Conference Realignment: What Next?

[adoraz]

Hm I still think Kansas ends up in a "Big XII - best of AAC" hybrid, which would be a pretty good conference in both basketball and football and would have higher payouts than the Big East (due to football). Not a Power 5 conference, but good enough in both sports to earn a solid payday.

The only way I see Kansas immediately leaving for the Big East is if they start bleeding money in football (like UConn did), but keep in mind a big issue UConn had was they had to travel across the country for most games. That's fine for basketball, but not for volleyball or whatever. Kansas would still have primarily local rivals in a watered down Big XII.

Now, in 8-10 years once Kansas' basketball and football enthusiasm/ticket sales plummet to the point where they start bleeding money and decide to deemphasize/drop football, then sure, I could see them joining the Big East. Just like UConn, though, it'll take some time.

Wild card here would be if something can be negotiated with Kansas joining during the Big East TV contract negotiations, but I think Gonzaga would be much more likely than Kansas as of now. Most likely we'll stay at 11 and see a solid pay increase, as has been expected for the past couple years.

[ArmyVet]

Alliance details between ACC, B1G, and PAC12 will be announced later today.

Big 12 is not in a good place going forward.

[ArmyVet]

The alliance includes a scheduling component for football and women’s and men’s basketball designed to create new inter-conference games, enhance opportunities for student-athletes, and optimize the college athletics experience for both student-athletes and fans across the country. The scheduling alliance will begin as soon as practical while honoring current contractual obligations. A working group comprised of athletic directors representing the three conferences will oversee the scheduling component of the alliance, including determining the criteria upon which scheduling decisions will be made. All three leagues and their respective institutions understand that scheduling decisions will be an evolutionary process given current scheduling commitments.

The football scheduling alliance will feature additional attractive matchups across the three conferences while continuing to honor historic rivalries and the best traditions of college football.

In women’s and men’s basketball, the three conferences will add early and mid-season games as well as annual events that feature premier matchups between the three leagues.

https://pac-12.com/article/2021/08/24/p ... alliance-0

[kayako]

In women’s and men’s basketball, the three conferences will add early and mid-season games as well as annual events that feature premier matchups between the three leagues.

No more Gavitt games and PAC12-BE matchup scrapped again? Not a big deal. Just keep the Big 12 challenge and let each athletic depts control their own schedule. Scheduling agreements are dumb.

[jbarajas0490]

I think the big12 adds Uconn and Houston. Does uconn have a buyout?

[DudeAnon]

I think the big12 adds Uconn and Houston. Does uconn have a buyout?

Big 12 will definitely offset losing their two biggest football brands by adding UConn. Makes sense.

[Burrito]

I would think the top contenders for BIG 12 expansion would be BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF. Either way, payouts for the conference will drop significantly once Texas and Oklahoma leave.

[jbarajas0490]

I think the big12 adds Uconn and Houston. Does uconn have a buyout?

Big 12 will definitely offset losing their two biggest football brands by adding UConn. Makes sense.

Yes but uconn is competitive in basketball and has a good market/fanbase/brand. And is Uconn locked in to the big east? I would imagine the b12 would be able to swoop in and take them far easier than raiding half the aac. Also I'm sure the big12 also has a higher payout, and Uconn would be step a closer to P5 or P4 now. Makes sense for Uconn tbh. They should at least take a look at it.

[DeltaV]

I think the big12 adds Uconn and Houston. Does uconn have a buyout?

Big 12 will definitely offset losing their two biggest football brands by adding UConn. Makes sense.

Yes but uconn is competitive in basketball and has a good market/fanbase/brand. And is Uconn locked in to the big east? I would imagine the b12 would be able to swoop in and take them far easier than raiding half the aac. Also I'm sure the big12 also has a higher payout, and Uconn would be step a closer to P5 or P4 now. Makes sense for Uconn tbh. They should at least take a look at it.

UConn is too far away. Hell, I read plenty that earlier the Big 12 thought that West Virginia was too far away. Cincinnati is probably the furthest north/east they would consider, to be a partner for travel and rivals with WVa. The Connecticut market and fan base wants nothing to do with a bunch of Midwestern hicks, and the big 12 market/fan base doesn't want to be associated with a bunch of uppity New Yorkers.

Maybe if they were some lone football powerhouse in the north east, but if they were then the ACC or Big Ten would have already picked them up. If they expand to survive, it'll end up being half AAC schools, kinda like the ACC is half Big East schools

[TBC Alum]

There is no P5 anymore. More like a P2 (SEC + B1G/PAC/ACC). In football, everyone else is out except for the occasional year that a team catches lightning in a bottle.

To me, UCONN saw the writing on the wall that trying to be competitive in FBS was not sustainable. I think other universities will quickly come to the same conclusion. There is now way to compete in the P2 environment in the long term.