New BE TV Deal Expected to Top $2B

[Dann]

Is there any hope for us at all?

b10

 

[UConnDan97]

nd will never join the acc becuase the acc is completely owned by ESPN tv wise. nd will never sign itself away 100% to a network like ESPN. They can play that same division mostly in the b12, get more $$ becuase the conf has tex and ok(which is more than vt/fsu as far as top tops) to pair with tv wise and keep its tier 3. huge difference.

Not really. If they wanted that, they could have signed with the ACC prior to the current ESPN contract. Also, why would joining a conference with OU and Texas excite them if they might only play one of them per year in a cross-over game? Maybe a Conf. championship? You have to understand that in order to do that, ND throws away most of the following scheduled games (from this coming season):

Navy / Purdue / Michigan State / Michigan / Miami / Stanford / BYU / Oklahoma / Pitt / BC / Wake Forest / USC

The teams in bold are teams that ND will NEVER throw away. NEVER. I cannot be more clear about that. You might laugh about the Navy game being a must-have, but there is a history there. As the story goes, Navy essentially saved ND when they couldn't pay their bills by making it a Navy training facility. From that point on, ND said they would ALWAYS schedule them, even after winning like 30 in a row or whatever it was. The other games in bold are must-have rivalries, including BCU, the fellow Jesuit college.

So if that is their "out of conference" by joining the Big12, then you see how the rest of the schedule is STILL as good or better than what they would face in their division of the Big12, be it north or east.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

Im really hoping the ACC, gets picked apart, and that the big east presidents see this through. Unfortunately, I think any big east school will take an ACC offer.

I actually don't know. It would depend on the package. If Swofford has a rabbit up his sleeve and can convince ND to join in all sports, and calls Herbst to be #16 (FSU and Clemson wouldn't leave in this scenario), it would be a no-brainer yes. I would hope Swofford was smart enough to have clauses up his ass in that contract with ESPN for what would happen if more teams joined. If it's UConn/RU/Cincy/USF post-FSU/Clemson plus possibly GT and/or VT bolting for the Big 12, I'm not so sure. I wouldn't be so surprised if a few calls went out to UNC, UVA, Miami, etc. to see just how much they really don't like the ACC TV deal. There's one thing Swofford was always good at and that was not playing his hand first in realignment, and working in the dark. I think he really botched it with this recent TV deal by playing his very, very mediocre hand way too soon and alienating his own members. The timing is puzzling too, it's no secret they're not exactly planning on holding firm at 14 for an eternity, so why negotiate a bad deal half way through your realignment? I don't know if it will, but it could all come back and bite him.

 

[Dann]

Not really. If they wanted that, they could have signed with the ACC prior to the current ESPN contract. Also, why would joining a conference with OU and Texas excite them if they might only play one of them per year in a cross-over game? Maybe a Conf. championship? You have to understand that in order to do that, ND throws away most of the following scheduled games (from this coming season):

Navy / Purdue / Michigan State / Michigan / Miami / Stanford / BYU / Oklahoma / Pitt / BC / Wake Forest / USC

The teams in bold are teams that ND will NEVER throw away. NEVER. I cannot be more clear about that. You might laugh about the Navy game being a must-have, but there is a history there. As the story goes, Navy essentially saved ND when they couldn't pay their bills by making it a Navy training facility. From that point on, ND said they would ALWAYS schedule them, even after winning like 30 in a row or whatever it was. The other games in bold are must-have rivalries, including BCU, the fellow Jesuit college.

So if that is their "out of conference" by joining the Big12, then you see how the rest of the schedule is STILL as good or better than what they would face in their division of the Big12, be it north or east.

i'm not follwoing u. they never needed to join a conf before, now they are being pused to join by the bcs changes. the acc redid its deal, its not a 100% new deal, the acc have exclusive right to the acc still thats why they went to a arbitrator. no other tv network could touch the acc. thats why some of us want to see what the nbe will get soon from others not named espn. nd will not allow 100% of its product to be on one network. thats just another reason why the b12 or b10 work best. both have multiple networks. b12 has espn and fox. the b10 has btn and espn...among small cbs type deals. nd wants to spread its product and possible make a tier 3 network with nbc. the acc is not the answer and never will be becuase of its tv contract.

as far as schedule. nd will always want to play navy and usc. then they can rotate years with mich and msu. if its a 9 game b12 schedule then there u go. if its 8 then then can play bc. considering what bc looks like these days, i don't think they value that easy road(really home) game in boston that highly, i wouldn't base that game off my move.

if they went b10, then usc/navy/bc or others are all good to go. usc would be built into the b10-pac thingy.

its all about how bad the acc contract is from multiple points of view. the backloaded part, the years, the tier 3, no other networks etc...

 

[UConnDan97]

they never needed to join a conf before, now they are being pused to join by the bcs changes.

as far as schedule. nd will always want to play navy and usc. then they can rotate years with mich and msu. if its a 9 game b12 schedule then there u go. if its 8 then then can play bc.

I will address your points in order:

1) They haven't been pushed into a conference. They have had a representative in the talks (Swarbrick) and I am assuming that they will still have some type of tie-in when it is all said and done, since they are the biggest draw in college football, like it or not (which is why they still sit at the table).

2) Perhaps I wasn't clear enough when I typed "NEVER" in capital letters. The games I put in bold are not "nice to have" or "we would like them" or "unless there's an emergency". The games against NAVY / BC / MICH / MICH ST. / USC are NON-NEGOTIABLE!!! NON-NEGOTIABLE!!! I hope that's clear enough for you. They would have a hard enough time breaking away from games that are long-standing with tradition like Purdue and Stanford already, but the other five will NOT CHANGE!!

I hope that was clear enough this time around...

 

[Dann]

I will address your points in order:

1) They haven't been pushed into a conference. They have had a representative in the talks (Swarbrick) and I am assuming that they will still have some type of tie-in when it is all said and done, since they are the biggest draw in college football, like it or not (which is why they still sit at the table).

2) Perhaps I wasn't clear enough when I typed "NEVER" in capital letters. The games I put in bold are not "nice to have" or "we would like them" or "unless there's an emergency". The games against NAVY / BC / MICH / MICH ST. / USC are NON-NEGOTIABLE!!! NON-NEGOTIABLE!!! I hope that's clear enough for you. They would have a hard enough time breaking away from games that are long-standing with tradition like Purdue and Stanford already, but the other five will NOT CHANGE!!

I hope that was clear enough this time around...

nd hasn't yet been pushed into a conf, but we are almost there. the playoff the bowls being sub'd out, other sports home etc...were almost to that point where they are best to join instead of living the indy dream. the tv contract is up in 2015. its all happening...

so how does nd keep those games while going to the acc? the acc is going to a 9 game schedule, didn't swofford claim that? 3 slots left so which of usc/navy/mich/msu gets left out? NONE acording to you so they will play 13 games cause they are special before a bowl game??? lets say the acc goes to 8 league games to make nd happy, so they join bc's division right becuase of that rival game? then that means they play ncst and wake also, wouldn't they rather play duke or unc? gt is in the other division, they want a trip to atl...is the acc going to let them completely change the divisions so 1 is extremely good and the other is brutal?

the only possible place for them is the b10 by your schedule requirements. so be it, its hard to tell if that helps or hurts uconns chances at a invite one day. i think it may hurt a bit but we will see soon enough.

i understand the navy and usc games, i have a hard time with the others being laws written into the college football book.

 

[UConnDan97]

nd hasn't yet been pushed into a conf, but we are almost there. the playoff the bowls being sub'd out, other sports home etc...were almost to that point where they are best to join instead of living the indy dream. the tv contract is up in 2015. its all happening...

so how does nd keep those games while going to the acc? the acc is going to a 9 game schedule, didn't swofford claim that? 3 slots left so which of usc/navy/mich/msu gets left out? NONE acording to you so they will play 13 games cause they are special before a bowl game??? lets say the acc goes to 8 league games to make nd happy, so they join bc's division right becuase of that rival game? then that means they play ncst and wake also, wouldn't they rather play duke or unc? gt is in the other division, they want a trip to atl...is the acc going to let them completely change the divisions so 1 is extremely good and the other is brutal?

the only possible place for them is the b10 by your schedule requirements. so be it, its hard to tell if that helps or hurts uconns chances at a invite one day. i think it may hurt a bit but we will see soon enough.

i understand the navy and usc games, i have a hard time with the others being laws written into the college football book.

I never said they were going to join the ACC! And you are exactly right; the only conference that allows them to continue with their traditional games is the Big10. It is what I have always claimed on multiple threads on the Boneyard; if ND joins a conference, my mortgage would be on the Big10!

And as for having a hard time understanding why the other games are written into ND's college football book.....I have a dirty little secret. Growing up, I had two favorite teams; one was in 1-AA, and the other was in 1-A. I grew up an Italian Catholic, so I will give you a guess as to whom I watched for two decades before my beloved UConn made the jump to 1-A. In order to help your guess, I was really impressed that UConn was able to get Skip Holtz as a coach.

You forced it out of me, Dan!!! I wish I was kidding, but I'm not. After UConn started to prepare for the jump to 1-A, I started to realize all of the ridiculous perks and control that ND had over college football, and it started to sicken me. Then, when I saw what they did to Tyrone Willingham, I got sicker. Then, when boosters can quickly raise millions of dollars to get rid of Charlie Weis, I said, "God I really hate them now!" Isn't it funny how life turns on you? Then I saw UConn shock them in front of Touchdown Jesus, and the circle was complete...

 

[Dann]

i'm going to go shower now

 

[UConnDan97]

i'm going to go shower now

Me too, Dan. Me too...

I forgot to add "the point" to my little anecdote. My history is my "insider information" on how a Golden Domer feels about those five games. They would never willingly give them up.

I'm going to go use Lava soap, because it has pumice...

 

[UConnDan97]

Make no mistake, though; I have no love for them anymore. My Avatar is the fifth step in a five-step program to getting clean again. Bless you, Greg Lloyd Jr.....bless you!!

 

[CL82]

Man it amazes me how few people understand that we are selling time around which a network can wrap commercials in markets in which their are a lot people. That has value. Man you nattering nabobs of negativity are just going to keep pissing in the Cheerios. Lighten up. The mere fact that they were there is good news in times that good news is tough to come by. Amazing, simply f ing amazing.

ND wants to leave, fine, I've always hated them. Louisville wants to take it's leg dribble on the road (which incidently I don't think will happen - too many better choices if the is really hitting the fan), feel free. In the end we'll be fine, maybe not positioned for 4 team playoff in the near future, but no one thought that was a possibility anyway.

Just chill. What will be will be.

 

[UConnDan97]

Man it amazes me how few people understand that we are selling time around which a network can wrap commercials in markets in which their are a lot people. That has value. Man you nattering nabobs of negativity are just going to keep pissing in the Cheerios. Lighten up. The mere fact that they were there is good news in times that good news is tough to come by. Amazing, simply f ing amazing.

ND wants to leave, fine, I've always hated them. Louisville wants to take it's leg dribble on the road (which incidently I don't think will happen - too many better choices if the **** is really hitting the fan), feel free. In the end we'll be fine, maybe not positioned for 4 team playoff in the near future, but no one thought that was a possibility anyway.

Just chill. What will be will be.

It's hard to believe that just about 6 hours ago, this thread had made me an extremely happy man! I'm still hoping for great things for the NBE. And like you said, selling live airtime to a lot of people indeed has value. And in any case, UConn will rise above.

 

[HartbeatHusky]

UConn is going to the B10 before Syracuse and Pitt?

Unfortunately, I agree with you. UConn would never get in before those schools. We simply came to the game too late.

 

[HartbeatHusky]

so, if Clemson, FSU, Louisville and ND all goto the Big12. And VaTech and NC State go to the SEC...what's left? I am going to assume that the basketball schools break off from the Big East. That leaves Big East: (Uconn, Rutgers, Cincy, USF, Temple, UCF, SMU, Houston, SDSU, Boise) and ACC: (Maryland, BC, Syracuse, Pitt, UNC, Duke, GTech, UVa, Miami and Wake). Of course the SEC and Big10 could easily poach GTech, Rutgers, UNC, Pitt, UVa, Syracuse or Uconn) but let's just say they won't for now. Will the ACC then invite UConn and Rutgers? I can't see them inviting anyone else academically. That get's them to 12 teams and a championship game, blah blah blah. the basketball would be great of course. and Uconn would fit in football-wise. Its not the best case, but its not a total disaster and still better in terms of traditional rivalries than the garbage NBE

Even if this happened I believe the best thing would be to form a new conference in order to start over with the whole media rights deal stuff. This new conference would probably loose Miami and GTech when the Big 12 went to 16 and as many as four more if the B!G decided to expand again. I think we'd end up with BC, Cuse, Rutgers, Wake, and Pitt since I think the B!G would go for UNC, Maryland, UVA, and Duke. So it would be UConn, BC, Cuse, Pitt, Rutgers and Wake. We'd still end up adding Cincy, USF, Temple, Houston, SMU, UCF, and Memphis anyway.

 

[Fishy]

Man it amazes me how few people understand that we are selling time around which a network can wrap commercials in markets in which their are a lot people. That has value. Man you nattering nabobs of negativity are just going to keep pissing in the Cheerios. Lighten up. The mere fact that they were there is good news in times that good news is tough to come by. Amazing, simply f ing amazing.

ND wants to leave, fine, I've always hated them. Louisville wants to take it's leg dribble on the road (which incidently I don't think will happen - too many better choices if the **** is really hitting the fan), feel free. In the end we'll be fine, maybe not positioned for 4 team playoff in the near future, but no one thought that was a possibility anyway.

Just chill. What will be will be.

With all respect, we are so duck*ing far from fine that it's not even worth putting "us" and "fine" in the same paragraph. There's nothing fine here and there's no good news - a conference meeting, some forced smiles and a throw-away line in a puff piece article does not constitute fine.

Unless there's some soft landing out there that has yet to materialize, we're going to be marginalized in a big, bad way - not just in terms of a four team playoff, but in access to decent bowls, prominent media coverage and despite silly fantasies to the contrary, revenue. We're not raising the UCFs and San Diego States of the world up to our perceived level, we're falling to theirs. Big Monday is not in our future.

There's a reason UConn, Louisville, Cincy and Rutgers have not stopped reaching out to other conferences. It's because they don't speak Spackler, they tend to deal in reality and they know that 'in the end' we won't be fine unless we're somewhere else. They don't want to end up pissing in a bowl of store-brand Oat-eeos because they couldn't afford Cheerios anymore.

 

[WestCoastHusky]

Man it amazes me how few people understand that we are selling time around which a network can wrap commercials in markets in which their are a lot people. That has value. Man you nattering nabobs of negativity are just going to keep pissing in the Cheerios. Lighten up. The mere fact that they were there is good news in times that good news is tough to come by. Amazing, simply f ing amazing.

ND wants to leave, fine, I've always hated them. Louisville wants to take it's leg dribble on the road (which incidently I don't think will happen - too many better choices if the **** is really hitting the fan), feel free. In the end we'll be fine, maybe not positioned for 4 team playoff in the near future, but no one thought that was a possibility anyway.

Just chill. What will be will be.

I think our choices are fairly clear. We should make our choices only after we know what the value of the new BE TV deal will be like. If it is set up like the PAC-12 and the B12, there is value since we can get more money off our tier-3 rights. If it is like the ACC deal, we should leave at first sign.

We definitely should not jump to the ACC especially if FSU and Clemson both bail. With those 2 gone, you know every other school will be looking at the exit just like the old BE. We would just be jumping from one frying pan to another.

This BE national conference for FB has potential. It can develop into a great thing once given some time. There could be some great TV match ups that can translate into major $$$$$$.

Of course, if B1G comes calling, we will be gone in an instant.

 

[CL82]

With all respect, we are so duck*ing far from fine that it's not even worth putting "us" and "fine" in the same paragraph. There's nothing fine here and there's no good news - a conference meeting, some forced smiles and a throw-away line in a puff piece article does not constitute fine.

Unless there's some soft landing out there that has yet to materialize, we're going to be marginalized in a big, bad way - not just in terms of a four team playoff, but in access to decent bowls, prominent media coverage and despite silly fantasies to the contrary, revenue. We're not raising the UCFs and San Diego States of the world up to our perceived level, we're falling to theirs. Big Monday is not in our future.

There's a reason UConn, Louisville, Cincy and Rutgers have not stopped reaching out to other conferences. It's because they don't speak Spackler, they tend to deal in reality and they know that 'in the end' we won't be fine unless we're somewhere else. They don't want to end up pissing in a bowl of store-brand Oat-eeos because they couldn't afford Cheerios anymore.

So every whisper of bad news is gospel and positive statement of value is worth ? I'm not ready to go that route just yet. Seriously Fishy quit breaking the meds in half. It just isn't getting the job done. For me, at least, I'm going to trust that Herbst and Manuel are doing what can be done. If we are stuck in a POS conference whose sole value is a ton of product spread over a lot of time zones, I can live with it. We're still in better shape than if we hadn't upgraded. If we can't find a better home, then we play ball, get better and build a history. This university has beaten odds time and time again. No doubt about this is the biggest hill we've tried to climb but we'll get it done. I'm tired of the pissing and moaning. I'm tired of shooting down every positive piece of news. What ever happens, happens and we'll deal with it. I've watched too much crappy football in Memorial stadium not realize how far we've come. We've done well for the relitively short time we've be FCS and we've only just begun. Man conference realignment has turned college football fans into a bunch of neurotic whining . Everyone needs to man up, grow a sack and root for their team. Let's just keep getting better and let the rest of the Stop sort itself out.

 

[WestCoastHusky]

So every whisper of bad news is gospel and positive statement of value is worth ****? I'm not ready to go that route just yet. Seriously Fishy quit breaking the meds in half. It just isn't getting the job done. For me, at least, I'm going to trust that Herbst and Manuel are doing what can be done. If we are stuck in POS conference whose sole value is a ton of product spread over a lot of time zones, I can live with it. We're still in better shape than if we hadn't upgraded. If we can't find a better home, then we play ball, get better and build a history. This university has beaten odds time and time again. No doubt about this is the biggest hill we've tried to climb but we'll get it done. I'm tired of the pissing and moaning. I'm tired of shooting down every positive piece of news. What ever happens, happens and we'll deal with it. I've watched too much crappy football in Memorial stadium not realize how far we've come. We've done well for the relitively short time we've be FCS and we've only just begun. Man conference realignment has turned college football fans into a bunch of neurotic whining . Everyone needs to man up, grow a sack and root for their team. Let's just keep getting better and let the rest of the bull**** sort itself out.

Good post. It is one thing to be negative, but it is ridiculous to put down every piece of possible good news to ts even when it came from reasonable sources.

One thing is clear for UCONN is that we got to grow our FB program. We need to expand the Rent to 55K and pack that stadium. Our basketball is strong, but what's creating this realignment frenzy is football. Our new conference mates already got plans. Boise is expanding their stadium to 55k, Houston is building a brand new stadium, UL just expanded their place to 55K and RU expanded theirs to 50K+. UCONN needs to expand our stadium to over 50K ASAP.

 

[RS9999X]

. I've watched too much crappy football in Memorial stadium not realize how far we've come. We've done well for the relitively short time we've be FCS and we've only just begun. Man conference realignment has turned college football fans into a bunch of neurotic whining . .

The last time teams left we benefited. Our young program was given some space to breathe. One thing I know about CT--they like a winner. A 9-game BE season? Rutgers, Temple, USF, Cincy, Navy, and Lousville every year? .

So the schedule looks something like this in 2015-20?

Maine
@Tennessee
UCF
@BC
Houston
Boise
@Rutgers
Temple
USF
@Cincy
Navy
@Louisville

 

[Adios]

False. I think Memphis, San Diego State, Temple, SMU, UCF are .

I guess you don't know all those schools except UCF won a national title, made it to a national title game or produced Hall of Famers. Yes, they all have less athletic tradition than USF. What kind of hallucinogenics to you take?

 

[Fishy]

So every whisper of bad news is gospel and positive statement of value is worth ****? I'm not ready to go that route just yet. Seriously Fishy quit breaking the meds in half. It just isn't getting the job done. For me, at least, I'm going to trust that Herbst and Manuel are doing what can be done. If we are stuck in a POS conference whose sole value is a ton of product spread over a lot of time zones, I can live with it. We're still in better shape than if we hadn't upgraded. If we can't find a better home, then we play ball, get better and build a history. This university has beaten odds time and time again. No doubt about this is the biggest hill we've tried to climb but we'll get it done. I'm tired of the pissing and moaning. I'm tired of shooting down every positive piece of news. What ever happens, happens and we'll deal with it. I've watched too much crappy football in Memorial stadium not realize how far we've come. We've done well for the relitively short time we've be FCS and we've only just begun. Man conference realignment has turned college football fans into a bunch of neurotic whining . Everyone needs to man up, grow a sack and root for their team. Let's just keep getting better and let the rest of the bull**** sort itself out.

"Let's just keep getting better"? WTF

First, this isn't a pep talk at your sorority and it has nothing to do with rooting for UConn. Why not just tell us to take lemons and make lemonade?

Second, there've been no 'statements of value" - some reporter scribbling a notebook-style article for a south Florida paper flips the $2B figure out there and people grabbed hold of it like the last piece of driftwood after a shipwreck. There's spin in Florida, not news - I assure you that UConn and Louisville were not 'all smiles' walking out of the room today. That's a room full of people who either want to be somewhere else or who are worried that those people will have the opportunity to go somewhere else.

Odds are that this conference will break apart in five to fifteen years. We'll either lose certain members which causes the hoopies and the newbies to realize what we already know - that they have no reason to be together. Or, after being marginalized, we'll all contract into smaller, regional conferences - as Nelson says, the Yankee Conference, but with a little more shine.

The best thing for UConn - which I want - is that the jigsaw pieces come together in such a way that we're not here when it all goes fatally sideways. If that dumps too much sand into your undies, click the ignore button and you won't have to worry about it.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

I guess you don't know all those schools except UCF won a national title, made it to a national title game or produced Hall of Famers. Yes, they all have less athletic tradition than USF. What kind of hallucinogenics to you take?

I never said USF has more tradition than Memphis basketball for christ sake.

I just said its proposterous to me that people would rather play these community colleges that sucks, flat out suck than our traditional Northeast rivals.

 

[The Funster]

I just want UConn to land in a spot that helps maintain relevancy. I don't care how it happens. I don't care what bodies we have to step over. I don't even care if we have to litigate ourselves into a seat at the table.

 

[CL82]

"Let's just keep getting better"? WTF

First, this isn't a pep talk at your sorority and it has nothing to do with rooting for UConn. Why not just tell us to take lemons and make lemonade?

Second, there've been no 'statements of value" - some reporter scribbling a notebook-style article for a south Florida paper flips the $2B figure out there and people grabbed hold of it like the last piece of driftwood after a shipwreck. There's spin in Florida, not news - I assure you that UConn and Louisville were not 'all smiles' walking out of the room today. That's a room full of people who either want to be somewhere else or who are worried that those people will have the opportunity to go somewhere else.

Odds are that this conference will break apart in five to fifteen years. We'll either lose certain members which causes the hoopies and the newbies to realize what we already know - that they have no reason to be together. Or, after being marginalized, we'll all contract into smaller, regional conferences - as Nelson says, the Yankee Conference, but with a little more shine.

The best thing for UConn - which I want - is that the jigsaw pieces come together in such a way that we're not here when it all goes fatally sideways. If that dumps too much sand into your undies, click the ignore button and you won't have to worry about it.

I get it. UConn has gotten more, way more than its share of bad new lately. The NCAA is looking to sanction the hoops program if a coach walks away from a urinal without flushing. Realignment has been brutal to follow and our program has been on the short end of the stick too often with the changes in conference affiliation. It's been tough but that doesn't mean that you've got crap all over every piece of good news. No one believes that that the statements coming out of day #1 of the winter meetings mean that Big East has become a power conference. But the fact that reps of two networks were there is positive. The fact there was talk as to decent numbers was positive. Why not accept that? There's enough bad news around the program. We don't need to manufacture it. There's been little enough good news. We don't need to minimize them. That's the point.

Thanks for the tip at the end of your post. Here's one for you. If you don't want anyone to comment on your opinion, don't post it on a message board. Just mumble it to yourself, kick your dog and be done with it. I wouldn't suggest sharing it with your wife as she's probably fed up with it as well.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Market, market, market. That is the defining factor of success and failure in most businesses. Being really smart and having a good product is helpful, but the biggest determinant of success in most businesses is dynamics of the market the business is addressing. That is true in spades in college athletics.

If the market was shrinking, the ACC would have been sitting pretty with their long term deal they locked in years ago. The Big East would have been more screwed than it already is, and the Big 12 would no longer exist. But the media rights market isn't shrinking, it's growing. And any conference with product to sell is looking pretty good right now.

The biggest failure of most business people is to drive the business through the read view mirror. Xerox should be the largest market cap company in the world today, but its leadership developed, then gave away, virtually every major IT innovation between 1970 and 1985, while Xerox focused on selling toner and paper.

There is a lot of "toner and paper" thinking on this board. Syracuse is an afterthought who hasn't been good since today's recruits were 5-6 years old. Dan Marino's eligibility was used up a long time ago. Schools like Boise and SDSU are the future, in the fastest growing part of the market with weak incumbents in the Pac 12 who seem more focused on cashing checks than on putting quality product on the field and court.

Would I like to be in a regional conference or division with Pitt and Syracuse? Of course, but not at the expense of signing a bad deal with ESPN (which may be negotiated down if FSU leaves) with a league where the rest of the schools are clogging up the exits.