Conference Realignment - Basketball Future

[Sbucketball]

I created this thread separate from the realignment thread on the football board because I'm hoping we can discuss how the realignment affects basketball specifically, and what the best outcome(s) would be.

In a few years, ACC adding a few programs to replace the ones that will inevitably leave as soon as affordable (seems most realistic, but would greatly struggle to be an elite league)? Merging with the remnants of the Pac-12 for an East/West conference (not appealing to me with who is remaining)? Taken into the Big 12 (and there's a Power 3 with Big 12 being third but elite at basketball - sounds good as long as we can still recruit at a high level and get some natural rivalries such as Uconn)? Big East basketball (doubtful)?

Sorry if this is redundant, I just wanted to get a handle on what everyone here thinks about Cuse's basketball future, and the thread on the football board moves fast and wouldn't stay focused on it given the onslaught of news.

 

[HOFCeluck]

 

[UpstateSM]

Ugh

 

[Day2]

Just spitballing here…Could the ACC position itself as the Ivy League of the P4 conferences?

Take Cal and Stanford first. Then kick the tires with Vanderbilt, Northwestern, and Texas A&M. I realize there’s not much of a chance of those schools walking away from Big 10/SEC money. Do those conferences really want Vanderbilt and Northwestern, though? And how disgruntled is A&M now that Texas is joining the SEC?

If you can get those schools, does that help with Notre Dame becoming a full-time member? And at that point, do you have a shot at a disgruntled USC? Again, I know the money isn’t there right now.

Schools like Clemson, FSU, NC State, and Virginia Tech are going to leave eventually. If the rest of the schools stay and you have at least some of the schools mentioned above, you have a conference that can be competitive in football while excelling in academics, basketball, and the other sports.

Meh, it’s probably a pipe dream.

 

[General20]

Forget about conferences and forget about money. Look at parity.

When there is no competition there is no entertainment. Football died at least a decade ago. I can't remember the last time there were more than 3 teams legitimately competing for a football championship. In my mind there is no need to worry about football because no matter how things get distributed Syracuse and 99% of the rest of college football will never have a legitimate chance to build a title contender.

Certainly the power teams will try to consolidate power in basketball as well but that's a lot harder to do because of the nature of the sport. Last year 3 of the 4 biggest spending teams (Duke, Kentucky, UNC, and Kansas) all kind of sucked and none of the final 4 teams were big spenders. Point being the big spenders haven't figured out how to turn investment into consistent success in the world of 1 and dones and constant transfers yet. They will figure it out better than they have so far, but I think the hope is that player empowerment creates parity that can't be overcome by spending money.

UConn gets very little TV money and their athletic department is deep in debt but they won't the championship last year. Do their fans care? Would you care if Syracuse was in an "inferior" conference but made the final 4 once a decade or so?

The worry is that the power conference teams break away from the NCAA and create their own championship and Syracuse does not get an invitation to that. If that doesn't happen I'm not at all sure any of this matters to anyone but the bean counters at SU.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Long term I think we end up in the Big 12.

 

[Wrinkle]

Find a spot in the Big 10, or die

 

[miamicuse]

Just do a BIG64 conference, with 5 divisions, 20 team division in the west, 20 team division in the east, 12 team division in the mid west, 11 team division in the south, and Rutgers in a division by itself, that's 64 teams and that's March madness lol.

 

[Orangezoo]

Long term I think we end up in the Big 12.

I wonder who makes first move to rename their mega conference...

 

[bballbeadle]

So depressing . . .

 

[Sherman20]

This is an amazing perspective from the Raleigh News and Observer reporter.

Examining a wild week in conference realignment as Florida State makes a fuss about the ACC (podcast)

Raleigh News & Observer columnist Luke DeCock talks with Syracuse.com's Mike Waters about the ACC's future amid realignment chaos.

www.syracuse.com

 

[hoopsupstate]

This is an amazing perspective from the Raleigh News and Observer reporter.

Examining a wild week in conference realignment as Florida State makes a fuss about the ACC (podcast)

Raleigh News & Observer columnist Luke DeCock talks with Syracuse.com's Mike Waters about the ACC's future amid realignment chaos.

www.syracuse.com

He basically says FSU can go pound salt. Performance based revenue will hurt them because they don’t win anything. If they want to leave pay the $500 million and leave, but there is nowhere for them to go.

 

[ClamOtto]

Forget about conferences and forget about money. Look at parity.

When there is no competition there is no entertainment. Football died at least a decade ago. I can't remember the last time there were more than 3 teams legitimately competing for a football championship. In my mind there is no need to worry about football because no matter how things get distributed Syracuse and 99% of the rest of college football will never have a legitimate chance to build a title contender.

Certainly the power teams will try to consolidate power in basketball as well but that's a lot harder to do because of the nature of the sport. Last year 3 of the 4 biggest spending teams (Duke, Kentucky, UNC, and Kansas) all kind of sucked and none of the final 4 teams were big spenders. Point being the big spenders haven't figured out how to turn investment into consistent success in the world of 1 and dones and constant transfers yet. They will figure it out better than they have so far, but I think the hope is that player empowerment creates parity that can't be overcome by spending money.

UConn gets very little TV money and their athletic department is deep in debt but they won't the championship last year. Do their fans care? Would you care if Syracuse was in an "inferior" conference but made the final 4 once a decade or so?

The worry is that the power conference teams break away from the NCAA and create their own championship and Syracuse does not get an invitation to that. If that doesn't happen I'm not at all sure any of this matters to anyone but the bean counters at SU.

This exactly. I don't understand how college football has been thriving in the current environment of the same 3-5 contenders and then everyone else. I have no interest. Basketball obviously has some dominant schools, but we get a San Diego St., FAU, George Mason, or Loyola on a pretty regular basis. Do they really want a tournament with 64 major conference schools (including lots of horrendous ones) and everyone else shut out? Doesn't sound very interesting to me.

Also, a big part of the reason college sports is so huge is that so many people have a personal connection to the schools - I went there, or my sister went there, or I work there, or I grew up in the small town where the school is located. You may even know some of the players or their families or the coaches personally. As opposed to the pros, where your connection might be that you live somewhere in the team's extended media market. If you cut out the hundreds of schools not in one of the big 2 or 3 conferences, I don't see how it sustains the same level of interest.

 

[kirbivore]

He basically says FSU can go pound salt. Performance based revenue will hurt them because they don’t win anything. If they want to leave pay the $500 million and leave, but there is nowhere for them to go.

I'm not sure the SEC will even want Florida St. They've good with the Florida Gators. I guess the 'Noles are angling for the B1G

 

[atlanticuse]

Big 69 and Pac Small

 

[Hopkins16]

The ACC is in the early stages of considering adding Cal and Stanford. These conferences are all over the map.

 

[General20]

The ACC is in the early stages of considering adding Cal and Stanford. These conferences are all over the map.

Could that possibly be financially worth it? I guess adding ACC network to Cali TV sets is probably a pretty big deal.

 

[Hopkins16]

Could that possibly be financially worth it? I guess adding ACC network to Cali TV sets is probably a pretty big deal.

I guess it will help with west coast recruiting as kids out there will be able to see our new exciting style of play.

 

[Cuse1055]

If Cal joins the ACC then I guess we’ll have to worry about Cal coming back on us again….

 

[hoopsupstate]

It’s all about making the ACC more attractive to ND.

 

[CardiacCuse]

I would like to point out that this mess is the perfect example of why everyone independently following their own "best interest" does not lead to the best outcome for all...does not lead to the best outcome for the system as a whole...and makes everything worse for most, if not all

(which goes against the bedrock assumption of our entire economic system, fwiw)

 

[two3zone]

It’s all about making the ACC more attractive to ND.

I’d bet my life that there is nothing the ACC could do to get them to join.

 

[General20]

If Cal joins the ACC then I guess we’ll have to worry about Cal coming back on us again….

Does that mean Washington St and Oregon St become the 2 Pac ... theme song Can't C Me (on television)

 

[OttoMets]

Does that mean Washington St and Oregon St become the 2 Pac ... theme song Can't C Me (on television)

"I'm gettin green like I'm supposed to,"

-- rival ADs, probably.

 

[andyw715]

So it will be the "All Coast Conference"?

We are actually going to send non-rev sports 2k+ miles for a game/match/meet/contest?