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

tsimonitis said:
Can’t imagine anything I would want to see less
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Lou was a great villain for UM and probably the biggest reason we even have a rivalry with ND. He was great for the game. Similar to spurrier. Always hated those mofos. Never could hate Bowden but that rivalry was just about talent and sheer will.
 
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Cryptical Envelopment said:
Crap. I hate being objective. But...

Large UNC is very, very attractive. Flagship school of the largest state that isn't associated with the SEC or B1G. Legitimate national brand, Michael Jordan affiliation, large and loyal alumni base, large 3rd party fan base, great licensing revenue, fantastic academics, large athletic budget, geographically perfect for BOTH the SEC and B1G, and a lot more. If I were a conference commissioner I would probably (pains me to say this) have them as my #1 choice out of the ACC. You have to think longterm, and UNC is a place where the TV money would not go wasted. Whichever of the two conferences does NOT get UNC is going to suffer for it.

Virginia is being underrated in all this too. Another school with a high ceiling, good recruiting location (imagine UVA in the B1G or SEC recruiting the DMV), incredible academics, location, alumni, power-brokers, flagship of a major state, where newfound money could really launch them.

Both UNC and UVA have good sized stadiums (55k-65k iirc) that can easily be expanded further with the P2 TV riches.

Miami has a LOT going for it, and I expect us to land well. But we are still a small, private city school with a small AD, a lack of stadium security, and that is very different than the typical SEC or B1G school. We will be taken "in spite of" a few things.
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All fine points about UNC. I'd disagree about UVa but I digress.

I'd just counter that we're kind of conflating UNC hoops with football when we pretend that UNC is a "national brand" or that their alumni base is some loyal base of college football fans. There's a reason their football stadium seats like 48k.

The Raleigh/Durham media market is nice but it's also being conflated very quickly with Charlotte's too when we're having these discussions. By that logic then we probably should say Pedo State is the Pittsburgh AND Philly markets and they don't even have a Clemson to contend with stealing interest.

At the end of the day it's largely Fox & eSECpn driving this stuff. Is UNC the football program one that will or ever has drawn legitimate national attention and eyeballs?
 
I stand corrected. UNC's stadium has a capacity of 50k not 48k. But this ain't exactly a glowing endorsement...

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ST26reborn said:
I mean we basically committed our selves to the ACC through 2026 by announcing our schedule for the next 4 seasons.
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This line of thinking makes zero sense of me. The change from divisions to the new format has no impact on Miami’s ability to leave. Contractually it’s always been the GOR, which supposedly Miami is working on a pathway to negotiate a way out.

Schedule format plays no roles in this.
 
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B10 current contract expires after the 2023 season with a new one set for 2024 all with Fox…I’d think B10 wants 18 or 20 locked up to negotiate, renegotiate such contract which reports back in Jan/Feb said it would be $1B to $1.2B new TV deal.

Fast forward a few months and you now have USC and UCLA committed taking the B10 to 16. I also think Notre Dame and Stanford would be at play bringing it to 18. While ND has the largest endowment estimated at $14B and a following like no other, their concern should be getting into the CFP. Being independent will be difficult with these power realigned conferences. Stanford no one talks about. They fit the academics the B10 is targeting and further cements the state of California.

If the number becomes 20, not sure who B10 would add..UVA, UNC, Cal perhaps.

As for the SEC, they too have a new deal in toe with ABC/ESPN effective 2024…can you say rework that puppy! You have now added Texas and Oklahoma since the deal was negotiated bringing them to 16, providing the SEC bargaining power.

The additional two would be Clemson and Miami as several have stated keeping pace with the B10. Clemson just fits the SEC. Miami doesn’t but it’s there geographically and has stability with Frenk, Rad, Cristobal and Highsmith. This helps them over the other ACC schools. History doesn’t hurt, media market and recruiting hotbed. Lastly, the SEC isn’t going to be second best to anyone so it makes sense something happens soon keeping up with Jones’s (B10).

Getting to 20 would be interesting. I think it’s FSU (I hate stating the possibility) and a race for UNC.
 
SyracuseMiami said:
This line of thinking makes zero sense of me. The change from divisions to the new format has no impact on Miami’s ability to leave. Contractually it’s always been the GOR, which supposedly Miami is working on a pathway to negotiate a way out.

Schedule format plays no roles in this.
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I mean the ACC will completely have to restructure their schedule if schools like Miami, FSU and Clemson decides to join another conference before 2026. Miami has posted their schedule all over their social media pages, which means they are starting to market and advertise these games.
 
JeddTheFisch said:
I will never understand the argument that a conference with Minnesota, Nebraska, Rutgers, and Wisconsin is a better fit for Miami than the Southeastern Conference.
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Because the b10 has great TV deals and has a large following. There is a lot of money there
 
JeddTheFisch said:
Are you suggesting a better cultural fit with Wisconsin, Nebraska, Iowa, Indiana, and Minnesota, all of which might as well be Neptune?

I am very much a Latin American and my only affiliation here is the state of Florida.

I just can't help laughing at this "cultural" commentary.
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No, I'm commenting on the fit with SEC schools. I don't know if there are any "ideal" cultural fits with UM. The composition of the student body and the city itself makes UM somewhat unique.

I'm also not suggesting cultural fit is a material factor in any decision. It's just a factor. The material factor will be $$$.
 
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Tad Footeball said:
All fine points about UNC. I'd disagree about UVa but I digress.

I'd just counter that we're kind of conflating UNC hoops with football when we pretend that UNC is a "national brand" or that their alumni base is some loyal base of college football fans. There's a reason their football stadium seats like 48k.

The Raleigh/Durham media market is nice but it's also being conflated very quickly with Charlotte's too when we're having these discussions. By that logic then we probably should say Pedo State is the Pittsburgh AND Philly markets and they don't even have a Clemson to contend with stealing interest.

At the end of the day it's largely Fox & eSECpn driving this stuff. Is UNC the football program one that will or ever has drawn legitimate national attention and eyeballs?
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UNC has jammed 62,000 people in there multiple times, has had a 7-year streak of sellouts in the past, effectively sells out almost every game (96.67% - so there is further demand over capacity) has recruited very, very well lately, beating Clemson, Bama, UGA, OSU etc for major prospects (sure, recency bias matters), and UNC lands all state-wide media markets including Charlotte (go drive through town, and the surrounding areas like Lake Norman). They are truly the flagship. Sure, their brand has been anchored by their basketball success in the past, but that's not a negative. It just gives the football program a nice benefit to work with, and the school a lot of licensing $ to work with AD-wide. Carolina Blue is its own Pantone for lords sake. They are iconic. And yeah, the basketball matters, a lot, but more importantly their football has a high ceiling. Put them in the SEC/B1G with that schedule, resources/TV money and they have as much upward growth potential as any program in the country IMO, especially with the population flows to UNC. Add in a historically very good baseball program, lots of women's sports, etc, it makes them an easy no-brainer fit in with these big SEC/B1G state schools. No one wants a messy conference with teams missing sports. + academics.

Look, I hear you, and I'm not saying landing UNC is like landing Texas or anything, but as a major conference, I would see UNC as an incredible investment. Both conferences like flagships, a lot. And you know what they say, location location location and UNC is valuable conference real estate for a number of reasons. And I think you are going to see a fight for them.
 
RVACane said:
I hate the ACC good ole boys. Believe me. I lived in the mid-Atlantic for most of my adult life. It would be better to be in the SEC than the ACC because the ACC is going to become like the Big East when we left it.
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I detest the ACC and would savor every minute of their demise. Just bring Rick over to the SEC network if we move to that conference. The rest can kick rocks.
 
ST26reborn said:
I mean the ACC will completely have to restructure their schedule if schools like Miami, FSU and Clemson decides to join another conference before 2026. Miami has posted their schedule all over their social media pages, which means they are starting to market and advertise these games.
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Texas had a schedule as well. But their move was timed on the GOR.

I believe a Miami departure would be 2025 at the soonest anyway. If this even happens. But hey…. Just my 2 cents.
 
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NorthEastCane said:
No, I'm commenting on the fit with SEC schools. I don't know if there are any "ideal" cultural fits with UM. The composition of the student body and the city itself makes UM somewhat unique.

I'm also not suggesting cultural fit is a material factor in any decision. It's just a factor. The material factor will be $$$.
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We're like 99% on the same page.

The bold pretty much sums it up. No conference is going to fit like a glove. We need to make the move that best protects the program.
 
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Sugarcane521 said:
We haven't been getting those calls. It's simple

If the conference grows then so will the revenue. That's how big business works

Bigger conference bigger revenue that's how big business goes and yes fellas this is a business move. May not see the increase in income at first but it will pay more in the long run
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We currently get roughly 30M. That's what 14 schools receive, so let's say top line revenue for the ACC is 420M. Let's say we merge with the pac 12 (10) and that revenue doubles even to 840M. After splitting to 24 teams each, we only get to $35M. Even at 1B, you're only talking ~42M per team. ACC and Pac 12 just don't have enough big brands to get super conference money. ESPN isn't looking to throw money at Arizona State vs Syracuse.
That's why it's only big brands moving now.

If you plucked the best Big12, ACC, and PAC 12 brands + ND maybe you can get close to SEC and B1G. But in reality, we won't beat their per school revenue. Easier to just join them
 
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