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

[Empirical Cane]

Notre Dame implores Congress to save ‘great American institution’ after ‘undesirable’ $2.8B NCAA settlement

Notre Dame had their statement ready to the NCAA and they weren’t vague on their stance in the organization’s recent development in regard to athlete compensation.

nypost.com

 

[Felonious Monk]

Holy ****… if that chart of rivalry game viewership is right then no wonder BIG/SEC don’t seem to want us. Our rivalry with FSU is irrelevant and we only appear twice near the bottom of the list. Ouch.

Yes, tough to hear but the Miami "brand" is no longer what it once was. The fix is simple though: win now, win the ACC, get in the CFP. Then the viewers will come back.

Now imagine that list with MIA-PSU, MIA-OSU, and MIA-NEB on the list. That's the appeal.

 

[Empirical Cane]

Yes, tough to hear but the Miami "brand" is no longer what it once was. The fix is simple though: win now, win the ACC, get in the CFP. Then the viewers will come back.

We have porsters who keep pointing this out, and yes, Miami has had 20 years of being removed from the Natty conversation.

That aside, is Miami a less valuable member to TV revenue than Illinois? Iowa? Northwestern? Kentucky? Vanderbilt? Rutgers? Maryland? Any of the other bottom tier SEC/B1G members? Those conferences are a few top teams amd then nobody else in terms of true revenue generators on a national scale. There is too much competition for people's limited cognitive ability to consume. From that lens, I believe the network lizard overlords would replace many of them with our Hurricanes in an instant.

People say USC was a valuable add to B1G (along with dillutive UCLA and vice versa) but Miami doesn't bring same (stand alone in market)?

The math isn't mathing.

Go Canes!

 

[TheOGCane]

Go CANES

 

[Rickd]

Yes, tough to hear but the Miami "brand" is no longer what it once was. The fix is simple though: win now, win the ACC, get in the CFP. Then the viewers will come back.

The brand is stronger than you might think. Last Summer a survey was done by 247 sports of several thousand D1 recruits ... and Miami came in in the top 10 and was higher rated than FSU. Miami needs to win big this season for that to percolate and rise up to the level of national media.

 

[TheOGCane]

This is the YEAR. if we fail, NOT SURE how we ever make it under CRISTOBAL

 

[AbsoluteUnit]

Watching all of this play out in real time, I wonder how much something like private equity might help to shape how this all plays out in the end. This is way, way out of my normal area of knowledge but its very interesting.

It's probably already been mentioned, but very similar to what is happening in the NFL right now and they're voting on allowing PE to provide financial flexibility for team owners and prospective buyers, which is a significant shift from the League's historical stance.

 

[reggie85]

The brand is stronger than you might think. Last Summer a survey was done by 247 sports of several thousand D1 recruits ... and Miami came in in the top 10 and was higher rated than FSU. Miami needs to win big this season for that to percolate and rise up to the level of national media.

The only reason we are in the top 10 is because Mario is a monster recruiter and has restored our name on the recruiting trail. Everyone loves to cite this survey, but I’m not sure it translates to the average viewer of CFB which is what really matters. Mario has to match his recruiting prowess with winning the ACC this year and at least looking competitive in the CFP or we are going to be on the outside looking in.

 

[Hoyacane1620]

 

[Empirical Cane]

It's probably already been mentioned, but very similar to what is happening in the NFL right now and they're voting on allowing PE to provide financial flexibility for team owners and prospective buyers, which is a significant shift from the League's historical stance.

Any porster with PE experience here?

How would PE extract value from a public institution's team? Merch and branding sales? I can see that on the private school side, but public school side....oooohhhhh boy.

And then what happens when the PE deal turns sour? Fire sale the assets?

MOVE THE TEAM TO ANOTHER CITY!?

**** YEAH!!!! LET'S HERE IT FOR THE CHARLOTTE CRIMSON TIDE!!!

 

[reggie85]

Any porster with PE experience here?

How would PE extract value from a public institution's team? Merch and branding sales? I can see that on the private school side, but public school side....oooohhhhh boy.

And then what happens when the PE deal turns sour? Fire sale the assets?

MOVE THE TEAM TO ANOTHER CITY!?

**** YEAH!!!! LET'S HERE IT FOR THE CHARLOTTE CRIMSON TIDE!!!

View attachment 290355

Only way for them to make money is a resale of their stake down the road. Either sell it back to the University or another investor. Any merch etc would go to the university and not directly to the investors. I guesss they could also do a special dividend but most returns are simply from the eventual sale.

 

[Rickd]

Any porster with PE experience here?

How would PE extract value from a public institution's team? Merch and branding sales? I can see that on the private school side, but public school side....oooohhhhh boy.

And then what happens when the PE deal turns sour? Fire sale the assets?

MOVE THE TEAM TO ANOTHER CITY!?

**** YEAH!!!! LET'S HERE IT FOR THE CHARLOTTE CRIMSON TIDE!!!

View attachment 290355

Red Bird Capital (with investments in Fenway, Formula One, and pro soccer) and Weatherford Capital launched a college sports fund. Collegiate Athletic Solutions was formed to offer schools investments / loans in the ranges of $50 Million - $200 Million for a share of future revenues. They believe that there are many brands that have been under marketed with a huge upside for dramatically increased revenue with proper marketing and brand development.

Drew Weatherford is on the FSU BOT and he might have to resign once the firm commences funding activities. It is highly likely that this might be a prime source of "exit funding" from the ACC for FSU .... and maybe even other select programs that have a strong brand with upside potential. Crazy.

 

[n0rcalcane]

And so it begins..

I abhor what college football is becoming.

Revenue sharing and NIL should have been implemented years ago, but now it’s coming in the face of mass conglomeration for TV revenue. Pathetic. Bring back the Big 8 and SWC.

 

[rascon]

I see a lot of comments suggesting that if we go to playoffs this year, we will definitely be in P2 - from my limited view, I think whatever moves are going to happen, are going to happen way before next football season takes place.

Seems to me that state of NC is going to do work to keep ACC intact, but still eventually settle with FSU and Clemson so they can leave.
But does that temporary unlocking of the door for those 2 schools apply to all members who haven’t filed before that point? I don’t see ACC imploding anymore. And I think they will make leaving even harder than it is right now once they regroup. And I don’t think we will have enough couch change to come up with exit fees.

Fwiw, I think staying in the ACC is the worst option possible. Especially with it dirty past revealed and with state of NC working to give more to UNC to keep them in ACC, that is going to create a gap within conference. UNC might be good with staying in ACC while being compensated at near P2 levels..

 

[Empirical Cane]

Only way for them to make money is a resale of their stake down the road. Either sell it back to the University or another investor. Any merch etc would go to the university and not directly to the investors. I guesss they could also do a special dividend but most returns are simply from the eventual sale.

Eventual re-sale back to who exactly?

 

[Empirical Cane]

Red Bird Capital (with investments in Fenway, Formula One, and pro soccer) and Weatherford Capital launched a college sports fund. Collegiate Athletic Solutions was formed to offer schools investments / loans in the ranges of $50 Million - $200 Million for a share of future revenues. They believe that there are many brands that have been under marketed with a huge upside for dramatically increased revenue with proper marketing and brand development.

Drew Weatherford is on the FSU BOT and he might have to resign once the firm commences funding activities. It is highly likely that this might be a prime source of "exit funding" from the ACC for FSU .... and maybe even other select programs that have a strong brand with upside potential. Crazy.

This shizznizzle ain't gunna end well.

 

[coffeecane]

This shizznizzle ain't gunna end well.

This is what happens when capitalism meets socialism.

 

[Empirical Cane]

This is what happens when capitalism meets socialism.

 

[hurricaneman]

It's insane how out of control this is becoming and how nobody is even attempting to rein it all in.

 

[Imukat]

Red Bird Capital (with investments in Fenway, Formula One, and pro soccer) and Weatherford Capital launched a college sports fund. Collegiate Athletic Solutions was formed to offer schools investments / loans in the ranges of $50 Million - $200 Million for a share of future revenues. They believe that there are many brands that have been under marketed with a huge upside for dramatically increased revenue with proper marketing and brand development.

Drew Weatherford is on the FSU BOT and he might have to resign once the firm commences funding activities. It is highly likely that this might be a prime source of "exit funding" from the ACC for FSU .... and maybe even other select programs that have a strong brand with upside potential. Crazy.

Weatherford is full of ****. He slipped up in his Yahoo interview and I don't believe a word he says. He's not about promoting college sports to create more parity. He's trying to offer loans to schools that don't have the cash to fund their programs and then he'll take his cut. Either that or he's the worst PE manager ever. A PE's only reason for existence is to maximize profits. It's not a charity to help the less fortunate compete.

After all, they do have an incentive to see increases in a department’s revenue: They earn a percentage on any new annual growth. Over a 10- to 20-year period, that percentage decreases from, perhaps, 22% in the first few years to 2% by its end, as the firm meets its original principal investment. Weatherford describes this as taking a “revenue royalty.”

If there is no growth, the firm does not take a cut.

“They are not mandated to pay us back the money we give them,” Weatherford said.

These capital firms are built around investing wisely in revenue-generating entities. Why take a risk on the unstable situation in college sports if you aren’t guaranteed a profit?

“I deeply personally believe in college athletics,” Weatherford said. “As an ex-athlete, I owe a lot to it and so does my family. We believe in college athletics. I don’t like the fact that 10 to 15 teams have a chance to win a national title every year. I’d like that to be 40-50. It’s not a level playing field. Not everyone has the resources to compete.”