Conference Dis/Un/Realignment

Discussion in 'On The Field' started by RainH2burntO, Jul 5, 2022.

  1. RainH2burntO

    RainH2burntO 2,500+ Posts

    There are quite a few loosely tied threads with various realignment discussions/posts. I thought one for all related matters might be in order, as there should be a steady stream of rumor and news ahead.
     
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  2. RainH2burntO

    RainH2burntO 2,500+ Posts

  3. SabreHorn

    SabreHorn 10,000+ Posts

    Bowelsby did little if anything right, but his bringing in the dregs is really hurting the Big XII in merger talks. Had he gone West to start with the merger would likely already be done.
     
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  4. n64ra

    n64ra 1,000+ Posts

    No kidding. You can have Washington, Oregon, and so on or Central Florida and Houston...
     
  5. ProdigalHorn

    ProdigalHorn 10,000+ Posts

    I think "raiding other conferences" was a little outside the box for him. And I think there was some "inferiority complex" issues at work. In its heart, the Big 12 knows that the league is basically Texas, OU, and a bunch of other schools with middling to low drawing power. I don't think it ever occurred to anyone that the Big XII could go lure a big-time Pac-12 program(s) in, and so we opted for teams that did absolutely nothing to strengthen the league.
     
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  6. TEXAS1983

    TEXAS1983 250+ Posts

    Prodigal:

    I'd never thought of it in the way you put it, but I think you hit the nail on the head re: inferiority complex.

    Why is the Big XII going after bigger game now? Because the PAC 12 now seems weak enough to be possible.
     
  7. Chop

    Chop 10,000+ Posts

    The Big 12 + PAC + some of the better old WAC schools could end up as a Western Super Conference with Pacific, Mountain, and Plains Divisions/“Pods.” Or just the PAC plus the cream of the old WAC schools could form a fair/decent Super Conference with Pacific and Mountain divisions.
     
  8. LonghornCatholic

    LonghornCatholic Deo Gratias

    For all the conferences, minus SEC and B10, it’s all about membership count now. Viewership is out the window. They just need bodies at this point. ND Clemson Florida State is the cherry on top for either the SEC or B10.
     
  9. LonghornCatholic

    LonghornCatholic Deo Gratias

  10. RainH2burntO

    RainH2burntO 2,500+ Posts

    This ^^^^^^ would seem to suggest Bowlesby and the other conference powers that be were a bit out of touch and not doing their homework, or they would have been able to read the tea leaves more adeptly and formulate a bigger and better initial response/plan.
     
  11. Sangre Naranjada

    Sangre Naranjada 10,000+ Posts

    That clown Bowlsby wouldn't know a tea leaf if it jumped up and bit him on the ***, much less be capable of reading it.
     
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  12. SabreHorn

    SabreHorn 10,000+ Posts

    Bowelsby knew no one but Chuckie NeinASS and KornFairy, both self-serving, double ****** clowns. Bowelsby couldn't get anyone of substance on the phone, much less a meeting. You can say he was "out of touch", but he never knew who the players were that could use their influence to change the landscape.
     
  13. Gladius&Pilum

    Gladius&Pilum 100+ Posts

    When the two bell-cows of the Big12 declare their intent to bolt and there's talk of the conference dissolving, you're not going to be able to get big time programs to jump on board. Adding the four middling programs was necessary to stabilize the conference.

    The Big12 has been dysfunctional for a long time and in full view of the public. Big time programs aren't going to join a dysfunctional conference unless the upgrade in revenue is substantial. The Big12's revenue distribution was lower than ACC or PAC in 2021, so there is very little incentive for P5 schools to join.

    The B1G and the SEC are making significantly more money than the other conferences. This is why P5 schools (like UT and OU) are willing to join. If the Big12 were bringing in B1G money, Arkansas and LSU would probably be interested in joining the Big12. But, since the revenue can't compete, the Big12 is only attractive to the likes of UCF, Cincy, UofH, and BYU.
     
  14. Giovanni Jones

    Giovanni Jones 2,500+ Posts

    Rick Reilly's piece in today's Washington Post. Doesn't really say anything that we don't already know, but he's rather clever in the way he states it. Excerpts:

    Big Ten teams are now conveniently located near their banks, not each other. Take USC, which is near Hollywood, and their new conference foe Rutgers, which is somewhere near “The Sopranos.” This is going to be such an exciting new rivalry. One team has six Heisman Trophy winners, can claim 11 national championships and over the years has spent 91 weeks as the No. 1 team in the country. The other is Rutgers.

    -snip-

    Why did UCLA abandon the traditions of nearly 100 years in the Pac-12, the conference that has more national championships in more sports than any other? Because its athletic program was $103 million in debt, according to USA Today, and stands to make about $60 million more per year in TV money with the Big Ten than it was with the Pac-12. What good are traditions if the repo man just took your blocking sleds?

    Not only did the Pac-Whatever lose its two biggest schools, there’s a rumor the conference could lose four more (Colorado, Utah, Arizona and Arizona State) to the Big 12, which last summer found out it was losing its two biggest teams — Oklahoma and Texas — to the Southeastern Conference, which needs two more good teams the way the Kardashians need more selfies.

    Without the Sooners and the Longhorns, the Big 12 is left with a lot of teams such as Texas Tech and Iowa State, which don’t fluff up anybody’s pom-poms. Two-four-six-eight! Why’d we leave the tailgate?

    As for talk of a possible merger between the Big 12 and Pac-Whatever … fine. You can make a tofu and wheatgrass smoothie. There’s still no meat in it.

    And if you think those once-respectable conferences now suck like the Dyson factory, imagine how the lesser conferences look. Their membership changes hourly, as do their names. Tell you what, I’ll list a few and you try to tell me which one’s fake: The Big West. Mid-Central. AAC. Sun Country.

    Just kidding. They’re all fake. Nobody knows anymore. Nobody cares.

    -snip-

    Next earthquake up is Notre Dame, which is somehow still an independent, but not for long. It will almost certainly soon jump to the Big Ten or the SEC — the Big Ten can pay Notre Dame $65 million more per year than it was getting out of its creaky old NBC deal. Do you know how many golden domes that would buff?

    -snip-

    But don’t fret, college football fans. None of this is permanent: It’s going to get worse, until what we’re left with is two superconferences — the Big Ten and the SEC — with maybe 40 teams total. The superconferences, controlling all the watchable college football in the country, will then put the NCAA out of its misery, take over the game and hold their own national championship.



    https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/07/18/ucla-usc-college-football-lunacy/
     
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    Last edited: Jul 18, 2022
  15. Horns11

    Horns11 10,000+ Posts

    There's really no such thing as geographical rivals any longer, as the USC/UCLA exodus shows. The commissioners need to just face reality, say "this isn't working," and form a convention to see when the major network contracts end and mark that as the deadline for when they need to have all their ducks in a row.

    Four 16-team conferences for an FBS championship should have been the goal going back to when the BCS was created, or at least when it expanded in 2009. Schools with tiny enrollment and little care in the way of football need not be offended. You'll still have basketball and water polo and whatever else. This isn't about traditions any longer, and the sooner everyone realizes that, the better the product will be. I'm still a proponent of relegation/promotion, but that's doubtful to ever happen.
     
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  16. SabreHorn

    SabreHorn 10,000+ Posts

    11,

    I don't think there are 64 teams with enough following or interest to curry big-money favor with the networks. They will drive this train, which with current leadership is headed for a trainwreck.
     
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  17. TEXAS1983

    TEXAS1983 250+ Posts

    The WaPo article has it right, I think: 2 superconferences will make like the AFC and NFC and set up their own playoffs and national championship.

    The Big XII adding some mid-tier (and Colorado) former Pac 12 teams may make it a bigger conference, but it still won't have enough market share or marquee share to make it long term. I'm not sure any remaining or proposed Big XII members will even make it to the final superconferences.

    Too little, way too late.
     
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  18. Giovanni Jones

    Giovanni Jones 2,500+ Posts

    I'd like to see ND with us in the SEC. Probably not likely. But who knows.
     
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  19. SabreHorn

    SabreHorn 10,000+ Posts

    ND is the lead domino; they hit the BigTen, it will be with UNC, which will send Clemson & FSU scrambling to the SEC, collapsing the ACC. (Possibility of GT & convicts as well, but more likely oSu with the convicts). Nobody wants VT, who has been told "NO" more times by the SEC than I have by my gorgeous neighbor. VT will be gobbled up by what's left of the Big XII to pair with Cincy & WVU.

    Washington & Oregon seem to be left out because of gametimes. Of course, lots of people tune into one play of Oregon games just to see how ridiculous their costumes are. The Big XII should give serious consideration to San Diego State with Arizona and ASU (if they get their **** together). SDSU has a new stadium, SoCal, good trip for alums, recruiting exposure.
     
  20. LonghornCatholic

    LonghornCatholic Deo Gratias

    PAC and Big XII won’t dance….
     
  21. SabreHorn

    SabreHorn 10,000+ Posts

    ZOOM? Really, Zoom? You wanna do a deal, get on a plane and get your *** to the conference table and let's talk face to face.

    I would love to hear Marvin Davis' reply if he had lived to hear someone suggest a zoom meeting. He had quite a way with words when he wasn't happy about a meeting or the attendees.
     
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  22. LonghornCatholic

    LonghornCatholic Deo Gratias

    That’s what I was thinking lol. CDC met Coach Beard at a Days Inn, or something like that, in Levelland, TX and all these guys can do is a Zoom? :clap:
     
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  23. TEXAS1983

    TEXAS1983 250+ Posts

    The ZOOM calls do seem to show a lack of seriousness. And maybe just another failure of both perception of reality and of imagination.

    Not a new thing for the Big 12.

    Does every conference think Notre Dame is going to swoop in and save the day?
     
  24. SabreHorn

    SabreHorn 10,000+ Posts

    Bowelsby & Chuckie NeinASS sure did when they chased ND while ignoring Clemson & FSU. Of course, how smart are you when you allow Swofford to sit in on your meetings?

    If the BigTen can get UNC to jettison Duke, they will team ND with UNC as new members.
     
  25. Gladius&Pilum

    Gladius&Pilum 100+ Posts

    Zoom seems ok for preliminary discussions, which is what these seemed to be. I'm sure that had the talks looked to be bearing fruit the parties would have met face-to-face to hammer out a deal.
     
  26. Driver 8

    Driver 8 Amor Fati

    The fact that it was done via Zoom means nobody intended there to be any meaningful action. It’s a CYA "well we met and talked about it."
     
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  27. huisache

    huisache 2,500+ Posts

    any talk of the Sun belt and Southland conferences merging?

    Or the Lone Star conference moving up from Division II and merging with Southland?

    Or how about the state's Division III schools all joining the Lone Star?

    I could give a healthy zhit about conference realignment discussions because it is all bs until ESPN decides how it makes the most money and then tells everybody where to go. I will listen when ESPN announces their decision. Until then it is just like arguing over angels dancing on needle heads.
     
  28. LonghornCatholic

    LonghornCatholic Deo Gratias

    SMU?

     
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  29. Giovanni Jones

    Giovanni Jones 2,500+ Posts

    ‘scuse me while I retrieve my jaw from the floor. (Although by this point in the reconferencing insanity I shouldn’t be too perturbed by any outlandish or absurd development)
     
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  30. TEXAS1983

    TEXAS1983 250+ Posts

    That's underwhelming.

    SMU???

    Is the Pac12 just throwing in the towel? Or has my snark meter turned off and this is someone's idea of a "funny"?
     
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