The rights of each program have been sold....the conference has sold them to ESPN in a conference agreement with ESPN...the GOR outlines, in conjunction with the ESPN agreement, that the schools media rights continue to be owned by the conference for the length of the agreement.
Let's look at a theoretical breakdown of how the B12 GOR (just the GOR) would affect the B1G, if one of the B12 schools migrated to the B1G before the expiration of the B12 GOR.
We'll use a typical 12-game regular season, with the usual 6 home, 6 away games. Let's pick Kansas' 2014 football schedule, but plug in random B1G schools in place of B12 schools (because we're assuming Kansas joined the B1G and left the B12).
1.
vs. SW Missouri State: TV $ -> B1G (Not a GOR home game -- this low-level game is probably Kansas' one home Tier 3 football game per year that Kansas retains -- the so-called B12 retained "Tier 3 game". The B12 GOR does not apply to any B12 school's one home Tier 3 football game -- or 8 home basketball games. Either this game or the Central Michigan game is Kansas' Tier 3 game. I pick this one for our discussion.)
2.
@ Duke: TV $ -> ACC (Not a GOR game -- home school's league always gets the TV $.)
3.
vs. Central Michigan: TV $ -> B12 -> B1G (GOR home game: Under the GOR, Kansas gets its share of B12 $ when B12 disbursements are made; this B12 share is presumably transferred by Kansas to the B1G after Kansas is paid by B12.)
4.
vs. Ohio State (instead of vs. Texas): TV $ -> B12 -> B1G (GOR home game: Under the GOR, Kansas gets its share of B12 $ when B12 disbursements are made; this B12 share is presumably transferred by Kansas to the B1G after Kansas is paid by B12.)
5.
@ Northwestern (instead of @ West Virginia): TV $ -> B1G (Not a GOR game -- home school's league always gets the TV $.)
6.
vs. Nebraska (instead of vs. Oklahoma State): TV $ -> B12 -> B1G (GOR home game: Under the GOR, Kansas gets its share of B12 $ when B12 disbursements are made; this B12 share is presumably transferred by Kansas to the B1G after Kansas is paid by B12.)
7.
@ Minnesota (instead of @ Texas Tech): TV $ -> B1G (Not a GOR game -- home school's league always gets the TV $.)
8.
@ Wisconsin (instead of @ Baylor): TV $ -> B1G (Not a GOR game -- home school's league always gets the TV $.)
9.
vs. Iowa (instead of vs. Iowa State): TV $ -> B12 -> B1G (GOR home game: Under the GOR, Kansas gets its share of B12 $ when B12 disbursements are made; this B12 share is presumably transferred by Kansas to the B1G after Kansas is paid by B12.)
10.
vs. Purdue (instead of vs. TCU): TV $ -> B12 -> B1G (GOR home game: Under the GOR, Kansas gets its share of B12 $ when B12 disbursements are made; this B12 share is presumably transferred by Kansas to the B1G after Kansas is paid by B12.)
11.
@ Michigan State (instead of @ Oklahoma): TV $ -> B1G (Not a GOR game -- home school's league always gets the TV $.)
12.
@ Indiana (instead of @ Kansas State): TV $ -> B1G (Not a GOR game -- home school's league always gets the TV $.)
***
In the end, even though there is a B12 GOR in place, the B1G would get
all of Kansas' TV revenues if Kansas left the B12 and joined the B1G,
because there is no forfeiture clause in the B12 GOR.
Kyle S. Lamb explains the erroneous "ownership" issue upthread.
So what's so oppressive with a GOR? What's the big deal?
Well ... very little, really. The problem in the above scenario for the B1G, for example, is that once the B1G renegotiates it TV contract, the B1G will have a better TV payout than the B12 has. Thus, by siphoning the Lincoln home games through the B12 TV contract, Kansas' share of B12 TV revenues will be less than if those games siphoned through the B1G TV contract. Hence, less money to the B1G. There's your only problem with the GOR from the pov of the B1G.
Still, if a target school is considered to be "worth it" to the B1G (or to any other conference) over the long-term, the B12 GOR is not some monstrous, monolithic obstacle to league migration. The B12 GOR
can be worked around
without violating that GOR's terms and conditions. I can't speak as to the ACC GOR-Bylaws because those have not been published.
To repeat: the questions revolve not around the B12 GOR, but rather, the questions are whether Kansas, Oklahoma, and/or Texas feel like migrating to another conference, GOR notwithstanding. Well, that and whether the new league (the B1G in this example) is willing to take less money until June 2025, when the B12 GOR finally expires, in order to add schools of the caliber of Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.
So ... the problem is not the B12 GOR. The problem is the forfeiture language in the B12 Bylaws. It's the B12 Bylaws that are the obstacle to league migration, not so much the GOR. The B12 Bylaws do not appear to have been changed for any consideration (although this is not clear).
What's the relevance of all this to UConn?
Well, UConn is available to the B1G and to the ACC right now, but hasn't been tapped. Why not? My guess is UConn has not been tapped because the B1G is considering UConn only as a school to pair with some other school.
The ACC is stuck at #14 because ND won't go to #15 "all in". ND is essentially blocking further expansion of the ACC, IMO. If ND goes "all in" (possibly to stave off a B1G raid on UVA), then UConn may get the call from the ACC to pair with ND.
What other schools are likely to pair with UConn? Since the SEC does not have a GOR, would an SEC school be available to pair with UConn? Personally, I think the SEC is exceedingly doubtful. The SEC is a destination league, not a target league. Is Vanderbilt really going to leave the SEC for the B1G? Is Missouri? If so, UConn may be golden. I just wouldn't hold my breath waiting for an SEC school.
If not the SEC, that leaves the B12 and the ACC from which to pair a school with UConn. I argue throughout this thread that it is the B12 -- and specifically Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas -- and not the ACC, that is most likely to be raided next.
Which is perfect for UConn because there is only 3 desirable schools in the B12 for the B1G, meaning UConn could become part of a pair either at #16 or at #18. UConn's best hope may be for Kansas to remain restless, especially if the B1G does hit $44.5M per school by 2017. The B12 cannot keep up with that kind of money and Kansas is predisposed to leave the B12 anyway.