Realignment Megathread (All The Moves)
- Thread starter ISUcyclones11
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If Oregon and Washington are talking unequal revenue shares, why wouldn't ASU at least "act"angry? Phoenix is a top 10 TV market and ASU should leverage it to push for an unequal share as well. If I were Utah, I would do the same as well based on their teams performance and SLC market.
Utah fans at least seem to think MWC is above Big 12. Let them find out.
Arizona is a bigger market than Utah and B12 already has the bigger sports brand in Utah.
Rutgers is closer to Greenland and Venezuela than it is to UCLA, but yeah, great fit otherwise.
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Washington is far away from pretty much every fbs school, even Washington St is a surprisingly long drive.
Can’t say they fit amazingly or don’t fit anywhere.
This Athletic article that came out earlier today outlined the status very well.
When I tried to access it at the link in the Tweet, I wasn't able to. I was able to at the NYT website though, which owns The Athletic now (but is a separate subscription). That I was able to access it there I think is probably because you get a freebie or two. I doubt that you even have to subscribe to the NYT (or even log in) to do this. I did it again just a bit ago to read the OuT article, in an InPrivate window, but I'm not sure that was even necessary.
If anyone wants to try, the link to The Athletic is in the upper right corner at the NYT:
The New York Times - Breaking News, US News, World News and Videos
Live news, investigations, opinion, photos and video by the journalists of The New York Times from more than 150 countries around the world. Subscribe for coverage of U.S. and international news, politics, business, technology, science, health, arts, sports and more.
I'd access this earlier article first (not the one on OuT) as it was so informative:
"What we're hearing on PAC-12 expansion, SMU, the Big 12 and more"
It is no longer at the top, but if you scroll down to Conference realignment, it is in the lower right of that section currently.
Fans don't decide which conference their school is going to be in. Especially loud mouth twitter fans just trying to get clicks. Fortunately Presidents and AD's decide.
I guarantee if the options are Big12 and potential for $45-$50M or MWC and $10-$15M, pretty sure I know where Utah, ASU or any other Pac 12 schools ends ups.
With the upcoming 12 team CFB Playoff, being in a P5 conference is critical. Regardless what the payout structure is in 2023-2025, there is no guarantee it will be the same when the playoff goes out to open market in 2026. With the GREED among the big boys, there is a big difference between sharing $80M with G5 schools and sharing $400M with G5 schools.
Besides all that, the reality is ESPN, Fox and the Big12's TV consultant is driving realignment. If they tell the Big12 to add SDSU, SMU, Tulane or Slippery Rock to maximize rights fees- then the Big12 will do so.
I think I’ve changed my mind. I like the idea of adding the Arizona schools and just staying at 14 for now. Honestly I don’t care to add Utah, and I don’t think Colorado adds any value anymore.
I don’t see the pac 12 surviving, which is kind of a shame. The USC& UCLA move to the big 10 is still mind boggling to me. USC won’t play @ Notre Dame past early October, now they’ll be traveling to the Midwest (which is not really a short flight) every away game.
I sort of feel bad for Washington state fans as there school will be left behind.
I sort of feel bad for Washington state fans as there school will be left behind.
And it'll flow downhill-they'll likely invite the best of the MWC into a "new" PAC, leaving the bottom of the MWC behind.
Cal honestly deserves it. Their athletics department is a disaster.
Clearly Utah would need the B12 if Pac implodes.
Not as clear if Big 12 actually needs or wants Utah with BYU already in the fold.
I do enjoy how it's pretty obvious their fans really took enjoyment in "winning" realignment and got the football pulled away from them like Charlie Brown. The worst Iowa fans have waisted a lot of time celebrating ISU moving to the MAC.
I agree the Big12 could stand pat and be solid for the duration of the extension. But further Big12 expansion of Pac12 schools would narrow the media rights gap between the Big10/SEC and Big12.
Fans will be fans. But the adults in the room will make decisions that are financially prudent.
My biggest issue is the academic focus of some fan bases. Nothing wrong with being and wanting strong academic schools in your conference, but Stanford and Cals academics would still be great if they were in a conference with 10 community colleges. So other than being a snob, what's the big deal being in a conference with West Virginia or Texas Tech.
Schools like CU, OR, ASU, WSU and rest of Pac 10 are all pretty average. And IMO once you get beyond the top tier of schools, a students college education and experience are all about what they put into it.
You all need to stop looking at the Utah twitter fans. The only thing that proves is they have a passionate fanbase. Which is good. Their fans are idiots, but they are passionate.
They have been a winning program, they pack their house, and their viewership is in the top of the Pac. Their Media value is probably tied with Wash for 2nd behind Oregon in the Pac.
And that is what matters. Sure we have BYU, but they have a huge rivalry with BYU, that is good, Utah is one of the fastest growing states, also good.
We have or have had several multiple team states, just like every other P5 conferences. Having 2 teams in a State is not an absolute road block, they just need to bring enough value, and of all the available Pac10 schools Utah brings as much or more value than anyone. This is about Money, Value and Media, especially in football. And Utah brings that more than any of the other 4 corners, and is more on par with Wash or Oreg.
As much as we all hate their online fans, we have all dealt with horrible online fans, KSU, UCF, TOE, etc. But those people dont make the decisions thankfully, and they also just prove that at least there are fans there that care.
Rivalries are good for college football. Having Utah in the Big12 with BYU is a good thing. Utah and UCF are proving to be villains. Beating them will taste more sweet.
It's entirely rational to see Utah isn't that populated of a state and the Big 12 already has the more popular college sports brand.
It's been the fastest growing state in the country, but it's major metro is potentially facing a unique ecological disaster and the state's growth is going to slow almost surely.
I'm with you that I like the in state rivalries and ironically I was the biggest Utah fan on the planet and would have definitely crowned them football National Champion one year, but if money talks it's definitely not irrational to grant Utah fans their ultimate dream to never join the Big 12...purely from a financial standpoint potentially. They bring more to the Big Ten than the Big 12 and the Big Ten has likely calculated they don't add enough.