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Message: [QUOTE="nelsonmuntz, post: 5162429, member: 833"] It is not crazy talk. I have trouble coming up with a rationale for either the ACC or Big 12 to add just one school. The ACC added 3 schools and the Big 12 added 4 schools last year, and both decisions were opportunistic and funded by ESPN. I don't think either set of additions really moved the needle for either league strategically, and were probably defensive. The ACC move in particular was not strategic at all, and was just a small revenue grab to sprinkle among disgruntled members. Both leagues would like more of a New York presence, and both leagues are also at risk of continuing to get picked off by the P2 conferences. But it does not feel like a single school will change the trajectory for either league, and if one school does not justify a move right now, they won't do it. Both leagues may look to UConn to backfill losses to the P2, but at that point, would either league be an upgrade from the Big East? One of the things the weak opening season of the CFP shows is that there is no way to replicate the NCAA Tournament in football. The NCAA Tournament is a unique event, and has become even more valuable without an alternative. This makes basketball more valuable. Given that all conference additions now have extended buy-ins and unequal revenue splits, there would be no expectation of splitting revenue equally with a Big East merger with any league. A merged league would effectively just be a negotiating play with streaming and TV to get a better deal, in addition to giving each league a better negotiating position if the P2 continues to act anti-competitively. Within the leagues, revenue would be negotiated separately. I think several higher ups, including Yormark, thought that the CFP may be a bit of a dud, which is why they are interested in basketball as an area of growth. This is why I think a merger with the Big East is not crazy. A merger between the Big 12 and ACC is also not crazy, and that would likely lock UConn out forever. So let's hope that the Big East is the league merged. [/QUOTE]

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