Expansion Thread 2024

[bearcatbret]

Sonny Dykes predicts the Power 4 and Group of 5 splitting. Head Coach Predicts Historic Split in College Football (si.com) I only post this because it is the first Big 12 coach to go on record.

If the split is the case, SMU made a pretty good decision on buying their way into the ACC. I guess that you could say the same for Stanford and Cal for taking a lot less $$.

[bearcatbret]

This is an interesting read that begins to discuss how Oregon State and Washington State got hosed. Then it discusses other conferences where there were losses. UC is discussed.
What happens when realignment leaves a college football team behind (msn.com)

[Lobot]

Basketball news of note locally. NKU may be an expansion candidate for the MVC in 2025 after they lost Missouri St to CUSA.

[bearcatbret]

Must be a slow news cycle. Utah looking at the ACC.
Discussion About Utah 'Possibly' Moving to ACC Despite Big 12 Move: Report (heartlandcollegesports.com)

[swilsonsp4]

Must be a slow news cycle. Utah looking at the ACC.
Discussion About Utah 'Possibly' Moving to ACC Despite Big 12 Move: Report (heartlandcollegesports.com)

Ute leadership are AAU snobs. They want to be connected at the elbows to Cal and Stanford. While they'd be moving away from fellow-AAU members (AZ, ASU & KS), they'd pick up Duke, NC, VA, Notre Dame & Miami. They had no intention of joining the B12 until it became obvious to them that the P12 was imploding, and, at the time of George Kliavkoff's infamous all-streaming media fiasco, the ACC wasn't calling on any schools to join. It wasn't until after Utah signed with the B12 that the ACC pulled in the two Bay Area academies.

[bearcatbret]

The ACC pulled in the two bay area schools for a revenue share at a fraction of the existing schools. SMU came in with a zero share. If the Utes joining the ACC, I wonder what fraction they will receive, it can't be greater than Cal and Stanford. However, I cannot believe that Utah is going anywhere anytime soon. Unless something drastic happens, I doubt if there will be any movement within the Big 4 until 2030 or later.

[GoBearcats31]

McMurphy:

Statement from Utah athletics regarding rumors of Utah & ACC: “We are proud to be entering into membership in the Big 12 Conference in the coming months & excited to join our new colleagues and member institutions. A report over the weekend that suggested otherwise is completely fabricated & irresponsible.”

[bearcatbret]

For those of you who are "history buffs", here is a list of classic games between teams that will be in the same conference this year after the realignment dust settles.
Classic matchups and wild bowls between college football's new conference rivals (msn.com)

[Lobot]

Big overview of how the House settlement might affect smaller conferences here. It ain't pretty. ($)

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/554...se-settlement/

[swilsonsp4]

Ross Dellinger today on the inevitable D1 schism:

https://sports.yahoo.com/with-the-fu...123034315.html

The 28 non-P4 conferences are about to become afterthoughts (as if many weren't already). Fred Smith's FedEx cash infusion to the Memphis programs may be for naught.

I hope that the P4 brass have the sense not to kill March Madness. A good portion of it's success is the chance that Cinderella teams can upset some of the big boys.

[bearcatbret]

July 1 is the official start of the Power 4 conferences.
As Conference Realignment Becomes Official, the Power 5 Era Is Over (msn.com)
Some doubt if the B1G would even want FSU if they could leave the ACC.
Florida State to Big Ten? Paul Finebaum casts doubt on realignment move (si.com)

[Lobot]

FSU has signed a 10 year multimedia rights agreement with Legends. Legends owned by a Private Equity group Sixth Street. They've been negotiating a PE deal with Sixth St. for some time now in hopes that they will get enough cash to buy their way out the ACC.

https://seminoles.com/news/2024/7/10...ts-partnership

[Illuminerdski]

Does anyone foresee a college football future where the trend is "Independent Power" programs. The current trend is to get into the Big Ten or SEC because that is where the money is. But Notre Dame knows their worth and is fine being an independent and getting the money they negotiate instead of receiving portion of a conference pool. A pool of money that I would assume would get larger based on the bump of revenue adding Notre Dame would bring. I have no doubt that some programs (Ohio State, Michigan, Alabama, Texas, Oklahoma, etc.) keep their conferences relevant and well paid. With that, instead of working towards "super conference(s)", Could the "Power" teams go independent, and make more than they would sharing their respective conference pool, which would get admittedly smaller if such a thing occurred?

[Lobot]

I think you lose marketing value and bargaining power with advertisers and bowls if you go independent. There are exceptions with national followings like ND or even BYU. UC certainly couldn't pull this off. We've been the independent route years ago and it was during that time frame that the football program dropped off the furthest.

Texas was big enough, or so their ego told them, that they negotiated their own third tier multimedia rights with LHN. That didn't work out so well and the whole project absolutely hemorrhaged money because the football team severely under performed for years. That might have been the single dumbest thing ESPN's ever done. LHN went permanently dark on 7/1 by the way and coverage has been folded into the SEC Network now. I think the Texas thing is a good example of just because you think you can, doesn't mean you should.

[Lobot]

But what do I know..

https://www.heartlandcollegesports.c...state-clemson/