forums

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

Advertisement
Question to the GOR attorneys on CIS. Assume Clemson and FSU bail ... announce over the next couple of months that they are leaving effective 2025 season. Two leaving ... especially two top viewership programs ... would give ESPN the option of the COMPOSITION clause and potentially OFFER a lower media payout ... say down from $35M to $30M. They cannot UNILATERALLY come up with a figure and modify the agreement correct? And ... does that media payout negotiation / modification then nullify the current GOR and put it on the table for renegotiation as well?
 
Felonious Monk said:
So I can go to one of the luxury theaters with recliners, press a button so they'll bring me food or beer whenever I want, and I get to see the game with like minded fans.

Suggested improvements:
1. no spouses/children
2. Frequent pauses to return rented beer
3. Pregame strippers.
Click to expand...
Too many loud, drunk people in too confined of an environment. Also, less people watching TV in their own homes, driving down ratings.
 
Gsugradcanefan said:
Too many loud, drunk people in too confined of an environment. Also, less people watching TV in their own homes, driving down ratings.
Click to expand...
The first reason is why I said no spouses or children. The second isn't as much of a concern because they can just add ticket sales by location.
 
Tad Footeball said:
Anybody down for a double feature? Syracuse vs Boston College followed by Barbie 2!
Click to expand...
Count Me In Rick And Morty GIF
 
Advertisement
hurricaneman said:
So this is more of him trying to help those universities out?

I've said this before, but am I crazy to think there's academic politics involved in this that may comingle with the athletic politics? A lot of these university presidents are close and I'm sure Stanford carries a lot of clout amongst them. I could see some BIG10 presidents wanting to find a home for a Stanford after basically dismantling their conference. I've wondered if that's where Miami's motivation for a "yes" vote comes from.
Click to expand...


I'll try to provide an example.

If this "academic clout" of Stanford's was so powerful, then the "university presidents" who should have been the MOST impressed should have been the Big 10 presidents.

The fact that Stanford could not even get a "half-share" payout from the Big 10, and might be taking less than $20M from the ACC is just an example of how little "academic clout" they actually have.

Nobody seems to care. Stanford might not even get into the ACC...based solely on TV/money issues, having nothing to do with academic clout.

And the fact that the Big 10's top 2 targets are two schools that are not even in the AAU should be a good indication that this round of expansion is ALLLLLL about the money. **** the "old model" of Rutgers/Maryland, which were 2 AAU schools in huge TV markets, even though very few people in those TV markets cared enough to watch those schools.

Oh, and don't look now, but a few years ago the Big 10 DELAYED giving Rutgers and Maryland the "full-share" they were promised, so it's pretty clear that "academic clout" is not really doing anything here.

Frenk is just a short-sighted idiot for voting "yes", unless we have substantial concessions being promised to us.
 
Gsugradcanefan said:
I hope they're showing the games on all theater screens or you'll have a bunch of moviegoers complaining about loud, obnoxious fans. I don't really see this as being a good idea.
Click to expand...
Fine, I'll stay home.

✅ recliners,
❌ a button so they'll bring me food or beer whenever I want
❌ no spouses/children
✅ Frequent pauses to return rented beer
❌ Pregame strippers.
 
Advertisement
atlCanesFan said:
Not to be challenging you, but how is it you know this.
Click to expand...

[BGCOLOR=initial]If you actually believe that Rad is against expansion, but Frenk is voting against Rads advice [/BGCOLOR]

[BGCOLOR=initial]
Hot Shots Idiot GIF
[/BGCOLOR]

If true, then I would expect that Rad would be preparing his resignation because this would be the most consequential decision in the history of UM sports, and I highly doubt Rad would want his legacy to be getting kneecapped by a school president and permanently ******** UM sports. Or you know, there is the more logical explanation which is that Rads Plan A is to try and save the ACC, and Frenk is just going along with that.
 
TheOriginalCane said:
Frenk is just a short-sighted idiot for voting "yes", unless we have substantial concessions being promised to us.
Click to expand...

Do you get the sense that UM's leadership has moved from an abstention (aka a soft "no") in the straw poll to "yes" should an actual vote to expand come to pass?

If so, what's the deciding factor? And is DanRad being overridden in the decision-making process?

(Likely missed some of recent posts in this thread, so SIAP)

For the record, I still think the B1G takes Stanford and Cal — likely for less/way less $$$ than OU and UW — despite current indications otherwise
 
Again SIAP:

Flugauer said yesterday that any ACC expansion — including the trio being floated the past couple weeks — will not impact the ability of UM, FSU, Clemson or any other school to leave. He said a couple of his sources were adamant about expansion being a non-issue for the would-be ACC escapees.
 
Gsugradcanefan said:
ACC is a complete clown show
Click to expand...
To be fair, "closed circuit television" type events are becoming a little more popular again.

Theatres are running more live events these days...not uncommon for pro wrestling PPVs, MMA events, boxing cards to be played in theatres again (used to be a big thing before proper PPVs) and even live concerts.

Kind of weird for football games, though, tbh.
 
Advertisement
Hold My Beer said:
Again SIAP:

Flugauer said yesterday that any ACC expansion — including the trio being floated the past couple weeks — will not impact the ability of UM, FSU, Clemson or any other school to leave. He said a couple of his sources were adamant about expansion being a non-issue for the would-be ACC escapees.
Click to expand...
His sources are Warchant editors FWIW. As far as "the ability" to leave ... anybody can leave you simply have to pay the ACC $120M and leave without having access to your media rights ... UNLESS the media partner at the conference you are going to ... is able to negotiate a deal with ESPN. That is the big unknown that "sources" are purely speculating on at this point.
 
Rickd said:
As far as "the ability" to leave ... anybody can leave you simply have to pay the ACC $120M and leave without having access to your media rights ... UNLESS the media partner at the conference you are going to ... is able to negotiate a deal with ESPN. That is the big unknown that "sources" are purely speculating on at this point.
Click to expand...

We'll see what happens, but I expect the ACC to be gutted and parceled out to the SEC, B1G and Big XII before the format is formalized for the CFP in 2026.

The three top-tier conferences are going to throw their weight around — much more than in the current format or the one in place for 2024 and '25 — to monopolize both the playoff bids and revenue.

It benefits that objective to have all their horses in the barn before it comes time to vote
 
Gsugradcanefan said:
ACC is a complete clown show
Click to expand...
This is not ACC specific, ESPN is doing this for all of the conferences that they have rights to and just for 'big' games. They are trying to replicate what UFC does.

Personally I have no interest in it.

www.forbes.com

ESPN Televising Regular Season College Football Games At Movie Theaters

Theater Sports Network president Scott Daw said he believes movie theaters are “the next great frontier for live sporting events.”
www.forbes.com www.forbes.com

EDIT: It's not clear to me whether it is the NY 6 Bowls and ONLY ACC games, or if it includes other leagues as well. The original tweet that I saw seemed to imply others, but the linked article makes that less clear.
 
Last edited:
Advertisement
TheOriginalCane said:
I'll try to provide an example.

If this "academic clout" of Stanford's was so powerful, then the "university presidents" who should have been the MOST impressed should have been the Big 10 presidents.

The fact that Stanford could not even get a "half-share" payout from the Big 10, and might be taking less than $20M from the ACC is just an example of how little "academic clout" they actually have.

Nobody seems to care. Stanford might not even get into the ACC...based solely on TV/money issues, having nothing to do with academic clout.

And the fact that the Big 10's top 2 targets are two schools that are not even in the AAU should be a good indication that this round of expansion is ALLLLLL about the money. **** the "old model" of Rutgers/Maryland, which were 2 AAU schools in huge TV markets, even though very few people in those TV markets cared enough to watch those schools.

Oh, and don't look now, but a few years ago the Big 10 DELAYED giving Rutgers and Maryland the "full-share" they were promised, so it's pretty clear that "academic clout" is not really doing anything here.

Frenk is just a short-sighted idiot for voting "yes", unless we have substantial concessions being promised to us.
Click to expand...
Stanford's academics may be on the decline due to their admissions policies. I recently listened to a podcast (can't remember which one) but they were interviewing tech professionals where they basically said they'd much rather hire a programmer from GA Tech than from Stanford these days.
 
Hold My Beer said:
Do you get the sense that UM's leadership has moved from an abstention (aka a soft "no") in the straw poll to "yes" should an actual vote to expand come to pass?

If so, what's the deciding factor? And is DanRad being overridden in the decision-making process?

(Likely missed some of recent posts in this thread, so SIAP)

For the record, I still think the B1G takes Stanford and Cal — likely for less/way less $$$ than OU and UW — despite current indications otherwise
Click to expand...


A faculty member used the word "impulsive" to describe Julio. I just looked at it again on my phone to make sure I got it right. Also said Rudy has been "glaringly silent" on this issue.

So, yeah, as much as I'd love to report pie-in-the-sky unity and a clarity of negotiating positions, I really don't think that the people who have participated and/or collaborated on decisions over the past two years (Julio, Joe, Rudy, and/or Dan) are all pulling their oars in the same direction right now. Again, I have no problem with the GENERAL issue of expansion if we are able to get concessions in the process of supporting it.

I think that Julio is looking at this heavily from an academic angle. Why would the ACC NOT WANT Stanford & Cal? That's a tremendous academic win, right?

And I think Dan knows the situation well, and will try to get whatever he can out of this if Frenk decides what I expect him to decide.

I just laugh at all the know-nothings who act like everything is binary. As if Dan would just quit his job because Julio votes his conscience (right or wrong). As if there are no other ways out of the ACC, and that by taking three more schools (we have NO IDEA when they would get voting rights, but likely next August) we are somehow permanently stuck in the ACC.

Good lord, we have some people who have never spent a day in the big business world analyzing and making deals. And, sure, some of our posters may be great small businessmen, they may have built their own local busineses, or they may be talented salesmen.

But this ACC mess has been going on for a year. At this point, people know who needs to jump to the Big 10/SEC to make more money, vs. who will never get their own offers to do so. Look, I'm no fan of "Es before Cs" (expansions before contractions), but it's not a fatal blow either. There are still a half-dozen different plays to be made, but our most pessimistic porsters have turned "Miami voting in favor of Stanford-Cal-SMU" into the worst thing on the planet since Chamberlain allowed Hitler to annex the Sudetenland.

I have already laid out my predictions. Anyone can check my math after all of the drama unfolds.

1. I believe the Big 10 is done FOR NOW with 4 teams coming aboard in 2024. They will have 2.5 years to prepare for (what I believe to be) the MOST LIKELY end-game of 6 additional teams by 2026, which is the first year of the NEW contract to broadcast the post-season (which is expanding to 12 teams sooner than the new TV contract). If the Big 10 and the SEC want to ice any other conferences out of the post-season, they at least need to announce an INTENTION to get bigger. So it doesn't all have to take place immediately, but everyone should know the score soon.

2. If the Big 10 adds 6 more teams, a lot will turn on the geography. While there was a previously-announced "no divisions" approach, this was based on only USC and UCLA joining the Big 10. Now that Washington-Oregon bring the number to 18, we might see a revisitation of pod play, particularly give the expression of concern for travel costs by Washington-Oregon. Given the current makeup, the 6-team pod that makes the most sense is USC-UCLA-Washington-Oregon-Nebraska-Minnesota. This would also facilitate a 6-team addition in 2026, and would give the Big 10 time to plan.

3. If the Big 10 expansion will be 6 teams, it would turn on two primary issues, whether Notre Dame is willing to join a conference, and whether the SEC expands. We know that F$U covets the SEC, and maybe Clemson does too. So the real question becomes how many slots are available at the Big 2 and whether they are all east coast teams or Stanford/Cal sneak into the mix. Going SOLELY by TV viewership (not just "size" of TV market), it could be 8 eastern teams that get bids, but it's possible that Stanford-Cal snipe the last 2 spots.

4. My best guess is that the SEC takes 2-4 teams and the Big 10 takes 6. I think the SEC would consider taking F$U, Clemson, UNC, and UVa or VaTech, largely in that order. I think the Big 10 will consider Notre Dame, F$U, Clemson, Miami, UNC, UVa, VaTech, GaTech, Stanford, and Cal, largely in that order. I think the Big 12 would pick up most of what is left (no guarantees for BC, Syracuse, or Wake).

Make no mistake, this is about locking up as many of the best content properties (colleges) and TV eyeballs as possible. It is not about academics or geography or culture. It will be limited by how much the respective networks are able to spend, and how many timeslots they have to fill. The titanic fight that is brewing is whether ESPN retains, or the Fox rebel alliance steals, the college football playoff games beginning in 2026.
 
Handsome Squidbum said:
[BGCOLOR=initial]If you actually believe that Rad is against expansion, but Frenk is voting against Rads advice [/BGCOLOR]

[BGCOLOR=initial]
Hot Shots Idiot GIF
[/BGCOLOR]

If true, then I would expect that Rad would be preparing his resignation because this would be the most consequential decision in the history of UM sports, and I highly doubt Rad would want his legacy to be getting kneecapped by a school president and permanently ******** UM sports. Or you know, there is the more logical explanation which is that Rads Plan A is to try and save the ACC, and Frenk is just going along with that.
Click to expand...
I think Rad and Frenk have crunched numbers and have a time frame in mind if the ACC blow up doesn't happen. Just trying to minimize the costs to leave as much as possible.
 
AuoraCane said:
Stanford's academics may be on the decline due to their admissions policies. I recently listened to a podcast (can't remember which one) but they were interviewing tech professionals where they basically said they'd much rather hire a programmer from GA Tech than from Stanford these days.
Click to expand...
I don't find that surprising though. I work in IT and don't think of people that to go Stanford, Harvard, Yale, etc for actual programming and never have; I always thought of them more the start your own business or go into some type of management/consulting/lawyer, etc.
 
Last edited:
Advertisement
Back
Top