Here's a thought

[Northeast Stinger]

idk these are tough concepts for people here to grasp. such little understanding of college football it’s gotten ridiculous. have so many questions about if people have ever watched or engaged with any football aside from twitter candy facebook comments

Just because someone has a different opinion doesn’t mean condescension is called for. It’s wearisome that you think no one understands football but you.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

Let's be honest, we could go 15-0, allow no points to be scored on us, have a larger crowd than the mutts in their stadium, beat bama by 75 in the natty and there will be thoes who want CGC canned.

Seriously?

 

[JacketFan137]

Just because someone has a different opinion doesn’t mean condescension is called for. It’s wearisome that you think no one understands football but you.

hard

 

[AlabamaBuzz]

Nope.

Let's be honest, we could go 15-0, allow no points to be scored on us, have a larger crowd than the mutts in their stadium, beat bama by 75 in the natty and there will be thoes who want CGC canned.

I dislike CGC very much, mostly for his actual coaching prowess (lack of) over the last 3 years, but also his used car salesman personality, but if he did what you propose above, I would probably get a shirt with his face on it. As most of our fans/alums, at the end of the day, we just want to compete and win more than we lose. The system and personality will always be secondary to a HC that has great success.

 

[slugboy]

Since someone said that no one answers what kind of scheme they’d like to see, I’ll advertise that we collect beautiful plays at

Beautiful plays

I’ll start with the Coastal Carolina gem with TWO unblocked defenders: If you see something great, add it so we can see something fun.

gtswarm.com

(No kvetching there—just plays)

 

[SOWEGA Jacket]

You'll need to stop thinking in terms of dropping down to FCS, or Div II or anything like that. I don't believe that is what is going to happen at all. Nor do I think it is what is being proposed by most on this board who talk about moving down.

Think of it more as a splitting of FBS for college football purposes. The OSU AD has even mentioned separating college football from the other college sports in terms of how it is run and funded.
I think of it in terms of there being a tier 1 in FBS that is going to be the 24-32 teams that are basically going to stop even pretending to use a college model and will basically be funded to be the NFL lite. The young men may not even go to college at all. Or if they do they are getting more life skill classes than anything else.
Then I think of a second tier of other like minded schools who don't want to follow that model but instead still have a model that is based on a student-athlete. This second tier itself may actually be 2 tiers that are divided by finances and resources.

If this type of break eventually happens I think GT would be in the second tier (and I doubt many GT fans would expect GT to be in that first tier).

The conferences don't go away in this scenario either. They remain largely as is for all sports except college football.

If you assume that the tier 1 schools are mostly playing each other - 12-16 games a week isn't even close to the content needed by the sports networks.
You would see different TV contracts based on which tier you are in. I would actually expect most schools to basically have 2 contracts. One contract would be for college football content based on what tier you are in. So teams in tier 1 would get a certain contract (the same one for all schools in that tier). Same thing for tier 2 and for tier 3 if there are 3 tiers. You then have a separate contract for the conferences for all sports except football.

This is exactly how it is going to unfold. You are correct. Too many posters are seeing the big picture. We won’t be dropping down. It will be an entire new D1 landscape for football only. All other sports will remain as is.

I’m not sure how it shakes out, but it absolutely won’t be within the current system. The power schools have already hinted they are done taking orders from the NCAA in football and the NCAA has already signaled back they no longer want to give orders so a D1 system is on the horizon. I think what you mentioned is basically how it will shake out. And with TV execs always siding with the top tier expect our games to be relegated to unique channels or streaming. And I’m fine with that because at least we’d be playing games on an even level and wouldn’t go into games with no chance. What we’ve seen the last 30 years has been a sham and we sat back quietly and took it.

 

[Tennessee GT Fan]

This is exactly how it is going to unfold. You are correct. Too many posters are seeing the big picture. We won’t be dropping down. It will be an entire new D1 landscape for football only. All other sports will remain as is.

I’m not sure how it shakes out, but it absolutely won’t be within the current system. The power schools have already hinted they are done taking orders from the NCAA in football and the NCAA has already signaled back they no longer want to give orders so a D1 system is on the horizon. I think what you mentioned is basically how it will shake out. And with TV execs always siding with the top tier expect our games to be relegated to unique channels or streaming. And I’m fine with that because at least we’d be playing games on an even level and wouldn’t go into games with no chance. What we’ve seen the last 30 years has been a sham and we sat back quietly and took it.

Yeah most of GT's football games in that system would be on the ACC Network or ESPN+.

 

[GT33]

Just because someone has a different opinion doesn’t mean condescension is called for. It’s wearisome that you think no one understands football but you.

There’s a side of the fanbase that thinks the other side is all about the personality of the coach or the scheme. It’s because that’s what they think & they’re just projecting onto others based on their own personal philosophy. It’s unlikely anyone will change their minds. They want this type of coach & they want this type of coach doing the types of things he’s doing. Others are more results oriented. We don’t care if he dressed up in a banana suit or ran a weird system if the team won games and looked like a real football team doing it. We want best use of our resources and the best endstate we can get for what we invest in the program. Not everybody’s wired like that.

 

[WreckinGT]

You'll need to stop thinking in terms of dropping down to FCS, or Div II or anything like that. I don't believe that is what is going to happen at all. Nor do I think it is what is being proposed by most on this board who talk about moving down.

Think of it more as a splitting of FBS for college football purposes. The OSU AD has even mentioned separating college football from the other college sports in terms of how it is run and funded.
I think of it in terms of there being a tier 1 in FBS that is going to be the 24-32 teams that are basically going to stop even pretending to use a college model and will basically be funded to be the NFL lite. The young men may not even go to college at all. Or if they do they are getting more life skill classes than anything else.
Then I think of a second tier of other like minded schools who don't want to follow that model but instead still have a model that is based on a student-athlete. This second tier itself may actually be 2 tiers that are divided by finances and resources.

If this type of break eventually happens I think GT would be in the second tier (and I doubt many GT fans would expect GT to be in that first tier).

The conferences don't go away in this scenario either. They remain largely as is for all sports except college football.

If you assume that the tier 1 schools are mostly playing each other - 12-16 games a week isn't even close to the content needed by the sports networks.
You would see different TV contracts based on which tier you are in. I would actually expect most schools to basically have 2 contracts. One contract would be for college football content based on what tier you are in. So teams in tier 1 would get a certain contract (the same one for all schools in that tier). Same thing for tier 2 and for tier 3 if there are 3 tiers. You then have a separate contract for the conferences for all sports except football.

I think this structure somewhat makes sense, but im not entirely sure how we get from where we are today to that. You would have to convince every tier 2 school to willingly blow up their current conference contracts and accept less money. Why would they do that? Im also not sure how the scheduling works if you are attempting to keep conferences in tact. Most of the SEC teams would be in Tier 1. Who are Vandy and Missouri playing every week? Also, who decides which teams are in which tier? With no governing body you would have to have the presidents of 100 schools on the same page on many issues.

 

[UgaBlows]

Could we afford the payment on our 200 mil debt if we left P5 football or left the ACC etc? I think the answer is no, so that leaves us pretty much stuck in the hopeless situation that we currently face trying to compete with a tiny and cheap fanbase in the new world of NIL and free transfers.

 

[RamblinRed]

I think this structure somewhat makes sense, but im not entirely sure how we get from where we are today to that. You would have to convince every tier 2 school to willingly blow up their current conference contracts and accept less money. Why would they do that? Im also not sure how the scheduling works if you are attempting to keep conferences in tact. Most of the SEC teams would be in Tier 1. Who are Vandy and Missouri playing every week? Also, who decides which teams are in which tier? With no governing body you would have to have the presidents of 100 schools on the same page on many issues.

I don't know exactly how we get there, but I feel like this is where it is heading.
Conferences would be intact - but not for football - for all sports except football.

I'm not sure it is going to be about blowing up contracts. I think more than likely what would happen is a group of schools are basically going to say we are creating this level, this is the amount of resources/money you have to be willing to spend to be in this level. And I think the vast majority of universities are going to say we can't commit to that level of funding.

I think probably close to half the teams would come from the SEC and B10 - they have the schools with the resources to be involved.
From the SEC i'm thinking it will be TX, TX A&M, OK, AL, UGA, FL, LSU. That may be it. There will be others that would like to be in the league but whether they could truly fund it is a ?

 

[UgaBlows]

I don't know exactly how we get there, but I feel like this is where it is heading.
Conferences would be intact - but not for football - for all sports except football.

I'm not sure it is going to be about blowing up contracts. I think more than likely what would happen is a group of schools are basically going to say we are creating this level, this is the amount of resources/money you have to be willing to spend to be in this level. And I think the vast majority of universities are going to say we can't commit to that level of funding.

I think probably close to half the teams would come from the SEC and B10 - they have the schools with the resources to be involved.
From the SEC i'm thinking it will be TX, TX A&M, OK, AL, UGA, FL, LSU. That may be it. There will be others that would like to be in the league but whether they could truly fund it is a ?

But why would the top schools want to force the issue like that? They are already swimming in money, are in yearly contention for Nattys and have a pool of weak schools to beat the crap out of every season. Where is the incentive to change? As for the weak and poorer schools it’s going to be damned hard or even financially impossible to turn their backs on P5 conference money.

 

[slugboy]

But why would the top schools want to force the issue like that? They are already swimming in money, are in yearly contention for Nattys and have a pool of weak schools to beat the crap out of every season. Where is the incentive to change? As for the weak and poorer schools it’s going to be damned hard or even financially impossible to turn their backs on P5 conference money.

1. It’s another level up in money
2. The teams moving up get more money; the teams left behind get less
3. It’s the same teams they’re butting heads with now. They’d be moving into a league of “games that matter”
4. They play sacrificial games against middle Utah state now; after they move up, Washington State is the exhibition game.
5. If the other teams move up and they don’t, they get left behind
6. It’s also like a D2 or G5 team “moving up”. Yeah, the competition is weaker where you are, but you move up whenever you can.

 

[UgaBlows]

1. It’s another level up in money
2. The teams moving up get more money; the teams left behind get less
3. It’s the same teams they’re butting heads with now. They’d be moving into a league of “games that matter”
4. They play sacrificial games against middle Utah state now; after they move up, Washington State is the exhibition game.
5. If the other teams move up and they don’t, they get left behind
6. It’s also like a D2 or G5 team “moving up”. Yeah, the competition is weaker where you are, but you move up whenever you can.

Why are we so sure that there would be more money there in an elite league for them? If i want to watch pros i’ll turn on the Falcons you know? On CFB Saturdays i sure as hell am not contributing to them in anyway whatsoever, and I bet a lot of cfb fans feel the same whose teams aren’t in that fb factory club.

 

[JacketFan137]

Why are we so sure that there would be more money there in an elite league for them? If i want to watch pros i’ll turn on the Falcons you know? On CFB Saturdays i sure as hell am not contributing to them in anyway whatsoever, and I bet a lot of cfb fans feel the same whose teams aren’t in that fb factory club.

people here may say they are tired of the same teams winning but the reality is that the rest of the world is not. the best performing games rating wise are always ohio state, bama, etc.most people wanna watch the best teams play. if you basically guarantee bama and ohio state playing each other every year and you know both teams have 10+ draft picks then it’ll be the highest rated game every year

the only thing question i would have is what happens when it’s 6-4 bama playing 7-3 ohio state? college football fans are conditioned to want lofty records and not watch measly 5 loss seasons. kinda like how boxing everyone is 20-0 lol

 

[SOWEGA Jacket]

Why are we so sure that there would be more money there in an elite league for them? If i want to watch pros i’ll turn on the Falcons you know? On CFB Saturdays i sure as hell am not contributing to them in anyway whatsoever, and I bet a lot of cfb fans feel the same whose teams aren’t in that fb factory club.

Because that’s how the world works. You don’t think that right now the money guys are lining up to pay handsomely for big time matchups. Remember when we had 1 big opening game to start the season? We were in 1 against Penn State after the Natty. Then remember what happened? Those games were so successful that more and more popped up. Now, we have multiple games in the same stadium over the Labor Day weekend. Those games were all add ons by rich guys to make money. If you don’t think the rich guys in the likeness of Jerry Jones and Arthur Blank aren’t working behind the scenes then you are nuts.

Here‘s the overall point - yes, the big boys are making bank right now and have an easy 8 wins a year and clear paths to the playoff. All that is true. But the reality is they see it as they are subsidizing the GT’s, Kentucky’s, and Indiana’s of D1. In their mind, they are leaving money on the table by allowing those teams to profit off of their fanbase and name. It’s like us benefitting from Clemson and UGA taking over our stadium. It’s great for us but isn’t for them.

Right now TV execs see 2-3 games a week that are big time. Some weeks there are none. ESPN sees this as do the networks. For every one LSU- Bama weekend we have four Bama vs. Sisters of the poor and Ohio State vs. Indiana.

The upcoming model will have marquee national level games every week. Those of you who say you won’t watch isn’t who they are after. When you have Bama-USC and Ohio St-FSU and Penn State-Florida type matchups every week you’ll see why they did it.

 

[SOWEGA Jacket]

people here may say they are tired of the same teams winning but the reality is that the rest of the world is not. the best performing games rating wise are always ohio state, bama, etc.most people wanna watch the best teams play. if you basically guarantee bama and ohio state playing each other every year and you know both teams have 10+ draft picks then it’ll be the highest rated game every year

the only thing question i would have is what happens when it’s 6-4 bama playing 7-3 ohio state? college football fans are conditioned to want lofty records and not watch measly 5 loss seasons. kinda like how boxing everyone is 20-0 lol

They’ll have an expanded playoffs so the days of 1 or 2 losses ending a season are over. Basically, it will be a fun regular season for the fans to have big time matchups and then you’ll have a post season to look forward to. It’s what every other sport has except D1 football. Even the old grandpa sport of baseball has added enough wildcards that teams at or below .500 still have a shot. It’s all about holding interest for as long as they can so fans will open their wallets from August until January.

 

[iceeater1969]

This is exactly how it is going to unfold. You are correct. Too many posters are seeing the big picture. We won’t be dropping down. It will be an entire new D1 landscape for football only. All other sports will remain as is.

I’m not sure how it shakes out, but it absolutely won’t be within the current system. The power schools have already hinted they are done taking orders from the NCAA in football and the NCAA has already signaled back they no longer want to give orders so a D1 system is on the horizon. I think what you mentioned is basically how it will shake out. And with TV execs always siding with the top tier expect our games to be relegated to unique channels or streaming. And I’m fine with that because at least we’d be playing games on an even level and wouldn’t go into games with no chance. What we’ve seen the last 30 years has been a sham and we sat back quietly and took it.

So if we get less tv money and play mostly crummy teams with small fan base, who pays the 200,000,000 debt.
Now we pay 12,000,000 per year interest only.

That's more than the alumni donations.

TV money is all that keeps us a float.

Dropping down with limited tv money to play g5 teams that have no debt but have active fan base (say East Carolina) means we will be scrambling to be competitive.

Maybe something else will happen with TV money.

 

[CEB]

So if we get less tv money and play mostly crummy teams with small fan base, who pays the 200,000,000 debt.
Now we pay 12,000,000 per year interest only.

That's more than the alumni donations.

TV money is all that keeps us a float.

Dropping down with limited tv money to play g5 teams that have no debt but have active fan base (say East Carolina) means we will be scrambling to be competitive.

Maybe something else will happen with TV money.

I don’t know the numbers but as others have said, there won’t be a “drop down” for us. Instead, we’ll see a handful of teams voluntarily vacate to join whatever the new big boy conference is. What’s interesting is that a lot of the potential members of that new conference are saddled with grant of media rights for a while. Getting out of them ought to prove lucrative for those left behind. Hopefully we can square up with whatever proceeds Clemson, FSU and a couple others pony up on order to leave.
It will be interesting to see how new deals are structured when other conference grant of rights start to sunset. I think big 12 is coming to an end. Potential big boy conference members will push for their agreement to expire when other major conference agreements are set to expire in hopes of several schools making a break together... if indeed this is going to play out.

 

[WreckinGT]

people here may say they are tired of the same teams winning but the reality is that the rest of the world is not. the best performing games rating wise are always ohio state, bama, etc.most people wanna watch the best teams play. if you basically guarantee bama and ohio state playing each other every year and you know both teams have 10+ draft picks then it’ll be the highest rated game every year

the only thing question i would have is what happens when it’s 6-4 bama playing 7-3 ohio state? college football fans are conditioned to want lofty records and not watch measly 5 loss seasons. kinda like how boxing everyone is 20-0 lol

I think fans are tired of the same teams winning. The last two national championship games have been the lowest rated games in the CFP or BCS era. Last years title game had 12 million less viewers on average than the first title game of the CFP era.