no rush to expand" publicly but at the same time running every single expansion scenario that is feasible to see what makes $$$ sense both short and long term. Same with ND. Rumors are everywhere. If for example they DO agree to join the BIG 10 along with Stanford ... two quality academic additions that are also "rivals" to a degree. Does the SEC remain as is? Or do THEY grab Clemson / UM / FSU / UNC to lock up the main SE markets that could be the next BIG expansion move? Right now what I really wanted today was a commitment from Bryant. So ... looks like a couple of cold ones tonight with a flick. Keep the faith!! Mario and Radakovich have this.