*****The Super, Mega, Huge Big 12 Expansion Thread*****
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I wonder if this played into Turgeon bailing for Maryland. It sounds like the SEC talk has been going on internally at A&M for some time.
I know first hand for a fact that several faculty had to be put in their place when Nebby was added to the Big 10. At one time, I was asked to come to work for said department head to manage her grant compliance department, and that budget makes TV football revenue look like chump change.
You guys and this talk of ND joining the Big XII is the equivalent of Erotic Asphyxiation. Big XII has the belt around it's neck, btw
A must read on the whole situation by Jon Wilner...the pac12 guru who has been spot on for everything pac12:
BCS football: Texas A&M to the SEC(?), how the Big 12 might respond and more | College Hotline
A few notes with my emphases in bold:
“The cable companies are getting bigger and more powerful, and the natural reaction is for the conferences to get bigger and more powerful. The formation of three or four superconferences, which is going to happen eventually, is a reaction to the consolidation in the distribution marketplace.
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There’s simply too much money at stake for commissioner Mike Slive to stick with his current form. If the SEC expands, it gets to renegotiate its TV deals with ESPN and CBS. A 16-team SEC in today’s market would command upwards of $500 million per year.
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Multiple sources said Slive’s strong preference is to add new states; he doesn’t want Clemson because the league already has South Carolina, for instance.
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If the Tar Heels are going anywhere in the next few years, I’m told, it’s the Big Ten – possibly in a package deal with Duke.
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The three schools that sources kept mentioning were Missouri, Virginia Tech and West Virginia– again, new states (and more TV sets) for the SEC. By that measure, VaTech seems like a no-brainer: It combines an elite football program with approximately 2.5 million TV-watching households, and it’s a good fit geographically. West Virginia isn’t nearly as populous, which is why the Mountaineers aren’t a lock for the SEC eventually. Missouri is a bad fit on several levels. But there’s one reason the Tigers make sense: They’d bring nearly as many TV homes Virginia Tech.
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Combine VaTech and Mizzou, and the SEC footprint would expand by approx four million households. That number means much more to Slive and ESPN than national championships.
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Every source I spoke with said the same thing: Right now, the best option for Texas (and Oklahoma, for that matter) is the Big 12. Texas needs a throne from which it can gobble up every dollar that comes its way, and it needs a place to park its Olympic sports. And Oklahoma wants to be with Texas. If the Longhorns and Sooners want the Big 12 to survive, it will – at least for the time being.
Whether it happens in a few months or five years, breakup is inevitable. Said one source: “At the heart of that conference is a bad business model. The league won’t last.â€
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Brigham Young made the most sense from a revenue standpoint, but one source suggested that Lone Star State political pressure may force the Big 12 to add Houston — even though UH doesn’t add value from a media rights standpoint.
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If Fox and ESPN agree to pay the Big 12 the same rights fee for a nine-team league as they would for a 10-team league, it’s more money for everyone. And the consensus among sources is that the networks would do exactly that.
“They won’t want blood on their hands as part of the Big 12’s demise,†is how it was put to me. It’s in ESPN’s best interest — and the same goes for Fox — for the current conference structure (i.e., six AQ leagues) to survive: The networks want more options. If the supply of conferences shrinks, the demand increases: They’d have to pay even more for broadcast rights.
BCS football: Texas A&M to the SEC(?), how the Big 12 might respond and more | College Hotline
A few notes with my emphases in bold:
“The cable companies are getting bigger and more powerful, and the natural reaction is for the conferences to get bigger and more powerful. The formation of three or four superconferences, which is going to happen eventually, is a reaction to the consolidation in the distribution marketplace.
--
There’s simply too much money at stake for commissioner Mike Slive to stick with his current form. If the SEC expands, it gets to renegotiate its TV deals with ESPN and CBS. A 16-team SEC in today’s market would command upwards of $500 million per year.
--
Multiple sources said Slive’s strong preference is to add new states; he doesn’t want Clemson because the league already has South Carolina, for instance.
--
If the Tar Heels are going anywhere in the next few years, I’m told, it’s the Big Ten – possibly in a package deal with Duke.
--
The three schools that sources kept mentioning were Missouri, Virginia Tech and West Virginia– again, new states (and more TV sets) for the SEC. By that measure, VaTech seems like a no-brainer: It combines an elite football program with approximately 2.5 million TV-watching households, and it’s a good fit geographically. West Virginia isn’t nearly as populous, which is why the Mountaineers aren’t a lock for the SEC eventually. Missouri is a bad fit on several levels. But there’s one reason the Tigers make sense: They’d bring nearly as many TV homes Virginia Tech.
--
Combine VaTech and Mizzou, and the SEC footprint would expand by approx four million households. That number means much more to Slive and ESPN than national championships.
--
Every source I spoke with said the same thing: Right now, the best option for Texas (and Oklahoma, for that matter) is the Big 12. Texas needs a throne from which it can gobble up every dollar that comes its way, and it needs a place to park its Olympic sports. And Oklahoma wants to be with Texas. If the Longhorns and Sooners want the Big 12 to survive, it will – at least for the time being.
Whether it happens in a few months or five years, breakup is inevitable. Said one source: “At the heart of that conference is a bad business model. The league won’t last.â€
--
Brigham Young made the most sense from a revenue standpoint, but one source suggested that Lone Star State political pressure may force the Big 12 to add Houston — even though UH doesn’t add value from a media rights standpoint.
--
If Fox and ESPN agree to pay the Big 12 the same rights fee for a nine-team league as they would for a 10-team league, it’s more money for everyone. And the consensus among sources is that the networks would do exactly that.
“They won’t want blood on their hands as part of the Big 12’s demise,†is how it was put to me. It’s in ESPN’s best interest — and the same goes for Fox — for the current conference structure (i.e., six AQ leagues) to survive: The networks want more options. If the supply of conferences shrinks, the demand increases: They’d have to pay even more for broadcast rights.
Keep in mind Al... it was a faculty vote at Notre Dame. What professor isn't going to be swayed to vote for more money for research etc...? Now if it was a vote by the administration or those running the show at ND, I am not sure if the vote would have turned out the same. I am at the very least confident that "Touchdown Jesus" would have voted no.
Well, one more day, and TAM is stewing. It is like Tex Dad told son TAM that he will not marry Mervin SEC anytime soon.
If super conferences formed, an individual school TV contract for the future might not be worth as much. 16 teams ==> 1 ND.
If super conferences formed, an individual school TV contract for the future might not be worth as much. 16 teams ==> 1 ND.
Expansion/realignment for market share...$500 million/year TV deals...business models...blah blah blah...
Somebody tell me again why these ADs and conferences don't pay business taxes? It sure seems that they are behaving as for-profit entities.
I think that duo would fight to keep the ACC alive personally.
I just don't see Mizzou fitting in. They will hold out for the Big Ten or hold out here. The money is not that different.
People keep talking about it but the fact is there is more even revenue sharing than ever here and if 2016 is as big a payday as we project, it may be completely equal then. The tier 2 equality shocked us.
There are only 2 state schools to bully them in with. 80% of the vote has no leverage for UH to block anyone and force their way in. BU is a private school and can do what it wishes. BU may support UH but there will not be enough votes to get them in.
Add the LHN to the equation and ESPN wants us to survive and can make it happen as long as money is the issue. The own BYU's rights currently and can easily work a deal. Unfortunately ESPN cannot pay to cover A&M's butthurt.
The network interests are the forgotten angle to this story IMO.
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Does anyone know who the US Senate chair is for the Senate committee dealing with non-profits?
Exactly my thoughts. US major universities, if you're going to play the money game in the 2011 economy, you better fork up some taxes rather than pretend you're innocent in everything and you just want to do what's in the best interest of student athletes: like making women's tennis players fly from Fort Worth, Texas to New York on weeknight during the semester.
And those tweets kind of spell out what I've suspected all along. That if you actually had the COACHES at A&M do a straight up or down vote on leaving Big XII...they would overwhelmingly vote to stay.
I will say you have posted the most interesting link in this whole thread. I read this thread this morning for ***** and giggles. But here is an interesting nugget you posted the other day.
Gene Stallings: Big 12 teams will be elsewhere; A&M saw opportunity | Texas A&M Aggies News - Sports News for Dallas, Texas - SportsDayDFW
There's actually a 3rd scenario that seems to make more and more sense. ND might be interested in joining a conference if they can be instrumental in starting their own conference with Texas. Neither Texas or ND wants to be part of a 16 team superconference but they will need to have 12 teams to have a championship game. The Big 12 and the Big East is full of teams that would jump at the opportunity to join a conference that consist of ND, Texas and OU. If there was ever a time for something like this it seems it would be right now. ESPN would love this because they don't want 4 superconferences to happen and the formation of a 12 team conference with 3 super powers would pretty much eliminate the chances of the superconferences.
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Let's hope that Gene is correct that the new super conferences that seem inevitable will have 18-20 teams each. That would bode well for ISU.
If they're configured with 16 teams each, it would be hard to make a case that ISU gets in. If they are 4 x 18/20, then I think ISU is in that cut.
ISU is going to get drug along somewhere. Cause know one is going to want to deal with the gov't looking into nonprofit status. We might be the last team picked but we will be picked.
It doesn't have to be the government. You have the right to file a challenge with the IRS if you want to.
I think that would be the gov't looking into non-profit status, would it not be? Regardless if I file the challenge the IRS would be the one doing the investigation.
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