Has the music stopped?

[bobestes]

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/blog/dennis-dodd/21415170/source-notre-dame-acc-safe-from-another-big-ten-raid-for-now

I find it ironic that the realignment mess finds a period of relative calm as soon as the Big East breaks apart.

What if this whole mess was about ESPN denying NBC a foothold in the college football game?

[Lobot]

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefoot...n-raid-for-now

I find it ironic that the realignment mess finds a period of relative calm as soon as the Big East breaks apart.

What if this whole mess was about ESPN denying NBC a foothold in the college football game?

Major monopoly lawsuit.

[Pruke]

Total joke - interest in non-UC College Football is nearly gone.

[RedRocker]

Major monopoly lawsuit.

Isn't almost every bowl game on the Evil Sports Programming Network? Only one that I can think that isn't is the Cotton Bowl.

That smells like Monopoly to me.

[mjv780]

Total joke - interest in non-UC College Football is nearly gone.

I agree - I used to be so excited for Saturdays because it was hours upon hours of games... Not so much any more. I will pay attention to UC, and occasionally watch some other games, but it's not exciting anymore. I'm turned off by the pretense that this is about the 'student-athletes' and the spirit of competition. It's not. It's about money for college presidents and conference commissioners.

[Bearcat Otto]

I agree - I used to be so excited for Saturdays because it was hours upon hours of games... Not so much any more. I will pay attention to UC, and occasionally watch some other games, but it's not exciting anymore. I'm turned off by the pretense that this is about the 'student-athletes' and the spirit of competition. It's not. It's about money for college presidents and conference commissioners.

The part about the money for conferences and colleges has not changed. That has always been there.

It is that the money has gotten so big, it overrides loyalty and rivalries.

[Fear the Binturong]

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefoot...n-raid-for-now

I find it ironic that the realignment mess finds a period of relative calm as soon as the Big East breaks apart.

What if this whole mess was about ESPN denying NBC a foothold in the college football game?

At some point the ACC is going to lose at least a couple more teams or the Big 12 is going to decide that they need to expand to 12 for the conference championship game. Whichever one of those happens first will determine when UC winds up.

[Rational Cat]

I've not ever been a big pro football fan, mostly due to Mike Brown holding the city of Cincinnati hostage, but I am coming to respect it more, and more, because they are honest enough to admit it's all about the money.

[Pruke]

I've not ever been a big pro football fan, mostly due to Mike Brown holding the city of Cincinnati hostage, but I am coming to respect it more, and more, because they are honest enough to admit it's all about the money.

Agreed - or should I say A GREED?

[Rational Cat]

I hope the music hasn't stopped yet, because UC is still standing, without a seat.

We need to be in the ACC or Big 12; staying in the new conference with all the leftovers will invariably lead to a slow, steady decline in at least football, due to decreasing revenues.

[Rational Cat]

Agreed - or should I say A GREED?

Greed, definitely.

[cpawstoney]

Mike Tranghese: Blame me

Hindsight:

Tranghese said critics who want to place the blame on former commissioner John Marinatto and/or current commissioner Mike Aresco are misguided.


"If they want to blame someone, blame me," Tranghese said. "The thing the Big East didn't have was a football leader -- a Florida, Alabama or USC -- a team that contended for the national championship every year or carried the league. It wasn't strong enough football-wise."

The Big East's football schools currently receive $3.12 million annually. The league's football deal expires after the 2013-14 season. Last year, the Big East turned down a $1.4 billion media rights offer from ESPN that would have earned each football member about $13 million annually.

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/id/8756418/former-big-east-commissioner-says-big-east-defections-were-inevitable

[RedRocker]

Hindsight:

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/st...ere-inevitable

Wasn't Pitt's chancellor the one who advised the rest of the conference prez' to turn it down also? Hmmmm......