ACC, PAC-12, and BIG alliance / conference realignment

[Gandalf]

There are a lot of posters who seem to think the ACC should add teams so it looks like we are doing something while the projected $ added by these teams doesn’t outweigh the cost of travel.

It’s simple. There’s no move to make that is a big swing.

There’s no football blue bloods available for the ACC

 

[Willy75]

Your points are good but they are not fact based.
First the ACC has been actively looking for about 2 years.
Second and this is the salient point, the ACC cant do anything without support and agreement from its media partner ESPN which passed on the PAC when it was in the drivers seat once the LA market was lost.
If the ACC can pick up the media markets tied to Cal, Stanford and SMU in an accretive transaction it is absolutely a good move.
As to making additional moves in 2031 im in complete agreement with you and believe that will happen as by then ESPN will be in a much better financial position. Remember without buy in from ESPN the ACC cant do anything.
ESPN and its Parent company are going through a massive restructuring, shedding cost, looking to sell assets and enter into strategic partnerships.
When corporations are in the middle of this process it is extremely difficult and potentially harmful to do anything but cost cut.
I find it encouraging that the ACC is potentially in position to add three great academic/athletic schools and their media markets given the current position our media partner is in. Very encouraging as it points to a well thought out accretive transaction.

Once the Big 12 media deal starts to age out (say in 5 years) I'd like to see the ACC target TCU and Baylor.

 

[Gandalf]

Everything being relatively equal on the financial side, I am sticking to my assertion that UVa and UNC would choose the SEC over the B1G. (and I hope it never comes to that, even as we approach 2036)

I may be wrong, but it won't be because they are proximate to or have a rivalry with Maryland. They could not give 2 ships (<-with a "t") about the Terps.

UVA yes. I just can’t see UNC ever leaving ACC

 

[kcsu]

Stanford and smu in the acc will become very good teams quickly. ESPN likes this deal as it opens up a west coast time slot and we will see a couple of prime-time games at night each week. Dallas opens up the central time zone. Stanford Miami or anyone for that matter will generate lots of eyeballs. This is a good move by all parties and i believe it is going to take place.

 

[Cuse181]

Stanford and smu in the acc will become very good teams quickly. ESPN likes this deal as it opens up a west coast time slot and we will see a couple of prime-time games at night each week. Dallas opens up the central time zone. Stanford Miami or anyone for that matter will generate lots of eyeballs. This is a good move by all parties and i believe it is going to take place.

ESPN can’t like the deal, if they did they would’ve offered more money for them versus telling the ACC they’d need to split the existing funds

 

[All4SU]

We make be seeing the very beginnings of the end game state of the ACC forming now.

It looks like the public schools may be leaving, and maybe they will be replaced by private schools, often with better academics.

If Clemson, FSU, GT, UNC, UVA, UL, NC State and VT leave, I think that clears out all the public school folks from the conference.

You are left with

Syracuse
Wake Forest
Boston College
Duke
Notre Dame* *=(abstaining for football as always)
Pittsburgh (I think it is private; I know it is a grey area type school)

And Miami. Now Miami is going to go somewhere else because that is what she always does. Not good with commitments.

But if you add Stanford and Cal (which is a public but one of if not the most selective publics out there) and SMU, you might be looking at most of the ACC circa 2036. Tulane might make sense at some point.

Who knows, maybe Vandy and Northwestern decide they want to compete with peer schools into of semi pro football factories and also eventually join. Maybe TCU sometime down the road as well.

The ACC will probably do what they always do here. I.e. nothing. But if they do add these schools, I think it is the presidents driving thingS and it might signal a whole new philosophy for the conference.

Maybe the semi pro wannabes in the ACC allow the ACC to add private school replacements now in exchange for a 50% reduction in their exit fees? Could the ACC schools work together on an exit strategy and a new beginning? I doubt it but one can dream.

I would be okay with a conference of private institutions who are committed to academics but who also play sports - at a higher level than Ivy League. Like-minded schools in a conference. What a concept!

 

[Killdozer]

Stanford and smu in the acc will become very good teams quickly. ESPN likes this deal as it opens up a west coast time slot and we will see a couple of prime-time games at night each week. Dallas opens up the central time zone. Stanford Miami or anyone for that matter will generate lots of eyeballs. This is a good move by all parties and i believe it is going to take place.

I like the SMU idea, I just don't know how Stanford can financially handle all it's other sports in the ACC. They will be out on an island by themselves.

 

[Admiral Koga]

There are a lot of posters who seem to think the ACC should add teams so it looks like we are doing something while the projected $ added by these teams doesn’t outweigh the cost of travel.

It’s simple. There’s no move to make that is a big swing.

There is so much BS out there that it is hard to believe most of it. But it has been reported that SMU said that the ACC didn't even have to pay them. LOL...the ACC is picking up the guy at the stoplight with the sign 'Will work for food'.

Though...I do think SMU in a P4 league will be good. They pioneered 'pay for play' and have boosters that will go all out.

 

[Scooch]

Random merger talk here and there. Random alliance talks here and there. But nothing ever materialized. From every thread or article I read, it was always going to be a possible joint merger that really sounded enticing but never grew legs. The ACC was there for a meet and greet. The Big 12 was there to date and wife someone up.

ACC was not aggressive enough. Expansion is a cut throat business. SEC took Texas and Oklahoma out of nowhere. Big 10 took USC, UCLA out of nowhere.

ACC botched 2003 and again this round. All you hear is ACC exploring Stanford and Cal now. And now 2 sets of meetings with AD’s and Presidents. Oh and now SMU. Nothing stealth and the ACC has so much in fighting right now, they can’t agree on a damn thing.

There was an ACC merger proposal presented to the PAC 12 schools in the same meeting where the Apple deal was presented.

That means the ACC literally made a proactive formal offer to the PAC 12 before anyone left.

I don’t know how many times this can be repeated before I chalk up not believing it as willful ignorance.

 

[Jake]

ACC reached out after the Colorado news broke, the remaining Pac 12 teams essentially had no interest. Hence the comment from the ASU president about teams from his schools having to travel to Syracuse. The 4 corner schools tried to hold onto the Pac 12 until the bitter end and only left after Oregon and Wash bolted.

Exactly correct.

 

[TexanMark]

Trade Lville for WVU

I'm actually good with UL. They have a much higher ceiling in hoops

 

[AZOrange]

I like the SMU idea, I just don't know how Stanford can financially handle all it's other sports in the ACC. They will be out on an island by themselves.

Stanford can financially handle anything….

 

[Hoo's That]

UVA yes. I just can’t see UNC ever leaving ACC

We have no reason or plans to leave. This "Magnificent 7" stuff came as news to just about everyone on our boards.

 

[PhatOrange]

Forget Stanford and Cal. The ACC should look to the Big 12. Kansas, Oklahoma State, Cincy and West Virginia. The travel isn't insane either; a flight from Stillwater to Raleigh is 2.5 hours.

If they wanted to get into Texas they could look at Baylor or the others; Houston, Texas Tech, TCU.

Good mix of football and basketball in mostly good markets and there's value in that. Doesn't prevent the inevitable breakup but it's better than nothing.

 

[tep624]

Forget Stanford and Cal. The ACC should look to the Big 12. Kansas, Oklahoma State, Cincy and West Virginia. The travel isn't insane either; a flight from Stillwater to Raleigh is 2.5 hours.

If they wanted to get into Texas they could look at Baylor or the others; Houston, Texas Tech, TCU.

Good mix of football and basketball in mostly good markets and there's value in that. Doesn't prevent the inevitable breakup but it's better than nothing.

Well there’s 2 trains of thought - adding teams to compete with the SEC/B1G and adding teams to develop continuity in order to survive a B1G/SEC raid. The PAC12 didn’t do number 2 and now the conference doesn’t exist.

 

[TexanMark]

We have no reason or plans to leave. This "Magnificent 7" stuff came as news to just about everyone on our boards.

No reason for UNC or UVA to leave

1. You can't compete with FB Factories and would become a Miss St.

2. You guys run the ACC and are centrally located among your alumni and future students

 

[Scooch]

No reason for UNC or UVA to leave

1. You can't compete with FB Factories and would become a Miss St.

2. You guys run the ACC and are centrally located among your alumni and future students

Well sure, but a school *needs* $100 million a year in TV money dontchaknow!

I have little doubt that when the time comes that the GoR ain’t an issue, those schools will be gone.

 

[Hoo's That]

No reason for UNC or UVA to leave

1. You can't compete with FB Factories and would become a Miss St.

2. You guys run the ACC and are centrally located among your alumni and future students

You're preaching to the choir, Reverend.

 

[Willy75]

I'd bring in SMU now (with or without Tulane) and offer Stanford and Cal a football scheduling alliance for 5-6 years that would give them up to 5 games/yr vs ACC teams. The value of the latter should be close to what a full MWC share would be. Then I'd target TCU and Baylor as full ACC members when the Big 12 GOR winds down.

 

[BBQuse]

I’m agnostic to adding the PAC 2. But it would be absolutely great for their football programs to be able to effectively promise recruits that they’d have a late night ESPN slot pretty much weekly. Gotta think that’s a pretty good tool. I think if we take them we need a couple of Texas schools to make it all work.

 

[TexanMark]

There’s no rush-None of the other big Conferences are taking them

Negative the B1G still covets Stanford

 

[Scooch]

I’m agnostic to adding the PAC 2. But it would be absolutely great for their football programs to be able to effectively promise recruits that they’d have a late night ESPN slot pretty much weekly. Gotta think that’s a pretty good tool. I think if we take them we need a couple of Texas schools to make it all work.

The problem is that it’ll be the late night ACC Network slot… 6 times a year… as the cable industry dies and only people age 55+ subscribe.

 

[UpstateSM]

Lol SMU has crazy money ready to be spent

 

[Toga]

Negative the B1G still covets Stanford

If so I don't think we want to get stuck just with Cal on the left coast. But if Stanford commits to the GOR then not a problem for the next decade.

 

[Scooch]

Can I ask why the fascination with SMU? I don’t know anything about the school. But from afar it strikes me as a small-ish private school that likely doesn’t have a large fan base. I get that it’s in Dallas, but I also assume there are far more UT, aTm and Oklahoma fans in Dallas than SMU.