Considering that ESPN has gone out of their way to NOT go out of their way to help the top public university in their own home state get into a top conference, it's kinda nice to see ESPN screw over other teams/conference (yeah, I'm petty like that). The ACC is ESPN's step-child while the MAC is the foster-child, but nobody better mess with ESPN's golden SEC child. It's alright though @billybud, you know FSU is gonna draw yes/ratings wherever they go.With the addition of Texas and Oklahoma, Sankey pushed for more prime slots and ESPN will want to maximize SEC viewing.The ACC is cooked as a first rate conference....relegated to lesser channels and ACCN and ACCNX televised games.
On top of the SEC dominating ESPN TV...ESPN will go about their business of manipulating the polls...playing down teams, playing up SEC teams.
To take another view. Let's say the number is 40 and they break away with their professional model. That leaves 95 other programs including most of the Big 12 and ACC and the G5. There is plenty of talent out there for the remaining NCAA model. Every year a MAC team beats a B1G team, I believe, so talent is out there. 40 would be a good number because the remaining 95 would compete to win the NCAA Championship. It may actually drive viewership up for everyone else because suddenly everyone has a shot. The remaining conferences would still be great to compete in and the fact that your Alabamas and Ohio States are out of the way may be a good thing.
UConn Huskies! NCAA National Champions!!
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The issue is that most programs know they already can’t compete for national championships. I know for a fact that many fans of MAC schools (I am a fan of the MAC in general) know they will never win a national championship. Yet, those fans still root for Michigan, MSU, OSU and the other schools. The MAC fans aren’t fans of their schools because they want to win a national championship, they are fans because the university means something to them. They are alumni or they had someone who took them to games. The majority of G5 fans that I know look at their teams this way. They aren’t disenfranchised, they are realists.
We assume there will be a P3 or P4 (depending on what happens to the ACC). They have guaranteed access to they playoff. Even the smaller conferences like the MAC have access. If they win their conference, Baylor, TCU, WVU and the rest of the Big12 all can make the playoff. My guess is there will be years that 2 Big12 teams get invited with the open spots. Sure fans of Cuse and BC might not watch college football, but are they even watching it now?
Let’s say the ACC breaks up. I believe 20-24 is the number of schools that will be in the Big10, SEC and Big12. That’s at least 60 and up to 72. We had 64 P5 team plus ND. Throw in the 4 that the Big 12 took when Texas and Oklahoma left. That’s 69 teams. Who gets left out that had access before? WSU and OSU? Probably. From the ACC? Cuse, BC, Wake Forest will probably be left out. Maybe GT, Louisville and Pitt? Stanford and Cal? Thats at most 10. Everybody else almost for certain will find a home in the P2+1. How many of these schools thought they were winning a National Championship in the past 15 years?
It’s the way it’s always been. It’s just all above board now.Yes, the playing field has always been tilted, but the model that is emerging now with the P2, NIL, the portal and 115 scholarships will concentrate money and talent with a very few programs. I think much less than the 40 likely to comprise the P2.
Most programs will not be able to develop and retain talent. What fan wants to see their programs best players regularly lured away to programs with access to the most funding? At some point the field is so uneven the competitive element no longer exists.
College athletics is in the process of being turned on its head. All I’m saying is assuming the viewership is going to stay intact is a big assumption while you are changing a product this dramatically.
I assume you are joking. There a very few die hard UConn football fans. For example if there is a major match up in the BIG or SEC people in CT will be watching that game over UConn football game. UConn can only get 20k or less to attend home games for goodness sake.That's pretty rough for SMU. Meanwhile, UConn has the state of Connecticut locked down. Interesting map.
Mildly irrelevant. If their war chest allows them to win those numbers will change. Maybe not that muchThat's pretty rough for SMU. Meanwhile, UConn has the state of Connecticut locked down. Interesting map.
Nothing
It's pretty amazing 10 of 16 Big 12 schools come from just 4 states.
SMU literally has no fans and they would be the 5th Big 12 school in Texas, so the Big 12 doesn't want/need them. Stanford/Cal wanted a more academic conference, the ACC, over the Big 12, and preferably want to join the Big 10. I think the Big 12 is going to expand into the Eastern time zone and that probably incudes current ACC schools.If The ACC and Big 12 swapped 3 schools each they would both have contiguous memberships and make sense as regional entities.
Obviously California Politics, as well as petty territorial protectionism would keep this from happening, but swap Stanford, Cal, and SMU with WVU, Cincy, and UCF and suddenly that map looks downright sensible.
JMO but with The SEC content on being a regional superpower, it leaves only The B1G with the brands, fanbases, and media exposure to pull off coast to coast membership.
If you want to expand some more it would be easy to add UConn and USF to The ACC and either or both The PAC 2 and SDSU/Tulane to The Big 12.
It's pretty amazing 10 of 16 Big 12 schools come from just 4 states.
True, but it's a pretty big region. The SEC has a smaller region.That’s a pretty regional conference with a few outcasts
The UConn-Zaga BBall only rumor doesn't go away
The UConn-Zaga BBall only rumor doesn't go away
Freescooter?UConn would have to stay independent in football. Unless there is a path to full membership, why would UConn pull the trigger on that deal?
I'm looking at that map thinking at some point they're gonna want to lock up that pivotal New Mexico market by taking UNM and NMSU. At that time rumors will float about taking UConn for bball only.It's pretty amazing 10 of 16 Big 12 schools come from just 4 states.