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

[RealRussellPumps]

Greg Flugaur provided a pecking order of sorts yesterday for future B1G expansion

Tier 1: ND
Tier 2: UNC
Tier 3: Canes
Tier 4: UVA, GT, Utah

I'd be shocked if the SEC doesn't bring in North Carolina, Virginia and Georgia Tech.

Kinda figured us for the B1G, but who knows? Maybe Sankey (and ESPN's money) convinces the SEC presidents letting the Big Ten into the largest market (by far) in Florida is not smart business.

Would love to know if an SEC invite and a B1G invite were both on table, which does UM's leadership choose?

I can't see any world in which UNC is ahead of Miami for the B1G, especially with the recent success for Miami the last two years. At worst, we would be in Tier 2.

 

[Hold My Beer]

I can't see any world in which UNC is ahead of Miami for the B1G, especially with the recent success for Miami the last two years. At worst, we would be in Tier 2.

Yeah, Canes are that hot chick at the bar right now: CFP finalist and a likely NCAA Tournament team. Seems like we've finally got our stuff together at just the right time for the upcoming realignment shuffle

In case of UNC, the Heels are going to the SEC, so in that case it doesn't matter what the B1G wants

 

[wdk3618]

I can't see any world in which UNC is ahead of Miami for the B1G, especially with the recent success for Miami the last two years. At worst, we would be in Tier 2.

If you've read this thread, you would see this world. It is not just about recent success on the field. UNC is a big and relatively prestigious state school, big research $, big alumni base, good TV numbers, good in lots of sports, etc. Whether they are different tiers, sure, that can be up for debate. But I think 1) ND, 2) UNC, 3) UM for Big10 preference order makes a lot of sense. And as a Chicagoan, I've been praying to get into the Big10 for years. Hopefully all 3 get invites and accept.

 

[RealRussellPumps]

If you've read this thread, you would see this world. It is not just about recent success on the field. UNC is a big and relatively prestigious state school, big research $, big alumni base, good TV numbers, good in lots of sports, etc. Whether they are different tiers, sure, that can be up for debate. But I think 1) ND, 2) UNC, 3) UM for Big10 preference order makes a lot of sense. And as a Chicagoan, I've been praying to get into the Big10 for years. Hopefully all 3 get invites and accept.

I just don't see the numbers lining up to make UNC the more desirable program for the B1G. They do ok in TV ratings, but weren't even remotely close to Miami this year for viewership. This year, they were actually a good bit better than their usual metrics with the Bill hire this year. I know they get a great bump for their basketball viewership but even those numbers pale in comparison to football viewership. For example, the highest viewed college basketball game last year was 6.8 million viewers. That's about 1/3 of the viewership of the biggest college football game this last year. Definitely some orange and green shades on my part but if I'm the B1G, Miami with it's prowess in NIL and dedication to funding sports, it's recent successes, it's built in rivalries with several of our existing institutions, viewership ratings and AAU accreditation. This doesn't even touch on the appeal of the B1G getting into the highly sought after Florida market where they also have a ton of alumni who happen to live down here. I just can't see a scenario in which, currently, Miami isn't preferred over UNC in terms of realignment.

 

[AuoraCane]

If you've read this thread, you would see this world. It is not just about recent success on the field. UNC is a big and relatively prestigious state school, big research $, big alumni base, good TV numbers, good in lots of sports, etc. Whether they are different tiers, sure, that can be up for debate. But I think 1) ND, 2) UNC, 3) UM for Big10 preference order makes a lot of sense. And as a Chicagoan, I've been praying to get into the Big10 for years. Hopefully all 3 get invites and accept.

Also in Chicago and hoping for a BIG invite. I agree with your take. I'm sure the networks may prefer Miami to UNC, but the University presidents I think would much more prefer UNC.