Key tweets, and it's all gone to Hell.

[Fishy]

The goal of Cal State schools is to provide accessible, high-quality, affordable public higher education that prepares a diverse student body for the workforce and fosters social mobility. Most of the Cal States (other than SDSU) have a lot of commuters, part-timers and people that can't otherwise afford the more traditional college experience. 89% of Sacramento State students commute to school (but the school is considering implementing an on-campus requirement).

Imagine you're a kid in the Sacramento area attending Sacramento State and you get hit with a few thousand dollars in fees to pay for your crappy football team to play in a crappy FBS league. I'd be livid. If I wanted that experience (and cost) I'd go to community college for a couple years and transfer to a Cal school. This is a total fiduciary breach.

This is a school with literally no revenue. The guy said he had $50M in NIL ready to go....his total athletic donations are under $900,000 a year. His ticket sales are under $500,000 a year.

He loves announcing splashy partnerships like a $7.5M deal with a local tribe, but the fine print gets dicey....is $7.5M trading hands? Ehhh....it's valued at $7.5M, whatever that means.

The whole thing is an athletic Fyre Festivals.

 

[John]

But implicit in that explanation is the fact that being a member of the lawsuit didn't prevent them from joining the ACC, right?

let's agree to disagree so we can stop annoying the other users of the board.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

I explained why one of them is a ACC member, so now we're down to Pitt.

Did Clemson and Florida State sue the ACC? Are they still in the ACC?

 

[CL82]

let's agree to disagree so we can stop annoying the other users of the board.

Sure. There's not much point in it anyway. In the end facts are facts in trying to wordsmith around them is a pointless exercise.

 

[ZooCougar]

Really there's nothing to explain is there. If being being a plaintiff in that lawsuit disqualified people from being in the ACC then Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech, definitionally, would not be members of the ACC. Thus, being a member of that lawsuit was not disqualifying. That isn't a particularly hard concept in no amount of bluff or bluster from you will ch

let me help you @CL82

"Led by Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, the football schools that would be left behind under this initial plan — UConn, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia — filed two lawsuits, one against the ACC, and the other against Miami and BC, accusing them of improper disclosure of confidential information and of conspiring to weaken the Big East. Syracuse was not named as a defendant in part because they made no public comments about the ongoing situation."

2005 NCAA conference realignment - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Thanks for posting this. Hilarious.

 

[ZooCougar]

Did Clemson and Florida State sue the ACC? Are they still in the ACC?

The master of false equivalence and bad faith arguments.

 

[ZooCougar]

Sure. There's not much point in it anyway. In the end facts are facts in trying to wordsmith around them is a pointless exercise.

whatever it takes to make you feel better.

 

[ZooCougar]

This is a school with literally no revenue. The guy said he had $50M in NIL ready to go....his total athletic donations are under $900,000 a year. His ticket sales are under $500,000 a year.

He loves announcing splashy partnerships like a $7.5M deal with a local tribe, but the fine print gets dicey....is $7.5M trading hands? Ehhh....it's valued at $7.5M, whatever that means.

The whole thing is an athletic Fyre Festivals.

Did you see that Sac State estimates that MAC Football will have a $975M economic impact? Honestly I think this will end up as some sort of real estate scam.

 

[CL82]

Thanks for posting this. Hilarious.

You're welcome. Unsurprisingly, after all this discussion and an impressive amount of bluff and bluster, on your part, you are still unable to explain how if being a plaintiff in the big east lawsuit against the ACC disqualifies people from being a member of the ACC, two of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit are actually currently members of the ACC.

 

[Kolumbo]

"It's pocket change"

It's not. They're broke. That $50M was a complete fiction.

What does broke mean. The Cal State system is the largest in the country. I mean I suppose UConn is broke too since it runs a deficit

The goal of Cal State schools is to provide accessible, high-quality, affordable public higher education that prepares a diverse student body for the workforce and fosters social mobility. Most of the Cal States (other than SDSU) have a lot of commuters, part-timers and people that can't otherwise afford the more traditional college experience. 89% of Sacramento State students commute to school (but the school is considering implementing an on-campus requirement).

Imagine you're a kid in the Sacramento area attending Sacramento State and you get hit with a few thousand dollars in fees to pay for your crappy football team to play in a crappy FBS league. I'd be livid. If I wanted that experience (and cost) I'd go to community college for a couple years and transfer to a Cal school. This is a total fiduciary breach.

Editing to add that the MAC deserves some credit here. Sac State won't make the league worse, and they just got more money than 2.5 years of their tv contract.

Sac State is very affordable. you know they aren't going to whack students with a huge increase, nevermind a few thousand dollars

I'm sure the finances are very bad initially but regarding the Cal State system, most people probably think of SDSU and Fresno because of their athletics. This brings more attention to Sacramento. Luke Wood seems optimistic

 

[JwittersPAC]

Based on recent reports,
several state universities and systems are currently grappling with budget deficits or required spending cuts in excess of $109 million due to factors such as declining enrollment, inflation, and reduced state funding.
Here are the state universities and systems with budget deficits or planned cuts exceeding $109 million:

• California State University (System): As of late 2024, the CSU system has faced a potential budget deficit approaching $500 million, leading to significant cost-cutting measures, including tuition increases.
• Pennsylvania State University: Penn State reported a general funds budget deficit of $140 million in early 2024, forcing the university to seek major budget reductions.
• University of Arizona: The university engaged in a plan to fix a deficit that grew to over $110 million in the 2023-2024 period, which included using reserves, staff layoffs, and cuts to athletic departments.
• Michigan State University: In May 2025, MSU announced plans for over $150 million in budget cuts over the next two years, driven by rising costs and financial challenges.
• University of Minnesota: The university faced a $115 million shortfall in 2023, caused by factors including reduced federal funding and inflation.
• Connecticut State Colleges & Universities (System): The system faced a projected deficit of $109 million for the 2023-2024 fiscal year, which threatened to increase to over $225 million in the following year.
• Stony Brook University (SUNY): In 2020, reports indicated the university was facing a $109 million deficit, forcing them to draw down on reserves.

• What does broke mean. The Cal State system is the largest in the country. I mean I suppose UConn is broke too since it runs a deficit
  
  
  Sac State is very affordable. you know they aren't going to whack students with a huge increase, nevermind a few thousand dollars

 

[ZooCougar]

You're welcome. Unsurprisingly, after all this discussion and an impressive amount of bluff and bluster, on your part, you are still unable to explain how if being a plaintiff in the big east lawsuit against the ACC disqualifies people from being a member of the ACC, two of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit are actually currently members of the ACC.

I’ll let you and your brother Nelson workshop this. thx

 

[Fishy]

What does broke mean. The Cal State system is the largest in the country. I mean I suppose UConn is broke too since it runs a deficit


Sac State is very affordable. you know they aren't going to whack students with a huge increase, nevermind a few thousand dollars

I'm sure the finances are very bad initially but regarding the Cal State system, most people probably think of SDSU and Fresno because of their athletics. This brings more attention to Sacramento. Luke Wood seems optimistic

Question for the group -

How do I put together an answer for someone who has not even the beginnings of a clue as to what he's talking about without insulting him?

I stared at his response for about three minutes and I simply could not find a way.

 

[Fishy]

Did you see that Sac State estimates that MAC Football will have a $975M economic impact? Honestly I think this will end up as some sort of real estate scam.

Nearly a billion dollars of impact in five years.

They need to be in the Big Ten.

 

[CL82]

I’ll let you and your brother Nelson workshop this. thx

No need. It's pretty self evident that being a petitioner in the Big East lawsuit against the ACC didn't stop Pittsburgh or Virginia Tech from becoming members. I suspect that's true even for people who who dance around the issue rather than acknowledging that they were mistaken.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Question for the group -

How do I put together an answer for someone who has not even the beginnings of a clue as to what he's talking about without insulting him?

I stared at his response for about three minutes and I simply could not find a way.

OK,

Who are you and what have you done to Fishy?

 

[Kolumbo]

Question for the group -

How do I put together an answer for someone who has not even the beginnings of a clue as to what he's talking about without insulting him?

I stared at his response for about three minutes and I simply could not find a way.

Real nice. Here's a tip. Try starting by explaining how Sac State is spending all this money if the system is broke

 

[ScottVib]

Whatever its worth...

Virginia's vote was necessary to obtain the 75% majority. Duke & UNC were hard nos. That gave Virginia the swing vote (they had voted yes initially to pursue expansion and then changed when it became public that Virginia Tech was not being pursued) and the state legislature put pressure on them to force them to vote against expansion, if Virginia Tech was not included. Virginia Will Not Vote 'Yes' For ACC (Washington Post - 6/17/2003)

Once Virginia Tech was added by the ACC, they dropped out of the lawsuit (with the Virginia AG bragging that the lawsuit slowed things enough to get Tech in "The reason Tech wanted to sue from the beginning was to remain in a strong and viable conference,'' Kilgore said. "Virginia Tech has long wanted to be part of the Atlantic Coast Conference. And that's becoming a reality now.''. Even Without Virginia Tech Lawsuit Still On (AP via ESPN.com - 6/25/2003) Virginia Tech was the tax the ACC had to pay to get Miami, making the lawsuit irrelevant.

Boston College was then dropped from the lawsuit when they didn't get in initially, only to be then sued again in October when they ended up getting the 12th spot. Both lawsuits were consolidated & eventually the ACC (and Swofford, et al) was dismissed due to lack of jurisdiction in CT, but the suits against Miami, Boston College & DeFillippo continued before being settled for about $5M; $1M of which served as BC's exit fee, another $1M to each of the 4 plaintiffs (UConn, Rutgers, WVU & Pitt) as well as home & home series in football (that's how UConn got the UVA home & home). Big East settles lawsuit (AP via ESPN.com - 5/3/2005)

---

My opinion, the lawsuit was foolish & certainly political grandstanding by Blumenthal; but BC wouldn't have been pro-UConn with or without the lawsuit in 2011. Furthermore in 2011 the lawsuit had to be a non-issue as both Pitt & UConn (or even WVU or Rutgers) were the two viable candidates (outside of Syracuse) and both had been plaintiffs. UConn's issue was Boston College's fear that elevating UConn would crush them (rather than giving them a rival to spur interest) and the ability of the ACC to find an alternative palatable to their membership & ESPN.

I also do not think that UConn's chances in 2012 would've been enhanced without the lawsuit. Miami was going to be pro-football (and therefore pro-Louisville) with or without Shalala being willing to take the call directly from Herbst... it came down to football or basketball. Football carried the day. UConn needed more from Manuel than monitoring things from the Virgin Islands to reassure the ACC how serious it was about football (which at that point hadn't become a trainwreck) & that it had a plan in place for Calhoun's successor. Manuel wasn't up to the task, while Jurich was, and he managed to push the athletic success enough to help the ACC Presidents hold their nose to take in Louisville.

I absolutely think there were hard feelings from DeFilippo & Shalala... however in the end I don't think those hard feelings materially changed the calculus, in either expansion decision, it just might have made those people feel a little better that UConn was going to miss out.