Conference Realignment

[bobongo]

You can still have regional rivalries within a national conference. Some rivalries will develop over time, and some will go away.

GT use to be one of Alabama's biggest rivals. I wasn't around for it, so I don't understand the magnitude, but reading historical reports the Dodd - Bear Bryant rivalry was one of the biggest in the SEC at the time. How many 'Bama fans or GT fans know that today?

I think that's what the B1G, and to an extent the SEC, tries to preserve rivalries when they "acquire" teams.

Good example of why continuity and rivalry are important. Ripping GT out of the SEC was a disaster. We haven't even played Alabama since '84. More turbulence is further disaster.
I'm sure all of these movements make sense if you're looking at them up close and counting the money to be made in the short term. But step back and look at the whole picture and you see the decay.

 

[Techster]

Good example of why continuity and rivalry are important. Ripping GT out of the SEC was a disaster. We haven't even played Alabama since '84. More turbulence is further disaster.
I'm sure all of these movements make sense if you're looking at them up close and counting the money to be made in the short term. But step back and look at the whole picture and you see the decay.

Bottom line is this: If GT moves to the B1G or Big 12, are you going to be any less of a GT fan?

I think that's what these conferences are counting on. Each fanbase will remain loyal to their school, and rivalries will continue on in new conferences, or new ones will be made. As long as fans remain loyal to their schools, and school fan bases are among the most loyal "consumers", the big conferences will operate business as usual.

 

[CEB]

We'll see. IMO, there will be 3 big conference...new rivalries will form, and some will go away.

If anything, my fear is that networks will invest heavily into these big conferences and the smaller conferences who just started seeing an influx of cash will not have their deals renewed similar to what happened with the PAC12. Not sure what will happen then, but it's dire for the smaller college sports programs when that happens.

I agree mostly with this. FWIW, I agree mostly with your the larger post you made if you had said “college FOOTBALL” and not “college sports.”
Maybe this will work for football. I don’t see it working for anyone else.
I’m sure it won’t come to pass, but I would prefer to see a scenario where the big football programs agree to a league and collective revenue sharing for football only. Separate it completely from the rest of the athletic department and keep the money totally separate as well. Let the rest of college sports stay in regional conferences where they can all be competitive on their own merits; not picking winners and losers on the basketball court or baseball diamond based on the status of their football program.

 

[cpf2001]

Bottom line is this: If GT moves to the B1G or Big 12, are you going to be any less of a GT fan?

If GT doesn’t make it to the Big 10 I’m probably not watching any major college football anymore.

There’s just not gonna be enough eyeballs for a <60 team trimmed-down “super college” league to grow against all the other sports and entertainment options that exist today.

Fanbases can’t be treated as dead weight. It’s hard to gain a new lifelong fan to the sport to replace them.

How do you turn “fewer teams with any chance of doing anything” into “more eyeballs”?

 

[CEB]

Bottom line is this: If GT moves to the B1G or Big 12, are you going to be any less of a GT fan?

I think that's what these conferences are counting on. Each fanbase will remain loyal to their school, and rivalries will continue on in new conferences, or new ones will be made. As long as fans remain loyal to their schools, and school fan bases are among the most loyal "consumers", the big conferences will operate business as usual.

That’s kind of a straw man.... if big college football has decided it doesn’t need GT fans, then whether or not I remain a GT fan is irrelevant.

Big college football is banking on drawing MORE eyeballs, and its plan to do it includes alienating dozens of “lesser” programs. The real question is if those fans will continue to tune in for “major” college football if they are not a part of it.
As a GT fan first, will I turn on the TV to watch Ohio St play USC even though my team will never see the field with either of them? In my house, that answer is probably no.

Taken a step further, if the networks are invested in filling up time slots with those games and I have to watch my team on a second rated or steaming service with crappy production and cut rate announcers, are these fans turning on the TV at all?

I think the big ratings draws are in part due to college football fans who watch because there’s a chance their team has a shot to be there someday. Take away that shot for fans of 50-60 programs and I think you take away most of those eyeballs.

 

[CEB]

If GT doesn’t make it to the Big 10 I’m probably not watching any major college football anymore.

There’s just not gonna be enough eyeballs for a <60 team trimmed-down “super college” league to grow against all the other sports and entertainment options that exist today.

Fanbases can’t be treated as dead weight. It’s hard to gain a new lifelong fan to the sport to replace them.

How do you turn “fewer teams with any chance of doing anything” into “more eyeballs”?

Kudos on your sharper mind and faster fingers.
Couldn’t say it better myself (although I tried).

 

[stech81]

Bottom line is this: If GT moves to the B1G or Big 12, are you going to be any less of a GT fan?

No , but it would cut down on the road games a lot like to go see Tech.
But it would mean so Tech fan that can’t make it to home games could in other parts could see them on the road

 

[stech81]

One thing I think will be coming one day ( if it hasn’t) is a network that will have all the college games and you pay for season tickets to watch all games of your team. You get a code for each team.

 

[Mattmc10]

If GT doesn’t make it to the Big 10 I’m probably not watching any major college football anymore.

There’s just not gonna be enough eyeballs for a <60 team trimmed-down “super college” league to grow against all the other sports and entertainment options that exist today.

Fanbases can’t be treated as dead weight. It’s hard to gain a new lifelong fan to the sport to replace them.

How do you turn “fewer teams with any chance of doing anything” into “more eyeballs”?

This is spot on. I used to watch more games because everyone seemed to be involved. The past decade + continues to chip away at that every year.

 

[Techster]

That’s kind of a straw man.... if big college football has decided it doesn’t need GT fans, then whether or not I remain a GT fan is irrelevant.

Big college football is banking on drawing MORE eyeballs, and its plan to do it includes alienating dozens of “lesser” programs. The real question is if those fans will continue to tune in for “major” college football if they are not a part of it.
As a GT fan first, will I turn on the TV to watch Ohio St play USC even though my team will never see the field with either of them? In my house, that answer is probably no.

Taken a step further, if the networks are invested in filling up time slots with those games and I have to watch my team on a second rated or steaming service with crappy production and cut rate announcers, are these fans turning on the TV at all?

I think the big ratings draws are in part due to college football fans who watch because there’s a chance their team has a shot to be there someday. Take away that shot for fans of 50-60 programs and I think you take away most of those eyeballs.

It's not a strawman argument. Will you or will you not be a GT fan if conferences go national? It's a question ALL fanbases will have to ask themselves. Whether you like it or not, if you quit following college sports, there will be a 10 year old who only knows college sports the way it will be and he/she will grow up supporting whatever team was on that afternoon during his childhood. That's how I essentially became a GT fan...I passively followed Michigan (from Royal Oak, MI) and Notre Dame because they were always on TV. I fell in love with GT because they were a local team having a great season in both football and basketball in 1990. Whether you or I like it or not, we are replaceable. There are MANY other fans that will fall in love with the fact that there's a conference playing all over the country.

GT/ACC is already relegated to streaming or the ACC Network 4th and 5th rated production team. How many games have we had to watch on streaming only? Have you quit watching GT or college sports?

In terms of "take away that shot", you must have missed the last decade of college sports. You're arguing something that exists right now. Someone did a study of how many schools have a realistic shot at the playoffs or national championship. The reality is there's probably a dozen teams right now with a realistic shot of the playing in the playoffs or national championship. Sure, there are some teams that sneak in from time to time (Cincinnatti, TCU), but look at the vast majority of playoff and national championship participants. It's almost a closed circle.

Besides, if anything, there will be MORE access in the future. 12 playoff spots in the future, so you can argue it may be EASIER for schools outside of the future Big 3 in making the playoffs.

One day, there will be generations who only know national conferences. Guys like us who grew up with regional conferences will be "aged out". This move to consolidate teams and conferences is a 50+ year decision. Whether you and I like it or not, I highly doubt fans from our generation (I'm in my 40's) will factor much into network decisions over the next decade or so.

 

[cpf2001]

You’re talking about “all” fanbases but not considering that “all” is becoming a smaller and smaller set.

I know people who got into big-time college football twenty years ago by going to Wazzu. What happens to the next generation Wazzu student who has no connection to it? They stick to solely following the Seahawks instead.

 

[Techster]

You’re talking about “all” fanbases but not considering that “all” is becoming a smaller and smaller set.

I know people who got into big-time college football twenty years ago by going to Wazzu. What happens to the next generation Wazzu student who has no connection to it? They stick to solely following the Seahawks instead.

Whether some of us like the oncoming change or not, it doesn't matter. It's going to happen.

We'll see what the fallout will be in 20 years.

 

[cpf2001]

I don't have to like it, I'm just gonna be smug about it in 20 years. Killing the goose that lays the golden eggs in the name of short-term profit is the American way.

 

[57jacket]

Whether some of us like the oncoming change or not, it doesn't matter. It's going to happen.

We'll see what the fallout will be in 20 years.

Ha Ha. Many of us won't be here in 20 years.

 

[billga99]

The only sport that can truly support this much travel is football. As has been said by many, football should have been split apart from the NCAA and form their own association. I would have taken the teams from the Power 5 and Notre Dame and maybe a few teams from Group of 5. You could have divided into 4 conferences/regions and had top 2 from each automatically qualify for 12 team playoff.

Obviously the Big Ten and SEC are not going to give up their advantage. But Olympic Sports and to an extent Men's BB are going to be a real mess. We may all wink at College Football being student athletes but that is not true for the majority of sports where athletes are also students. Travel will make their lives miserable. I just don't think the national league being proposed make any sense for the Big Ten in the majority of sports. Actually the SEC spanning from TX to FL makes more sense for the other sports. If SEC goes outside their SW/SE footprint, they will run into the same issue as the Big Ten will starting in 2024/2025 sports year.

 

[bobongo]

Bottom line is this: If GT moves to the B1G or Big 12, are you going to be any less of a GT fan?

I think that's what these conferences are counting on. Each fanbase will remain loyal to their school, and rivalries will continue on in new conferences, or new ones will be made. As long as fans remain loyal to their schools, and school fan bases are among the most loyal "consumers", the big conferences will operate business as usual.

Not me, but I'm only one guy and not so typical of the average fan. I've been following the Jackets since '65.

 

[Techster]

I don't have to like it, I'm just gonna be smug about it in 20 years. Killing the goose that lays the golden eggs in the name of short-term profit is the American way.

I'm open minded. People have said different things would kill off college sports over the years. Playoffs, TV, NIL, transfers, commercialization, etc. In the end, sports, like life, finds a way.

 

[bobongo]

Whether some of us like the oncoming change or not, it doesn't matter. It's going to happen.

No argument there. I just hope Tech can land on its feet, come what may.

 

[CEB]

It's not a strawman argument. Will you or will you not be a GT fan if conferences go national? It's a question ALL fanbases will have to ask themselves. Whether you like it or not, if you quit following college sports, there will be a 10 year old who only knows college sports the way it will be and he/she will grow up supporting whatever team was on that afternoon during his childhood. That's how I essentially became a GT fan...I passively followed Michigan (from Royal Oak, MI) and Notre Dame because they were always on TV. I fell in love with GT because they were a local team having a great season in both football and basketball in 1990. Whether you or I like it or not, we are replaceable. There are MANY other fans that will fall in love with the fact that there's a conference playing all over the country.

GT/ACC is already relegated to streaming or the ACC Network 4th and 5th rated production team. How many games have we had to watch on streaming only? Have you quit watching GT or college sports?

In terms of "take away that shot", you must have missed the last decade of college sports. You're arguing something that exists right now. Someone did a study of how many schools have a realistic shot at the playoffs or national championship. The reality is there's probably a dozen teams right now with a realistic shot of the playing in the playoffs or national championship. Sure, there are some teams that sneak in from time to time (Cincinnatti, TCU), but look at the vast majority of playoff and national championship participants. It's almost a closed circle.

Besides, if anything, there will be MORE access in the future. 12 playoff spots in the future, so you can argue it may be EASIER for schools outside of the future Big 3 in making the playoffs.

One day, there will be generations who only know national conferences. Guys like us who grew up with regional conferences will be "aged out". This move to consolidate teams and conferences is a 50+ year decision. Whether you and I like it or not, I highly doubt fans from our generation (I'm in my 40's) will factor much into network decisions over the next decade or so.

If you’re arguing “national vs regional” then your point regarding GT fans staying GT fans is appropriate.

The context of the discussion I was having is with regard to the division of college athletics “major vs minor” or “power 2 vs the rest of what is currently D1.” In that context, I don’t think fan allegiance to a team outside of the “major” group brings any eyeballs to the major group. The logical inference is that “minor” teams won’t see the field with the “major” teams either. Not just in the playoffs, but period.

So the business model is basically to blow it all up and attract new fans... maybe so. I’m still skeptical about it.

 

[billga99]

If you are successful at any level, you can get interest. Look at ND St and James Madison in FCS. They had strong fan interest even though they weren't play Division 1 football. If we are not part of the Big 2 but can be a winning program, we can keep fan interest. But it definitely becomes more of a local GT fan base versus anything on a regional or national scale. In reality getting rid of the Top 40ish programs to national leagues might make football more enjoyable for the remainder since they will be potentially competing on a more level playing field.