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MEGA Conference Realignment and lawsuits Megathread: Stories, Tales, Lies, and Exaggerations

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The Big Ten calls their annual rivalry games ‘protected matchups’. These games are played every year to preserve historic and geographical rivalries. Most teams have two or three of these games. The former Pac 12 members have one each to preserve games such as USC – UCLA, Oregon – Washington. Maryland and Rutgers play in a protected matchup.

Each team plays nine conference games per season. The protected matchups account for a certain number of games, and the remaining games are filled with rotating opponents. The goal of this rotation is to ensure that:
  • Every team plays every other conference opponent at least twice (once at home, once away) in a five-year period.
  • Teams will play rotating opponents no more than three times during that same five-year period.
For fun imagine conference expansion where Miami and Notre Dame join.

Add the following protected matchups to preserve history between teams. What I found interesting was Penn State is the only conference member without a protected matchup in the Big 10 scheduling formula. So, we will add the below.
  • USC - Notre Dame
  • Miami - Notre Dame
  • Miami - Penn State
The rotating schedule would need to be tweaked a bit.

So like old times, Miami plays Penn State and Notre Dame every year.

Schedule Florida State as one of the three nonconference games.

The other two games could be a home game against some FCS team like Bethune Cookman or FAMU, and either another annual home game we buy like a G5 team or a home and home against an quality opponent we want to play on the road for recruiting purposes. Like a game in the state of Texas.
 
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Remember a few months back when — likely at the behest of Greg Sankey — Nick Saban was a point person for getting the ball rolling in DC for the SEC commissioner's preferred college sports legislation? Saban flew to Capitol Hill to meet with congressmen and the president.

Makes sense as there's not a bigger voice in College Football.

Now this from today's article by Ross Dellenger at Yahoo Sports.

Rich Rodriguez answered the phone to hear a familiar voice on the other end.

“Hey, Coach,” he said to Nick Saban.

Saban, the now-retired Alabama head coach, is a West Virginia native himself. He still has deep connections to the state and often roots for its flagship university. On behalf of the school, Saban phoned Rodriguez a few days before his Jacksonville State team played in the Conference USA championship game last December. The goal of the call: Find out if Rodriguez would be interested in returning to West Virginia.

JMO, but Saban — who's a lifelong close friend with retired West Virginia governor and U.S. senator Joe Manchin — isn't doing this big political favor for Sankey without getting something in return.

Watch for it. The Mountaineers are gonna end up in the SEC
 
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Star Wars GIF by Johanna Healy
 


Also worth noting that a 9-game conference schedule fits perfectly with a 24-team conference: 2 "permanent" opponents combined with home-and-homes against the other 21 teams over the course of six years. Rinse and repeat.
 
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Hold My Beer said:


Also worth noting that a 9-game conference schedule fits perfectly with a 24-team conference: 2 "permanent" opponents combined with home-and-homes against the other 21 teams over the course of six years. Rinse and repeat.
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Conferences reacting to the Network desires to have QUALITY GAMES to broadcast. 9 conference games, at least two other OOC games against P4 opponents ... only leaves one certified "cream puff" game. Eventually those will be gone, and we won't be seeing Bethune Cookman etc. playing any P4 opponents. Of course now the SEC will say they have a right to CFP slots regardless of wins / losses due to "strength of schedule".
 
Rickd said:
Conferences reacting to the Network desires to have QUALITY GAMES to broadcast. 9 conference games, at least two other OOC games against P4 opponents ... only leaves one certified "cream puff" game. Eventually those will be gone, and we won't be seeing Bethune Cookman etc. playing any P4 opponents. Of course now the SEC will say they have a right to CFP slots regardless of wins / losses due to "strength of schedule".
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That was the whole point
 
Rickd said:
Conferences reacting to the Network desires to have QUALITY GAMES to broadcast. 9 conference games, at least two other OOC games against P4 opponents ... only leaves one certified "cream puff" game. Eventually those will be gone, and we won't be seeing Bethune Cookman etc. playing any P4 opponents. Of course now the SEC will say they have a right to CFP slots regardless of wins / losses due to "strength of schedule".
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Where do you see at least 2 OOC games against P4 components? The SEC is only requiring 1 at this time.
 
Hypothetically ND can reach or win the Natty while playing 2 less games then their finals opponent…..

With new straight seeding ND could earn a top 4 seed and a bye….

Conference championship game loser get a non top 4 seed and no bye.

That team would have played a conference championship game and a first round playoff game. While ND is not playing either one….
 
TomAce said:
Hypothetically ND can reach or win the Natty while playing 2 less games then their finals opponent…..

With new straight seeding ND could earn a top 4 seed and a bye….

Conference championship game loser get a non top 4 seed and no bye.

That team would have played a conference championship game and a first round playoff game. While ND is not playing either one….
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**** the leprechaun


That is all


Have a good weekend 🍻
 
CaneinBroward said:
Where do you see at least 2 OOC games against P4 components? The SEC is only requiring 1 at this time.
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It was in a summary of the new scheduling agreement that Sankey JUST announced for the 2026 season and going forward. Lot of changes taking place. Could the initiation of some realignment moves be far behind?
 
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Rickd said:
It was in a summary of the new scheduling agreement that Sankey JUST announced for the 2026 season and going forward. Lot of changes taking place. Could the initiation of some realignment moves be far behind?
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Please provide a link.

Everyone is reporting it is 1 P4 OOC game required.....including the SEC itself.

The message from Sankey was as follows per Adam Rittenburg at ESPN posted above:

SEC teams also will be required to schedule another Power 4 opponent or Notre Dame. Format will include three protected opponents to ensure rivalries. Each team will face every other SEC program at least once every two years.

From the SEC website: Nine SEC games plus an annual power opponent creates the strongest and most competitive schedule in college football.
 
CaneinBroward said:
SEC teams also will be required to schedule another Power 4 opponent or Notre Dame.
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If the wife doesn't spend it first, I'd bet my very last dollar that the requisite 10th power conference opponent will come via the SEC-B1G challenge.

ESPN will pay SEC schools each an additional $5M for a 9th conference game beginning in 2026.

How frickin' much will ESPN/FOX (along with CBS and NBC) kick in for, say, a 24-game interconference series each year spanning the first three weeks of the season - $10M easy. It's a sports marketer's wet dream.

Georgia vs. Ohio State

Alabama vs. Michigan

Notre Dame vs. Texas

Penn State vs. Oklahoma

USC vs. LSU

Canes vs. UF (or FSU)

Oregon vs. Clemson

Etc, etc, etc.

No way a money making machine like this won't happen.
 
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Hold My Beer said:
If the wife doesn't spend it first, I'd bet my very last dollar on that the requisite 10th power conference opponent will come via the SEC-B1G challenge.

ESPN will pay SEC schools each an additional $5M for a 9th conference game beginning in 2026.

How frickin' much will ESPN/FOX (along with CBS and NBC) kick in for, say, a 24-game interconference series each year spanning the first three weeks of the season. $10M easy. It's a sports marketer's wet dream.

Georgia vs. Ohio State

Alabama vs. Michigan

Notre Dame vs. Texas

Penn State vs. Oklahoma

USC vs. LSU

Canes vs. UF (or FSU)

Oregon vs. Clemson

Etc, etc, etc.

No way a money making machine like this won't happen.
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College football is COOL to the current generation

With the way the sport is burning itself out with this realignment and EXPANSION stuff PRETTY SOON the next payday will diminish the same way ALCOHOL isn’t cool amongst current gen Z

Have to get out while the WELL is still running and not wait till it DRIES in 2030
 
TheOGCane said:
College football is COOL to the current generation

With the way the sport is burning itself out with this realignment and EXPANSION stuff PRETTY SOON the next payday will diminish the same way ALCOHOL isn’t cool amongst current gen Z

Have to get out while the WELL is still running and not wait till it DRIES in 2030
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Yes, we know this is a money-making machine for the colleges and conferences. We'll see if it is the same for the networks. If not, that well will dry up.
 
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