Oliver Luck

[pj]

HfD, it makes a lot of sense, except that it assumes:
- B1G prefers both UConn and WVU to Kansas. Kansas is a bigger prize than West Virginia for sure, almost twice the state population, better academics, national brand. If they're available, B1G would take UConn and Kansas.
- WVU prefers B1G to SEC; or SEC is not available to them. If the latter, your scenario assumes SEC prefers Baylor/TCU to WVU. Doubtful.

Here's how your scenario could be repaired against those objections. The SEC would look to spread into B12 territory using Missouri / A&M as bridgeheads. OU and OSU are overkill for the Pac12, one brings the state; politically it's not necessary for Pac to take both if the other has a good landing place in the SEC; so Pac takes OU with Texas & TT and SEC takes OSU. Then Pac has another spot to get to 16 and takes Kansas, leaving K State available if SEC wants to go there, alternatively the SEC takes 1 of TCU or Baylor. This works in favor of your scenario, Kansas to the Pac12 who will do a scheduling arrangement with B1G leaves WVU and UConn for B1G.

 

[CTMike]

We've got slashes, UConn to B1G, Kate Upton, trolling of other BYers... Welcome back HFD!

 

[HuskyHawk]

I can't believe I read the whole thing. Burned the synapses of my brain.

About the only nugget worth further exploration is the three year WVU GOR bit. Can anyone actually confirm that as part of the deal? Even assuming it is true, the only league that would look at WVU might be the SEC. But the market is so puny I don't know if they'd bite. The B1G would chew off its own arm before even having lunch with WVU.

The Pac - Big 12 thing is interesting. Austin however, is a long way from Tuscon...and a really long way from Washington and Oregon. They would need to go to divisions to help with travel.

 

[RuffRuff]

For the sake of Uconn, the ACC is definitely not the 4th best conference. What I care about is Uconn. From that standpoint, the ACC is easily the BEST conference and the place anyone should be most excited to land. It makes the most geographic and athletic sense, even if that means sacrificing a few million annually. Easily the conference where we maintain the most natural rivalries and the best hoops conference by far. While FB is absoluely driving realignment, Uconn is always going to be a hoops first school. I'd rather maintain that end of it.

Let's be honest, Uconn is never going to move the FB needle. Way too much critical mass to overcome. This isn't middle America where people drive 5 hours to get their tailgating on because they have nothing else to do but wave pom poms and get drunk. It will be a stepping stone program for coaches, so it will not have long term continuity on success. We have to be happy playing against schools of like mind where we can actually win on occasion and maybe pull an outlier season/run and dream. Give me the ACC any day of the week. It will be a hoops monster and I don't think it's going to be close. Add in Uconn and you have established the marquee hoops conference by a wide margin for decades. Sometimes you have to choose what you're good at and just be that much better at it and develop your brand that way. While FB is sub par, that conference is going to get so much recognition from January through March. that who knows what they then generate from an overall content perspective. With ESPN on their side, it becomes even that much more powerful.

Think about the hoops pedigree in their core. 4 of the top ten today. Below the top 10, pretty sharp drop off. No other conference really has more than 2 in that list(BiG with Indiana and Mich St, two rust belt schools without a ton of pop).

UNC
Duke
Syracuse
Louisville

The one thing I've always recognized about football is that from an individual marketing perspective, you don't feel and see the players like you do in BB. Easier to market hoops that way. There is a lot more long term individual brand recognition, think about Michael Jordan. They are going to get the best players, develop the best NBA pipeline and jack up their hoops footprint/ability to market exponentially. They're in the best/most population concentrated US markets by combination of the Northeast and the fast growing southern areas. The southern states that are growing are not Mississipi, Kentucky and Alabama. No one is going there. It's the Carolina's, Virginia and Florida. The SEC makes waves in a ton They're in THE football hotbed state of Florida.

West Virginia/Oliver Luck? I'd say good enough to get yourself in a position to get out of the BE before it implodes, but being in a conference that now looks like the weakest overall from a unification perspective isn't a big win. A conference that is monopolized by Texas. It's a geographical/travel nightmare with no rivals whatesoever. One where I think they become a 2nd tier team in. A conference that generally feels like Texas/Oklahoma in football and everything else and one where the members don't really like each other all that much. They got a lucky contract via timing, but there is nothing that I envy about the Big 12 other than not being in the Big East.

 

[The Funster]

The OP started off good but then I started getting a head ache as he went on. There were rumors of a "trap door" in the GOR but I have never seen anything that definitely proved that a "trap door" actually existed. The interesting thing about the Big 12 GOR is that it directly tied to the TV contract. I presume that means that if the TV deal gets renegotiated the GOR becomes null and void until they all agree to a new GOR. This may be the "trap door" that was rumored. If Texas kicks up a fuss and demands that the deal get renegotiated then when the TV deal gets ripped up the GOR is gone too...at least until a new TV deal and GOR is agreed upon.

 

[Tucker]

I like that HFD is back. The whole idea of limiting him makes him more enjoyable. Kind of like the comic section only arrives once per week. You enjoy the zany humor and then go back to reality. Welcome back dude. I admit it this place was wearing thin without some brain storming type random thought thing. It's also funny how you seem to get under Fishy's scales and you're totally impervious to Nelson's crap. Whoever has your leash, I hope they allow you out of the dog house at least once a week.

 

[WhereistheDove?]

Not to burst your bubble, but WVU is a terrible academic school with a terrible academic reputation. There were a handful of kids that went there from my high school and less than half of them could count to ten without using their fingers.

 

[ZooCougar]

I am against carpet bombing the Middle East.

As of right now, however, I could be persuaded to support carpet bombing the American southeast.

Carpet bombing is better than the south deserves.

 

[jdb50]

The ACC can bring us on board (we've already been on the list for admission) and lock up NYC to get to 16 for all sports. This + Cuse,ND, Duke,Pitt, L-Ville, NC and getting the conf. tourney into the city on rotation grabs all buzz for hoops. If they want to get to 16 for FB + ND then they add Cinci. Travel for the student athlete's makes the most sense in this conference with us in it.Since it makes the most sense that dooms it to the scrap heap. Hello Dannel, call ESPN's #.