Big 12 and ACC are fumbling with their expansion apprehensiveness? They will become 2nd class BBall citizens as well if they continue.
- Thread starter Zerostatic
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I haven’t seen anyone saying the SEC will go away but it does seem like the balance of power has shifted in the B1G’s favor.
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Then there is P1! Who is the next target, the NFL, lol.
nelsonmuntz
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Either the P2 cools it, and recognizes that they are best off with a broader appeal of their product beyond just the upper midwest and southeast, or the product becomes a P1, at which point the NFL and NBA will rip it apart.
The existence of college sports has been the biggest obstacle to a widely followed minor league for either the NBA or NFL. If college sports effectively turns itself into a minor league that is trying to compete with the NFL and NBA, it will be pretty easy to crush, and will make an NFL or NBA operated minor league more appealing too fans.
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I agree that the NFL and NBA are unstoppable forces, but I don't know if it's as easy as you think for them to fully crush big time college football and basketball.
First, minor leagues are just not financially successful anywhere and certainly not in the US. Baseball can be cute and nostalgic, but the teams don't make much money and pay their players next to nothing. Nobody watches the G League and I guess the NFL tried unsuccessfully with NFL Europe. Also, while they don't have NBA/NFL support, I don't think the NBA/NFL have gone out of their ways to try to crush football and basketball minor leagues, but they have all failed or remain tiny.
NCAA football and basketball are just an odd concept that works. Alums and locals love their schools and they are paying and supporting their players significantly more than a typical minor league.
The only way the NFL/NBA could crush college football/basketball is to take all of their players and fans. Fans have just never shown a love for a lesser league, so why would they show up in the same numbers for games, buy all the gear, etc. for a minor league team? And it would be a huge financial hit to the franchises to finance minor league teams at the same support level. Compare a minor league team's facilities and other perks to what top colleges provide their athletes, and now they are making hundreds of thousands of dollars (or more). And if the NBA/NFL used their monopoly to crush state schools, I can't see local politicians, courts, congress being pleased. The NFL crushed the USFL and lost a $3 judgement. I'm not sure the same would happen if they crushed Beloved State U.
I think the P2 (or whatever number we end with) will be careful not to poke the bears too much. If there can only be one survivor (pro or college), the NFL/NBA wins, but it won't be easy.
EDIT: I do agree that the P2 can wind up significantly harming themselves if they use their power to crush other schools and conferences. Their power is partially in being the top of the heap. Fans of lower teams still watch. Transform that heap to just the P2 and they will lose a lot of eyeballs and the NFL/NBA could end them a lot easier.
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nelsonmuntz
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If you believe that fans of all the G5, mid-majors and Big East, Big 12 and ACC are easily transferable to becoming fans of a Big 10 or SEC school, than sure, the P2 can survive and thrive. That is very unlikely to happen. More likely, as teams are cut out of competing in football and basketball, the fans of those schools will simply lose interest. As the overall market shrinks, even some of the fans of the surviving programs will wander off because why would they care about a championship in a sport that was rapidly losing fans? At some point, the sport hits a doom loop from which it can not recover, as shrinking fan interest begets more shrinking fan interest.
College sports are unique because such a large portion of the population is connected to the programs. Take that away, and it is just another minor league, but without the support of the major league programs.
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I may have added my edit after you saw my post. I agree that if we really drop to a P2 (or they merge to a P1) that can change a lot of what I said. They'd lose that uniqueness with a large portion of the country, including the entire northeast that didn't attend one of those schools.
Jetskies
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I watch UConn football because I love UConn. And I love football. I would not go to the rent to watch the Hartford generals or whatever a jets/patriots minor league team in CT would be called. Even if they were better skill-wise than UConn. I think this whole movement is losing sight of things.
The P2 need to chill out and stop trying to milk CFB for every last cent, kicking out everyone else who isn't up to their (subjective) standard. i.e. UConn, OR State, WA State, etc.
After all, there is no P2 without the P4 and there is no P4 without the G5. Keep the beauty and charm of the college game. Libraries and quads, fall leaves on the ground, 55 degrees and sunny. Yes please
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Exactly.
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As discussed in the Key Tweets hell in a handbasket thread, the ACC and ESPN are close to an agreement. All I care about is, will this affect UConn?
Divide the ACC into 3 tiers.
Tier 1 FSU and Clemson, maybe UNC, Miami. They may be somewhat appeased because they'll be able to break free in a few years paying lower penalties. But they are still in a tty revenue situation for 5 years making much less than the P2.
Tier 2 Middle of the pack - I don't see how they are happy at all. They are expected to give up revenue to Tier 1 while they believe they are just as valuable. Then the best programs will leave anyway. I don't think so.
Tier 3 cuse, wake, bcu, louisville, etc. - They may be somewhat happy because they are safely in a conference and happy to make whatever they can, knowing it will eventually be downgraded. Inevitability.
It's just a collection of programs all with different agendas.
The Big 12 at 16 members may still be interested in UConn and the Northeast. The Big 12 may make a move if the ACC-espn agreement goes through knowing those acc programs are off the table.
Divide the ACC into 3 tiers.
Tier 1 FSU and Clemson, maybe UNC, Miami. They may be somewhat appeased because they'll be able to break free in a few years paying lower penalties. But they are still in a tty revenue situation for 5 years making much less than the P2.
Tier 2 Middle of the pack - I don't see how they are happy at all. They are expected to give up revenue to Tier 1 while they believe they are just as valuable. Then the best programs will leave anyway. I don't think so.
Tier 3 cuse, wake, bcu, louisville, etc. - They may be somewhat happy because they are safely in a conference and happy to make whatever they can, knowing it will eventually be downgraded. Inevitability.
It's just a collection of programs all with different agendas.
The Big 12 at 16 members may still be interested in UConn and the Northeast. The Big 12 may make a move if the ACC-espn agreement goes through knowing those acc programs are off the table.
KryHavok
Oh yes, UConn IS a BB blueblood!
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Short term, I wonder if that maybe gets us some games with the lower tiered schools in that conference if they won't be playing the upper ones more due to the ND agreement. Your last 2 statements though are all I care about cuz if schools were available, they would take spots that could've been offered to us...I don't want a repeat of last year's CR clusterflub.
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Cal in the ACC
"There were no more flights available by the time Cal finally landed in Miami that evening. In the airport, Malcom gathered her team and delivered the news: They would in fact have to take a bus to Florida State. “I was like, ‘All right, this is the moment of adapt and adjust,’” Malcom recalls telling her team in the Miami airport. “‘Here we go.’”"
"And all because of a busted toilet, Cal women’s volleyball rode through Florida for eight bleary-eyed hours, and they arrived in Tallahassee 12 hours before their 6:30 p.m. game. They lost in three sets."
frontofficesports.com
"There were no more flights available by the time Cal finally landed in Miami that evening. In the airport, Malcom gathered her team and delivered the news: They would in fact have to take a bus to Florida State. “I was like, ‘All right, this is the moment of adapt and adjust,’” Malcom recalls telling her team in the Miami airport. “‘Here we go.’”"
"And all because of a busted toilet, Cal women’s volleyball rode through Florida for eight bleary-eyed hours, and they arrived in Tallahassee 12 hours before their 6:30 p.m. game. They lost in three sets."
ACC Travel Takes Its Toll on Cal, Stanford
At Cal and Stanford, fall sports teams traveled tens of thousands of miles farther than their last seasons in the Pac-12.
frontofficesports.com
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Cal in the ACC
"There were no more flights available by the time Cal finally landed in Miami that evening. In the airport, Malcom gathered her team and delivered the news: They would in fact have to take a bus to Florida State. “I was like, ‘All right, this is the moment of adapt and adjust,’” Malcom recalls telling her team in the Miami airport. “‘Here we go.’”"
"And all because of a busted toilet, Cal women’s volleyball rode through Florida for eight bleary-eyed hours, and they arrived in Tallahassee 12 hours before their 6:30 p.m. game. They lost in three sets."
ACC Travel Takes Its Toll on Cal, Stanford
At Cal and Stanford, fall sports teams traveled tens of thousands of miles farther than their last seasons in the Pac-12.
Well......as long as all of this realignment has the best interest of the "college athlete" at heart......
Honestly, what a joke. We really need to send college volleyball teams across the country on a regular basis to promote competition, to say nothing about what it means to the kids?
I don't think this will be sustainable.Cal in the ACC
"There were no more flights available by the time Cal finally landed in Miami that evening. In the airport, Malcom gathered her team and delivered the news: They would in fact have to take a bus to Florida State. “I was like, ‘All right, this is the moment of adapt and adjust,’” Malcom recalls telling her team in the Miami airport. “‘Here we go.’”"
"And all because of a busted toilet, Cal women’s volleyball rode through Florida for eight bleary-eyed hours, and they arrived in Tallahassee 12 hours before their 6:30 p.m. game. They lost in three sets."
ACC Travel Takes Its Toll on Cal, Stanford
At Cal and Stanford, fall sports teams traveled tens of thousands of miles farther than their last seasons in the Pac-12.
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Plenty of Cal and Cal State options in the Big West and WCC for volleyball players. They may not be Standford or call, but a volleyball player can get a heck of an education at UC-Davis or Pepperdine and hardly ever leave California.
Jetskies
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totally.
why would you, as a Cal/Stanford olympic sport player who likely will see the end of all things sports-wise at graduation, risk your academics (which you are actually there for, unlike football/bball players) for the sake of this sport that is not going to take you anywhere meaningful after this? cross country trips for the volleyball or soccer teams, is going to hurt these kids fatigue/academic-wise in ways they don't deserve to be hurt. Keeping in mind that athletes at Cal and Stanford a lot of times are in pre-law/pre-med tracks and/or STEM majors, they don't have the luxury an auburn football player has, to not care.
Redding Husky
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Memphis, USF, and Tulane mentioned for the ACC on “Locked on Big 12” and other sites. No talk of us.
I saw that exact video and commented that there's no way the ACC would take those schools over UConn. B12 fans kept trying to tell me Memphis and USF brought more value and I was stunned lol
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The only way I could see USF or Tulane being added to The ACC would be as replacements for existing members not additions to the current lineup. There is no financial incentive to adding either now. Memphis feels like a non-starter for The ACC. UConn should keep its focus on the Big 12 as The ACC always seems to find a justification for not adding the most logical addition in The Huskies.
KryHavok
Oh yes, UConn IS a BB blueblood!
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The last several rounds of CR have shown that the All Cretins Crew will ALWAYS take other schools instead of UConn. Their stupidity is such that I expect a retort regarding UConn to be "we have no plans to expand into Canada at this time".
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The ACC already has a school in Canada.
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Tulane I can see. Memphis wouldn't blow my mind. USF? This isn't 2008 anymore.
On media: Brett Yormark, Big 12 basketball and a strategic play for the streaming age
Jon Wilner
PUBLISHED: April 16, 2025 at 12:12 PM PDT
But when the topic turned to the value of college basketball, Yormark went where no power conference commissioner has gone before — to a strategic space he alone has inhabited since taking charge of the Big 12 in the summer of 2022.
“I understand what football means in the landscape of collegiate athletics, and it’s at the center, for sure,” Yormark told CBS. “But basketball matters. I said it when I got here, and I’ll continue to double down.”
Basketball is top-of-mind for Yormark on a daily basis. It played an important role in his expansion push in 2023, particularly with Arizona’s rich tradition. It spurred him to consider Connecticut and Gonzaga, as well. And it will play a critical role when the Big 12 heads to market in five years to negotiate a new media rights contract.
“Basketball’s undervalued in this ecosystem,” Yormark, a former executive with the New Jersey Nets, explained to CBS. “And right now, it’s providing an incredible lift for our profile and narrative, and it will continue to do so in the future.”
Jon Wilner
PUBLISHED: April 16, 2025 at 12:12 PM PDT
But when the topic turned to the value of college basketball, Yormark went where no power conference commissioner has gone before — to a strategic space he alone has inhabited since taking charge of the Big 12 in the summer of 2022.
“I understand what football means in the landscape of collegiate athletics, and it’s at the center, for sure,” Yormark told CBS. “But basketball matters. I said it when I got here, and I’ll continue to double down.”
Basketball is top-of-mind for Yormark on a daily basis. It played an important role in his expansion push in 2023, particularly with Arizona’s rich tradition. It spurred him to consider Connecticut and Gonzaga, as well. And it will play a critical role when the Big 12 heads to market in five years to negotiate a new media rights contract.
“Basketball’s undervalued in this ecosystem,” Yormark, a former executive with the New Jersey Nets, explained to CBS. “And right now, it’s providing an incredible lift for our profile and narrative, and it will continue to do so in the future.”
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Meh. We’ve seen this play out.
2 back to back BB NC’s, women win 12th NC this year. Seems counterintuitive to say this while UConn sits on the sidelines.
Football coming off great season, looking to take another step forward.
If you don’t invite UConn now, when do you?
2 back to back BB NC’s, women win 12th NC this year. Seems counterintuitive to say this while UConn sits on the sidelines.
Football coming off great season, looking to take another step forward.
If you don’t invite UConn now, when do you?