Welp, ACC stays together with a new agreement (LINK)

[upstater]

It was pretty obvious to me it wasn't going to break apart until they started approaching the 2036 finish.

Sources: FSU, Clemson, ACC expected to settle

FSU and Clemson will vote Tuesday on an agreement that would ultimately result in the settlement of lawsuits between the schools and the ACC, sources told ESPN.

www.espn.com

 

[cellocgg]

I'm hoping this pushes the B12 in our direction again

 

[UConnJim]

It was pretty obvious to me it wasn't going to break apart until they started approaching the 2036 finish.

Sources: FSU, Clemson, ACC expected to settle

FSU and Clemson will vote Tuesday on an agreement that would ultimately result in the settlement of lawsuits between the schools and the ACC, sources told ESPN.

www.espn.com

Schools can leave in 2029/2030 for less than $100 million including the cost of the GORs. The financial penalty is now quantified which is a major win for any school that wants to leave. And the excess that the ACC is potentially going to give to FSU/Clemson of say $15 million per year for the next 5 years covers ~75% of the exit fee! I would expect to hear conference realignment chatter starting up again with moves starting to be disclosed in 2026/2027.

 

[ZooCougar]

Now they have a number.

But only one ACC school has a landing spot and they didn’t have to sue to get it.

 

[upstater]

Schools can leave in 2029/2030 for less than $100 million including the cost of the GORs. The financial penalty is now quantified which is a major win for any school that wants to leave. And the excess that the ACC is potentially going to give to FSU/Clemson of say $15 million per year for the next 5 years covers ~75% of the exit fee! I would expect to hear conference realignment chatter starting up again with moves starting to be disclosed in 2026/2027.

Yes, but they lose their TV rights.

That means that school will not get any money from their new conference.

 

[pick6s]

Yes, but they lose their TV rights.

That means that school will not get any money from their new conference.

Do they still lose their tv rights after this settlement? It doesn’t sound like it to me.

“The current language would require any school exiting before June 2036 to pay three times the operating budget -- a figure that would be about $120 million -- plus control of that team's media rights through the conclusion of the grant of rights.”

“Sources told ESPN that there'd just be one number to exit the league, not the combination estimated by FSU of a traditional exit fee and the loss of media from the grant of rights.”

 

[pick6s]

I don’t think this is good for UConn because it means the ACC schools are available for poaching around 2030 or so. The Big 12 proposal for UConn would have gotten us in starting in 2031. Now we have to compete against the ACC schools for those slots. My best guess at what happens:

-Big Ten adds UNC and Miami. Virginia fits the Big Ten but they don’t add anything since the Big Ten already has the DC market with U Maryland.
-SEC adds Florida State, Clemson, NC State, and VA Tech. It’s possible they only take two of these four, in which case we’re really screwed.
-Big 12 adds the most appealing of the remaining ACC schools: Georgia Tech, Duke, Virginia, and one other school. It could be SMU if they keep their football success up, it could be us, or it could be somebody else.
-ACC backfills with USF, UConn, Boise State, Gonzaga, Washington St, Oregon St, UNLV, San Diego St, Memphis, and UTSA or Tulane. Tulane is also a possibility.
-Depending on whether or not the ACC is still considered a power conference at this point, Notre Dame could depart for the Big 12 as a non-football member.
-Then again, this could all be blown up by a super league, private equity, etc.

 

[upstater]

Do they still lose their tv rights after this settlement? It doesn’t sound like it to me.

“The current language would require any school exiting before June 2036 to pay three times the operating budget -- a figure that would be about $120 million -- plus control of that team's media rights through the conclusion of the grant of rights.”

“Sources told ESPN that there'd just be one number to exit the league, not the combination estimated by FSU of a traditional exit fee and the loss of media from the grant of rights.”

Badly worded then.

"3x the operating budget plus media rights."

 

[pick6s]

Badly worded then.

"3x the operating budget plus media rights."

That’s the current (old) language. I should have specified but can’t edit anymore, as far as I’m aware. The top paragraph is the old language. The second paragraph is the new language.

Old/current:
“The current language would require any school exiting before June 2036 to pay three times the operating budget -- a figure that would be about $120 million -- plus control of that team's media rights through the conclusion of the grant of rights.”

New proposal:
“Sources told ESPN that there'd just be one number to exit the league, not the combination estimated by FSU of a traditional exit fee and the loss of media from the grant of rights.”

 

[UConnJim]

Badly worded then.

"3x the operating budget plus media rights."

The all in cost to leave including GORs is now "less than $100 million" which is a major win for the schools with an opportunity to leave. The date lines up with the Big 10 and Big 12 media deals and the CFP deal in 2031.

 

[Fishy]

Basically, the ACC traded the certainty that UNC and perhaps UVa are definitely going to leave for the uncertainty of risking everyone leaving if the GOR was pierced in court.

 

[Hoophound]

I don’t think this is good for UConn because it means the ACC schools are available for poaching around 2030 or so. The Big 12 proposal for UConn would have gotten us in starting in 2031. Now we have to compete against the ACC schools for those slots. My best guess at what happens:

-Big Ten adds UNC and Miami. Virginia fits the Big Ten but they don’t add anything since the Big Ten already has the DC market with U Maryland.
-SEC adds Florida State, Clemson, NC State, and VA Tech. It’s possible they only take two of these four, in which case we’re really screwed.
-Big 12 adds the most appealing of the remaining ACC schools: Georgia Tech, Duke, Virginia, and one other school. It could be SMU if they keep their football success up, it could be us, or it could be somebody else.
-ACC backfills with USF, UConn, Boise State, Gonzaga, Washington St, Oregon St, UNLV, San Diego St, Memphis, and UTSA or Tulane. Tulane is also a possibility.
-Depending on whether or not the ACC is still considered a power conference at this point, Notre Dame could depart for the Big 12 as a non-football member.
-Then again, this could all be blown up by a super league, private equity, etc.

It doesn’t matter. We need to win football games and show value. We have the market to overcome the other issues.

 

[Fishy]

It doesn’t matter. We need to win football games and show value. We have the market to overcome the other issues.

Good luck with all that.

 

[Hoophound]

Good luck with all that.

Good luck with what? My point isn’t that we have a ticket punched, just that the ACC and B12 are weak and when movement and a new order evolve, we best be winning in all revenue sports. If and when there is a regrouping of schools with value and a removal of dead weight, we will be in that pool if we keep it up. We are waiting out reckoning day when schools that bring nothing in any revenue sport get cast aside.

The B12 remains a nothing burger on the east coast. They need us or somebody else. They just don’t cover a significant population.

 

[Fishy]

Ah, we’re waiting out the reckoning when we’ll be promoted in place of those cast down from the power conferences - that evergreen myth.

The reckoning already happened, kids.

 

[Hoophound]

Ah, we’re waiting out the reckoning when we’ll be promoted in place of those cast down from the power conferences - that evergreen myth.

The reckoning already happened, kids.

I do think we’ll find a spot at a level just below the P2. I’m sorry you don’t. In all honesty, if I take your approach, I’ll have to stop watching. I can’t handle it. If you are accepting that we’ve missed the boat and you are just here to watch the ship sink, please stop commenting. You are literally kicking the rest of us in the nuts.

 

[upstater]

I do think we’ll find a spot at a level just below the P2. I’m sorry you don’t. In all honesty, if I take your approach, I’ll have to stop watching. I can’t handle it. If you are accepting that we’ve missed the boat and you are just here to watch the ship sink, please stop commenting. You are literally kicking the rest of us in the nuts.

I'm reconciled to the enjoyment of watching UConn win 4 championships AFTER they tried to bury the school. There may be more ahead.

I'm pretty certain though that the entire thing is headed to a professional league.

Only the South and the Midwest will continue watching. I don't live in those places.

 

[Kolumbo]

I do think we’ll find a spot at a level just below the P2. I’m sorry you don’t. In all honesty, if I take your approach, I’ll have to stop watching. I can’t handle it. If you are accepting that we’ve missed the boat and you are just here to watch the ship sink, please stop commenting. You are literally kicking the rest of us in the nuts.

I'm with ya, even though hope is a dangerous thing. As everything plays out, one day there will be another opening in one of these conferences, and at that moment, for some reason, the hot topic and soup de jour will be the city of brotherly love. And that will be how Temple gets in just before UConn. It will always be some factor beyond UConn's control. Athletic success, academics, brand, market, state bird, proximity to the Flemish Cap...

I think the more the P2 destroy the sport, the less it matters. It will be the P2 and everyone else, which is where we are one way or another.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Ah, we’re waiting out the reckoning when we’ll be promoted in place of those cast down from the power conferences - that evergreen myth.

The reckoning already happened, kids.

There are a few cards left to be played. I don’t think UConn will ever be invited into the Big 12 or ACC as a one off unless something seismic happens.

The best option is to hope for a Big East merger with another league. Next best is a complete collapse of the linear cable model.

 

[Vowelguy]

The ACC will invite UConn when it has exhausted every other option and is on the verge of collapse.

 

[Kolumbo]

There are a few cards left to be played. I don’t think UConn will ever be invited into the Big 12 or ACC as a one off unless something seismic happens.

The best option is to hope for a Big East merger with another league. Next best is a complete collapse of the linear cable model.

And there is the most logical course of action, separate football from everything else. I don't see an invitation in the near future. I think everyone would be happy returning to a regional format.

 

[Stinger92860]

So, what would be the minimum payout for a school?

 

[UConnJim]

Here are some more details:


@aadelsonESPN
More details emerging from settlement between ACC, FSU and Clemson via sources. Exit fee is expected to drop by $18 million each year through 2029-30. After that, exit fee drops to $75 million and any exiting team will retain is media rights.

 

[Fishy]

No one is going to want to merge with the Big East.

The ACC will invite UConn when it has exhausted every other option and is on the verge of collapse.

You guys keep leaving the ACC for dead.

Again, we do realize that it makes a lot more money than the Big 12, right? If UNC and UVa suddenly bail for the Big Ten, it’s still going to make more money than the cow conference…they might be the ones on the clock, not the ACC.

 

[Vowelguy]

You guys keep leaving the ACC for dead.

Again, we do realize that it makes a lot more money than the Big 12, right? If UNC and UVa suddenly bail for the Big Ten, it’s still going to make more money than the cow conference…they might be the ones on the clock, not the ACC.

I didnt say the ACC would collapse, just that it would need to be on the verge of collapse before it invited UConn. I think there is an expectation that departures would lead to a UConn invite; nah, they will invite B12 teams or Memphis et al first.

As to point 2, what if NC, VA, FSU, CLEM leave - would it still make more money?