BTN President talks realignment....

[billybud]

The ACC contract has "look ins" every five years...and provisions for valuing the addition of members.

ESPN is consulted, by most conferences, about their thoughts on the "added value" of specific programs to the conference....As an example, the Big 12 Commissioner publicly stated that the only programs that would add additional value to the Big 12 were not available.

 

[billybud]

The rise of conference networks could lessen the necessity of having a conference addition add value in the primary media contract...if that program would add carriage fees.

 

[itgoeslike]

The challenge for UConn joining the ACC is that they don't have a conference network and it's unlikely they will have one anytime soon (at the very least until the Raycom rights expire). Any school being added to the Big 12 faces similar challenges. The only conference that's in a position to benefit from adding a new region with UConn in it would be the Big Ten.

 

[Dooley]

I would say that in order for the ACC to even think about starting their own network, they would need to add UCONN ASAP. When you're adding schools because of money/TV networks, then you have to add based on markets. UCONN has presence in NYC, Boston and our own entire state of CT. Syracuse has significant presence in NYC, but I'd say that, right now, the NYC market is going to be dominated by the B1G. The combination of Rutgers and every other huge B1G alumni base in NYC (Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan, etc) overshadow what the ACC offers (Syracuse, Notre Dame alumni, and a little bit of Duke). UCONN would help equal the NYC playing field for the ACC, no question about that. But if the ACC really wanted its own network, they wouldn't have invited Louisville over UCONN so I seriously doubt that they are close to their own network.

 

[upstater]

ND has no interest and no reason to join the ACC for football. There is nothing on the horizon to change that. The only thing, the absolute only thing that would change that is if the playoffs suddenly became conference champs only. I don't see that happening any time soon, do you?

If you don't think the ACC entered into that agreement with the future expectation that ND will join the ACC, then you we might as well stop having this discussion.

 

[noeynox]

The challenge for UConn joining the ACC is that they don't have a conference network and it's unlikely they will have one anytime soon (at the very least until the Raycom rights expire). Any school being added to the Big 12 faces similar challenges. The only conference that's in a position to benefit from adding a new region with UConn in it would be the Big Ten.

Or the SEC. Kentucky and Florida need help on the basketball side. LOL.

 

[itgoeslike]

Or the SEC. Kentucky and Florida need help on the basketball side. LOL.

True. Although, if the SEC is going to shift an ESPN-controlled property they will likely try to pry a VA or NC school first, which could propel UConn into the ACC. . .

 

[NickyNewark]

• He helped engineer the demise of the BE
• He kept Fla St and Clem in the fold
• He nudged the bg10 into taking more teams
• He has guided the ACC into being a P5

The BE demised not by Swoffys "genius" but suicide(self-destruction and possibly treachery)....FSU/Clem stayed because there wasnt anywhere to go(2 B1G schools said no to FSU) ....the B1G was taking NJU and whoever for at least 13 yrs just turned out to be MD while Swoffy slept and lost the greatest real estate swath in the nation seemingly in 1 night...and wasnt the ACC always in the P5 deserved or not? Hows that "genius"? He seemed to just take the ride!!

 

[TerryD]

If you don't think the ACC entered into that agreement with the future expectation that ND will join the ACC, then you we might as well stop having this discussion.

If you don't think that ND entered into that agreement with the future expectation (and direct statements to the ACC) that ND would not join the ACC in football, ever, then we might as well stop having this discussion.

Even John Swofford squelches that discussion. ND would not even agree to a sixth game to keep Pitt or BC on the schedule on a regular basis. ND has no desire or plans to join the ACC in football.

There is nothing the ACC can do about it, either, no more than the Big East could. Only a national champs only playoff setup would change this situation.

 

[upstater]

If you don't think that ND entered into that agreement with the future expectation (and direct statements to the ACC) that ND would not join the ACC in football, ever, then we might as well stop having this discussion.

Even John Swofford squelches that discussion.

Why is it so hard to follow the context of this discussion?

Sheesh. The statement that was made is that the ACC is waiting on ND.

It's pretty simple. ND's expectations in that regard are irrelevant. All that matters is what the ACC thinks. If the ACC is delusional, then so be it. If someone believes the ACC doesn't have these expectations, then they are delusional.

 

[TerryD]

Why is it so hard to follow the context of this discussion?

Sheesh. The statement that was made is that the ACC is waiting on ND.

It's pretty simple. ND's expectations in that regard are irrelevant. All that matters is what the ACC thinks. If the ACC is delusional, then so be it. If someone believes the ACC doesn't have these expectations, then they are delusional.

It takes two to tango. The ACC's expectations are irrelevant if ND refuses. End of story.

Besides, I can dig up John Swofford's statements that he doesn't think ND will ever join for football.

A discussion needs to be grounded in some reality. Waiting on ND to join the ACC in football is not such a discussion. It is an illusion.

 

[BlueMAB]

Where will four new schools come from to form the Pac 16? I don't see that ever happening.

Pick 4 between: Colorado St, San Diego St, Boise St., BYU and UNLV.

 

[upstater]

It takes two to tango. The ACC's expectations are irrelevant if ND refuses. End of story.

Besides, I can dig up John Swofford's statements that he doesn't think ND will ever join for football.

A discussion needs to be grounded in some reality. Waiting on ND to join the ACC in football is not such a discussion. It is an illusion.

Aye yaye yaye. No one here ever said that ND is joining the ACC for football. Why is that so difficult f0r you to understand?

 

[TerryD]

Pick 4 between: Colorado St, San Diego St, Boise St., BYU and UNLV.

I don't see any network willing to fund that proposed expansion.

 

[TerryD]

You posted this:

"ESPN's payout to the ACC would not be the reason why UConn is not going to be added there. UConn is more valuable than the vast majority of ACC teams in terms of TV dollars. UConn's bad position has everything to do with Notre Dame's half-assed status. The ACC is not adding anyone until it figures out what Notre Dame is all about."


My point is that the ACC already knows what Notre Dame is all about. ND has told the ACC loud and clear a bunch of times what it is about.

What are we disagreeing about, other than that? The ACC is not waiting on ND to do anything, in my opinion. It already knows ND's status. ND's status has nothing to do with "UConn's bad position".

There is simply no mechanism to add money to each existing school by adding anyone to the ACC and won't be unless it gets a conference network. That is why the ACC is not expanding, not because of ND.

 

[BlueMAB]

I don't see any network willing to fund that proposed expansion.

Yeah, you already said that. But your vision doesn't matter.

 

[TerryD]

Yeah, you already said that. But your vision doesn't matter.

No, it doesn't. What network does your vision see?

 

[BlueMAB]

Pac 16/ESPN.

With a move to four 16 team conferences, the number of groups that control the most desirable college athletics content is reduced. Making the content more valuable, or perhaps more specifically, more expensive.

 

[upstater]

You posted this:

"ESPN's payout to the ACC would not be the reason why UConn is not going to be added there. UConn is more valuable than the vast majority of ACC teams in terms of TV dollars. UConn's bad position has everything to do with Notre Dame's half-assed status. The ACC is not adding anyone until it figures out what Notre Dame is all about."


My point is that the ACC already knows what Notre Dame is all about. ND has told the ACC loud and clear a bunch of times what it is about.

What are we disagreeing about, other than that? The ACC is not waiting on ND to do anything, in my opinion. It already knows ND's status. ND's status has nothing to do with "UConn's bad position".

There is simply no mechanism to add money to each existing school by adding anyone to the ACC and won't be unless it gets a conference network. That is why the ACC is not expanding, not because of ND.

The ACC expects ND to eventually join.

 

[SixRings]

I read it as ND is for ND!

Why on Earth did you have to mention ND? Now, eight posts later and hijacked thread, it wont go away.

 

[TerryD]

The ACC expects ND to eventually join.

Link or proof that this is currently the case?

 

[TerryD]

Why on Earth did you have to mention ND? Now, eight posts later and hijacked thread, it wont go away.

Sorry, there were several references to ND. I apologize for hijacking the thread.

It is your board. I just happen to have two contrary opinions 1) ND will never join the ACC for football and 2) 4x16 is an internet pipe dream.

Have a nice day, guys.

 

[pj]

When the P5 get their autonomy and they make plans to expand the playoffs to 8 teams so every P5 conference champ gets an automatic bid, they will revisit Notre Dame's status. The ACC will try to use its voting power to make Notre Dame's independent status untenable, and by contract if Notre Dame joins a conference before 2025 or so they have to join the ACC. The question is, who has more pull with the B1G/SEC/Pac/B12, the ACC schools or Notre Dame? And behind what plan will the networks put their influence and money? I think it's clear the landscape is going to change over the next few years. Don't be surprised if there's a power play to end Notre Dame's independent status.

 

[itgoeslike]

Sorry, there were several references to ND. I apologize for hijacking the thread.

It is your board. I just happen to have two contrary opinions 1) ND will never join the ACC for football and 2) 4x16 is an internet pipe dream.

Have a nice day, guys.

Contrary opinion #1 is contrary to Swarbrick's quoted position: "Our goal is to maintain independence. But you never say never."

 

[bobbyinaz]

When the P5 get their autonomy and they make plans to expand the playoffs to 8 teams so every P5 conference champ gets an automatic bid, they will revisit Notre Dame's status. The ACC will try to use its voting power to make Notre Dame's independent status untenable, and by contract if Notre Dame joins a conference before 2025 or so they have to join the ACC. The question is, who has more pull with the B1G/SEC/Pac/B12, the ACC schools or Notre Dame? And behind what plan will the networks put their influence and money? I think it's clear the landscape is going to change over the next few years. Don't be surprised if there's a power play to end Notre Dame's independent status.

I don't agree with alot that Frank the Tank says but I do think that his thoughts about ND make sense.

Since ND can only join 1 conference, if they choose to go that route, I think it is in everyone's best interest to leave them alone. The B1G, Big 12 or SEC don't want them in the ACC so it makes sense to let them float along as an independent. Other than the occasional yr that they make the playoff, all they do is grab a bowl spot from another ACC school & will potentially beat an ACC school knocking them out of the playoffs.

It is very much "if we can't get them we don't want anyone else to have them either"

 

[btstimpy]

The ACC expects ND to eventually join.

The ACC doesn't have this expectation at this point. The expectation that the ACC does have is that should Notre Dame give up independence and decide to join a conference, it will be the ACC that Notre Dame joins. The ACC also is expecting Notre Dame football content to be part of the ACC Channel should it launch. There are two possibilies for that. One with ESPN and the other with NBC Sports. I posted about them on another thread a while back. From what I'm hearing Notre Dame is agreeable to this because they too want a channel.

The limbo issue is caused because the ACC does not seem to want to go beyond 16 members, and with Notre Dame not participating fully in football, adding a 16th member would cause unbalanced divisions. So the ACC and the Big 12 are asking the NCAA to remove the requirement for two divisions for a championship game. That will give both leagues some more flexibility.

 

[upstater]

The ACC doesn't have this expectation at this point.

haha. either you have it or you don't. I didn't say today. I said eventually.

 

[itgoeslike]

The legislation the ACC put forth provides a fair amount of latitude in determining who plays for the ACC championship. The ACC wants to avoid a championship game that pits their conference's top ranked team against the third or fourth best team in the conference. In a world with only four playoff spots, a 1-loss Clemson or FSU team needs a quality win in order to be in the mix. The ACC wants their top two teams, irrespective of division, to play for the title.

 

[Stray_Dog]

It takes two to tango. The ACC's expectations are irrelevant if ND refuses. End of story.

Besides, I can dig up John Swofford's statements that he doesn't think ND will ever join for football.

A discussion needs to be grounded in some reality. Waiting on ND to join the ACC in football is not such a discussion. It is an illusion.

Didn't know we were dancing...and the premise of the discussion is independent on what the expectations of ND are. For example, people speculate all the time and it is done without even consulting a book or other resource. In this case the speculation is pretty simple - we are assuming fact one, that the ACC will not expand further without more commitment from ND in football. This premise gets proven with them inviting another school without ND giving further commitment...or it goes left unproven with ND staying status quo. The expectation from the ACC is with more commitment from ND, and an additional university being invited is that they would get more money and their own network. Again that too is speculation but pretty sure, that is the topic. Yes, ND is part of the topic but it is not their point of view we are interested in! Thanks for playing. If you do not like this thread or understand its merit because you can't disassociate yourself from ND, I suggest you switch to a different thread or if YOU prefer you can go to the ND blogs. - Just a suggestion. But truly, this is probably a conversation that you shouldn't be a part of. Sort of like ND voting in the Big East with the basketball schools against what the football schools wanted. Only here, you really DON'T get a vote!

 

[btstimpy]

haha. either you have it or you don't. I didn't say today. I said eventually.

I think most in the ACC want that, but we have to move forward with the current arrangement for the foreseeable future. John Swofford just answered a reporter on this question in the past month saying that the current ND football - ACC arrangement is at face value. There is no timetable for full membership or expectation, but the ACC would welcome Notre Dame football should Notre Dame want to fully participate. I would like it because I don't like 14 team scheduling. But it can't be expected. We have to carry on like this for now. If the two division requirement is removed for the Championship Game by the NCAA, then the ACC could go to a 15 team football conference. That could actually work better for the Notre Dame 5 games per year because 15 is more evenly divisible by 5 than 14 for the rotation of Notre Dame games.