Conference Realignment Thread v. 2016

[Bill Marsh]

Sorry to intrude on your (private) conversation ih and Bill, but Oklahoma and the fellas in the Big 12 will wait n watch. Seems only a very few care what transpires in the corn n wheat belt. After the lions feed (B1G and SEC) on the ACC, the Big 12 will feast on the leftovers. If they don't want to be patient, they can take some AAC teams. Neither the B1G nor the SEC want another B12 team...not when better strategic additions ly in the ACC. ESPN is talking in terms of converting the failed LHN into a Big12 Network. That should enable that network to move out of the red and into the black.
Ho hum...

Not Texas? Not Oklahoma?

ACC schools will pay $60 million exit fees to leave the ACC for the unstable Big XII?

The assumption in this case is that the ACC is essentially disbanded as a result of a B1G/SEC raid.

Does anyone know if there is any sort of 'breakup' clause in the ACC bylaws? Wasn't there some version of that in the old Big East bylaws that the Catholic 7 thought they could possibly use so that we wouldn't have to pay exit fees to what is now the AAC?

The ACC bylaws are available on line. I can't find anything about a breakup clause. More common is a dissolution clause which outlines the method for dissolving a conference and how the assets are divided up. The Big XII, for example, has such a clause. I can't even find a dissolution clause. Maybe I missed it. Here's the link. Take a look.

http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/bc/ ... 13_ACC.pdf

Even if the rumored B1G raid were to take place, there would still be 9 members left in the ACC. That's certainly too big to dissolve. If the SEC took VA Tech and NC State, that would still leave 7. Why would those 7 dissolve? Who's left who the SEC would even want? And there's no guarantee that the SEC would even want the ACC leftovers. Oklahoma and Texas would certainly be more appealing.

[Bill Marsh]

But do they have better options? Do they have an invite from the SEC or Big 10? Can they just up and leave long time rivals behind? Can they go any where without OSU?

From what I understand the following is likely true. OU likely has open invites to the SEC and probably also Pac 12 and B1G. However, that invite is for them alone, not OSU. OU is more or less, the same as Nebraska only they have baggage (OSU). Nebraska had no such baggage.

Can they leave OSU behind? The answer is almost certainly yes, but they can't leave OSU high and dry without a good home (Pac-12, B1G, SEC). A Big-12 that does not include OU is not likely to keep its anchor (Texas) for long, thus imploding the Big-12 as any kind of power conference. Realistically, OU is stuck with OSU.

Ultimately, no state school acts independent of its fellow instate institutions. Any instate institution that improves itself is only allowed to do so if the benefit outweighs the negative for the other instate institution. No one is cutting off the left hand to strengthen the right hand.

Your options for OU are exactly right.

just my 2 cents,but I think that times are changing in terms of whether binding schools to their instate partners is still required. For example, the B1G rumor is based on the premise that UVA would leave VA Tech behind and participate in a maneuver that would fire a potentially fatal shot into the heart of the ACC, leaving VA Tech's future uncertain. Not to mention that UNC would be abandoning NC State.

Second example. After the PAC-12's attempt to raid the Big XII in a way that would keep the 4 Texas schools together, something that was considered to be politically required, Texas A&M left on their own for the SEC, abandoning their instate partners.

I know very little about the political dynamics in Oklahoma. However, I do hear David Boren talking in ways that appear to imply unilateral action. Time will tell.

[Bill Marsh]

Wasn't there some version of that in the old Big East bylaws that the Catholic 7 thought they could possibly use so that we wouldn't have to pay exit fees to what is now the AAC?

The old Big East did have a breakup clause that required a 2/3 vote. At the time, the Big East only had ten voting amembers, so the Catholic 7 had the power to break up the conference.

There was a requirement that the 2/3 vote include 2 football members, which is why the dissolution negotiations were so protracted.

[_lh]

So it seems that OU doesn't really have many options as many believe they can't leave without taking OSU with them or setting OSU up for a nice landing.

I think the B12 stays pat at 10 and waits for something to happen that would allow them to potentially add a program or two that is not currently available. They can always add any AAC school they want or Boise St. and probably even BYU.

I don't see the SEC or B10 expanding anytime soon either.

[Fieldhouse Flyer]

Smoke, but no fire:

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootbal ... k-football

Wichita State interested in joining Mountain West, considering football - CBS Sports - May 3, 2016

Individuals representing Wichita State's athletic interests have approached the Mountain West Conference about membership, multiple sources told CBS Sports.

Led by president John Bardo, Wichita State has been exploring its conference options in basketball and football. Last year, Bardo commissioned an ongoing feasibility study to bring football back to the athletic program. The school dropped the sport in 1986.

The 12-member Mountain West has only 11 basketball-playing members; Hawaii plays basketball in the Big West. Wichita State might value its basketball on a larger stage with momentum created by highly successful coach Gregg Marshall.

Through a spokesman, Bardo declined comment.

Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson said he did not have direct contact with Bardo or Wichita State officials. He added that if Wichita State plans to park its basketball program in a new conference, “It ain't going to be us."

One source told CBS Sports it's a simple case of economics. The league would be splitting its media rights revenue 12 ways instead of 11 in basketball if it added the Shockers.

One MWC source considered it unlikely that Mountain West's media rights holders (ESPN, CBS Sports Network) would renegotiate their current contracts to include additional revenue for a 12th basketball school.

[Barley]

Interesting.

Individuals representing Wichita State’s athletic interests have approached the Mountain West Conference about membership, multiple sources told CBS Sports.
Led by president John Bardo, Wichita State has been exploring its conference options in both basketball and football. Last year, Bardo commissioned an ongoing feasibility study to bring football back to the athletic program. The school dropped the sport in 1986.

[milksteak]

Interesting.

Individuals representing Wichita State’s athletic interests have approached the Mountain West Conference about membership, multiple sources told CBS Sports.
Led by president John Bardo, Wichita State has been exploring its conference options in both basketball and football. Last year, Bardo commissioned an ongoing feasibility study to bring football back to the athletic program. The school dropped the sport in 1986.

They certainly have the money for it. I would guess their long-term plan is to get into a major conference.

I'm sort of on the fence about this one. It will probably be at least a decade before they are at least competitive in football.

[gtmoBlue]

Well the key is whether the Shocks can bring back football. If they renovate their stadium, actually field a team, and schedule games in the MVC's football conference, that's a good start. Without football they have no real options.

[_lh]

Can't post the link but multiple articles today suggesting BOR at OU are against expansion due to weak options. Makes sense to me.

[ArmyVet]

Ouch.

A lot of the opposition has to do with the choices available for expansion. Teams such as Boise State, BYU, Cincinnati, Connecticut, Houston, Memphis, South Florida and UCF have been thrown out as possible additions, but none of those names thrill Oklahoma’s board of regents.

"Those are the ones I keep hearing," Weitzenhoffer told CBSSports.com. "They have no seating capacities in their stadiums. They really don't build them up. They really don't have any TV. I really don't know what we have to gain by that."

"The problem with Cincinnati is ... then they start getting all this money. Then what do we do? We build up somebody we don't want to build up."

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaaf-dr- ... 12122.html