Conference Realignment: What Next?

[DeltaV]

At some point, doesn't too few conferences eliminate too many storylines for TV and reduce the product for casual fans?

Instead of "and the 4 seed is the Big East champion Butler Bulldogs." it's the 4 seed is the Butler Bulldogs that finished 8th in the BigEast12 Gavitt Division.

Looks at a conference map. Sees Rutgers and Oregon in the same conference (or at least to be soon). Sees Boston College and Cal in the same conference.

Yeah, the ship has sailed on logic and common sense in college athletics, replaced by the MBA mentality of maximizing value no matter the real cost. No offense intended to any MBAs on this board, given the business departments of our member institutions I'm sure there are plenty.

[gtmoBlue]

Delta, Kayako, others,

If a team (Texas, Oklahoma, UCLA, USC, etc.) wants out of a conference-they will find a way to leave.

With the new revelations ico ESPN’s strong-arming tha ACC to get their ‘ACC network’. Add the fact that the conference will fall further & further behind their peers, in terms of revenues. The top football 5-7 in the league will leave. Furthermore, it has come to light that ESPN, not the conference, ‘owns’ the Grant of Rights (GoR). ESPN also owns an ‘opt out’ golden parachute clause, allowing the network to bail on the so-called extension portion of their deal, which can be exercised in 2027.

FSU will ‘open da door’ - making a way for the others - (see Diehard 2, McClain lights up the runway with fire). The leak in the dike becomes large cracks, then all hell breaks loose as torrential waters come rushing thru the GoR dam.

FSU - as the trial balloon - will have to pay the $120 Mill or so. The exhorbitant $300-500-700 Mill figures are ridiculous and a pipe dream - the league only pays out $22-30 Mill/year. In all likelihood, the escapees will get their exit fees returned to them when all of ESPNs Machiavellian moves are uncovered. Disney is already cutting budgets for ESPN and the network is seeking partners to help honor some of their current deals. With court ordered penalties, this may become the beginning of the end for the ‘world-wide leader’ in sports. ESPN, as the GoR owner, will decide to cancel the ‘extension deal’ and terminate their contract on schedule come 2027. 2036 is therefore cancelled!

Once shit begins hitting the fan - the top 5-7, maybe 8 football schools will bail out to the 2 Bigs & the SEC, except ND - who will remain Indy (as long as NBC keeps handing out the appropriate Dinars) and their other sports back to da BEast. The remaining 10 (incl. Cal, SMU, Stanford) leftover schools are doomed to take C-USA, AAC, & Patriot teams in an attempt to keep the ACC as a relevant league (C-USA 2) afloat (seePac 12).

Val, Notre Dame, and the various university ADs will advise the school Presidents (the decision makers-not the conf officials) of Syracuse and Duke to jump to the BEast as well. Seeing the handwriting on the wall - they do.

The BEast will then be at 14-members.

Should UConn bail to the ACC, presuming the 10 leftover schools and the current contract will remain in place. They’re in for a rude awakening come 2027. Should Uconn bail , the BIG EAST adds one of Carlton (Ottawa, CAN), Holy Cross, or St. Bonaventure - all have history, pedigree, tradition. Any of the three are good fits. HC & da Bonnie’s have long histories with most BE schools (incl lil’ Cr8n).


Should our conf decide to move to 16-teams, we can always pickup the 2 best available teams regardless of location (USD, USF, Zags, St Mary’s, Pitt, Stanford, Memphis, etc.).

[Cheech]

The Big East will expand to 14. The sticky point with Gonzaga is number of conference games. They don’t want 20 , 16 or less can work and would be 2 less trips East. CBB will move to more tournament type games in lateJan/Feb. BIg East would be better served playing National Games in Jan and Feb. This year is a perfect example. Playing GT and Depaul only hurt..no one wants to play them twice. DePaul should be challenged to improve quickly or face expulsion . They are beyond broken and am embarrassment to the conference.

[DeltaV]

I could see maybe ND coming back, if and only if the football powers that be continue to be willing to tolerate their football independence. What's their non-football buyout? And if it really comes down to a super two or three conferences controlling the playoffs, are they really going to let the Golden Domers have a vote?

I still think most of the other ACC schools will have enough brand equity to be a viable football conference, even without raiding the AAC. They probably end up at the same level; ACC is the second tier East Coast football conference, AAC Midwest, and PAC in the West.

That's why I think that we'd be more likely to lose UConn instead of gaining Syracuse and Pitt. Sure, they're "Home", and have history with Nova and Georgetown, but they also have history with BC, Syracuse, Pitt, and even if they're having reasonable success scheduling as an independent, it'll be much easier and less stressful having a full conference schedule of teams which are mostly reasonably close.

[Demon22]

DePaul should be challenged to improve quickly or face expulsion.

Here are the Big East bylaws:

https://cdn0.sbnation.com/imported_asse ... Bylaws.pdf

Show me the part about being able to kick a school out for being bad at basketball. I'm pretty sure it doesn't exist.

So, unless you believe the other 10 Big East schools would enjoy the resulting law suit, you can STFU about expulsion.

[mpwalsh8]

DePaul should be challenged to improve quickly or face expulsion.

Here are the Big East bylaws:

https://cdn0.sbnation.com/imported_asse ... Bylaws.pdf

Show me the part about being able to kick a school out for being bad at basketball. I'm pretty sure it doesn't exist.

So, unless you believe the other 10 Big East schools would enjoy the resulting law suit, you can STFU about expulsion.

This comes up periodically and I don't understand it. Every league needs bottom feeders, someone has to finish at the bottom of the league. There are 11 BigEast teams playing a 20 game schedule - 220 games, 110 winners and 110 losers. If you replace DePaul with a "better" team, are you willing to push your school down the BigEast standings to improve the bottom of the league? Nobody is signing up for that. It isn't possible for 75% of the conference to finish 12-8 or better. The math doesn't work.

[Cheech]

Look no conference wants a team to perform like DePaul has the past 20 years….Build a practice facility….3 candidates to coach.. Brain Michaelson head assist at Gonzaga..great recruiter and has been in the best culture. Tommy Loyd doing a great job At Arizona. Tough sell cause DePaul has been a graveyard. Luke Murray…he is ready worked with Sean and now Hurley.. he would be a top choice of the go with an assistant. Now….since the conference brought back Sean and Ricky….I would find a way to get Bob Huggins to get the program back on track. He is 70 and recovering ..clearly brings baggage…no worse than Sean and Rick, but brings what DePaul needs right now a big Name that can impact asap. Huggins led the way with transfers his whole time at WVA. Risk you bet but 1 winning season since they entered the Big East 20026/7…ZERO NCAA… and the attendance is as bad as it gets. Take the Risk.

[Cheech]

PS…Mick Cronin not happy with the NIL at UCLA….Chris Mack says he wants back next year…again baggage but a good coach..

[stever20]

DePaul should be challenged to improve quickly or face expulsion.

Here are the Big East bylaws:

https://cdn0.sbnation.com/imported_asse ... Bylaws.pdf

Show me the part about being able to kick a school out for being bad at basketball. I'm pretty sure it doesn't exist.

So, unless you believe the other 10 Big East schools would enjoy the resulting law suit, you can STFU about expulsion.

This comes up periodically and I don't understand it. Every league needs bottom feeders, someone has to finish at the bottom of the league. There are 11 BigEast teams playing a 20 game schedule - 220 games, 110 winners and 110 losers. If you replace DePaul with a "better" team, are you willing to push your school down the BigEast standings to improve the bottom of the league? Nobody is signing up for that. It isn't possible for 75% of the conference to finish 12-8 or better. The math doesn't work.

The problem isn't what they do in conference play. It's what they do OOC that is so damaging.

[kayako]

This comes up periodically and I don't understand it. Every league needs bottom feeders, someone has to finish at the bottom of the league..

Ideally you don't want your bottom feeder coming into conference play with 270s NET (they do have a game left against Chicago State), but DePaul's been fine most years before this.

If you replace DePaul with a "better" team, are you willing to push your school down the BigEast standings to improve the bottom of the league? Nobody is signing up for that. It isn't possible for 75% of the conference to finish 12-8 or better. The math doesn't work.

I think a lot of fans believe that their program should be in top half of the conference most years, DePaul or no Depaul, so I get wanting tougher top-to-bottom strength in the conference. But reality is as you've articulated, DePaul hasn't hurt the conference for the most part.