ACC options

[CL82]

Suzie and Warde

That was dangerously close to the "winning winners who win" Herbst quote.

 

[Khal Drogo]

If FSU can leave, then Clemson can leave. The SEC will be interested. They'll go to the SEC in a heartbeat. The SEC then becomes an 18 team conference and an absolute monster in football. FSU and Clemson are geographically perfect with a huge presence and following.
Florida and South Carolina pols will lobby for their inclusion.

I think the opposite. Florida and South Carolina will keep FSU and Clemson out of the SEC.

 

[HuskyHawk]

What that model -- maximizing marquee matches -- argues for (only economically of course) is less expanding with good teams and more getting rid of your bottomfeeders. You can add FSU and Clemson, but 'Bama still has to play Miss State, Ole Miss and Arkansas every year.

Ole Miss is damned good (and may have the best uniforms CFB), but aside from that I agree. These super-sized conferences are already at risk of losing some of the key matchups they want. If they add FSU, do they lose the annual Florida - Georgia game? The B1G is about to suffer some buyer's remorse I expect.

 

[businesslawyer]

Ole Miss is damned good (and may have the best uniforms CFB), but aside from that I agree. These super-sized conferences are already at risk of losing some of the key matchups they want. If they add FSU, do they lose the annual Florida - Georgia game? The B1G is about to suffer some buyer's remorse I expect.

My point was not criticizing anyone's football prowess -- just noting relative market power.

 

[hoopsfan22]

Ole Miss is damned good (and may have the best uniforms CFB), but aside from that I agree. These super-sized conferences are already at risk of losing some of the key matchups they want. If they add FSU, do they lose the annual Florida - Georgia game? The B1G is about to suffer some buyer's remorse I expect.

I think expanding to the west coast was a huge mistake, but they saw LA and its 18 million population and all those big fat juicy cable boxes ripe to be taken over by the Big Ten Network and the prime carriage rate they get. Probably shortsighted and old school thinking, but the B1G is a conference representing the rusting away stagnant parts of the country that saw their heyday half a century ago, so this approach fits.

 

[HuskyHawk]

My point was not criticizing anyone's football prowess -- just noting relative market power.

Just pointing out that Ole Miss has more market power than people up here probably expect. Most popular team in Memphis and parts of Arkansas. In 2021 they came in 18th most watched, ahead of Clemson, FSU, USC etc. I agreed with your point, they just weren’t an example of it.

 

[Chuck]

I think expanding to the west coast was a huge mistake, but they saw LA and its 18 million population and all those big fat juicy cable boxes ripe to be taken over by the Big Ten Network and the prime carriage rate they get. Probably shortsighted and old school thinking, but the B1G is a conference representing the rusting away stagnant parts of the country that saw their heyday half a century ago, so this approach fits.

I think it was a smart, surgical move. They took the cream and got to Pacific Time. Pacific Time is a big market, but not the best sports-watching area, especially southern California. But it makes them truly national and they added like-minded institutions. The Big Ten might be rust belt, but smart kids from all over the country still want to go to those schools.

I think the Big 12 moves were less impressive. They did get Arizona (the state), but there is total redundancy in taking the two schools. And having BYU and Utah is just terrible. Plus, if you look at their other schools, all are second (or third or fourth) fiddle in their state and some are from low population states. We'd have been better off in the Big 12 than where we are, but the Big 12 is only hot because Yormark made a fantastic media deal. Are you really impressed with that line-up of teams on the football side? And as great as the basketball is considered, you only have Kansas and Arizona that people care about.

In my opinion (with isn't worth anything), the Big 12 should corner the market of remaining, decent schools. That would, of course, include UConn. Plan on going to like 30 schools and equal the Big Ten and SEC by sheer numbers.

 

[Sea Goat]

I wonder if we’ve approached the ACC and offered to join at a discounted rate the way other schools hav

Suzie and Warde

Suzie and her "Rock Star"! JOKE

 

[NH Husky]

The ACC looks weak going after three schools with nothing going for them other than academics. Mediocre sports, terrible location.

I still think the ACC is toast. If they offered us full membership (they won’t) I would take it. Short of that, Bud East and Independent football is working. Keep winning and wait till the next round of CR

I’m sure the ACC knows everything about us already. Bringing in us with those three would be a solid academic add plus be more than on par with Big XII. I’d hardly call two top 20 directors cup schools mediocre sports. Some universities need to have the courage to hold the collegiate athletic mission statement faithfully. The mission is to provide educational opportunities to students from all walks of life.

 

[Kolumbo]

I think it was a smart, surgical move. They took the cream and got to Pacific Time. Pacific Time is a big market, but not the best sports-watching area, especially southern California. But it makes them truly national and they added like-minded institutions. The Big Ten might be rust belt, but smart kids from all over the country still want to go to those schools.

I think the Big 12 moves were less impressive. They did get Arizona (the state), but there is total redundancy in taking the two schools. And having BYU and Utah is just terrible. Plus, if you look at their other schools, all are second (or third or fourth) fiddle in their state and some are from low population states. We'd have been better off in the Big 12 than where we are, but the Big 12 is only hot because Yormark made a fantastic media deal. Are you really impressed with that line-up of teams on the football side? And as great as the basketball is considered, you only have Kansas and Arizona that people care about.

In my opinion (with isn't worth anything), the Big 12 should corner the market of remaining, decent schools. That would, of course, include UConn. Plan on going to like 30 schools and equal the Big Ten and SEC by sheer numbers.

And part of the reason the Big 12 was the best basketball conference was because it only had 10 teams. None were awful but WVU, K-State, Okie State, Oklahoma were not great.

Of the 8 programs it is adding, Arizona and Houston were great. It could have had the actual National Champion. Yormark was hot but he may have saddled the conference long term with some extra baggage.

 

[EnochRoot]

I think the opposite. Florida and South Carolina will keep FSU and Clemson out of the SEC.

100%.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

James Pitaro,CEO of ESPN, lives in Westport. Can’t you talk to him since he is your neighbor.

This may be a job for @businesslawyer

He lives next door (Fairfield) and I'm a bit rougher around the edges. I grew up in the Cove (Stamford) and still have a decent amount of cove in me.

 

[huskymedic]

 

[huskymedic]

 

[HuskyHawk]

Thames saying the same

 

[JohnFSilver]

This will the be the death of the acc network. That why adding the three schools makes zero sense.

Thamel’s tweets seems to think its a non-starter for SMU. Lol. I wonder who is pushing cal and Stanford and who said no?

 

[Blades]

 

[king conn]

SMU getting rejected despite coming for free?

I imagine that will be our next humiliation

 

[huskymedic]

 

[gsmooth]

Stanford and Cal's sports line up pretty well with the Big 12 sports offerings, better than the WCC. And, in the Big 12, Stanford and Cal would be playing 4 schools previously in the Pac 12. I just can't imagine Stanford and Cal, 2 academically oriented schools, sending their teams across the country to play ACC schools.

I think the order of preference for Cal and Stanford is:

1) Big 10
2) Big 12
3) Independent in football/WCC
4) ACC

Financially, I think the ACC can make Stanford/Cal/SMU work, but I don't think Stanford/Cal want to join the conference.

 

[Hamms30]

Hello, Stanford, Cal, Oregon State and Washington St. It's you're old pal UConn. First off, welcome to purgatory. It's always cloudy and once a decade you get zapped in the pills by lightning. We got zapped twice in five years, phew what a shock! Anyways... interested in some home and home series over the next couple years?

 

[BlueandOG]

I’m sure the ACC knows everything about us already. Bringing in us with those three would be a solid academic add plus be more than on par with Big XII. I’d hardly call two top 20 directors cup schools mediocre sports. Some universities need to have the courage to hold the collegiate athletic mission statement faithfully. The mission is to provide educational opportunities to students from all walks of life.

The only sentence that makes sense is the first and the first half of the second. The rest is as weird or outdated as calling jeans dungarees.

 

[Seamus84]

Not that it drives the bus, but you’re starting to hear more blowback about non-football sports travel. I can see “academics-first”schools like Stanford and Cal pausing for a bit to review all the implications.

 

[businesslawyer]

Not that it drives the bus, but you’re starting to hear more blowback about non-football sports travel. I can see “academics-first”schools like Stanford and Cal pausing for a bit to review all the implications.

Football teams can play in a national conference. You travel every other week, and it being (much) longer flights is an inconvenience, not life changing. Telling athletes in sports that aren’t going to lead to pro careers that they have to fly coast to coast, repeatedly, in the middle of the week is in fact life changing. Why is a volleyball player or a soccer player going to sign up for that?

 

[BlueandOG]

The ACC decision to not expand is great for us. More schools in our situation adds to the strength of our football independence. Now we have to play and beat them so we increase our leverage for future opportunities.