Big 10, Pac 12 & ACC in Discussions

I said it before, the only way this move works out for the SEC wanting supreme dominance is if everyone panics. Combining forces and isolating them could really do damage. This was the smart move.
 
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Highlights:

Talks have centered around not just a scheduling alliance in football but in broader cooperation, according to sources in the three conferences. Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff, Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren and ACC commissioner Jim Phillips have been having conversations for several weeks.

While the specifics on how a scheduling pact might work remain unclear, sources in the three conferences suggest the larger goal is alignment so that the Pac-12, Big Ten and ACC can work and vote together on major issues such as College Football Playoff expansion and upcoming NCAA governance changes.

“This is their shot right back at the SEC,” one athletic director said.

While these plans are still in the works, it does appear the Big 12 will not be included in the alliance.

New ACC commissioner Jim Phillips, who was announced as one of 23 members of the constitution committee, has told ADs that strength comes in numbers, not in one conference stacking the deck. This is where the real difference could come for these three conferences. It is there, in voting power, where an alliance among the ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12 would really show those three conferences’ power — 41 votes to the 16 votes of the expanded SEC.


A formal alliance between these three conferences could be announced with specific scheduling details to be ironed out later. But it would still be valuable to get this out there at some point soon because the three leagues could then work together to vote as a bloc on CFP expansion (timeline and format), upcoming NCAA governance decisions and other pressing issues.

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CFB Armageddon

It's sad.

While I think this is a potentially smart move, it's sad for the game.

****, remember when people had pride, tradition, and games were more than money, but bragging rights? Perhaps I'm being naive here, but it all used to be entertaining and fun. Now, the almighty dollar has positioned itself as the primary focus for not only the schools but the players as well.

Target, you and your wallet.
 
Agreed. SEC would possibly respond by adding more schools, but what schools are out there if you take away the B1G, ACC and PAC-12 besides BIG12 leftovers? Nothing that adds enough value to compete with the scheduling and voting power of the three remaining P5 conferences, IMO. Frankly outside of adding Okie St. or WVU, anyone else dilutes both the product and the cut of the pie each school gets from ESPN.

A scheduling alliance with the B1G and PAC-12 may enable the ACC to bring ESPN back to the table to re-negotiate its horrible media rights deal.

OR...let ESPN, FOX, CBS, NBC and streaming services bid against each other for exclusive rights to these new inter-conference games. While ESPN is broadcasting the Iron Bowl or Texas/OU on prime time, CBS/FOX/NBC could counter with Miami/USC, Clemson/Taint, Oregon/Michigan, FSU/State Penn etc. Exciting, bowl-season type match-ups with playoff implications every week. Imagine if you could somehow convince the Domers to jump on board too. They could stay independent and help drive up the price. That package would be worth stupid money (split 42 ways mind you, but it would supplement the conference's current TV deals).

Interesting to see where this goes, hopefully straight up the SEC's ***.
Those match ups would be crazy to see. I’m cool with going to LA to watch the Canes smack USC.
 
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Conference realignment is about $$$. Unless the 3 conferences are forming an alliance to share TV money (i.e. a monster TV contract that all 3 conferences are included), what is the real benefit at the end of the day? If the ACC schools are receiving $20-30 million less a year in TV revenue than the SEC and Big 10, who cares about scheduling adjustments and additional voting power on playoff decisions? Correct me if I am wrong, but the ACC TV contract can only be changed due to membership adjustments. Scheduling individual OOC games against the Big 10 and PAC 12 alone will not increase the payouts.

I will say the 3 conferences bringing their votes together could hamstring the expansion of the playoff to 12 teams, which would really p**s off the SEC as they added Texas and Oklahoma to get more access to the proposed 12 team playoff.
They could hypothetically do kick- off classics similar to the preseason basketball tournaments Big 10 and ACC do.
Play them at Neutral sites and sign exclusive TV deals with other Networks other than ESPN to really stick it to them too.
 
Sounds promising although another outcome could be the SEC says "hold my beer" and decides to offer Clemson and Ohio Taint to stick it up our **** even further...
 
The TV deal for this alignment would crush whatever the SEC has, I would think. It’s a numbers game now, and the SEC would be ****ed. Unless, the SEC brings in more schools.
SEC turns around and brings in the rest of the Big 12 and starts cherry picking Group of 5 schools.
 
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SEC turns around and brings in the rest of the Big 12 and starts cherry picking Group of 5 schools.
But would schools want to leave a new “super” conference that brings in more money and exposure?
 
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I said it before, the only way this move works out for the SEC wanting supreme dominance is if everyone panics. Combining forces and isolating them could really do damage. This was the smart move.
I hate to be cynical, but there is precedent for this. Once upon a time the World Wrestling Federation was embarked on national expansion and intended dominance of the market place in 1984-1985. The largest rival promotions of the time (Jim Crockett Promotions (NWA) and Verne Gagne’s AWA) joined forces to create Pro Wrestling USA as a firebreak to the WWF. It presented supercards and had its own television tapings.

However the personalities of Verne Gagne and Jim Crockett could not work together. They were paranoid about each sabotaging the other, and Pro Wrestling USA dissolved within a year. The WWF continued its expansion unabated. Left alone, Jim Crockett became bankrupt three years later through a combination of aggressive WWF business practices and over expanding in an effort to compete. Verne Gagne decided his way was the best way, and saw his talent steadily signed away to the WWF. He was out of business six years after Pro Wrestling USA folded.

That is a possible future of this football alliance. Can the three conferences put aside petty squabbles, past histories, and paranoia to truly work together? If they can’t, all but a handful of these programs will be going away as the remainder will become SEC affiliates.
 
Evolve or become extinct
Literally. The long term goal for the SEC is a national, exclusive league of 28-32 teams broadcast under the Disney umbrella. The rest of college football would be second tier and would have no involvement in this group. And it would mostly wither away and die, or be as prominent as the CFL.
 
Sounds promising although another outcome could be the SEC says "hold my beer" and decides to offer Clemson and Ohio Taint to stick it up our **** even further...

Why would Ohio State leave the Big 10 where it makes more money than the SEC makes right now? An alliance between the PAC, Big10, and ACC where they all agree to only schedule nonconference P5 games against each other, completely excluding the SEC, would generate a ton of additional revenue that would dwarf what the SEC is going to add by bringing in OU and Texas. If they really wanted to play hardball, they would completely break away from the SEC and the NCAA and create their own league with uniform rules and a new aggregate TV deal. The SEC would be finished in that scenario. They would be forced to come to the table on their knees begging to be brought into the fold.
 
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