Realignment Megathread (All The Moves)

[SolterraCyclone]

I do find it disappointing if ESPN is okay with the ACC exercising their pro-rata clause, particularly if it guarantees survival of the ACC is someone FSU and Clemson leave but we supposedly were told not to exercise ours (if that was indeed the case).

ESPN was ok with exercising their pro-rata clause for all 4 Big 12 adds as I understand it. I think Fox was ok with 2, but probably pushed back on the next 2 (ASU and Utah). Even so, McMurphy still reported everyone is getting averaging of $31.7M/year over the course of the contract. It sounds like the dollars just shifted more to the back end than the front.

It is notable, as someone mentioned, that this is the first vote (at least publicly) that was not unanimous. This really doesn’t make sense, except for the fact if/when they fall below 15 teams, they didn’t want to have to renegotiate with ESPN with all G5 adds (even though SMU is a G5 add, and Stanford/Cal likely still would be available).

All that being said, it’s in the Big 12’s interests for ACC to survive past 2026 (at the least). It gives us a better chance of maintaining auto-qualifiers for 2026 and beyond

 

[knowlesjam]

It's only a cut of like 6 MM since that is what they are getting from the AAC. Probably have a few boosters who threw that in.

But holy crap travel costs Batman...Stanafornia taking that 5 hour cross county flight for every sport...double that for transfers...so 10 hours each way just doing travel crap. Add in basically an entire extra day of hotels, food, etc. The Stanford men have 16 sports...the women have 20 sports. The Cal men have 13 sports...the women have 15 sports. As a reference, the Iowa State men have 6 sports...the women have 10 sports.

Good luck with that...

 

[1UNI2ISU]

Did SMU take out a couple mortgages on their campus while they're at it? 7 years without media revenue seems pointless.

I read somewhere that the Bushs aren't even in the top 20 for net worth among their donor base. They'll be just fine.

 

[1UNI2ISU]

Gonna be real awkward to be NC State at the next conference family picnic...

 

[State2015]

SMU seems like the only winner in this situation, and they're barely a winner. They get a seat at the table for the next (maybe) 10 years but have to sacrifice some major $$$$ to do so.

Sucks for Cal/Stanford as their travel will be terrible and no one there cares about sports anyway. Sucks for existing ACC teams since you just added 3 teams that dilute the football and basketball product, and 3 pretty empty stadiums

 

[BCClone]

But holy crap travel costs Batman...Stanafornia taking that 5 hour cross county flight for every sport...double that for transfers...so 10 hours each way just doing travel crap. Add in basically an entire extra day of hotels, food, etc. The Stanford men have 16 sports...the women have 20 sports. The Cal men have 13 sports...the women have 15 sports. As a reference, the Iowa State men have 6 sports...the women have 10 sports.

Good luck with that...

I was responding to the part about SMU getting 0 media dollars for 7 years. For Standford, many of their olympic sports are probably staying where they are since they are things like sand volleyball that is more a west coast thing.

Also, I think we actually have 18 or 19 sports. Something may get doubled for some reason.

 

[cykadelic2]

Now that the realignment dust has kind of settled, this is all so stupid.

It's beyond stupid and ESPN. Fox and P5 Presidents/ADs should all be embarrassed that this is what all unfolded.

Networks ended up with more mouths to feed and essentially destroyed two athletic departments in the process assuming ORSt and Wazzu don't end up in the B12.

You got a conference (B12) needlessly adding 4 G5 schools because another conference (PAC) refused to merge when the offer was made to them.

You got another conference (B10) acting as a puppet for Fox jumping two time zones to expand with two schools with one of them having to divert their payout shares to another school that didn't get an invite. They later add two more schools from the same time zone at non-competitive half shares for the duration of their new TV deal.

Then you have another conference (ACC) jump time zones to add 3 schools at less at reduced or no shares just so a network can fill some After Dark programming slot and supposedly to protect themselves from future attrition in the next decade.

And then you have the SEC who at least expanded with schools contiguous or in their existing footprint but still refuse to play 9 conference games and could end up destroying more ADs with their own expansion motives.

What an effin disaster.

 

[BCClone]

Looks like the ACC people want to stick together. Othewise, why would NC State, Virginia, VT, Pitt and others that seem destined to get an invite to another league and keep stability, vote to add teams which basically locks down the ACC even more.

 

[ISU_Guy]

great, another G5 private school is now considered a high major.
This is all so stupid. 100 years from now, people are going to be shaking their heads at what we did with this sport. We completely trashed and disregarded everything in like 12 years.

and my gosh, I feel bad for OSU and WSU. They are witnessing Houston, Cincy, BYU, UCF and SMU get promoted and they are getting kicked to the curb. unreal.

 

[cykadelic2]

SMU seems like the only winner in this situation, and they're barely a winner. They get a seat at the table for the next (maybe) 10 years but have to sacrifice some major $$$$ to do so.

Sucks for Cal/Stanford as their travel will be terrible and no one there cares about sports anyway. Sucks for existing ACC teams since you just added 3 teams that dilute the football and basketball product, and 3 pretty empty stadiums

SMU is going to going their ass kicked in the ACC with zero revenue shares no matter what their high end boosters think.

 

[KidSilverhair]

If your “conference” includes Boston, Miami, Berkeley, and Palo Alto, you don’t actually have a conference.

If your “conference” includes Seattle, Eugene, Piscataway, and College Park, you don’t actually have a conference.

Having members in Orlando, Morgantown, Salt Lake City, and Tempe is pushing it, too.

I hate that greed and TV money are driving the bus. It’s tearing apart everything that’s great about college football.

 

[BCClone]

Wonder if Cal and Stanford will have to alternate home games so the ACC always has a late game. Or I could see SMU being their beatch and getting several 8/9 CST kickoffs to handle it.

 

[knowlesjam]

I was responding to the part about SMU getting 0 media dollars for 7 years. For Standford, many of their olympic sports are probably staying where they are since they are things like sand volleyball that is more a west coast thing.

Also, I think we actually have 18 or 19 sports. Something may get doubled for some reason.

I took the sport numbers straight from the three schools athletic websites. You are likely right on a small handful of olympic sports, but I would expect the ACC to expect Stanford and Cal to participate in the vast majority. For example, North Carolina has 12 men's sports and 14 women's sports that line up directly with sports at both Stanford and Cal. Regardless, like you stated above, SMU getting 0 dollars simply means they are starting of $30 million less a year than Stanford and Cal...and then add in the travel costs. Must be nice to have donors fling $40-$50M a year at you simply to cover costs...

 

[LLCoolCY]

So it was NCSt flipping…


FSU/Clemson/UNC not getting their way will strengthen their resolve a thus using the extra money to leave the ACC is fitting.

 

[Scruff]

Got to hand it to the ACC, they've been doing realignment as well as anyone given they were never in the drivers seat like B1G and SEC. They knew early that they were fighting for survival and have made a lot of smart moves along the way. Coming to mind:

• Quickly adding Pitt & Syracuse (their favorite Big East teams)
• Adding Louisville as a football school despite their academics to appease Florida State and Clemson
• Even though the TV contract sucked, they got everyone to sign onto a GOR lasting basically to infinity, buying them time to react to moves around the league.
• Adds Stanford, Cal, & SMU. (Now if FSU, Clemson, UNC all leave, they might actually survive as a conference.)

I was hopeful that we would get 4 solid schools from the ACC, I'm not sure that happens anymore.

 

[MugNight]

So it was NCSt flipping…


FSU/Clemson/UNC not getting their way will strengthen their resolve a thus using the extra money to leave the ACC is fitting.

This tells me that NC State has a vested interest in keeping the ACC at that 15 team level should there be the expected defections in future. Thus, they may not expect a B1G or SEC invite in future.

 

[jctisu]

So it was NCSt flipping…


FSU/Clemson/UNC not getting their way will strengthen their resolve a thus using the extra money to leave the ACC is fitting.

I agree I think this will just make things worse. Not sure any of the schools can still find a way out and they were going to leave down the road anyway, so maybe the other schools don’t care and are just trying to survive. But man is that conference going to be toxic for another decade plus potentially.

 

[helechopper]

This move is so fu5king dumb.

Unbelievable.

 

[cykadelic2]

Got to hand it to the ACC, they've been doing realignment as well as anyone given they were never in the drivers seat like B1G and SEC. They knew early that they were fighting for survival and have made a lot of smart moves along the way. Coming to mind:

• Quickly adding Pitt & Syracuse (their favorite Big East teams)
• Adding Louisville as a football school despite their academics to appease Florida State and Clemson
• Even though the TV contract sucked, they got everyone to sign onto a GOR lasting basically to infinity, buying them time to react to moves around the league.
• Adds Stanford, Cal, & SMU. (Now if FSU, Clemson, UNC all leave, they might actually survive as a conference.)

I was hopeful that we would get 4 solid schools from the ACC, I'm not sure that happens anymore.

Yeah, it has really helped them. Outside of Clemson's FB success, the rest of the conference has dived for FB and what was once the best MBB conference is now 3rd (at best) due in large part to dilution of the product with expansion and made worse with this latest senseless expansion.

 

[clone37]

Looks like the ACC people want to stick together. Othewise, why would NC State, Virginia, VT, Pitt and others that seem destined to get an invite to another league and keep stability, vote to add teams which basically locks down the ACC even more.

This just gives the existing members more $ and does not lock them in any further. The only way they were getting extra $ before 2036 was if they used Cal, Stan, and SMU as pawns.

Anyone who argues that the ACC now is the #3 conference is dead wrong. They just expanded with 3 teams that the Big 12 had a chance at, and took a hard pass. I do think having a Power 4 with a weaker ACC in the long-term, is better for the B12 than a Power 3. I see a better chance at a Power 4 surviving long-term than a Power 3. I think 3 would then whittle down to 2.