Expansion Thread 2023

[Barklee]

If you don’t own your own facilities, you don’t get to play the game. See also USF.

In May, the USF Board of Trustees approved $340M to build an on campus stadium for football and lacrosse. Its supposed to be ready for the 2026 season.

[bearcatbret]

Winners and losers - it is a good read. Conference realignment winners, losers: Stanford, Cal face travel headaches, SMU gets long-awaited promotion - CBSSports.com

[bearcatbret]

Olympic sports could schedule local/regional matchups and then only have a conference tournament once a season. If we were talking about track and field, they could have the conference meet where all teams attend and the rest of their competition is on a more regional basis.

On a side note, I wonder if the PAC 4 wishes that they had voted for the $20M deal that ESPN offered up during the initial bargaining period. Now, I wonder if the PAC 2 wished that they would have pushed the ESPN deal. I do not know if it would have kept the conference together but once they sent ESPN packing, they were never going to get a decent deal.

[swilsonsp4]

I saw a proposed ACC scheduling arrangement for Olympic sports in that matches between Eastern schools and Cal/Stanford would take place in Dallas. That will cut down on travel costs and time usage.

[Lobot]

2. The Memphis Tigers have lost every round of realignment musical chairs. Suits me fine.

If you don’t own your own facilities, you don’t get to play the game. See also USF.

[swilsonsp4]

Two thoughts:

1. Somehow, Wazzu & the Beavers are going to find a way to keep the PAC name, not because of power conference status, but because they're sitting on a pot of money that would evaporate in the absence of a PAC existence. Essentially, it would be a renamed MWC, probably including their current commish and media deal (possibly modified).

2. The Memphis Tigers have lost every round of realignment musical chairs. Suits me fine.

[Lobot]

The AAC just released a statement saying they will not expand westward. The leaves Wazzu and the Beavers in the MW or independent.

[Lobot]

SMU making $0 for NINE years. WOW. Glad we didn't have to be that desperate

Yeah that’s insane on their part. I don’t care how much money the donors have. That’s going to get someone fired eventually.

[swilsonsp4]

Here's a piece from the Wazzu perspective (247sports.com). I don't believe it's paywalled.

Where WSU stands with Stanford and Cal off to ACC (247sports.com)

[swilsonsp4]

Jon Wilner is a bitter man. He has only two schools left to write about in his job as PAC mouthpiece. He still says that maybe the Beavers and Cougars could rebuild the PAC. I wouldn't put any hard-earned cash on that miniscule possibility.

In wake of Pac-12 collapse, Stanford and Cal appear set to join ACC | The Seattle Times

[Chewbacca2099]

SMU making $0 for NINE years. WOW. Glad we didn't have to be that desperate

[Lobot]

ESPN is reporting that SMU, Cal and Stanford are in as new members of the ACC for the 2024-2025 season.

[bearcatbret]

I think that the deal the ACC is proposing to the three schools is a no brainer. SMU will receive zero dollars for at least 7 years and CAL and Stanford will only receive 1/3 the rate. I look at this as ESPN collusion because if Stanford and Cal joined the Big 12, they would have received full share. Now, ESPN will be able to keep FSU and Clemson happy in the ACC at the expense of Cal and Stanford. This is a rotten deal for the three potential schools.

[Lobot]

The ACC will meet tomorrow to discuss and vote on SMU, Cal and Stanford per the Athletic

[bearcatbret]

Here is your look at a two-conference league with 20 teams each. UC was one of the first four out. Megaconferences Are the Future of College Football (msn.com)