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

[Stern]

Per reports, TNT/TBS has eyes on buying the Pac 12 sports package once the Pac 12 gets to 8 teams and this current deal ends. So look for movement on them getting to 8 sooner rather than later, and then look for talks with TNT/TBS as their current deal ends in 2026.

 

[oldpinepoint]

Per reports, TNT/TBS has eyes on buying the Pac 12 sports package once the Pac 12 gets to 8 teams and this current deal ends. So look for movement on them getting to 8 sooner rather than later, and then look for talks with TNT/TBS as their current deal ends in 2026.

Well TNT is flush with cash after losing thr NBA rights, hopefully Shaq and Sir Charles will be on the call!

 

[Crusty]

Wonder if Air Force Academy would make sense for the ACC. Good academics and location could fit if we are going to be a true national conference.

 

[WoadBlue]

Per reports, TNT/TBS has eyes on buying the Pac 12 sports package once the Pac 12 gets to 8 teams and this current deal ends. So look for movement on them getting to 8 sooner rather than later, and then look for talks with TNT/TBS as their current deal ends in 2026.

UNLV and UN-Reno are both in PST and both have many alums living in CA. New Mexico is a sizable state flagship with a long history playing Colorado St.

 

[WoadBlue]

Wonder if Air Force Academy would make sense for the ACC. Good academics and location could fit if we are going to be a true national conference.

Air Force to AAC makes perfect sense as that means that AAC football has all 3 academies.

 

[Crusty]

Air Force to AAC makes perfect sense as that means that AAC football has all 3 academies.

Yeah but I don't care about the AAC.

 

[WoadBlue]

Wonder if Air Force Academy would make sense for the ACC. Good academics and location could fit if we are going to be a true national conference.

Calford makes the ACC truly national. What we now need is somebody wanting to show a whole bunch of college sports to buy into ESPN's contract for the ACC and willing to pony up so the ACC can expand. I assume that ESOPN would be happy to facilitate FSU getting into the SEC (and thus still under ESPN) and the ACC should be wiling to do that if ESPN also makes things so the ACC gets what it needs. I say that should start with Utah, Arizonan AZ St. All 3 need some close ties to CA for both top[ students as well as sports recruiting, and we have Calford. All three have very large numbers of alums living in CA.

The ACC also needs at least 1 of the current TX schools in the Big 12. And having both WVU and Cincy would be great for old rivalries revived (Louisville-Cincy and Backyard Brawl and other other WVU old time foes), and being in football rich OH would be good for ACC recruiting.

 

[WoadBlue]

Yeah but I don't care about the AAC.

Air Force football cannot help the ACC at all. For one thing, it is the 3rd in value of the 3 academies. Then even Navy and Army have almost 0 value unless they play each other or ND.

 

[Crusty]

Calford makes the ACC truly national. What we now need is somebody wanting to show a whole bunch of college sports to buy into ESPN's contract for the ACC and willing to pony up so the ACC can expand. I assume that ESOPN would be happy to facilitate FSU getting into the SEC (and thus still under ESPN) and the ACC should be wiling to do that if ESPN also makes things so the ACC gets what it needs. I say that should start with Utah, Arizonan AZ St. All 3 need some close ties to CA for both top[ students as well as sports recruiting, and we have Calford. All three have very large numbers of alums living in CA.

The ACC also needs at least 1 of the current TX schools in the Big 12. And having both WVU and Cincy would be great for old rivalries revived (Louisville-Cincy and Backyard Brawl and other other WVU old time foes), and being in football rich OH would be good for ACC recruiting.

Two west coast schools does not make a "true" national conference. Just don't see it lasting.

 

[longtimefan]

Air Force to AAC makes perfect sense as that means that AAC football has all 3 academies.

What does AF do with their Olympic sports? Navy and Army are in the Patriot for hoops and Olympics.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

What does AF do with their Olympic sports? Navy and Army are in the Patriot for hoops and Olympics.

Not sure if the Mountain West would let them stay, or if they would have to move everything to the AAC.

 

[Hoo's That]

What does AF do with their Olympic sports? Navy and Army are in the Patriot for hoops and Olympics.

Not sure if the Mountain West would let them stay, or if they would have to move everything to the AAC.

They're in the Mountain West for everything except lacrosse and hockey. They're in the Atlantic Sun for lacrosse and the AHA for hockey because the Mountain West doesn't sponsor those sports.

 

[WoadBlue]

Two west coast schools does not make a "true" national conference. Just don't see it lasting.

I do not see Calford leaving the ACC unless they are forced out in some way. They are not going to want to be in a conference like the new look Pac. Anymore than Dook would want to be in the Sunbelt. Calford will suck it up and do all that travel to be in a league with all the ACC's elite schools.

Of course, if the ACC could get MST schools that are in the AAU, then that would be great for Calford.

 

[Cuse181]

I do wonder if it is the right time to start under the radar talks with some of the more premium big 12 brands (of which there aren't many) to push to be the first conference to 22 teams. if the breakaway league is going to happen, only one of the Big 12/ACC/PAC X group is going to survive. Pac X is essentially dead already so throw them out, that means the ACC needs to raid the big 12 ASAP and be the one to call the BIG and SEC to come to the table and drive the discussion on a breakaway football league.

The big and SEC could certainly jump on their own but I have to imagine they are going to need some other conference to beat up on to pump up the numbers for the lackey teams like rutgers and vandy.

 

[shantydaze]

Air Force to AAC makes perfect sense as that means that AAC football has all 3 academies.

Having the academies in the American Athletic Conference does make some sense. That being said, perhaps I am not a good American as I have never had a desire to watch a football game because one of service academies was playing in it. As my dad, who is retired Navy, pointed out when I once asked him why he didn't watch the Army-Navy game, "why would I? I didn't go there."

 

[EnviroSciGuy]

I do wonder if it is the right time to start under the radar talks with some of the more premium big 12 brands (of which there aren't many) to push to be the first conference to 22 teams.

These conversations are always happening, don't worry.

 

[WoadBlue]

Having the academies in the American Athletic Conference does make some sense. That being said, perhaps I am not a good American as I have never had a desire to watch a football game because one of service academies was playing in it. As my dad, who is retired Navy, pointed out when I once asked him why he didn't watch the Army-Navy game, "why would I? I didn't go there."

I did not go to almost all schools that I often watch play.

The 3 academies all play each other every year. It makes the best sense if those are conference games. The AASC may be really focused onnthat because networks will pay nicely for academies playing one another. And the AAC surely knows that if the ACC weathers this storm at full strength, it will add from the Big 12. And then Memphis and possibly Tulane will join the Big 12.

 

[WoadBlue]

I do wonder if it is the right time to start under the radar talks with some of the more premium big 12 brands (of which there aren't many) to push to be the first conference to 22 teams. if the breakaway league is going to happen, only one of the Big 12/ACC/PAC X group is going to survive. Pac X is essentially dead already so throw them out, that means the ACC needs to raid the big 12 ASAP and be the one to call the BIG and SEC to come to the table and drive the discussion on a breakaway football league.

The big and SEC could certainly jump on their own but I have to imagine they are going to need some other conference to beat up on to pump up the numbers for the lackey teams like rutgers and vandy.

I have reread in a number of places that Utah has not signed a full Big 12 GOR, which means it is easy for Utah to announce its leaving in a couple years. If that is the case, the ACC should be all over Utah right now. If Utah gets into the ACC, then you can bet that both Arizona and AZ St are going to want to follow as soon as they can.

 

[JRHEETER]

I have reread in a number of places that Utah has not signed a full Big 12 GOR, which means it is easy for Utah to announce its leaving in a couple years. If that is the case, the ACC should be all over Utah right now. If Utah gets into the ACC, then you can bet that both Arizona and AZ St are going to want to follow as soon as they can.

I wouldn’t be surprised if this has been in talks.

That leak of Utah to the ACC before the season had tooooo much smoke for it not to have been close to happening.

It also makes A LOT of sense for them with their LAX program.

It makes a lot of sense for the ACC to add them for their football program.

And now with Stanford and Cal in ACC, those three could play one another every year and that would be less cross country travel for all of them

 

[longtimefan]

I did not go to almost all schools that I often watch play.

The 3 academies all play each other every year. It makes the best sense if those are conference games. The AASC may be really focused onnthat because networks will pay nicely for academies playing one another. And the AAC surely knows that if the ACC weathers this storm at full strength, it will add from the Big 12. And then Memphis and possibly Tulane will join the Big 12.

The AAC has announced that Army-Navy will not be a conference game. They wanted to keep it as a stand-alone game each season the week after the league championship games.

 

[Toga]

I wouldn’t be surprised if this has been in talks.

That leak of Utah to the ACC before the season had tooooo much smoke for it not to have been close to happening.

It also makes A LOT of sense for them with their LAX program.

It makes a lot of sense for the ACC to add them for their football program.

And now with Stanford and Cal in ACC, those three could play one another every year and that would be less cross country travel for all of them

Utah and Cincinnati are the two programs that have kind of come from out of nowhere.

 

[HtownOrange]

Does anyone have the current ACC-ESPN contract on to? Links? To be sure, I prefer an unredacted contract as a redacted contract does not disclose everything.

If I recall, the 2013 contract ran through 2026. The new co tract extended the deal through 2036. I don't recall any escape clause.

Since most of the nonsense has been started by FSU mouths, I am reluctant to believe the rumors until I see it writing. Yes, I remain skeptic that the universities would vote for a one-sided opt out clause not in their favor.

 

[HRE Otto IV]

Does anyone have the current ACC-ESPN contract on to? Links? To be sure, I prefer an unredacted contract as a redacted contract does not disclose everything.

If I recall, the 2013 contract ran through 2026. The new co tract extended the deal through 2036. I don't recall any escape clause.

Since most of the nonsense has been started by FSU mouths, I am reluctant to believe the rumors until I see it writing. Yes, I remain skeptic that the universities would vote for a one-sided opt out clause not in their favor.

Nothing concrete is out there which leads to speculation. The going theory is that the contract runs till 26-27 and ESPN has an option to 35-36. The option was supposed to be enacted within two years from the start of the ACCN. The going FSU theory is that ESPN did not take the option but the ACC commissioner without authorization allowed that option date to be extended 3.5 years until next February (which seems like an odd month to choose),

 

[HtownOrange]

Nothing concrete is out there which leads to speculation. The going theory is that the contract runs till 26-27 and ESPN has an option to 35-36. The option was supposed to be enacted within two years from the start of the ACCN. The going FSU theory is that ESPN did not take the option but the ACC commissioner without authorization allowed that option date to be extended 3.5 years until next February (which seems like an odd month to choose),

I’ve heard the theory but the theory makes little sense being so one sided. Generally, if this is what ESPN wanted, they would have stated a contract through 2026 with a ten year option.

With the wild fanboys and talking heads so may have heard or read the first contract not understanding the second contract supersedes the first, drew their own conclusions. Recall that these same fanboys and talking heads are the same ones that use original contract numbers to “prove” the ACC is paid less than others in spite of official payout numbers stating otherwise. This is a big part of my skepticism, these guys talk and are later proven wrong almost every time.

Generally, a contract is not extended until later in the process. If ESPN demanded the additional 10 years early on they would have to give something, too, in this instance a guarantee that they continue the same ten years, not an option for ten years. I would prefer to read the contract en toto over trusting FSU and fanboys of other conferences.

 

[Hoo's That]

I have reread in a number of places that Utah has not signed a full Big 12 GOR, which means it is easy for Utah to announce its leaving in a couple years. If that is the case, the ACC should be all over Utah right now. If Utah gets into the ACC, then you can bet that both Arizona and AZ St are going to want to follow as soon as they can.

C'mon over, Utah, and give us that lacrosse AQ!