Conference Realignment

[orientalnc]

According to Jim's speech yesterday, there is a potential for up to another $25MM for teams that perform at the top. So, if FSU runs through football and basketball in the ACC and wins the NC, they could earn $75MM next year. I guess they should shut up and play to win.

I believe the Noles feel like they deserve the $75M for showing up.

 

[SOWEGA Jacket]

What you guys don’t get is Phillips is the commissioner for FSU and Clemson. That his leadership has led to all the dirty laundry being aired in full view is on him. The SEC and BIG conference teams all don’t get along and have bitter decades old grudges, yet their commissioners are true leaders who handle their business in house. Phillips shouldn’t be calling any of his member teams out in public. It’s poor form. Sure, I get that it feels good emotionally to do it, but all it does is show we are a clown conference. If the GOR is airtight then he doesn’t have to say a thing while the lawyers fight in court. What happens if GT does something he doesn’t like? Will he call us out in public and belittle us. This conference is so 2nd tier right now it’s embarrassing.

 

[cpf2001]

A bit weird to blame the commissioner for responding to members airing dirty laundry.

As far as being a clown conference, though… hard to argue when they signed a ten billion long media deal while other leagues were working on shorter timeframes in a highly inflationary environment. SUPER high risk move. Even if “right” in the long term and a media rights bubble bursts in 2032, say… can you survive the meantime? But that’s on FSU and Clemson too, and they need to own that too.

 

[LT 1967]

If anyone is interested in the logistical issues involved with Cal and Stanford entering the ACC, below is a good article by Andera Adelson of ESPN. She also covers SMU which has fewer issues.

It is interesting how grateful SMU is to be in the ACC. From their viewpoint, I guess we should all be more grateful for the ACC.

MSN

 

[forensicbuzz]

What you guys don’t get is Phillips is the commissioner for FSU and Clemson. That his leadership has led to all the dirty laundry being aired in full view is on him. The SEC and BIG conference teams all don’t get along and have bitter decades old grudges, yet their commissioners are true leaders who handle their business in house. Phillips shouldn’t be calling any of his member teams out in public. It’s poor form. Sure, I get that it feels good emotionally to do it, but all it does is show we are a clown conference. If the GOR is airtight then he doesn’t have to say a thing while the lawyers fight in court. What happens if GT does something he doesn’t like? Will he call us out in public and belittle us. This conference is so 2nd tier right now it’s embarrassing.

Just a hater.

 

[SOWEGA Jacket]

Just a hater.

Yeah, I know. I just want real leadership and that involves being professional. Right now, FSU and Clemson have not left the conference. Sure, are they exploring their options? Of course, so what. GT is probably exploring leaving as well. But neither have done a thing yet. They are still active members of this conference. FSU is the reigning conference champion yet their commissioner attacks them when he should be celebrating them and pulling his best Vince McMahon for the first game of the entire season that involves two members of his conference.

Now, the minute they actually leave and bring actual damage to the conference then of course we can all pile on them. But, I have not seen where either of them have done anything to be called out by anyone. Are they refusing to show up to events and games? Nope.

 

[forensicbuzz]

Yeah, I know. I just want real leadership and that involves being professional. Right now, FSU and Clemson have not left the conference. Sure, are they exploring their options? Of course, so what. GT is probably exploring leaving as well. But neither have done a thing yet. They are still active members of this conference. FSU is the reigning conference champion yet their commissioner attacks them when he should be celebrating them and pulling his best Vince McMahon for the first game of the entire season that involves two members of his conference.

Now, the minute they actually leave and bring actual damage to the conference then of course we can all pile on them. But, I have not seen where either of them have done anything to be called out by anyone. Are they refusing to show up to events and games? Nope.

I totally, 100%, emphatically disagree with this. I think this is 7 month late. When grown men and women act childishly, the adults need to admonish them, severely.

 

[CEB]

I totally, 100%, emphatically disagree with this. I think this is 7 month late. When grown men and women act childishly, the adults need to admonish them, severely.

Agreed.
“Professional” went out the window when this went public and turned into a legal battle.
The only point I can concede is that the commissioner of our conference didn’t have to advocate for FSU as much as he needed to advocate for the quality of an ACC champion.
Yeah, last year was a perfect storm for FSU, but I don’t remember much of a statement from the ACC.
HOWEVER… I will readily concede that media heads would report and parrot comments from SEC leadership much more readily than comments from the ACC… but if you’re going to break the narrative, you’ve got to be persistent.

 

[SOWEGA Jacket]

I totally, 100%, emphatically disagree with this. I think this is 7 month late. When grown men and women act childishly, the adults need to admonish them, severely.

I see your side. But the only grown men in a real power position is Phillips and he is acting very petulant. He’s the freaking commissioner not some random yahoo or lawyer from FSU or Clemson. You don’t see Sankey responding to trolls from Mississippi St or Vandy do you?

If the GOR is so concrete then Phillips should be laughing and enjoying FSU and Clemson throwing money away, not attacking his own schools he represents. But, if some posters are fine being in a conference where the commissioner attacks it’s own member schools while sitting quietly as two other conferences run the sport then so be it. Between the ACC and GT’s own boneheaded decisions over the years we are right where we deserve to be.

 

[forensicbuzz]

I see your side. But the only grown men in a real power position is Phillips and he is acting very petulant. He’s the freaking commissioner not some random yahoo or lawyer from FSU or Clemson. You don’t see Sankey responding to trolls from Mississippi St or Vandy do you?

If the GOR is so concrete then Phillips should be laughing and enjoying FSU and Clemson throwing money away, not attacking his own schools he represents. But, if some posters are fine being in a conference where the commissioner attacks it’s own member schools while sitting quietly as two other conferences run the sport then so be it. Between the ACC and GT’s own boneheaded decisions over the years we are right where we deserve to be.

I disagree with your characterization of his actions. I thought he was sending the correct message. He's not a saber rattler. He prefers to operate behind closed doors and work to everyone's best interest. That's his "style," and you could tell. However, with FSU, and to a lesser extent Clemson, showing their asses, it was time to step forward and let them know in no uncertain terms that their actions are damaging to the reputation of the conference and to get in line. I laud his comments, even if they came across somewhat stiffly. These words should have been said back when they started behaving badly. I''m also a little biased.

 

[CEB]

I see your side. But the only grown men in a real power position is Phillips and he is acting very petulant. He’s the freaking commissioner not some random yahoo or lawyer from FSU or Clemson. You don’t see Sankey responding to trolls from Mississippi St or Vandy do you?

If the GOR is so concrete then Phillips should be laughing and enjoying FSU and Clemson throwing money away, not attacking his own schools he represents. But, if some posters are fine being in a conference where the commissioner attacks it’s own member schools while sitting quietly as two other conferences run the sport then so be it. Between the ACC and GT’s own boneheaded decisions over the years we are right where we deserve to be.

And we’re off the deep end again…

 

[BurdellJacket]

I'm sorry, call me lazy, but I guess I was asleep when Mr Phillips was quoted in this thread where he apparently admonished FSU & Clemson. Can someone please point me to it.

 

[stinger78]

No one laughed and took joy at seeing FSU being left out of the playoffs. People didn't start poking fun at FSU until their entire team opted out of their bowl game and then grew a lot louder when FSU sued the ACC.

Perhaps didn’t laugh, but there were quite a few who staunchly defended the methodology the CFP used to choose teams. Most were saying that the choice was to maximize viewership. However, F$U was a compelling case of their own. With their top 5 D they could hang with anyone. What would their O do behind a RJr 2nd string QB?

 

[Techster]

How folks became unhappy with Paul Johnson I’ll never know. Did he need to continue to afapt his O? Yes. The rules were changing around him and making his style of O more and more difficult. He was somehow catching heat at home and just decided to retire.

Yes, he ran an outdated offense, but winning never gets old. In his last 5 seasons he won, 11, 3, 9, 5, and 7 games. That’s an average of 7 wins/season even with the really bad 2015. I think chances are he’d have bumped that up to 8 rather than to have dropped to 6.

Bobinski wanted "his guy", and there were some big $$$ donors who felt CPJ had hit his ceiling at GT with the Flex Option system. They wanted a change. It's the same donors that led to Collins getting hired due to the "any coach but a coach that runs the option" and "Pro offense" headlines that dominated during the Collins years. Together, they tried to starve CPJ of resources to make him walk away (and they almost succeeded). I'll always remember Bobinski's interview leading up the 2014 season, when CPJ was due for a contract extension, saying that coaches don't need 4 years on their contracts for recruiting...that having 4 years on a coach's contract for recruiting purposes was overplayed by the media and fans. Then what did Bobinski do? Used that same excuse as to why he had to extend Josh Pastner's contract.

Luckily, CPJ had one of the best seasons in recent GT history with the 2014 season, got his contract renewed, and Bobinski (aka Sasquatch) eventually slinked away to Purdue. CPJ didn't like to placate donors which led to some not liking him, but he had enough donor support with a good number of them that they went to bat for him. Looking back, GT was very lucky to have CPJ coach us for a decade.

 

[stinger78]

Bobinski wanted "his guy", and there were some big $$$ donors who felt CPJ had hit his ceiling at GT with the Flex Option system. They wanted a change. It's the same donors that led to Collins getting hired due to the "any coach but a coach that runs the option" and "Pro offense" headlines that dominated during the Collins years. Together, they tried to starve CPJ of resources to make him walk away (and they almost succeeded). I'll always remember Bobinski's interview leading up the 2014 season, when CPJ was due for a contract extension, saying that coaches don't need 4 years on their contracts for recruiting...that having 4 years on a coach's contract for recruiting purposes was overplayed by the media and fans. Then what did Bobinski do? Used that same excuse as to why he had to extend Josh Pastner's contract.

Luckily, CPJ had one of the best seasons in recent GT history with the 2014 season, got his contract renewed, and Bobinski (aka Sasquatch) eventually slinked away to Purdue. CPJ didn't like to placate donors which led to some not liking him, but he had enough donor support with a good number of them that they went to bat for him. Looking back, GT was very lucky to have CPJ coach us for a decade.

…and now he’s in the CF and GT HoF. His name is up on the stadium. Always wondered why Boss Ross’ isn’t there.

 

[Richard7125]

Perhaps didn’t laugh, but there were quite a few who staunchly defended the methodology the CFP used to choose teams. Most were saying that the choice was to maximize viewership. However, F$U was a compelling case of their own. With their top 5 D they could hang with anyone. What would their O do behind a RJr 2nd string QB?

I don't think staunchly defended is accurate either (but i could be wrong). I think there were people who understood how the decision was made, but didn't necessarily agree with it (I was in this camp). Perhaps you interpreted their explaining how that decision was reached as "staunchly defending". I'm doing this from memory so there is no need to dig up posts to show me examples. I just think most people thought FSU got jobbed (at least that is how i remember it).

 

[awbuzz]

Note to self: "Lock this thread when page count equals 999..."

Okay... Literally did LOL

 

[SOWEGA Jacket]

I simply hope many of you are fine with a 10-2 GT being left out then once the committee gives their soliloquy on why a 9-3 BIG team gets over us. I‘m sure you’ll just move on like you expected FSU too.

Forensic - I hear you. I just think people in positions like Phillips should stay above the fray. FSU is in no way hurting the conference. They are our champion in football who got railroaded which set a precedent that impacts all teams in the ACC moving forward. So, they are suing over a contract. Big deal, it happens everyday. One side will prevail and one side will lose which is what court rooms are for. The committee, by leaving the undefeated ACC champion out, is what has done unbelievable damage to our conference. What has Phillips been doing behind the scenes to ensure we get 2 teams in? I hope I’m pleasantly surprised and we get 2-3 teams in, but why would the bully offer his victim a hand? No way Sankey and Pettiti let that happen.

 

[RonJohn]

I simply hope many of you are fine with a 10-2 GT being left out then once the committee gives their soliloquy on why a 9-3 BIG team gets over us. I‘m sure you’ll just move on like you expected FSU too.

Forensic - I hear you. I just think people in positions like Phillips should stay above the fray. FSU is in no way hurting the conference. They are our champion in football who got railroaded which set a precedent that impacts all teams in the ACC moving forward. So, they are suing over a contract. Big deal, it happens everyday. One side will prevail and one side will lose which is what court rooms are for. The committee, by leaving the undefeated ACC champion out, is what has done unbelievable damage to our conference. What has Phillips been doing behind the scenes to ensure we get 2 teams in? I hope I’m pleasantly surprised and we get 2-3 teams in, but why would the bully offer his victim a hand? No way Sankey and Pettiti let that happen.

So a member institution saying that the former conference commissioner was a crook, that their institution is worth more than the rest of the conference combined, and that they were "duped" into signing a contract for a failing conference is normal business. But a commissioner saying that such a member institution is being disruptive is slander and unacceptable?

That is kind of like a DV defendant going into court in shorts and a wifebeater shirt, declaring that the police officers and the prosecutor are all lying MFrs, and then complaining that the judge is being rude for telling him to act respectable in the courtroom.

 

[Vespidae]

So a member institution saying that the former conference commissioner was a crook, that their institution is worth more than the rest of the conference combined, and that they were "duped" into signing a contract for a failing conference is normal business. But a commissioner saying that such a member institution is being disruptive is slander and unacceptable?

That is kind of like a DV defendant going into court in shorts and a wifebeater shirt, declaring that the police officers and the prosecutor are all lying MFrs, and then complaining that the judge is being rude for telling him to act respectable in the courtroom.

“SEC commissioner Greg Sankey publicly reprimanded the two coaches (Jimbo Fisher, Nick Saban) for their violation of SEC bylaws related to "Ethical Conduct for derogatory comments and public criticism" of another institution's athletics program and staff.”

Commissioners have regularly opined, in public, on issues of importance to their members. I’m not sure why this is even debatable.