I've stayed away from conference b.s.

[qdawgg]

for the most part. Here are a few little things I would like to add and then this thread will probably get buried like most of my threads do

- I could be wrong with a few of these things so please correct anything I've mixed up, it's not intentional. Or if I'm repeating "stuff" already posted, not intentional. I've been skimming through all of the conference threads and not reading them all in an attempt to keep my sanity.

1) At this point the 1 person/group that can "fix" things quickly for the ACC is ESPN. Fox wants a share of the market and if ESPN wants to prevent the ACC from being pillaged they will do whatever it takes ($$$$$) to restructure contracts or whatever they have to do. Obviously if ND suddenly decided to go all in the ACC tomorrow when their NBC contract is over, that would be the simplest and best solution. But since I don't expect them to commit to anything anytime soon I believe everything is on ESPN right now to essentially save the league. Commit more $$$$ and help prevent any of the schools that have been in discussion from being picked off.

ESPN was caught with their pants down. They can't afford to let it happen again and with lots of internet chatter about new combo of teams to the B10 ESPN better act real quick. Hopefully this means big $$$ for the ACC.

2) I could see ND committing full or more fully to the ACC. ND is not going to commit to anything until they believe the writing is on the wall that independence is doomed. That could be a couple of years but if they sit down and realize what is happening they may already realize their independence is limited. Despite how much of some people think they are for "using" the BE and now the ACC; they might be the only school in the country that would tell the B10 to off. Why? Because ND doesn't need the $$$ the B10 can offer and they realize most of these moves are happening in order to force ND to join their conference. That might piss them off, make Delaney look like an a-hole in their eyes and they can afford to do whatever they want.

3) ACC network. I think an ACC network could potentially be more successful year round compared to other leagues. People who live in the ACC "network" are just as likely to watch basketball and lacrosse almost as much as ACC football. I don't believe this to be as true in other leagues geographic areas they represent. This provides year round content. Is it going to be high eye ball content? No. But as others have said before and this is true for me, I don't ever watch the B10 network. The football is largely boring (no wonder RU is joining the league), so we could assume the rest of the content throughout the year is largely unwatched by a majority of the population.

This doesn't mean that I think the ACC network can or will be more successful as far as the $$$ it makes. But I think the overall content could be watched year round on a more consistent basis than other networks like the SEC or even the B10.

 

[omniorange]

I honestly do not see ESPN doing anything to endanger their relationship with the Big Ten with their Tier 1 rights up for renewal shortly. I may be wrong here, but that is how I see it.

Cheers,
Neil

 

[qdawgg]

I honestly do not see ESPN doing anything to endanger their relationship with the Big Ten with their Tier 1 rights up for renewal shortly. I may be wrong here, but that is how I see it.

Cheers,
Neil

Do you think if ESPN does not seriously increase the cash to the ACC rights, like right now, the ACC is in some serious trouble? I think ESPN really holds all the cards right now, if the ACC can't find a way to increase the payouts even by a little bit, what is to prevent any of the teams being discussed in other conferences from leaving the ACC?

 

[Toga]

Has anyone who has seen the BTN not thought it sucks? I mean it Really sucks based on my limited viewership. If you are looking for a sleep aid then that's your network. I would watch a good amount of an ACC network if it was jazzed up some. Production values + announcers/hosts who are awake + throw in an occassional human interest story. Shouldn't be that hard - you've got upwards of $50M in seed money should ESPN let the league out of jail.

 

[orange79]

It's a complicated situation (duh). ESPN seemed to go all in with the ACC (as the ACC went all in with ESPN), but ESPN also has a relationship with the B1G. The issue is, which is more important - partial relationship with the B1G or full relationship with the ACC? I don't know the answer. But if the ACC collapses, ESPN is going to need a lot of content. Doesn't make sense they would let the league fail. But who knows what goes on in these conference rooms...

 

[OrangePA]

The BTN is awful.

Establish an ACC Network!!!

 

[SUskibum]

i cant imagine there is not some one at espn who doesnt see the value in having a viable conference for both football and lesser so basketball from boston to DC plus florida. this whole thing is about eyeballs all the sudden.

i know the acc is down right now but we all the know the cyclicality of the strength of conferences. and if there isnt sufficient rea$ons for the pillars of the conference to stay, when the strength cycles back to current ACC schools and fsu/clemson/miami/su are all top 20 teams again there will be no conference to extract that ca$h potential.

 

[chakka3421]

Qdawgg - I'm of the opinion that ESPN does not want to lose any more real estate on the East Coast to FOX. I also do not think they would want to weaken the ACC to strengthen the SEC - why because they own both.

To me ESPN & the SEC offer Texas & Oklahoma $$$$$ to join the SEC - and shut down the LHN. The PAC 12 picks up 4 teams from the B1G 12 to go to 16. B1G scrambles & picks up Kansas & 1 other (I still think UConn is in play). And ACC picks up 3 more. This is the end game IMO unless the B1G moves soon and plucks more east coast real estate before ESPN can react.

In this scenario - you have 4 super conferences - West coast, Northern, Southern leaving the final conference on the East coast. Then it becomes an 8 team playoff system with 4 conference playoffs, then 2 playoff bowls then the NC. I don't know how ND stays independent in this scenario either.

Under this scenario - ESPN Wins big time. Best football conference. Best basketball conference. Snags ND. Shares the west coast. End game scenario.

 

[Blaster]

Football,basketball,lax, and i hear baseball is big in the acc. Isn't soccer good in the acc also?

 

[DoctorBombay]

(1) & (2) Agree...somewhat.
But only if the ACC were to die, as opposed to just being weakened by defections.
IMO, both ESPN and ND can live with a weakened ACC- nothing would really change for them in that eventuality.
ND would still have access, and ESPN would still have adequate content.

(3) Totally agree about the ACC Network being a sure-fire hit.
Which is why Swofford's decision to integrate w/ Raycom, and NOT set-up a brand new entity comes off as perplexing.
FSU boards had a conspiracy theory that Swofford threw Raycom a bone to ensure his son's job, as Raycom was likely headed for bankruptcy before their ACC deal.

This tells you more about the ACC Network:
http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2010/10/04/daily3.html?page=all
http://247sports.com/Board/30/SIR-Another-Bad-Rumor-about-SwoffordACC-9791241/1

 

[kingottoiii]

Since I don't want to start another expansion thread I am adding this here:

The B1G has had a buy in to get into the league. So a school like nebraska would not be a full share member until several years. For RU it still doesn't matter as 50% of B1G revenue is greater than 100% BE. But for MD when you take into account the $20-$50 million exit fee and the reduced B1G income for 3-4 years, it could be 5 years before they are better off. By then who knows what the ACC is making (ND). I still am not getting the move for them.

 

[TexanMark]

It's a complicated situation (duh). ESPN seemed to go all in with the ACC (as the ACC went all in with ESPN), but ESPN also has a relationship with the B1G. The issue is, which is more important - partial relationship with the B1G or full relationship with the ACC? I don't know the answer. But if the ACC collapses, ESPN is going to need a lot of content. Doesn't make sense they would let the league fail. But who knows what goes on in these conference rooms...

I see the Big 10 breaking away from ESPN and going with FOX ASAP. The Big 10 gave ESPN the finger with the YES maneuver.

 

[qdawgg]

How long is the Raycom/ACC deal because I'm too lazy to look it up in case some knows already.

 

[rrlbees]

Since I don't want to start another expansion thread I am adding this here:

The B1G has had a buy in to get into the league. So a school like nebraska would not be a full share member until several years. For RU it still doesn't matter as 50% of B1G revenue is greater than 100% BE. But for MD when you take into account the $20-$50 million exit fee and the reduced B1G income for 3-4 years, it could be 5 years before they are better off. By then who knows what the ACC is making (ND). I still am not getting the move for them.

Keep 2 things in mind about rutgirls who every year ends up net zero on the ledger. One, the regular school fund has made them whole forever. Second, they've gotten a lot of state money which will probably be reduced as budgets are cut, Sandy is paid for and rutgers need is recognized as being less.

Much of what it really costs rutgirls athletics will now come out of b10 dollars instead of handouts which will go away. So the bottom line is that as a program they won't be much further ahead financially than they have been. The revenue source just changes

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

 

[chakka3421]

Also Bees travel costs for the Olympic sports just got way more expensive for Rutgers (us too but much less). The other thing is universities are not normally run as efficiently as businesses. When you had to be efficient like SU has been, the frugalness of years of watching every dime should make the increased revenue from the move to the ACC more effective (anyway I hope so).

 

[qdawgg]

An additional thought I didn't want to add to my original post because it was already longer than I intended

4) If the ACC can prevent anymore teams from leaving I truly think the ACC as a conference can be a strong conference. I'm not using the term "strong" as in, winning national titles and beating SEC teams. I'm using the term as in the conference is a desirable conference from a fan perspective.

Why do I think that? Look at the B10 for a second. You have quite a few rivalries within the conference that are desirable to watch and people outside of the conference will tune in until the game becomes a bore fest, or a typical B10 game. If you are a B10 fan, when the conference was smaller there were always multiple exciting games to tune in and watch. Now as the league has grown you will end up having many games that fans could care less about watching on TV unless you are a fan of that school. It is a fact that nobody is going to get excited for Rutgers and Wisconsin or MD and Minny. What the B10 is doing, is diluting it's own product in an effort to increase TV market share.

I think the ACC has an advantage going forward in that it can continue to promote regional matchups even if adding schools like UL, UC, or UConn. ACC fans can at least understand a football game between UL and Duke or UC and BC. It may not be a traditional football matchup but regionally it at least makes sense. The B10 IMO is starting to not make sense. B10 fans understand the $$/tv market share but their desire to watch RU or MD play is zero.

The B10 will still make more $ than the ACC but I believe if the ACC can stay together (fingers crossed) the conference can end up being one of the more exciting conferences to watch from a fan perspective than what the B10 is becoming.

 

[baggerbob]

What really needs to happen is the big 12, and ACC commissioner, need to get together with the AD and presidents, of Texas, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Florida St, Miami, Clemson. They all need to realize that survival, means working together. Those 6 schools need to be the backbone, of a combined conference featuring the 24 teams, and 4 remaining Big East teams. That group of teams has as much football prestige, and more basketball prestige then any other conference has ever had.

 

[kyleslamb]

I agree with Omni. ESPN is desperate to keep NBC out of the game as far as competition is concerned. With the Big Ten coming up in four years, the one shot Comcast has of making NBC a fully-fledged alternative sports network to the Worldwide Leader is by landing the Big Ten's tier-1 rights. So if you're ESPN, you cannot go interfering in negotiations and do anything to endanger your chances of maintaining a rights monopoly. Comcast is planning to pay big money for the Big Ten in 2016. ESPN knows that and is planning to do everything it can to prevent that from happening. Upsetting the Big Ten in expansion is not a smart business move for them at the moment.

 

[omniorange]

At this point, let's just concede UVa and UNC to the BiG and VT and NC State to the SEC, then hopefully Texas, ND, Oklahoma, FSU, and Miami get together and decide to blow up what remains of the ACC and the Big 12 and create a new 16-team conference with the pods they want to protect -

Texas' pod - UT, OU, Okla St, and TTU
FSU's pod - FSU, Miami, Clemson, and GT
ND's pod - ND, Pitt, BC, and SU

Last 4 teams, take WVU and Louisville and the 2 best that remain from the rest.

:bang:

Cheers,
Neil

 

[kingottoiii]

At this point, let's just concede UVa and UNC to the BiG and VT and NC State to the SEC, then hopefully Texas, ND, Oklahoma, FSU, and Miami get together and decide to blow up what remains of the ACC and the Big 12 and create a new 16-team conference with the pods they want to protect -

Texas' pod - UT, OU, Okla St, and TTU
FSU's pod - FSU, Miami, Clemson, and GT
ND's pod - ND, Pitt, BC, and SU

Last 4 teams, take WVU and Louisville and the 2 best that remain from the rest.

:bang:

Cheers,
Neil

Why not just keep the B12 and add 8 teams to create 2 divisions of 9?

Longhorn division- Texas, OU, Okie St, K St, Tech, TCU, KU, ISU, Baylor
Irish division- ND, FSU, Miami, Clemson, GA Tech, WV, Pitt, SU, BC

All that does is make the Longhorn schools no longer play WV (big deal). Which of course would end expansion. P12 would be stuck at 12. B1G and SEC would have no other choices besides Louisville and Duke so they would be done as well. ND gets an East coast division and a game in Texas every 4 to 5 years for recruiting. They would hate 9 conference games but it sure beats going to the B1G. It also allows for a ND network.

Or even go to 4 five teams pods with Duke and BYU who both add plenty of value.

Texas, OU, Okie St, Tech, ISU
BYU, K St, TCU, Baylor, KU
FSU, Miami, Clemson, GA Tech, Duke
ND, WV, Pitt, SU, BC

That allows you to play cross pod teams once in three seasons. That again would end expansion. Only Louisville would be the only team left with value and Wake would be the only have that became a have not. Which means there would be 4 power conferences consisting of 64 teams. I could then see each network getting a conference as their own. B1G to FOX for Tier 1 FB/BBall and Tier 2/3 to BTN. B12 to NBC for Tier 1/2 FB and BBall and Tier 3 to the schools. For Texas, ND, BYU it goes to their own network. For the rest it goes to regional sports networks. CBS/ESPN share the SEC like they do today. ABC/ESPN has the P12. G5 goes to ESPN.

 

[DoctorBombay]

How long is the Raycom/ACC deal because I'm too lazy to look it up in case some knows already.

Also too lazy to look it up but it is part of the ESPN deal, and that has "look-ins" every 5 years to see if the landscape has changed.
I believe its a backended deal averaging $17 million per team, over a 20(?) year term (someone can verify that).
In any case, the ACC Network is tied at the hip to Raycom...till further notice.

 

[chakka3421]

So I decided to go lurking on fan sites in the B12 and guess what the main fear is - the next PAC12 move! Unlike the B1G, Pac12 and SEC networks, the GOR that was signed by the B12 left out tier 3 rights specifically designed for UTexas LHN so its not as binding as everyone thinks it might be. (did not know this). Many also suggest what KingOttoiii has suggested too above.

UTexas is the same pain in the you know what to B12 schools as ND is to the BE and now the ACC. Many argue (like Alsacs here on this forum) on these B12 fan sites is that the best move for the Pac12 is to take 4 teams from the B12 to get to 16 and be done with it and many state that UTexas has more interest in the West Coast conference than the SEC as many of their alums live west of Texas. This is the point that I have been making all along. Also much of the talk is that the B12 wont do anything because "the powers at be" like the 10 game format. Much frustration and hate for UTexas so the same fear lingers in the B12 fan sites as much as with the ACC fansites right now.