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

I had lot of fun at Auburn games last year. Guess better catch a game in Madison since 10000x better.
We all have our personal preferences and there are definite strong and weak points to each conference. I already mentioned somewhere that Oxford is on my bucket list.

Madison should be on everyone's though too. It's the epitome of a college party-town and the people are generally really friendly.
 
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They are already losing those battles with us. Why not block FSU? Florida is a certified ***** program. They aren't blocking ****. Perhaps, they are trying to avoid Miami as a yearly opponent but how stupid is that going to look when Miami, Florida and FSU are in the same bleeping state. Such cowards.


Wait, didn't a recruit just announce for F$U five minutes after his official visit to Florida?

Maybe the Gaytors should be mad at someone besides Miami...
 
Man don’t nobody want to go to no boring *** big ten. Their teams are boring other than osu
Playing Mississippi State, Mizzou, Vandy, etc. won't exactly be enthralling.

Again, plusses and minuses to both conferences and we don't even know what they'll actually look like next week or next year.

I've said I prefer the B1G because I also believe it'll essentially be a national conference too but I'm not gonna cry if we go to the SEC. I would cry it we stay in a watered down ACC trying to survive off "loose" alliances.
 
UVA? I smell bull****


I'm not saying that UVa is one of their top two or anything, but you cannot underestimate (a) the SEC's desire to get into VA and NC, and (b) the 3D chess move that it is to steal almost all of the "yeah, but the Big 10 would take them too" candidates.

SEC may be trying to box the Big 10 in here, at least along the east coast.
 
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I'm not saying that UVa is one of their top two or anything, but you cannot underestimate (a) the SEC's desire to get into VA and NC, and (b) the 3D chess move that it is to steal almost all of the "yeah, but the Big 10 would take them too" candidates.

SEC may be trying to box the Big 10 in here, at least along the east coast.
Academically though....odd...

Vanderbilt I hear ya already but odd.
 

Which, if any, ACC school would be attractive and why?

Let’s start with North Carolina, which is a big, recognizable athletics brand at an academically prestigious university. Former Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany played point guard for the Tar Heels, and it’s tough to imagine his old league wouldn’t push hard for his alma mater. But the SEC also would covet the Tar Heels. As colleague Matt Fortuna astutely pointed out, North Carolina is the largest state by population that doesn’t contain a Big Ten or SEC team, and the state continues to grow fast. That’s a big potential audience down the road.

What, you ask, is the next-largest state that doesn’t contain a Big Ten or SEC school? It’s Virginia. And the University of Virginia would be of interest to both leagues. This one is more of a prestige play than an audience play, though. Virginia isn’t as big a TV draw as in-state rival Virginia Tech, but like most of the Big Ten schools and recent SEC addition Texas, it’s an academically prestigious flagship school in a large state.

Miami, meanwhile, is another academically strong school with a bankable football brand. It isn’t a member of the Association of American Universities — which includes 15 of the 16 current and future Big Ten schools, and the 16th (Nebraska) was a member when it joined — but neither is Notre Dame. Miami probably rates high enough on that side of the equation to satisfy Big Ten presidents, though. For the SEC, Miami would have to show it can bring in big TV numbers. Historically, the Hurricanes have done that when they’re good. When they aren’t, the ratings are pretty average.

Meanwhile, there are other schools that may be fits for one but not the other.

The Big Ten put out feelers to Georgia Tech before the expansion that wound up with the addition of Nebraska, and it’s conceivable the league might want to plant a flag in Atlanta. The Yellow Jackets left the SEC in 1964, so it’s safe to say they aren’t getting another shot there.

Clemson, meanwhile, is an SEC school in every way except conference affiliation. The Tigers probably belong in the league more than any school that isn’t already in it. They are the ACC’s biggest TV draw at the moment, and they are one of the few programs that could enter the SEC and be immediately competitive for football championships.

Florida State turned down the SEC in the 1990s when that league added Arkansas and South Carolina. The Seminoles chose the ACC and dominated the league for their first decade in it. But much of the fan base and some influential alums have been frustrated with the ACC since even before the league forged the grant of rights in 2013. (Then-Florida State president Eric Barron was not one of those people; he helped rally support for the grant of rights.) If the leadership in Tallahassee could build a time machine, it would go back to 1990 and tell then-SEC commissioner Roy Kramer yes. Failing that, they’d certainly want to join the SEC now. And while Florida would balk at conferring SEC cachet upon its rival, there was a group of schools that wanted the Seminoles instead of Missouri in 2012. Florida State needs to get off the mat in football, but it has shown it can be an incredible TV draw and championship contender when things are going well.

I mentioned Virginia Tech earlier, and while smarter people than me keep telling me the SEC would want Virginia, the Hokies feel like a better cultural fit. Blacksburg feels like an SEC town, and when Enter Sandman is blasting, Lane Stadium feels like an SEC environment.

When I mentioned North Carolina above, I didn’t mention NC State. I’ve long thought the Wolfpack would thrive in the SEC. I’ve just always been told that most in the league would rather have the Tar Heels. But conference realignment also is a political game. What if North Carolina were blocked from leaving NC State behind and joining the Big Ten? Would the SEC be willing to offer membership to both? That would lock up a state that, as we noted above, is big now and only getting bigger by the day.

You’ve probably noticed at this point that I haven’t mentioned Duke. I think if this had happened 10 years ago that I’d have Duke as a lock to get offered by the Big Ten and a possibility to be offered by the SEC. Now? I’m not sure. Duke football probably isn’t ever going to be a powerhouse, and basketball doesn’t drive these decisions. Mike Krzyzewski was such a powerful brand unto himself that he probably would have lifted the Blue Devils into contention for either league, but with Coach K retired, it’s difficult to figure out where Duke fits. Academically, the Big Ten schools likely would love the company. But do they want to take on another Rutgers in football?
I don't disagree with that at all in relation to UVag. Staples says it'd be more a "prestige" play (ie academics) than an audience one.

I'm just less prone for a few reasons to attach Virginia's population size as an entire state to the main merits of UVag as I'm willing to concede it to UNC.
 
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If college football moves to three 24-team conferences then I think teams should only be allowed to play 12 conference games in the regular season with no non-conference matchups. Then have a conference championship consisting of either the top 2 teams or a 4-team mini-playoff. We also need to expand the playoffs to 16 teams like they do in the FCS. No more bowl games. Tradition is dead anyway.
 
I lived in Miami the majority of my life, and have been on campus many times. One of my ex-girlfriends attended UM. She was in the drama department (actress), and I was often on campus with her. You’re an idiot. Porst less.
Apparently, you weren't paying attention when you were on campus(It's obvious you never attended) otherwise you would know that Dr. Shalala left the University in far better shape than what she inherited. She raised BILLIONS for the University. BILLIONS. She was able to leverage her contacts to get UHealth revved up, the revenue produced is now giving Frenk the tools needed to build a world class athletic department.
 
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Apparently, you weren't paying attention when you were on campus(It's obvious you never attended) otherwise you would know that Dr. Shalala left the University in far better shape than what she inherited. She raised BILLIONS for the University. BILLIONS. She was able to leverage her contacts to get UHealth revved up, the revenue produced is now giving Frenk the tools needed to build a world class athletic department.

If Shalala helped the football program - it was entirely accidental.
 
If college football moves to three 24-team conferences then I think teams should only be allowed to play 12 conference games in the regular season with no non-conference matchups. Then have a conference championship consisting of either the top 2 teams or a 4-team mini-playoff. We also need to expand the playoffs to 16 teams like they do in the FCS. No more bowl games. Tradition is dead anyway.

How many games that add to season with 16 team playoff?
 
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I don't disagree with that at all in relation to UVag. Staples says it'd be more a "prestige" play (ie academics) than an audience one.

I'm just less prone for a few reasons to attach Virginia's population size as an entire state to the main merits of UVag as I'm willing to concede it to UNC.

Part of the puzzle. Flagship, which really matters for brand purposes. It just does. Already strong and growing population base. Phenomenally successful and affluent alumni base. Whole state and part of the DC market. Lots of UVA alums in politics/DC. Arguably the best academics of any public school in the Power-5. Or close enough where we're splitting hairs. And a great geographic fit for both conferences. In fact VA is contiguous to both an SEC and a B1G state. And all the other stuff I mentioned in our discussion yesterday. :)
 
To be honest and from a fan's perspective, a road trip tailgate in Madison is like 10000x better than going to Auburn.
I would absolutely want to go to Wisc before Auburn, but I think if you went down the line that there would be more places in the SEC that people would want to go - plus SEC schools are likely easier to get to for most of the Miami fanbase.

Big10: Mich, OSU, Wisc, PSU all have great atmosphere (although PSU is a pain for most to get to), NW (just b/c you can make a weekend out of Chicago), USC/UCLA (good for West Coat Canes),

SEC: Alabama, Ole Miss, LSU, Tenn, and OU all have great atmosphere, UGA and Tex have great atmosphere and areas near the school, UF (b/c it is close to a lot of our fans), Vandy (b/c you can make a weekend of it in Nashville)
 
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Teams may be boring but tailgates at Penn St, Michigan and Michigan St are pretty **** fun.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is apologizing for drinking too much alcohol ahead of the big Michigan vs. Michigan State college football game last month.

Nessel wrote Wednesday in a Facebook post that she drank too much on an empty stomach at an East Lansing tailgate before attending the game, which resulted in her feeling ill and leaving the game early.

“... I thought it seemed like a good idea to eat 2 Bloody Mary’s, since as long as you put enough vegetables in them, it’s practically a salad,” Nessel wrote. “As it turned out, this was not a brilliant idea. Also, I might be a terrible bartender.

“I proceeded to go to the game (which I’m told Michigan definitely won!) and started to feel ill. I laid low for a while, but my friends recommended that I leave so as to prevent me from vomiting on any of my constituents,” she added.

 
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