Conference Realignment

Vespidae

Helluva Engineer
Messages
5,232
Location
Auburn, AL
I agree 100%. I bet this is just a bargaining ploy to make FSU and Clemson a little more desperate and willing to accept terms more agreeable to the P2.
Look at the map below. How does FSU fit into this mess? It would be a total outlier. As to the SEC, my sources say FSU has zero chance. They are roundly despised.

1721145957603.png
 

slugboy

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
10,996
I’m sure both these schools will be plenty attractive once they leave the ACC. This is nothing but smoke and mirrors
Texas griped and was annoying, but they didn’t sue their conference and they waited (pretty much) until their contract was up. Oklahoma was a very good conference member.

USC and UCLA just didn’t renew, and took a B1G offer after their agreement was ending. Colorado was pretty slimy in their move to the Big 12 (they had just begged their way into the P12), but they did live up to their obligations.

FSU has put themselves in the “you can’t trust them” category. They’re breaking an agreement that they helped write. They have good ratings, but they are going to have a “toxicity” discount. There is going to be a heckuva argument about a partial share for them, and a lot against a full share.

Edited to add: the B1G has their talking points together today—another voice downplaying adding them to the B1G.

 
Last edited:

Vespidae

Helluva Engineer
Messages
5,232
Location
Auburn, AL
Personally i kinda want to see a ****show where the Big10 makes an offer to FSU conditional on them changing their mascot and name to bring a whole other layer of controversy in.
I’d rather see FSU in the B1G rather than the SEC. In the B1G, they will play teams like Northwestern, Illinois, etc … hardly big draws. I think you will see their viewership draw down … with the B1G thinking, “My god, what have we done?”
 

cpf2001

Ramblin' Wreck
Messages
961
If I was a ruthless Big 10 I would have tried to drop Iowa, Minnesota, Northwestern, and probably Purdue, and bring in Texas, Miami, Arizona State, and let's say GT for the hell of it. Just seems like Miami gives you all the nice Florida market and territory stuff without the whole FSU thing.
 

Vespidae

Helluva Engineer
Messages
5,232
Location
Auburn, AL
If I was a ruthless Big 10 I would have tried to drop Iowa, Minnesota, Northwestern, and probably Purdue, and bring in Texas, Miami, Arizona State, and let's say GT for the hell of it. Just seems like Miami gives you all the nice Florida market and territory stuff without the whole FSU thing.
GT would have been attractive to the B1G if we had maintained regional rivals, especially Auburn, Alabama and Tennessee. The latest review I read has GT and Wake Forest dropping down to the AAC or Sunbelt.

Scheduling and viewership matters. Nobody cares if you beat Gardner Webb or Alcorn State.
 

RonJohn

Helluva Engineer
Messages
4,766
GT would have been attractive to the B1G if we had maintained regional rivals, especially Auburn, Alabama and Tennessee. The latest review I read has GT and Wake Forest dropping down to the AAC or Sunbelt.

Scheduling and viewership matters. Nobody cares if you beat Gardner Webb or Alcorn State.
Based solely on viewership? The latest average viewer rankings I saw had GT at number 7 in the ACC. Wake was 13th and Duke was 14th. GT's schedule has not been filled with Alcorn State. In fact, GT's OOC schedule for the last couple of decades has been much, much better than the great majority of SEC schools. Even compare it to Auburn: UMass, Samford, San Jose State, Mercer. Those must be barn burner games.
 

billga99

Ramblin' Wreck
Messages
706
GT would have been attractive to the B1G if we had maintained regional rivals, especially Auburn, Alabama and Tennessee. The latest review I read has GT and Wake Forest dropping down to the AAC or Sunbelt.

Scheduling and viewership matters. Nobody cares if you beat Gardner Webb or Alcorn State.
I don't buy the landing space being the AAC or Sunbelt. GT at least should be a fit for the Big 12 since they already have UCF. I think key leftovers from the ACC could make up an Eastern Division of the Big 12. Plus I just don't believe the Atlanta marketplace has no value.
 

MidtownJacket

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
4,830
I don't believe our PAC or ADJB have interest in dropping down. They want to be World Class in anything and everything we do. Their securing the funds to date shows they have the commitment and dedication to pursue that goal with vim and vigor.
 

Vespidae

Helluva Engineer
Messages
5,232
Location
Auburn, AL
Based solely on viewership? The latest average viewer rankings I saw had GT at number 7 in the ACC. Wake was 13th and Duke was 14th. GT's schedule has not been filled with Alcorn State. In fact, GT's OOC schedule for the last couple of decades has been much, much better than the great majority of SEC schools. Even compare it to Auburn: UMass, Samford, San Jose State, Mercer. Those must be barn burner games.
Number 7 in the ACC is not something to brag about.
 

Vespidae

Helluva Engineer
Messages
5,232
Location
Auburn, AL
I don't buy the landing space being the AAC or Sunbelt. GT at least should be a fit for the Big 12 since they already have UCF. I think key leftovers from the ACC could make up an Eastern Division of the Big 12. Plus I just don't believe the Atlanta marketplace has no value.
It’s not a question of Atlanta. It’s a question of Nielsen-rated viewership. Tech, because of the way they have scheduled, is invisible.
 

AugustaSwarm

Ramblin' Wreck
Messages
643
If I was a ruthless Big 10 I would have tried to drop Iowa, Minnesota, Northwestern, and probably Purdue, and bring in Texas, Miami, Arizona State, and let's say GT for the hell of it. Just seems like Miami gives you all the nice Florida market and territory stuff without the whole FSU thing.
Eh...the Florida panhandle is where the Floridian college football fans reside - down to about Orlando. Miami is a pro city. Half of south Florida are transplants from the northeast (i.e. not big college football fans).
 

Vespidae

Helluva Engineer
Messages
5,232
Location
Auburn, AL
Eh...the Florida panhandle is where the Floridian college football fans reside - down to about Orlando. Miami is a pro city. Half of south Florida are transplants from the northeast (i.e. not big college football fans).
Somewhat true. The Panhandle has a LOT of SEC fans … LSU, Bama, and Tennessee. Very different than 40 years ago.
 

ThatGuy

Ramblin' Wreck
Messages
915
Location
Evergreen, CO
It’s not a question of Atlanta. It’s a question of Nielsen-rated viewership. Tech, because of the way they have scheduled, is invisible.
Eh. Nielsen-rated viewership is definitely a big draw in the streaming world. But still, even as cable continues to decline, carriage fees are a LOT of money on the table.

Those of us who watch the ratings know that Nielsen ratings are a self-licking ice cream cone. FSU can tout how much higher its viewership is because it's on the major networks for a lot of matchups. And it gets those matchups on major networks because it has high ratings.

I think the conferences definitely look at Nielsen-rated viewership - but their commissioners are smart enough to discount it as a sole factor, or a single question. It's that, it's carriage fees, it's fanbase, it's type of university, it's geographically-favorable location, it's AAU status. It's all of the things I've mentioned here, and more.
 

Vespidae

Helluva Engineer
Messages
5,232
Location
Auburn, AL
Eh. Nielsen-rated viewership is definitely a big draw in the streaming world. But still, even as cable continues to decline, carriage fees are a LOT of money on the table.

Those of us who watch the ratings know that Nielsen ratings are a self-licking ice cream cone. FSU can tout how much higher its viewership is because it's on the major networks for a lot of matchups. And it gets those matchups on major networks because it has high ratings.

I think the conferences definitely look at Nielsen-rated viewership - but their commissioners are smart enough to discount it as a sole factor, or a single question. It's that, it's carriage fees, it's fanbase, it's type of university, it's geographically-favorable location, it's AAU status. It's all of the things I've mentioned here, and more.
While true, Nielsen is still the gold standard of viewership. All other perspectives on point.
 
Top