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

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NJshoreCane said:
'Tons' is still a very small percentage of the sports viewer/listener population in the NY metro area.
We're here, but we're a small minority in the area.
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Yes, compared to pro sports, CFB is not first in NYC. However, due to sheer numbers, NYC metro area is still always ranked very high (almost always top five) as one of the top metro areas for CFB fans, and does very well in Nielsen and other ratings, which is the point here. As I stated, there are so many college alumni from other areas that move there to live and work, so they are watching their schools. Last I saw, NYC scored just about the same as Atlanta actually.
 
Hurracanes said:
The stadium is on the edge campus but point taken.
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I live here, okay yes you have to walk past two museums but the parking lots across the street are parking for the stadium - it’s a whole continuous public space so people saying off campus are right technically but wrong in meaning. There are dorms in every big ten school further away from their stadium then ever usc on campus residence.
 
Ispyin said:
I live here, okay yes you have to walk past two museums but the parking lots across the street are parking for the stadium - it’s a whole continuous public space so people saying off campus are right technically but wrong in meaning. There are dorms in every big ten school further away from their stadium then ever usc on campus residence.
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Sorry, I meant Miami baseball stadium.
 
Interesting hypothesis regarding justification or need to renegotiate or adjust the B10 and SEC media agreements well in advance of their current expiration dates:

Momentum is building quietly behind the scenes as conferences and networks prepare for significant change.
-House settlement approval pending shortly
-Governance rules potentially modified
-Conferences looking at adding an additional conference game (more $$?)
-P2 conferences in talks regarding cross conference scheduling agreement
-P2 conferences MIGHT establish a revised conference championship format ... based on
having 4 divisions. Result = additional games = more $$$
-If media agreements are going to be revised / adjusted ... then it is the perfect time to go to the next stage
of realignment and add teams ... for the new CFP format that will be structured for the 2026 season?

Put on your tin foil hat and discuss.
 
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Rickd said:
Interesting hypothesis regarding justification or need to renegotiate or adjust the B10 and SEC media agreements well in advance of their current expiration dates:

Momentum is building quietly behind the scenes as conferences and networks prepare for significant change.
-House settlement approval pending shortly
-Governance rules potentially modified
-Conferences looking at adding an additional conference game (more $$?)
-P2 conferences in talks regarding cross conference scheduling agreement
-P2 conferences MIGHT establish a revised conference championship format ... based on
having 4 divisions. Result = additional games = more $$$
-If media agreements are going to be revised / adjusted ... then it is the perfect time to go to the next stage
of realignment and add teams ... for the new CFP format that will be structured for the 2026 season?

Put on your tin foil hat and discuss.
Click to expand...
Another small factor that's been touched on earlier in this thread - Nielsen got approval late last year to add first-party streaming data into their rating measurements (to go along with the normal panel measures). Amazon was the only client to use the new measurement so far, and they found an 8% increase in viewership for TNF compared to the panel-only measure. If the viewership numbers are recalibrated, then in theory the networks can renegotiate more money from advertisers when those deals expire, giving them more money to spend on things like college football.
 
Rickd said:
Interesting hypothesis regarding justification or need to renegotiate or adjust the B10 and SEC media agreements well in advance of their current expiration dates:

Momentum is building quietly behind the scenes as conferences and networks prepare for significant change.
-House settlement approval pending shortly
-Governance rules potentially modified
-Conferences looking at adding an additional conference game (more $$?)
-P2 conferences in talks regarding cross conference scheduling agreement
-P2 conferences MIGHT establish a revised conference championship format ... based on
having 4 divisions. Result = additional games = more $$$
-If media agreements are going to be revised / adjusted ... then it is the perfect time to go to the next stage
of realignment and add teams ... for the new CFP format that will be structured for the 2026 season?

Put on your tin foil hat and discuss.
Click to expand...
The House settlement (as has been previously discussed) is not guaranteed approval. There is a hearing on April 7, during which the attorneys will present arguments, and then the judge is expected to issue the final ruling in the weeks following the hearing. The media keeps talking as if this is all final and ready for the judge to be signed off on, and it’s really not.

Saw this today though and laughed. Anything to get the attention off the real issues in his program, I suppose. 🤣

www.si.com

Georgia's Kirby Smart calls out tampering in college football amid House vs. NCAA settlement

Arguments in the House vs. NCAA settlement will be heard in court this week, and what’s decided there will likely transform the college football and NCAA sports
www.si.com www.si.com
 
Interesting comments on a podcast by College Football Mafia with a guest ... Scott Moore from i talk SEC.

He is an old time SEC fan ... lifelong buddy of Dabo and the Swiney family. HIS projection is that the SEC will do everything possible to keep the Big 10 out of the southeastern region as far as BIG BRANDS go ... and he sees the SEC taking:

#1 Clemson.
#2 UNC
#3 Miami
#4 FSU

People on Warchant that saw the podcast are saying he is insane ...but Warchant has never been known for "impartial evaluation" of their program. Scott said 4 years ago FSU would have been a lock to the SEC but now ... after the law suit and other "behavioral matters" the SEC taking FSU would be more defensive in nature and would be later rather than sooner. Only ESPN knows the real plans so this is just another "opinion", but it was interesting to see a long time, old school SEC guy, saying he saw Miami as a natural fit ... from a geographic and big game programming viewpoint.
 
Rickd said:
Interesting comments on a podcast by College Football Mafia with a guest ... Scott Moore from i talk SEC.

He is an old time SEC fan ... lifelong buddy of Dabo and the Swiney family. HIS projection is that the SEC will do everything possible to keep the Big 10 out of the southeastern region as far as BIG BRANDS go ... and he sees the SEC taking:

#1 Clemson.
#2 UNC
#3 Miami
#4 FSU
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Pray Episode 15 GIF by The Simpsons


The only thing equal or better than the Canes joining the SEC would be us winning another National Championship in football
 
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@Rickd

Related to the info above:

Here's Pete Thamel from ESPN and GameDay back in December 2023. Thamel and Ross Dellenger from Yahoo are (imo) by far the best-connected CFB insiders when it comes to realignment — and specifically the SEC:

"I would think the SEC would be happy to sit at 16 for a while because they really like their footprint," Thamel said. "There's enough intimacy. They have a region right now. The only thing that disrupts that is if they have to play defense because they don't want the Big Ten to come into their region.

"Is that Florida State? Is that North Carolina, which is coveted. Virginia, which is coveted. I think the ranking — and people at Florida State and Clemson don't like to hear this — but it's North Carolina, Virginia, Clemson and Florida State. Or maybe Florida State (No. 3) instead of Clemson because they bring more eyeballs and TV sets. Those schools are in the crosshairs."

So Thamel's pecking order (doubt it's changed 16 months later):

#1 UNC
#2 UVA
#3 FSU
#4 Clemson
 
Cal football tweet.png


The relevance of this goes well beyond Cal.

It's essentially the big money sports boosters telling the Berkeley administration "put Ron Rivera in charge and get out of the way or we'll starve the entire athletic department"

Like the situation at Columbia, there's zero chance the university president doesn't give in and/or lose his job when the money runs dry.

Bizness is bizness after all

There have been quite a few folks who think North Carolina and Virginia would be too high and mighty to join the SEC — and that may well be true with the administration and faculty.

Unfortunately for those eggheads, It'll be the big money athletic donors who'll call the realignment shots.

A large majority of those guys will — for a variety of reasons — be far more inclined to prefer a conference that's both regional and Southern over a league centered in the Midwest and stretching to the Pacific Ocean.

Mark my words: Unlike bungling Roy Kramer in 1990, Sankey will get every school he wants for the SEC
 
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Tony4Canes said:
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This is why the media drives me crazy sometimes. The judge’s ruling was NEVER expected on Monday, but of course Dennis Dodd has to drop his click-bait, like there’s an update. (No disrespect to you, @Tony4Canes )

As I said above, the ruling should come out within the next few weeks. The hearing is on Monday, each side will present their arguments, and then the judge will take some time to consider the arguments, arrive at the decision, and draft the decision before it is issued. She has been quite involved with the case since 2009, however, so she is well-prepared.

Sportico had an interesting article about Judge Wilken and the history of the case-well, cases.

www.sportico.com

The NCAA’s Judicial Game-Changer Readies Her Final Shot

U.S. District Court Judge Claudia Wilken has become the unexpected catalyst for change in college sports over the past 16 years. How will it settle?
www.sportico.com www.sportico.com
 
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Update on today’s House hearing (is there a different thread for this? I couldn’t find one, so apologies if this is in the wrong place…)

Judge’s last sticking point before approving the House settlement seems to be concern for future athletes and ensuring that they will receive due process under the settlement. She wants them to retain the ability to object, and how they will be able to do so under the law is still being worked out. They will meet again in one week to review the attorneys’ amendments, but Judge is happy otherwise and expectation is that she will approve in ~three weeks and everything will move forward on July 1.

 
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