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

question for any lawyers out there: if any college applies currently for participation in either the sec or big10 and are rejected (either by that conference or collectively with the espn/fox puppeteers), could there be grounds for antitrust or monopoly action as these conferences are now picking winners and losers which will consequently reduce competition and revenues for many schools across the board? Additionally in light of those same conferences protecting their poor performing members (ie vanderbilt, rutgers et al) to the detriment of more successful and deserving schools, doesn't that indicate actionable activity. Divide, destruct ,destroy against your competition? Collusion/Conspiracy?
 
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Here is the way I see it.
The SEC is the strongest but the B1G did close the gap adding the LA schools. And they can immensely close the gap more if they can get ND. Adding Miami in addition to ND would really help the B1G with a strong foothold in south Florida. Now, the SEC is not going to sit and see what happens next. Think about this though. What if the SEC nabbed ND? That would be huge as it seems like ND is B1G bound eventually.
 
question for any lawyers out there: if any college applies currently for participation in either the sec or big10 and are rejected (either by that conference or collectively with the espn/fox puppeteers), could there be grounds for antitrust or monopoly action as these conferences are now picking winners and losers which will consequently reduce competition and revenues for many schools across the board? Additionally in light of those same conferences protecting their poor performing members (ie vanderbilt, rutgers et al) to the detriment of more successful and deserving schools, doesn't that indicate actionable activity. Divide, destruct ,destroy against your competition? Collusion/Conspiracy?

1. Anti trust doesn’t apply here under your scenario, as there are multiple conferences available to a university

2. It’s an extremely grey area, because the driving factor to every conference addition g a school is centered around the TV contract, so a prospective school like Miami is essentially negotiating with the tv network rather than the athletic conference. Therefore the SEC wouldn’t say no, but rather maybe not offer Miami a good enough deal to justify leaving the acc
 
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word is Disney is looking to sell ESPN

Disney squashed the rumors today.


Could be this change of plans is linked to the football realignments. If Disney knows the SEC is about to expand into new TV markets, it might have changed their financial projections for espn.
 
Just read on 247 that the buyout to leave the ACC is 500 million. Sounds like nobody from the ACC is leaving. Let’s all thank Shalala for that one
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If you don’t understand how contracts work and that they are often renegotiated for a fraction of the cost, then perhaps you should sit this one out.
Well the way contracts work is if you want to get out of it, you are going to have to pay this thing called a buyout. Idk if you have heard of it or not. Well it’s a 500 million buyout according to 247
 
FSU ahead of Miami. Actually not surprising.
I'm sure many of the schools/fans in the SEC "footprint" relate much more closely to Tallahassee than to Miami; to FSU over the U. Still a good number of Deep South folks who view Miami/South Florida as Sodom or Gomorrah (take yer pick).

They vacation in Panama City, not South Beach. I suspect bi-lingual, "exotic" Miami is like a foreign country to rural Alabamians, Tennessee nountain folks, etc. So ... not at all surprising. Plus, we have Mario and resources now!
 
Joining the $EC would be the best thing to ever shut up the attendance critics, and a terrific selling point in recruiting (at least prior to the next realignment).
Wherever we end up, Canes fans better show up. I've had my season tix for years and will continue to. Yes, our attendance would rise in the SEC, my only concern with that is would attendance be increased mostly by visiting team fans? You go to some Dolphins games and you'd think they were the road team. If the Canes have that kind of situation going, the recruiting selling point would become a detriment.
 
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I've slightly debated UNC here but Kansas and Cincy above them is beyond insane. I don't remember but does Bovada cap the amount you can bet on these type of wagers? This seems like one just designed just to go viral and/or just generate a ton of small action.
I'm guessing the reason for that is ACC GOR being seen as a roadblock that would delay a UNC addition; even they're a sure thing, maybe they're less likely to be "Next" based off the wording of the bet, compared to Cincy or Kansas.

What's actually interesting here? These odds are pretty short, considering that the bet is only good for 2022. Considering they'll make the bets "No Action" if nothing changes, I will definitely throw a bet down on Clemson/Miami. Seems like easy money IMO. SEC is either grabbing Clemson or standing pat
 
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FSU ahead of Miami. Actually not surprising.

How many CFB fans - especially of teams other than Miami - actually understand how much the UM football program has changed in the last few months? I'd wager that if you asked Joe Football Fan whether UM or Oregon offered Cristobal more money, he'd say that Cristobal took a sizeable hometown discount to coach at his alma mater.

And how many fans know about the investments the school is making in facilities that will put in on par with the best programs in the country? Id wager most fans think UMs weight room will always look like a prison yard and the locker room will look like it belongs in a YMCA. I think the odds makers came up with those numbers based on how attractive they think the UM of the last decade would be. On the other hand, I think the SEC decision makers have done their homework and know quite well that UM is likely headed back into the national spotlight, which brings some of the best ratings of any school. I don't believe these odds accurately reflect how the SEC or B1G rank the teams they are looking at.
 
This guy has been pretty spot-on with his info on the B1G's expansion, including the UCLA-USC possibility back in the spring.

View attachment 196493

Can you imagine the unrelenting HATRED both on this site and from Canes everywhere for the entire $EC if we end up in the B1G and the Noles join up with the Gators in the SEC ...

It would be epic

It would destroy recruiting. FSU and UF would be able to sell “SEC” and we would not
 
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I've slightly debated UNC here but Kansas and Cincy above them is beyond insane. I don't remember but does Bovada cap the amount you can bet on these type of wagers? This seems like one just designed just to go viral and/or just generate a ton of small action.
They do unfortunately.

I use multiple accounts (not allowed but with a VPN I can get away with it on multiple devices) but for Mario it was $325 tw like $1200. No idea what the limits are for these props, I’ll check later tonight.
 
How many CFB fans - especially of teams other than Miami - actually understand how much the UM football program has changed in the last few months? I'd wager that if you asked Joe Football Fan whether UM or Oregon offered Cristobal more money, he'd say that Cristobal took a sizeable hometown discount to coach at his alma mater.

And how many fans know about the investments the school is making in facilities that will put in on par with the best programs in the country? Id wager most fans think UMs weight room will always look like a prison yard and the locker room will look like it belongs in a YMCA. I think the odds makers came up with those numbers based on how attractive they think the UM of the last decade would be. On the other hand, I think the SEC decision makers have done their homework and know quite well that UM is likely headed back into the national spotlight, which brings some of the best ratings of any school. I don't believe these odds accurately reflect how the SEC or B1G rank the teams they are looking at.
Finebaum certainly notices. He puts UM way ahead of FSU as far as desirability.
 
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