Realignment Megathread (All The Moves)

[Nolaeer]

To clarify, WVU's new baseball stadium is indeed an outdoor facility. From crap to one of the best in the country. However, WVU now boasts a top-shelf, state-of-the-art indoor practice facility. It was a gift from mega-donor Ken Kendrick, a billionaire who owns the Arizona Diamondbacks and is a passionate baseball fan. His BB card collection is valued at 100 million.

 

[2speedy1]

To clarify, WVU's new baseball stadium is indeed an outdoor facility. From crap to one of the best in the country. However, WVU now boasts a top-shelf, state-of-the-art indoor practice facility. It was a gift from mega-donor Ken Kendrick, a billionaire who owns the Arizona Diamondbacks and is a passionate baseball fan. His BB card collection is valued at 100 million.

Something most probably dont realize, Morgantown averages 10 degrees warmer than Ames early in the baseball season.

Short of a mega donor funding the program almost completely along with new practice and game facilities, both probably needing to be indoor, it will never come back to ISU. Unless of course they move the season back a couple months, and even with that it would be extremely unlikely. My guess more and more northern teams will drop it as well moving forward. Only a few years ago there was only a couple major schools without it, now there are 2 in the B12, 2 in the ACC, 1 in the B1G, 5 in the Pac12/MTW Whatever that turns out to be, that have dropped it. Having to pay the players will only accelerate it being dropped.

 

[MugNight]

Something most probably dont realize, Morgantown averages 10 degrees warmer than Ames early in the baseball season.

Short of a mega donor funding the program almost completely along with new practice and game facilities, both probably needing to be indoor, it will never come back to ISU. Unless of course they move the season back a couple months, and even with that it would be extremely unlikely. My guess more and more northern teams will drop it as well moving forward. Only a few years ago there was only a couple major schools without it, now there are 2 in the B12, 2 in the ACC, 1 in the B1G, 5 in the Pac12/MTW Whatever that turns out to be, that have dropped it. Having to pay the players will only accelerate it being dropped.

Good points. Look at softball. We’ve had some awesome players and a few flashes of success, but we will never compete with the warmer weather schools. Notably, WVU doesn’t have softball.

I love baseball and ISU. But I don’t see us ever becoming a factor. Iowa isn’t bad, but they’re an afterthought in the great landscape of college baseball. That’s the mirror we look into. There’s a greater chance we’d have success with hockey.

 

[Nolaeer]

WVU is unique, I think. It has a passionate baseball fanbase, and it is a money driver for the county and state far in excess of the profit it makes for WVU. It also helps that Ken Kendrick is most likely funding the NIL. Since the field is named after him, he is interested in WVU's diamond success.

FWIW, WVU is 27-4 and has won 7 straight, all against p4 teams. Two, Utah and Pitt, were run-ruled.

WVU also scored a whooping 39 runs, in taking the last 2 games of the series in Provo.

WVU has markedly improved in the NIL era. Hopefully, we'll see that in football as well.

 

[cykadelic2]

For those wondering why ESPN and Fox and their puppets (Greg Sankey and Tony Pettiti) don't want a 70 school Super League with aggregated TV rights

"Those with Wasserman's view are talking about a $4 billion-$5 billion valuation shortfall in college football. The Power Four media rights deals are currently worth a combined $17 billion -- and that's not counting the $1.3 billion College Football Playoff deal with ESPN. That's mainly because conferences negotiate individual media rights that suit them but doesn't necessarily maximize revenue."

"Try this fact on for incongruent math: College football was twice the viewership of the NBA, but the NBA generates twice the revenue as college football."

 

[CascadeClone]

"Try this fact on for incongruent math: College football was twice the viewership of the NBA, but the NBA generates twice the revenue as college football."

The problem is that the BBB (Blue Blood Brands) would rather have:
A) $100 and their neighbors have $50
than
B) $200 and their neighbors have $200

So they happily collude with the guys writing the checks (Fox, ESPN, etc) to lower the overall payout.


The only thing I would wonder in the BBB defense is, is the higher viewership % for the BBB similar to the higher viewership % of the Lakers, Celtics, Bulls, etc? ie is the NBA much more flat bell curve in terms of market value from team to team, as opposed to CFB?

 

[FriendlySpartan]

For those wondering why ESPN and Fox and their puppets (Greg Sankey and Tony Pettiti) don't want a 70 school Super League with aggregated TV rights

"Those with Wasserman's view are talking about a $4 billion-$5 billion valuation shortfall in college football. The Power Four media rights deals are currently worth a combined $17 billion -- and that's not counting the $1.3 billion College Football Playoff deal with ESPN. That's mainly because conferences negotiate individual media rights that suit them but doesn't necessarily maximize revenue."

"Try this fact on for incongruent math: College football was twice the viewership of the NBA, but the NBA generates twice the revenue as college football."

Man I really hope you don’t get your private equity wet dream scenario here. That’s the main focus on the article is essentially PE salivating at coming in and taking over college sports. If you think things are bad now then you have no idea how much worse they will become.

Also NBA gets to charge more due a a heavier reliance on streaming especially the paid streaming services. As long as college football prefers over the air then the money will have a cap to it. There is also the factor of inventory to consider as well as status that is different for NBA vs college.

That being said I was stunned at the NBA deal

 

[cykadelic2]

Man I really hope you don’t get your private equity wet dream scenario here. That’s the main focus on the article is essentially PE salivating at coming in and taking over college sports. If you think things are bad now then you have no idea how much worse they will become.

Also NBA gets to charge more due a a heavier reliance on streaming especially the paid streaming services. As long as college football prefers over the air then the money will have a cap to it. There is also the factor of inventory to consider as well as status that is different for NBA vs college.

That being said I was stunned at the NBA deal

PE isn’t a prerequisite for rights aggregation amongst 70 Schools In order to max out TV rights. The main impediment is not fear of PE, it is ESPN and Fox conniving against It utilizing their puppets.

And as pointed out in the article, your puppet boy Pettiti is engaged with PE so you’re better served wailing about PE through B10 channels instead of here.

And your streaming argument is exactly why billions is foolishly being left on the table and that obstacle will be eliminated in the next round of deals.

 

[FriendlySpartan]

PE isn’t a prerequisite for rights aggregation amongst 70 Schools In order to max out TV rights. The main impediment is not fear of PE, it is ESPN and Fox conniving against It utilizing their puppets.

And as pointed out in the article, your puppet boy Pettiti is engaged with PE so you’re better served wailing about PE through B10 channels instead of here.

And your streaming argument is exactly why billions is foolishly being left on the table and that obstacle will be eliminated in the next round of deals.

You only said puppet twice, you got to pump those numbers up! Those are rookie numbers!

Unless you would still have P2 getting absurdly favorable payouts there just sadly isn’t a legit reason to give up that competitive advantage. I don’t like it but that’s the networks.

PE isn’t happening in the Big10, the presidents would never agree with it unless something radically changes and I hope PE never gets into the picture.

You could be right with the streaming but college AD’s seem to be very reluctant to pull that lever. It’s part of why the PAC couldn’t get a deal and I’m not sure if people are ready to pull that lever but I could see it happening for enough cash.

 

[NWICY]

Let's rank the schools 1 through 16 based on how attractive they have been in their first year.
1. Colorado is at the top based on TV ratings, which drive everything. Its commitment to NIL and its football success get them here.
2. Arizona State has to be 2, with its Big 12 title in football, and it is also the Big 12's best team in baseball so far this season.
3. Iowa State? 2nd in football, very solid in hoops, but no baseball. Baseball can be a money-making sport. WVU had over 4600 fans for a weeknight game this week.
4. BYU. BYU argues for 1. Good at football, basketball, and has a decent baseball team. Also the very top of the NIL heap. Not only has it signed the top basketball player, but it's also going toe-to-toe with Oregon,Michigan, and USC for the top QB.
5. Texas Tech. NIL is elevating Tech's sports across the board.

16. Utah or Cinn?

I'll go with Utah at 16 and I couldn't be happier, they came to the conference b*tching all the way (at least their fans) then they haven't done boo athletically.

 

[Nolaeer]

I'll go with Utah at 16 and I couldn't be happier, they came to the conference b*tching all the way (at least their fans) then they haven't done boo athletically.

I said at the time we didn't need 2 teams in Utah. I'd preferred Memphis or UConn.

 

[BooneCy]

You only said puppet twice, you got to pump those numbers up! Those are rookie numbers!

Unless you would still have P2 getting absurdly favorable payouts there just sadly isn’t a legit reason to give up that competitive advantage. I don’t like it but that’s the networks.

PE isn’t happening in the Big10, the presidents would never agree with it unless something radically changes and I hope PE never gets into the picture.

You could be right with the streaming but college AD’s seem to be very reluctant to pull that lever. It’s part of why the PAC couldn’t get a deal and I’m not sure if people are ready to pull that lever but I could see it happening for enough cash.

I think your sentiment in bold is the point of the article. ESPN and Fox keep a grip on the sport and the money down because of the competitive advantage they are giving to two of the four major conferences. You are fine, even complicit, with the status quo, while all of us are not.

Your PE boogeyman is one of the only alternatives to the current status quo. I would counter your warning that if you let the same conditions continue it will continue to get worse for us, but not your fan base.

You are bright, I am sure you see the conflict.

 

[cykadelic2]

The problem is that the BBB (Blue Blood Brands) would rather have:
A) $100 and their neighbors have $50
than
B) $200 and their neighbors have $200

So they happily collude with the guys writing the checks (Fox, ESPN, etc) to lower the overall payout.

Actually, the Super League concepts account for unequal revenue sharing based on TV ratings so B would be something like "$220 and their neighbors $180" and without any school getting financially and competitively relegated and destroyed like Oregon St and Wazzu have.

 

[exCyDing]

The problem is that the BBB (Blue Blood Brands) would rather have:
A) $100 and their neighbors have $50
than
B) $200 and their neighbors have $200

Absolutely. Sure, the BBBs care about their total revenue number, but the gap between them and everyone else is at least as important, if not more. They view having more money than anyone else as their birthright and the natural order of things. They'll burn everything down before giving it away.

 

[FriendlySpartan]

I think your sentiment in bold is the point of the article. ESPN and Fox keep a grip on the sport and the money down because of the competitive advantage they are giving to two of the four major conferences. You are fine, even complicit, with the status quo, while all of us are not.

Your PE boogeyman is one of the only alternatives to the current status quo. I would counter your warning that if you let the same conditions continue it will continue to get worse for us, but not your fan base.

You are bright, I am sure you see the conflict.

The big12 didn’t have to go with Fox or ESPN, they could have bid out to anyone. Amazon, Apple, CBS, Netflix, you name it. They didn’t because current AD’s did not want to go with a streaming heavy package. No one forced them into that deal they made a choice, there was no one “keeping the money down” for a big12 media deal.

PE is the ultimate devil. Also those same conditions you keep talking about have seen a period of never before seen athletics success for ISU. Top ten in basketball all year and already a preseason top ten team for next year. Big12 championship game presence with a very real path to repeat this year as well. So why again do you not want those conditions to continue?

 

[BooneCy]

The big12 didn’t have to go with Fox or ESPN, they could have bid out to anyone. Amazon, Apple, CBS, Netflix, you name it. They didn’t because current AD’s did not want to go with a streaming heavy package. No one forced them into that deal they made a choice, there was no one “keeping the money down” for a big12 media deal.

PE is the ultimate devil. Also those same conditions you keep talking about have seen a period of never before seen athletics success for ISU. Top ten in basketball all year and already a preseason top ten team for next year. Big12 championship game presence with a very real path to repeat this year as well. So why again do you not want those conditions to continue?

Don’t confuse Iowa State’s ability to overcome with the simple fact that our current success is more impressive because of the current conditions.

 

[cykadelic2]

The big12 didn’t have to go with Fox or ESPN, they could have bid out to anyone. Amazon, Apple, CBS, Netflix, you name it. They didn’t because current AD’s did not want to go with a streaming heavy package. No one forced them into that deal they made a choice, there was no one “keeping the money down” for a big12 media deal.

PE is the ultimate devil. Also those same conditions you keep talking about have seen a period of never before seen athletics success for ISU. Top ten in basketball all year and already a preseason top ten team for next year. Big12 championship game presence with a very real path to repeat this year as well. So why again do you not want those conditions to continue?

The B12 renewed with ESPN and Fox because they didn’t get a competitive bid from anyone else and the reason why is that other bidders don’t get CFP access like any other rational sports entity would do to max out the value of their rights.

 

[FriendlySpartan]

The B12 renewed with ESPN and Fox because they didn’t get a competitive bid from anyone else and the reason why is that other bidders don’t get CFP access like any other rational sports entity would do to max out the value of their rights.

Why would that stop them from bidding? NBC, Fox, CBS, all are involved in college football but don’t have playoff access.

The main answer that will change in the future probably is that AD’s don’t want to go streaming as their primary source of viewership

 

[cykadelic2]

Why would that stop them from bidding? NBC, Fox, CBS, all are involved in college football but don’t have playoff access.

The main answer that will change in the future probably is that AD’s don’t want to go streaming as their primary source of viewership

Been through this before with you. The CFP bid process is a complete farce when ESPN is the only bidder at a price far below market value. And CBS sublicenses their deal from Fox and got absolutely fleeced by them.

 

[FriendlySpartan]

Been through this before with you. The CFP bid process is a complete farce when ESPN is the only bidder at a price far below market value. And CBS sublicenses their deal from Fox and got absolutely fleeced by them.

Again, why does that stop anyone else bidding on the big12 like the networks I mentioned, it’s not about playoff access which only espn has its about the AD’s not wanting to be streaming primary right now