Conference Realignment

Augusta_Jacket

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
7,900
Location
Augusta, Georgia
FWIW, I could see Stanford being valuable to the ACC as a piece with Notre Dame.


This is an interesting opinion piece from the Washington Post.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opin...onference-realignment-ncaa-college-athletics/

If you cannot read it the 2 biggest items imo are the following:

"The athletes GET PAID either directly from the marketers of the products they endorse or by what are curiously called “NIL collectives,” funds begun in every college town by local businesspeople and other well-heeled folks who function as booster clubs for the hometown team. The collective workaround is so well enshrined that the IRS plans to ensure that these backdoor subsidizer groups don’t claim tax-exempt status. "

"But nothing will change the game more dramatically than a bill making its way through the California legislature that would require Division 1 schools in the state to set aside 50 percent of the revenue they generate from lucrative television contracts and other sources to be paid as much as $25,000 a year to players."

"Colleges, naturally, already are howling at this prospect. The millions they make from TV deals pay for coaches, administrators, and a vast array of facilities and factotums who work there, and all that would be jeopardized by a requirement to pay the actual athletes. "

"Holden’s measure is simple in design if more complicated in execution. After the required revenue set aside goes to the money-sports players, a review board would determine how to allocate what’s left for other athletes. The bill would allow athletes to earn money over a six-year period — a nod to the challenges true student-athletes face going to school — and only if they graduate. Holden also addressed a concern that his bill would weaken Title IX, the law that prohibits discrimination against women’s sports, by requiring that payments be shared equally with male and female athletes — after the money-sport players get theirs."

"It’s difficult to overstate how influential a bill such as this coming out of Sacramento would be for the future of all college athletics. The original name-image-likeness legislation was enacted in California, validated by the U.S. Supreme Court, and then quickly copied around the country."


Both of those have significant potential implications for revenue for schools.
If collectives are not tax deductible, unlike AA's, that reduces the new funds available as taxes will have to be accounted for with any moneys received.
If the bill in CA becomes law, SA's would almost certainly immediately try to make sure it gets expanded through negotiations or the courts. The potential to having to save 50% of TV revenue for athletes is a real game changer. That completely changes the economics of the entire enterprise. First off, it simply greatly reduces the amount of money AA's will have to pay coaches, staff, employees, etc.
But it also flattens the revenue differences between conferences.
In the most recent financial statements ACC schools received about $39M, SEC schools $49M and B1G schools $59M. If each school has to save 50% of its TV revenue to pay athletes, then that means effectively their TV revenue streams are now $19.5M, $24.5M, and $29.5M. B12 would be $15.4M.

Best quote IMO:

"While the smartest move would be to simply acknowledge that a handful of sports are already professionalized — and create a pro college leagues to both pay the athletes and provide for an education if they want one — the odds of that are roughly, to steal a phrase, NIL.

Until then, though, the fairest way to reform college sports is to pay the athletes who are generating big bucks from their hard work — and throw some cash toward the students who still play the games they love."
 

bennyjacket

Jolly Good Fellow
Messages
180
Why are we trying to take Cal and Stanford now? If we were going to add members wouldnt it have made sense to be aggressive early and try to get more west coast schools? ACC leadership is complete trash.
 

Oldgoldandwhite

Helluva Engineer
Messages
5,634
Why are we trying to take Cal and Stanford now? If we were going to add members wouldnt it have made sense to be aggressive early and try to get more west coast schools? ACC leadership is complete trash.
I don’t think we really wanted to. But maybe a few back door deals to make sure those two had a landing spot. I think once the dust settles expansion may be over for a while. The four left are about saturated.
 

RonJohn

Helluva Engineer
Messages
4,541
A lot could happen. I just don't see how the ACC closes the revenue gap between them and the SEC/B1G when those monster conference comes to raid the ACC once the GOR wall has fallen. FSU/Clemson/UNC/VT/Miami have all publicly stated the revenue gap is untenable for them. Most of those schools (and I think GT) will be a hot commodity once the GOR gets worked out. What will the ACC have to offer at that point?
Seven years ago when the updated ESPN contract and the updated GOR was signed, all of the talking heads believed that the ACC was the weakest P5 conference and that it was going to be the next one to fall. Currently the ACC is ahead of the Big12 in revenue and the Pac12 has dissolved. Gripe and complain all you want, but the GOR has done what it was supposed to do in keeping the ACC together. The long ESPN contract that everyone is complaining about might not look too bad in six more years when the other conferences renew their contracts. The ACC is the third conference in terms of revenue. The ACC is better at football than the revamped Big12, so it is the third best conference in football. All of the whining and moaning seems to be just emotion on the shoulder reactions instead of actually looking at things objectively.
 

Techwood Relict

Helluva Engineer
Messages
1,102
Currently the ACC is ahead of the Big12 in revenue and the Pac12 has dissolved.
Sometimes, standing still in the gunfight keeps one from running into random bullets.

Kurt Russell Country GIF by GritTV

I'm not unhappy with the decision to stick to our current agreement. Stanford is a solid academic school with some positive football history and that connection to ND doesn't hurt. I also get looking at Cal as it's hard to leave an orphan.
 

g0lftime

Helluva Engineer
Messages
5,425
Sometimes, standing still in the gunfight keeps one from running into random bullets.

Kurt Russell Country GIF by GritTV

I'm not unhappy with the decision to stick to our current agreement. Stanford is a solid academic school with some positive football history and that connection to ND doesn't hurt. I also get looking at Cal as it's hard to leave an orphan.
Both are good fits academically with GT and a few others in the ACC but the travel is just too great for many of the conference sports. It's just too far for only 2 schools and would they increase the payout? This whole conference realignment seems to be only based on how much will it increase the payout without regard to practicality of schedule and travel problems. If FSU wants more money then let them charge more for tickets.
 

forensicbuzz

Helluva Engineer
Messages
8,111
Location
North Shore, Chicago
A lot could happen. I just don't see how the ACC closes the revenue gap between them and the SEC/B1G when those monster conference comes to raid the ACC once the GOR wall has fallen. FSU/Clemson/UNC/VT/Miami have all publicly stated the revenue gap is untenable for them. Most of those schools (and I think GT) will be a hot commodity once the GOR gets worked out. What will the ACC have to offer at that point?
What's going to happen is in 2030 or whenever these SEC/B1G contracts expire, there will be a rollback of revenue and the ACC payout will be of comparable size for the final 6 years of the contract.
 

Techwood Relict

Helluva Engineer
Messages
1,102
Both are good fits academically with GT and a few others in the ACC but the travel is just too great for many of the conference sports. It's just too far for only 2 schools and would they increase the payout? This whole conference realignment seems to be only based on how much will it increase the payout without regard to practicality of schedule and travel problems. If FSU wants more money then let them charge more for tickets.
I can agree with all this. The travel component will be a bear for many of these new constructs. I like the cultural fit potential for some, but it will take a team of qualified others to make the money fit work well.
 
Last edited:

billga99

Ramblin' Wreck
Messages
647
what about taking the orphan Pac 12 schools for football only? Let them go to Mountain West or whatever for other sports. There is precedence for schools to join a conference for football only. Maybe give them a half or 2/3 share. Since this bus is being driven mostly by football anyway, might be a compromise. Obviously ESPN would have to pony up the additional dollars.
 

stech81

Helluva Engineer
Messages
8,726
Location
Woodstock Georgia
would give the ACC a West Coast presence without blowing up travel for non Revenue sports
I have no problem with them.
Hell one day the shoe could be on our foot. If people would stop and think and place their self in that spot and think how they would feel.
That being said ESPN would need to come up with the money and that is the problem.
 

CEB

Helluva Engineer
Messages
2,151
what about taking the orphan Pac 12 schools for football only? Let them go to Mountain West or whatever for other sports. There is precedence for schools to join a conference for football only. Maybe give them a half or 2/3 share. Since this bus is being driven mostly by football anyway, might be a compromise. Obviously ESPN would have to pony up the additional dollars.
From a practical standpoint, that makes perfect sense.
In the court of public opinion it will just be another data point for the weakness of the ACC, even though we know it’s an olive branch to those two programs.
Regardless, I don’t see it happening. Between ESPN money issues and at least one guaranteed no vote from a very vocal school ready to leave, I think there are too many hurdles.
 

GT121314

Georgia Tech Fan
Messages
19
FWIW, I could see Stanford being valuable to the ACC as a piece with Notre Dame.


This is an interesting opinion piece from the Washington Post.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opin...onference-realignment-ncaa-college-athletics/

If you cannot read it the 2 biggest items imo are the following:

"But nothing will change the game more dramatically than a bill making its way through the California legislature that would require Division 1 schools in the state to set aside 50 percent of the revenue they generate from lucrative television contracts and other sources to be paid as much as $25,000 a year to players."

"Colleges, naturally, already are howling at this prospect. The millions they make from TV deals pay for coaches, administrators, and a vast array of facilities and factotums who work there, and all that would be jeopardized by a requirement to pay the actual athletes. "

Both of those have significant potential implications for revenue for schools.
If collectives are not tax deductible, unlike AA's, that reduces the new funds available as taxes will have to be accounted for with any moneys received.
If the bill in CA becomes law, SA's would almost certainly immediately try to make sure it gets expanded through negotiations or the courts. The potential to having to save 50% of TV revenue for athletes is a real game changer. That completely changes the economics of the entire enterprise. First off, it simply greatly reduces the amount of money AA's will have to pay coaches, staff, employees, etc.
But it also flattens the revenue differences between conferences.
In the most recent financial statements ACC schools received about $39M, SEC schools $49M and B1G schools $59M. If each school has to save 50% of its TV revenue to pay athletes, then that means effectively their TV revenue streams are now $19.5M, $24.5M, and $29.5M. B12 would be $15.4M.

I have a feeling if this passes (which this is in California. It will almost certainly pass), then the AA's may find other ways around the huge pay cut. Possibly stop offering scholarships, room & board, etc as freebies for athletes. If the AA starts paying the athletes, then they'll make the athlete start paying what the AA pays to the school for the athlete's expenses.
 

iceeater1969

Helluva Engineer
Messages
8,965
I have a feeling if this passes (which this is in California. It will almost certainly pass), then the AA's may find other ways around the huge pay cut. Possibly stop offering scholarships, room & board, etc as freebies for athletes. If the AA starts paying the athletes, then they'll make the athlete start paying what the AA pays to the school for the athlete's expenses.
If this happens - w Calif legislators calling the shots in Ga = we are bankrput and no TV executives will pay $$$ to broad cast gt games.

The schools with generous alumni ( we are bottom of acc) and low debt ( we are at top of ncaa) , will have enough money to do well.
We would be operationally bankrupt with no path for recovery. Many other schools will be in pickle as well. TV folks will use this to force a FRUIT BASKET TURNOVER event = new football only league for serious schools.


If we are serious, i hope
the NEWPREZ has business savvy to get Ga state legislature to adjust debt payments to let us survive as a national football program.
 
Top