Conference Realignment

[fairweatherhater]

I talked with one of SMUs big boosters the day after it was announced and I was surprised how much he kept bringing up that they were one of three Texas schools in a top 3 conference. He really thought being able to group themselves in with Texas and TAMU was a big deal on the recruiting trail and from a prestige front. That seems to be the big thing to them and honestly made me relook at my current view of the ACC in relation to the broader landscape (Ie that we are actually in a decent spot and that people do have a positive view of the ACC)

Sometimes you never know how good you have it until someone from the outside puts it into perspective for you. It's easy to get lost in how much better things can be and forget how good they are. Not that I am against GT pursuing a potential B1G invite, but it's hard to be pissed with where we are.

 

[awbuzz]

This. It's also a pretty solid bet those boosters are getting their NIL collectives working overtime on the recruiting trail.

You can take that to the bank!

 

[L41k18]

I talked with one of SMUs big boosters the day after it was announced and I was surprised how much he kept bringing up that they were one of three Texas schools in a top 3 conference. He really thought being able to group themselves in with Texas and TAMU was a big deal on the recruiting trail and from a prestige front. That seems to be the big thing to them and honestly made me relook at my current view of the ACC in relation to the broader landscape (Ie that we are actually in a decent spot and that people do have a positive view of the ACC)

The ACC is certainly superior to the rebuilt Big12. What are the B12 marquee names? Utah is it. After them, who? Kansas State? Baylor? Texas Tech? UCF?

 

[Root4GT]

The ACC is certainly superior to the rebuilt Big12. What are the B12 marquee names? Utah is it. After them, who? Kansas State? Baylor? Texas Tech? UCF?

The Big 12 has become THE BASKETBALL Conference. The ACC previously was The Basketball Conference. Sadly no more. Maybe CDS can start to reverse that

 

[LT 1967]

I talked with one of SMUs big boosters the day after it was announced and I was surprised how much he kept bringing up that they were one of three Texas schools in a top 3 conference. He really thought being able to group themselves in with Texas and TAMU was a big deal on the recruiting trail and from a prestige front. That seems to be the big thing to them and honestly made me relook at my current view of the ACC in relation to the broader landscape (Ie that we are actually in a decent spot and that people do have a positive view of the ACC)

The SMU football coach (Rhett Lashley) is definitely pressing the ACC as the number 3 conference. SMU will be waging a PR battle with the Big 12 Commissioner (Brett Yormark) for the public perception as to who has the best conference. Like many, I feel that the ACC is currently the better of the two. See the attached article.

Also, I attached part of Andrea Adelson's article which summaries how the ACC should be seen as the better of the two conferences, but relates how FSU has damaged the Image.

 

[iceeater1969]

I just developed a big man crush on SMU, finally, an ACC member that has balls enough to shoot a direct shot at the BIG12 instead of sitting around and complaining about what we don't have. This is what we have been missing and I fully expect those SMU billionaires to pay whatever it takes to build a very competitive program.

The Big 12 has become THE BASKETBALL Conference. The ACC previously was The Basketball Conference. Sadly no more. Maybe CDS can start to reverse that

On BB
The new Baylor stadium overlooks the Brazos River jand is just north of I35 in Waco.
It has 8000 seats that are right on the court- like Duke's Cameron.
On Smu - they have 800 in law school and a good medical school which gives them a major impact that stays in the area.

They have beautiful campus in Dallas- They have a ton of different degrees. The Bass and Hunt family of Dallas are big donors

Glad they are on board in ACC .

 

[PonyFans.com]

PonyFans.com webmaster here. We already have the top G5 NIL in the country and Top10 of all schools. Although it's ridiculously early, our 2025 recruiting class is ranked #8 nationally, and that's without a silent commit who is a Top50 national recruit. Please feel free to participate on our forums as well. Really looking forward to a higher "class" of competition. All the best to you Jackets,

 

[Randy Carson]

Since this thread is about conference realignment, I decided to post here instead of creating a new thread.

I have posted on more than one occasion about the Promotion | Relegation model used in English football. It seems I'm not alone in my opinion about this system.

Once ESPN, NBC Sports and the other big money people decide that the current systems sucks, this change will happen.

 

[Papa Foxtrot]

It seems I'm not alone in my opinion about this system.

Your link just circles back to this thread...

Once ESPN, NBC Sports and the other big money people decide that the current systems sucks, this change will happen.

Change is coming and it's out of their control. The decline in legacy cable subscription fees will make the decision for them. Broadcast rights values appear to have already peaked; upcoming renewals will be interesting. While subscription fees will never go away completely, they must figure out how to get the streaming model to make up the difference in cashflow. My expectation is that we'll see long term subscriptions discounted over very expensive short term sub's and quite a bit of pay per view.

 

[LongforDodd]

PonyFans.com webmaster here. We already have the top G5 NIL in the country and Top10 of all schools. Although it's ridiculously early, our 2025 recruiting class is ranked #8 nationally, and that's without a silent commit who is a Top50 national recruit. Please feel free to participate on our forums as well. Really looking forward to a higher "class" of competition. All the best to you Jackets,

Welcome to the ACC. I hope this raises all boats in he conference harbor.

 

[LT 1967]

PonyFans.com webmaster here. We already have the top G5 NIL in the country and Top10 of all schools. Although it's ridiculously early, our 2025 recruiting class is ranked #8 nationally, and that's without a silent commit who is a Top50 national recruit. Please feel free to participate on our forums as well. Really looking forward to a higher "class" of competition. All the best to you Jackets,

SMU will be a great addition to the ACC. Welcome Aboard!

 

[stinger 1957]

I lived in the old SW conference and my guess we will see SMU buy themselves into the top 10 pretty quick. My question is what affect does that have on the rest of the ACC and the NIL and other spending.

 

[Randy Carson]

Your link just circles back to this thread...

Oregon St. AD: Relegation model warrants study

Oregon State athletic director Scott Barnes indicated Thursday he is curious about the possibility of promotion/relegation in college football.

www.espn.com

 

[CuseJacket]

I lived in the old SW conference and my guess we will see SMU buy themselves into the top 10 pretty quick. My question is what affect does that have on the rest of the ACC and the NIL and other spending.

I almost typed this earlier when thinking about SMU's upside...

The B1G is not yet in Texas.

 

[SOWEGA Jacket]

I lived in the old SW conference and my guess we will see SMU buy themselves into the top 10 pretty quick. My question is what affect does that have on the rest of the ACC and the NIL and other spending.

There will be several teams we aren’t even considering today who will buy themselves into the top 10. Right now, schools that already had a bagman system in place are ahead of the curve with NIL. But, we are only at the very beginning so teams like Ole Miss, Bama, UGA are able to take advantage. But they won’t be able to keep the advantage once all programs with deeper pockets get systems in place and commitment from big money donors. SMU is just one example.

 

[rfjeff9]

PonyFans.com webmaster here. We already have the top G5 NIL in the country and Top10 of all schools. Although it's ridiculously early, our 2025 recruiting class is ranked #8 nationally, and that's without a silent commit who is a Top50 national recruit. Please feel free to participate on our forums as well. Really looking forward to a higher "class" of competition. All the best to you Jackets,

SMU never crossed my mind for expansion but the morebI thought about it the more I liked it. I think it was a good addition, honestly dont see a downside. I balked at Calford, though.

Welcome!

 

[Northeast Stinger]

It will be an interesting conference. Exotic and intriguing with all the histories, cultures and benefactors now in each other’s crosswinds. I like all the schools that are joining for different reasons. I can see some very interesting rivalries and competitions developing. This will make all the schools better in the long run, if football survives.

 

[Richard7125]

There will be several teams we aren’t even considering today who will buy themselves into the top 10. Right now, schools that already had a bagman system in place are ahead of the curve with NIL. But, we are only at the very beginning so teams like Ole Miss, Bama, UGA are able to take advantage. But they won’t be able to keep the advantage once all programs with deeper pockets get systems in place and commitment from big money donors. SMU is just one example.

Traditionally there has been a gap between the Top 8 - 10 schools and everyone else. I think NIL is going to move that line down to the Top 30 +/- schools. There are lots of schools that can buy their way into competing. You will still have the top 2 or 3 schools that have lots of money as well as tremendous coaching, processes, etc that will dominate.

 

[stinger 1957]

There will be several teams we aren’t even considering today who will buy themselves into the top 10. Right now, schools that already had a bagman system in place are ahead of the curve with NIL. But, we are only at the very beginning so teams like Ole Miss, Bama, UGA are able to take advantage. But they won’t be able to keep the advantage once all programs with deeper pockets get systems in place and commitment from big money donors. SMU is just one example.

I think your point is very valid, and yes that is where we are now when I stop and think of it. Does CFB become a hobby so to speak for the elitist wealthy? Sure seems to be setting itself up for that sort of thing it appears to me. In some respects it has already been that way behind the scenes for many years, may be now it is more open to more people getting involved and openly. It becomes a status thing in each community?

 

[GTNavyNuke]

I think your point is very valid, and yes that is where we are now when I stop and think of it. Does CFB become a hobby so to speak for the elitist wealthy? Sure seems to be setting itself up for that sort of thing it appears to me. In some respects it has already been that way behind the scenes for many years, may be now it is more open to more people getting involved and openly. It becomes a status thing in each community?

The word that people are throwing around is "sports washing". Where a person / organization / country invests in sports of some type to increase financial gains / prestige to offset some liability. https://www.britannica.com/money/sportwashing

And the more the money in the sport, the more prevalent it is.

For CFB, it's where sub standard academic universities buy their way up the ladder with sports. Clemson comes to mind as does Alabama. (In cycling, you have UAE Emirates or Astana.) But whatever, sports viewing is only entertainment and we all have a choice where to spend our time.