Conference Realignment

[Steve81]

Texas and Oklahoma are moving out of the Big XII. The musical chairs music is playing. Big XII could raid the AAC and the AAC could raid CUSA and possible a MAC team. There is so much in play to speculate, but forums love this stuff.

Of course more schools will jump ship to other conference and the Big XII dissolves. Think the door would open wider for a new G5 conference.

https://www.espn.com/college-football/s ... -texas-sec

The Big 12 athletic directors and their university presidents and chancellors held a videoconference on Thursday evening to discuss the possible moves. Both OU and Texas were invited to the meeting but declined to participate in the call, sources said.

During Thursday's meeting, conference officials also scratched the surface on discussions of what the Big 12 might do if OU and Texas left, and one source said that included looking into whether there were other Power 5 programs that might want to join, or if schools such as UCF, Houston, Cincinnati or BYU might make good additions. There was some appetite in the meeting for possibly adding two teams even if OU and Texas decide to stay.

[econalum]

Any replacement Power 5 conference would need 4 or so 'super draw' TV teams, at least. As greed is dominating here, we could see a scenario where any such team moving from a Power 5 would demand a 50% greater share of TV revenues than other teams, as the BIG 12 just offered TX and OK to stay, and that was NOT enough for them to stay.

IMO, a secondary effect will be that 'payday' teams, like UMass, will find those opportunities limited or cut off, as the networks will demand only premier contests to justify outlandish TV revenue demands by this relative handful of leagues/teams.

Lots of moving parts that favor the biggest players.

It will be most interesting to see if MBB TV follows this trend of centralizing the revenues and profits.

[e_parade]

Texas and Oklahoma are moving out of the Big XII. The musical chairs music is playing. Big XII could raid the AAC and the AAC could raid CUSA and possible a MAC team. There is so much in play to speculate, but forums love this stuff.

Of course more schools will jump ship to other conference and the Big XII dissolves. Think the door would open wider for a new G5 conference.

https://www.espn.com/college-football/s ... -texas-sec

The Big 12 athletic directors and their university presidents and chancellors held a videoconference on Thursday evening to discuss the possible moves. Both OU and Texas were invited to the meeting but declined to participate in the call, sources said.

During Thursday's meeting, conference officials also scratched the surface on discussions of what the Big 12 might do if OU and Texas left, and one source said that included looking into whether there were other Power 5 programs that might want to join, or if schools such as UCF, Houston, Cincinnati or BYU might make good additions. There was some appetite in the meeting for possibly adding two teams even if OU and Texas decide to stay.

Most of the other schools in the B12 aren't really worth much to the other P5 conference. Kansas's basketball team is about it.

However, the B12 is listed by name as an Autonomy conference, and therefore have the upper hand on every conference that isn't also an A5 (the real name for P5) conference. Most G5 schools would jump at the opportunity to join them. The only one that may balk would be BYU if they perceive (correctly) that the B12 is a weaker conference than the PAC, because they don't want to admit that they're not as good as Utah.

[econalum]

A footnote on the SEC tv monies involved: https://www.wsj.com/articles/texas-and- ... 1627284977

Key point is that the SEC has won a $300M TV contract with ESPN - and the article says as teams added, the total could grow. It would be nearly 5.5x of the contract. To wit....

"The SEC’s current television deal with CBS, which currently pays it $55 million annually, expires in 2024, at which point ESPN will pay the league $300 million annually to air its games. The contract could be subject to renegotiation should the SEC add members."

[Steve81]

Even thou have an affinity the MAC, was thinking if the AAC lost 2 west teams and a Florida team, the power may shift and possible could add three east coast teams, which say UMass was included. Think we have to give it a nod yes. However it will remain a southern bas league and think they will go in that direction.

[Quann]

Ugh this blows. Wish there was a way to cap these football conferences at 10 or 12 schools. They’re destroying college football overall.

[econalum]

Well, the '10-12 teams per conference' ship has sailed.

As I read more articles, MBB has barely factored into the discussion. Jay Bilas is calling for ACC to approach SEC proactively, lest it is left out in the breeze.

Regardless, ND is the most desired player unaffiliated for FB, but committed until '36 for 'Olympic Sports', but I thought men's hockey is an Olympic sport!

Lots more moves to come in this super-sizing.

[KahunaK]

This is why Chancellor Holub wanted a med school in Springfield so UMASS join the AAU (he lost his job over this). I think he thinking was join the MAC for a decade or two, get membership in the AAU and then UMASS could be invited to the B10. WVU and ISU are not getting into the B10 I guess. They only want AAU schools.

https://247sports.com/college/iowa-stat ... eGfrYMov4Y

[e_parade]

This is why Chancellor Holub wanted a med school in Springfield so UMASS join the AAU (he lost his job over this). I think he thinking was join the MAC for a decade or two, get membership in the AAU and then UMASS could be invited to the B10. WVU and ISU are not getting into the B10 I guess. They only want AAU schools.

https://247sports.com/college/iowa-stat ... eGfrYMov4Y

ISU is AAU - their problem is that's all they really have going for them for the B1G. They're not like Kansas with a legendary basketball program, and they're certainly not a football power.

[Old Cage]

^^ Let this be a reminder to all of us that there are multiple factors at play concerning the future of our football program. It is far from solely in the hands of the Athletic Department. Not news, but needed to be kept in mind.

[InnervisionsUMASS]

Texas and OU have officially requested an invite from the SEC, per ESPN about 5 minutes ago.

[UMass02]

My hope is that enough dominos fall to get UMass into some conference… any conference. Independence isn’t a great long-term solution to the quagmire of UMass football.

[Quann]

This stuff may be ok for football but it is going to kill basketball. Texas, Oklahoma and Texas A&M now playing basketball in the SEC. No thanks. Big 12 was such a great basketball conference and it is going to be decimated by the time all the chips fall. Very sad.

[DrG]

The more I think about it, the more I think that if I want to watch professional football, I'd rather wait until Sunday for the NFL.

[econalum]

There are only so many games that networks and their advertisers will accept on Saturdays, and my guess is that the Superleague(s) will grab those up. NFL has Sundays, Mondays and most Thursdays locked up.

This means a distasteful choice of mid-working week games in order to be on major sports networks, or being on Saturday with minimal TV monies involved. And, ESPN is making a major commitment to hockey, with significant seasonal overlaps, along with MBB in mid-Fall.

Superleague(s) will basically outlaw pay-for-play games as each game will mean a lot for eligibility to the inevitable expansion of playoffs. Many colleges, including UMass, will need to meet and discuss ways to cut expenses, be it some sort of regional leagues and/or cuts in scholarships, and/or coaches. IMO, AAC type arrangements will be unaffordable for many. How NCAA even fits into this mess moving forward remains a mystery.