OT: Conference Realignment

[mkaufman1]

Our fans hate them. Their fans couldn't care less about us...except to make fun of us.
I REALLY want to change that by whipping them a few times and knocking them off their pedestal.

It’s funny they say they don’t care about us, but they always love rubbing everything in our faces, have a cute nickname and everything.

Sure we aren’t relevant to them on the court, but we live in their heads. We always will.

 

[GMUgemini]

Our fans hate them. Their fans couldn't care less about us...except to make fun of us.
I REALLY want to change that by whipping them a few times and knocking them off their pedestal.

We’ve beaten them at least 3 times in the last 5, but two things are true: one, none of those victories were on our home court (until it is nearly impossible to win coming into EBA the hate won’t start flowing), two, we haven’t beaten them when it matters (in the postseason) in a very, very long time. We need to pull a URI a la 2018? and knock them off in the quarters as like an 8 seed and then they’ll hate us.

Edit: forgot one more wrinkle (a hateable player), you know like Yuta Watanabe from GW, Jeff Dowtin from URI, Gudmundsen from Davidson, a player who just wrecks your day when they’re playing your team.

The last one of those we had legitimately was probably Ryan Pearson. You might be able to make a claim for is Marquise Moore, but he was too quiet I think and he played on mostly bad teams. Maybe Austin Ball or Keyshawn Hall can grow into one of those.

 

[Old Ram]

We’ve beaten them at least 3 times in the last 5, but two things are true: one, none of those victories were on our home court (until it is nearly impossible to win coming into EBA the hate won’t start flowing), two, we haven’t beaten them when it matters (in the postseason) in a very, very long time. We need to pull a URI a la 2018? and knock them off in the quarters as like an 8 seed and then they’ll hate us.

Edit: forgot one more wrinkle (a hateable player), you know like Yuta Watanabe from GW, Jeff Dowtin from URI, Gudmundsen from Davidson, a player who just wrecks your day when they’re playing your team.

The last one of those we had legitimately was probably Ryan Pearson. You might be able to make a claim for is Marquise Moore, but he was too quiet I think and he played on mostly bad teams. Maybe Austin Ball or Keyshawn Hall can grow into one of those.

Actually we have only beat them 1 time in the last 5 (February 2021). Unfortunately, we have only won 4 of the last 21 against them.

At least 3 of those 4 were at their place.

 

[GMUgemini]

Actually we have only beat them 1 time in the last 5 (February 2021). Unfortunately, we have only won 4 of the last 21 against them.

At least 3 of those 4 were at their place.

The point still stands, though, in that until they dread coming to Fairfax again, the rivalry won’t matter.

 

[Pablo]

SMU Mustangs Raise $100M in 1 Week to Support Move to ACC amid Conference Realignment

SMU is joining the Atlantic Coast Conference alongside Cal and Stanford in advance of the 2024-25 athletic sports season, and the university announced it has…

bleacherreport.com

"Per the release, the commitments are via 'a group of thirty donors that includes trustees and key donors,' both alumni and non-alumni."

 

[TweederGMU]

SMU got that Church and Oil & Gas money. Double factor!

 

[Pablo]

A Pac-12/Mountain West merger could include conference relegation, would that work in college athletics?

Eight Pac schools would compete in the Pac-8 while the other eight schools would compete in the Mountain West, with two schools getting promoted/relegated per year.

www.9news.com

"As of now the Pac-2 and Mountain West merging would result in 14 football schools, and with eight teams being the minimum it would require two additions - which could include FCS powerhouses North Dakota State and South Dakota State.

This way the eight Pac schools (the Pac-8) would compete as their own conference while the other eight schools (Mountain West) would compete as a separate conference, with two schools getting promoted and relegated every year (or two) based on a points system that would be determined.

A scheduling alliance would be part of this system, with Dellenger explaining it as two non-conference games, seven games within the conference, and three against the partner league.

The proposed alliance could also include a BracketBuster weekend in the middle of the season, as well as relegation and promotion games with the idea that those games would draw a large audience and would be appealing to television partners and therefore drive up the conference's media rights deal.

Barriers are significant, the least of which is teams not wanting to risk falling into the lower level - although the only two schools that aren't currently G5 are Oregon State and Washington State. How this would impact other sports is a big one as well - would the 14 team conference just merge for every other sport and only do promotion/relegation for football? Or would they try this in other sports as well?"

 

[jessej]

A Pac-12/Mountain West merger could include conference relegation, would that work in college athletics?

Eight Pac schools would compete in the Pac-8 while the other eight schools would compete in the Mountain West, with two schools getting promoted/relegated per year.

www.9news.com

"As of now the Pac-2 and Mountain West merging would result in 14 football schools, and with eight teams being the minimum it would require two additions - which could include FCS powerhouses North Dakota State and South Dakota State.

This way the eight Pac schools (the Pac-8) would compete as their own conference while the other eight schools (Mountain West) would compete as a separate conference, with two schools getting promoted and relegated every year (or two) based on a points system that would be determined.

A scheduling alliance would be part of this system, with Dellenger explaining it as two non-conference games, seven games within the conference, and three against the partner league.

The proposed alliance could also include a BracketBuster weekend in the middle of the season, as well as relegation and promotion games with the idea that those games would draw a large audience and would be appealing to television partners and therefore drive up the conference's media rights deal.

Barriers are significant, the least of which is teams not wanting to risk falling into the lower level - although the only two schools that aren't currently G5 are Oregon State and Washington State. How this would impact other sports is a big one as well - would the 14 team conference just merge for every other sport and only do promotion/relegation for football? Or would they try this in other sports as well?"

I like this idea but unless they can solve the financial problem with relegation it goes nowhere.Say the Pac-8 gets $7m/year and the MW gets $4m/yr. Relegation means 2 schools lose $3m/year and how is that loss accounted for?

 

[jessej]

I like this idea but unless they can solve the financial problem with relegation it goes nowhere. Say the Pac-8 gets $7m/year and the MW gets $4m/yr. Relegation means 2 schools lose $3m/year and how is that loss accounted for?

base budget of $4m/yr for all 16 teams
at the start of the season the Pac 8 teams get a 1 year "bonus" of $3m/yr

 

[Pablo]

College Football Playoff expected to keep format for expanded 12-team bracket despite conference realignment

If any change is to come to the 6+6 model, it will likely be after the conclusion of the 2024 season

www.cbssports.com

"Despite the rash of conference realignment this offseason, it is expected that agreed-upon 12-team College Football Playoff format will maintain its structure at least for the 2024 season, sources told CBS Sports.

The main reason: It would take an unanimous vote of the CFP Management Committee -- 10 commissioners and Notre Dame's athletic director -- to make any change to the 12-team format at this point, sources confirmed.

The 12-team structure in place for 2024 will include see the six highest-ranked conference champions populate the field as automatic qualifiers with six other at-large teams receiving playoff bids.

The original idea behind guaranteeing spots to the six highest-ranked conference champions was that, most years, not only would the Power Five league champions have access to the playoff but so would at least one champion from a Group of Five conference.

Maintaining the 6+6 structure for 2024 would put off speculation that the number of automatic qualifiers will decrease with the expected loss of the Pac-12. The two other structures that have been informally suggested are 5+7 with five AQs (accounting for the expiration of the Pac-12) and the 12 highest-rated teams -- regardless of conference championship status -- earning CFP bids.

The committee will gather for a regularly scheduled two-day meeting beginning Tuesday in Chicago. Even if alternate models are proposed at the meeting, it will only take one dissenting vote to keep the agreed-upon structure in place."

 

[Pablo]

https://www.si.com/college/clemson/football/will-clemson-announce-a-departure-from-the-acc-soon

"A lot of speculation is assured in the coming weeks and months until something is officially announced but until then it at least appears clear that Clemson may not be long for the ACC."

 

[Walter]

Not buying anyone getting out of the ACC GOR.

 

[Pablo]

The latest round of conference realignment is almost over, but not just yet with the AAC close to expansion

Army is in ‘potentially the final step,’ before officially joining the American Athletic Conference

www.deseret.com

"AAC commissioner Mike Aresco confirmed to Yahoo Sports Wednesday that both Army and the AAC want the Black Knights to join as the conference’s 14th member.

'"We are definitely pursuing it,' Aresco said. 'There’s a reasonable possibility it gets done. Army is interested. We certainly are.'

The biggest remaining hurdles, Dellenger reported, are threefold:

1. The Army-Navy game.
2. Army’s television contract with CBS Sports Network.
3. More than 80 scheduled future games.

As far as the Army-Navy game is concerned, Aresco told Yahoo Sports that the traditional meeting between the rivals would continue to be played on the second weekend of December. The game would not count in the conference standings and the two programs could also meet in the AAC championship game the weekend prior."

 

[Pablo]

MSN

“I know a lot of people have seen the reports the past few days that would indicate a decision on Clemson’s future plans is imminent,” he wrote. “I have been quiet because I wanted to make sure the info I had was correct… I think I have a good sense of where Clemson stands.

“'There is a BOT meeting scheduled for early next month. It’s been on the books for over a year. Will there be a piece where [athletic director] Graham Neff discusses the landscape and where we stand with realignment and expansion? Absolutely. But there will be no announcement that Clemson is leaving the ACC or has an invite from someone else.'

He referenced a board meeting scheduled for mid-October as the thing that sparked the initial rumors. He says that the meeting has been planned for some time and was actually rescheduled from its original August date.

'This appears to be a normal meeting,' he suggested.

He went on to quote a trusted source who said, 'Point blank, that there is no invite from another league and that Clemson doesn’t expect to announce any sort of future plans by the end of football season.'

Hood did go on to note that the school’s legal team is still investigating a potential way out of the Grant of Rights agreement that keeps the Tigers in the ACC for the next decade-plus, but at this time, the main focus is on the ACC’s revenue distribution model and the new schools that will soon enter the league (Cal, Stanford, SMU).

An interesting turn in the story which only adds to the speculation."

 

[Pablo]

Pac-12 realignment: Are two paths better than one for Oregon State?

OSU could make the best possible outcome for its athletic programs by making separate plans for football.

gazettetimes.com

"Leaders at Oregon State University have made it clear that no reasonable ideas are off the table as they seek to find the best home for the school’s athletic programs.

Competing for two years in a streamlined Pac-2 with Washington State is under consideration. Oregon State athletic director Scott Barnes has also indicated the school is open to forming a two-tier league which includes elements of relegation and promotion.

There is still hope in some quarters that the ongoing legal battle between OSU/WSU and the Pac-12 might result in an invitation to the Big Ten or Big 12. That outcome would save the athletic department’s budget and teams could begin drawing up their schedules for 2024-25.

But if a power conference invitation isn’t on the way, here is another unorthodox proposal: Oregon State and Washington State should partner with Mountain West Conference schools for football, but align with West Coast Conference schools for most other sports."

 

[Pikapppatri8]

All of this would be easier to follow with graphics showing moves/potential moves. Right now this all seems like Game of Thrones shown through the lens of a soap opera.

 

[Pablo]

Florida State and Clemson are tied together for a potential ACC exit

As rumors swirl of Clemson announcing their ACC exit, how will this impact Florida State and the rest of the conference?

www.tomahawknation.com

"Now news is coming out of South Carolina that Clemson may be announcing its departure from the league later this month.

It has long been speculated Clemson has similar feelings as Florida State regarding the ACC’s current financial gap compared to the SEC and Big Ten — but there hadn’t been the kinds of public rumblings from Clemson that FSU administrators have been so freely airing.

That changed last week with two bombshell reports. Gene Sapakoff of the Post & Courier first reported that Clemson administrators were in talks with both the SEC and Big Ten while Larry Williams of Tigers Illustrated stated he expects Clemson to announce their departure from the ACC in October.

Per the Post & Courier article, Clemson is taking a “strength in numbers” approach, which would hint at Clemson working with Florida State and possibly North Carolina on a conference exit strategy. Florida State Board of Trustee member Drew Weatherford said it best earlier this summer by emphasizing that FSU leaving the ACC was a matter of “when” and not “if.” While North Carolina has frequently been mentioned as a target for the Big Ten and SEC it was hard to imagine the school that was the bedrock of the conference leaving until a few months ago. That changed with the ACC’s additions of SMU, Cal, and Stanford. Florida State, Clemson, and North Carolina all voted against the expansion but North Carolina went a step further to issue a very public rebuke of the expansion."

How exactly Clemson, FSU, or UNC plan on dealing with the ACC exit fee or Grant of Rights is still unclear. The new public details of Texas and Oklahoma’s divorce from the Big 12 may provide a road map. The move to the SEC will cost Texas and Oklahoma roughly half of what was believed with most of the money coming from distributions withheld by the Big 12 rather than any upfront payments by the schools. ESPN will also provide transitional payments directly to Texas and Oklahoma next year as the schools won’t receive funds from the SEC’s primary revenue-sharing pool. Per Kansas State athletics director Gene Taylor there was significant pushback from other schools to fully enforce the bylaws and Grant of Rights but the Big 12’s lawyers advised the conference that the Big 12’s bylaws were “not as rock-solid as everybody thought and we could be tied up on lawsuits forever.” That advice prompted the other schools to vote for the agreement that allowed Texas and Oklahoma to leave the Big 12 a year early.

It should be noted the Big 12’s cost/benefit analysis to pursue things in court with only one year to go on their current GOR agreement is a far cry from the ACC enforcing an additional thirteen years.

However, Clemson, Florida State, and North Carolina have to feel emboldened by the relatively low cost it took for Oklahoma and Texas to break free of the Big 12.

Whatever the plan is, it is clear that Florida State and Clemson’s fates are growing increasingly intertwined. Either they stand together to successfully negotiate an early exit from the ACC or they fall from football relevancy stuck in an increasingly 2nd tier conference."

 

[jessej]

Florida State and Clemson are tied together for a potential ACC exit

As rumors swirl of Clemson announcing their ACC exit, how will this impact Florida State and the rest of the conference?

www.tomahawknation.com

"Now news is coming out of South Carolina that Clemson may be announcing its departure from the league later this month.

It has long been speculated Clemson has similar feelings as Florida State regarding the ACC’s current financial gap compared to the SEC and Big Ten — but there hadn’t been the kinds of public rumblings from Clemson that FSU administrators have been so freely airing.

That changed last week with two bombshell reports. Gene Sapakoff of the Post & Courier first reported that Clemson administrators were in talks with both the SEC and Big Ten while Larry Williams of Tigers Illustrated stated he expects Clemson to announce their departure from the ACC in October.

Per the Post & Courier article, Clemson is taking a “strength in numbers” approach, which would hint at Clemson working with Florida State and possibly North Carolina on a conference exit strategy. Florida State Board of Trustee member Drew Weatherford said it best earlier this summer by emphasizing that FSU leaving the ACC was a matter of “when” and not “if.” While North Carolina has frequently been mentioned as a target for the Big Ten and SEC it was hard to imagine the school that was the bedrock of the conference leaving until a few months ago. That changed with the ACC’s additions of SMU, Cal, and Stanford. Florida State, Clemson, and North Carolina all voted against the expansion but North Carolina went a step further to issue a very public rebuke of the expansion."

How exactly Clemson, FSU, or UNC plan on dealing with the ACC exit fee or Grant of Rights is still unclear. The new public details of Texas and Oklahoma’s divorce from the Big 12 may provide a road map. The move to the SEC will cost Texas and Oklahoma roughly half of what was believed with most of the money coming from distributions withheld by the Big 12 rather than any upfront payments by the schools. ESPN will also provide transitional payments directly to Texas and Oklahoma next year as the schools won’t receive funds from the SEC’s primary revenue-sharing pool. Per Kansas State athletics director Gene Taylor there was significant pushback from other schools to fully enforce the bylaws and Grant of Rights but the Big 12’s lawyers advised the conference that the Big 12’s bylaws were “not as rock-solid as everybody thought and we could be tied up on lawsuits forever.” That advice prompted the other schools to vote for the agreement that allowed Texas and Oklahoma to leave the Big 12 a year early.

It should be noted the Big 12’s cost/benefit analysis to pursue things in court with only one year to go on their current GOR agreement is a far cry from the ACC enforcing an additional thirteen years.

However, Clemson, Florida State, and North Carolina have to feel emboldened by the relatively low cost it took for Oklahoma and Texas to break free of the Big 12.

Whatever the plan is, it is clear that Florida State and Clemson’s fates are growing increasingly intertwined. Either they stand together to successfully negotiate an early exit from the ACC or they fall from football relevancy stuck in an increasingly 2nd tier conference."

Deion said it best - many years ago

must be the money deion sanders - Bing video

www.bing.com

 

[GMU79]

Florida State and Clemson are tied together for a potential ACC exit

As rumors swirl of Clemson announcing their ACC exit, how will this impact Florida State and the rest of the conference?

www.tomahawknation.com

"Now news is coming out of South Carolina that Clemson may be announcing its departure from the league later this month.

It has long been speculated Clemson has similar feelings as Florida State regarding the ACC’s current financial gap compared to the SEC and Big Ten — but there hadn’t been the kinds of public rumblings from Clemson that FSU administrators have been so freely airing.

That changed last week with two bombshell reports. Gene Sapakoff of the Post & Courier first reported that Clemson administrators were in talks with both the SEC and Big Ten while Larry Williams of Tigers Illustrated stated he expects Clemson to announce their departure from the ACC in October.

Per the Post & Courier article, Clemson is taking a “strength in numbers” approach, which would hint at Clemson working with Florida State and possibly North Carolina on a conference exit strategy. Florida State Board of Trustee member Drew Weatherford said it best earlier this summer by emphasizing that FSU leaving the ACC was a matter of “when” and not “if.” While North Carolina has frequently been mentioned as a target for the Big Ten and SEC it was hard to imagine the school that was the bedrock of the conference leaving until a few months ago. That changed with the ACC’s additions of SMU, Cal, and Stanford. Florida State, Clemson, and North Carolina all voted against the expansion but North Carolina went a step further to issue a very public rebuke of the expansion."

How exactly Clemson, FSU, or UNC plan on dealing with the ACC exit fee or Grant of Rights is still unclear. The new public details of Texas and Oklahoma’s divorce from the Big 12 may provide a road map. The move to the SEC will cost Texas and Oklahoma roughly half of what was believed with most of the money coming from distributions withheld by the Big 12 rather than any upfront payments by the schools. ESPN will also provide transitional payments directly to Texas and Oklahoma next year as the schools won’t receive funds from the SEC’s primary revenue-sharing pool. Per Kansas State athletics director Gene Taylor there was significant pushback from other schools to fully enforce the bylaws and Grant of Rights but the Big 12’s lawyers advised the conference that the Big 12’s bylaws were “not as rock-solid as everybody thought and we could be tied up on lawsuits forever.” That advice prompted the other schools to vote for the agreement that allowed Texas and Oklahoma to leave the Big 12 a year early.

It should be noted the Big 12’s cost/benefit analysis to pursue things in court with only one year to go on their current GOR agreement is a far cry from the ACC enforcing an additional thirteen years.

However, Clemson, Florida State, and North Carolina have to feel emboldened by the relatively low cost it took for Oklahoma and Texas to break free of the Big 12.

Whatever the plan is, it is clear that Florida State and Clemson’s fates are growing increasingly intertwined. Either they stand together to successfully negotiate an early exit from the ACC or they fall from football relevancy stuck in an increasingly 2nd tier conference."

I hate (wrong thread), all this conference realignment. UNC not in the ACC!!??

 

[Pablo]

Big 12 Has Resumed Conference Realignment Talks With Gonzaga

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark recently pitched Big 12 presidents and athletic directors about Gonzaga’s inclusion in the conference

themessenger.com

"Gonzaga and the Big 12 have resumed top-level discussions about the possibility of the school joining the conference in all sports, perhaps as early as next year, multiple sources told The Messenger.

The renewed push is being spearheaded by Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark, who presented his case for Gonzaga’s inclusion during last week’s Big 12 meetings in Dallas. Yormark made the pitch during separate sessions with the league’s athletic directors and presidents. He augmented his case with a presentation deck that laid out the data and strategy behind the potential move."