College Football

[JUAN]

Matt Hayes is a long-time college football writer.  He is convinced that in a very few years we’ll see a mini-NFL with about 40 college teams creating their own rules and paying players directly.  In addition to NIL.  The rest will stay under the NCAA, as will all other sports for all schools.

[ItsOver]

Matt Hayes is a long-time college football writer.  He is convinced that in a very few years we’ll see a mini-NFL with about 40 college teams creating their own rules and paying players directly.  In addition to NIL.  The rest will stay under the NCAA, as will all other sports for all schools.

Heh, with the current NIL, it’s almost already evolved to this arrangement.  The top 25-30 college football programs may as well just become some kind of NFL minor league setup.

College football is about the only remaining sport I truly enjoy.  I sincerely hope it doesn’t become just another screwed-up, beyond redemption version of it’s former self. 

[JUAN]

I’m with you.

[PB]

Like dominoes USC and UCLA are jumping to the Big Ten (Big Ten, really? - it ain't exactly the SEC), now Arizona, Arizona St, Utah and Colorado are negotiating to join the Texas-less Big 12 (ugh!), and Washington and Oregon not wanting to be stranded are looking to join either the Big Ten or ACC (doesn't the A stand for Atlantic?).

That leaves Washington St, Oregon St, Cal, and Stanford pretty well screwed as the Pac-12 remainders no one wants.  What are they going to do, fill out the conference by adding Big Sky and Mountain West teams? 

Cal fairly recently spent $321 million on a new stadium, and have massive payments on the bonds with a huge balloon payment due at some point.  Guess they won't have Pac-12 TV money to make those payments.  Won't have much in the way of ticket sales either.  May as well tear it down and have Apple build a technology center or something.  The people responsible for the debt are all gone of course...

[PB]

I once went to a college basketball game at St Mary's, just outside Oakland.

In their trophy case was memorabilia from their great football teams of 100 years ago, including one year they were undefeated and took the train to play the also undefeated West Point, and their hero's welcome upon their return after beating them. 

All in the dust bin of history.  Like the Pac-12.

[JUAN]

Why the big ten?  It pays even more than the SEC.

[Uncle Duke]

I once went to a college basketball game at St Mary's, just outside Oakland.

In their trophy case was memorabilia from their great football teams of 100 years ago, including one year they were undefeated and took the train to play the also undefeated West Point, and their hero's welcome upon their return after beating them. 

All in the dust bin of history.  Like the Pac-12.

It's because of those days of train travel and no federal highway system the conferences we've known for years came into existence.   Everything was based on geographic proximity, relatively speaking, and travel.  Those conferences, at least for football and to a lesser extent, basketball, are dinosaurs. With the exception of the Univ of Hawaii, no D1 school is more than five air hours away from any other D1 school.  The money made will more than offset the cost of air travel.

Where things are going to get really strange is with the non-revenue sports.  Geographic proximity will have to be important if those sports are to remain viable, including maintaining travel partners. I think there is a good chance football, and maybe basketball, will form the "super conferences" people keep talking about outside NCAA control, with the non-revenue sports either disappearing or regrouped.

[Uncle Duke]

Like dominoes USC and UCLA are jumping to the Big Ten (Big Ten, really? - it ain't exactly the SEC), now Arizona, Arizona St, Utah and Colorado are negotiating to join the Texas-less Big 12 (ugh!), and Washington and Oregon not wanting to be stranded are looking to join either the Big Ten or ACC (doesn't the A stand for Atlantic?).

That leaves Washington St, Oregon St, Cal, and Stanford pretty well screwed as the Pac-12 remainders no one wants.  What are they going to do, fill out the conference by adding Big Sky and Mountain West teams? 

Keep in mind, politicans can control where state schools go. Remember the governor of VA ordering the president of UVA to blacklist any new ACC school if VT was not admitted?  The governor of Oregon could tell Oregon they are not going anywhere without Ore St, same with the governor of Washington with UW and WSU. 

[Zetaspeak]

I was I fan of how it was with regional rivalries and when one conference played another it seemed like a big deal. 

[JUAN]

Rumors are North Carolina, Virginia, Clempson (that’s how it’s pronounced) and Florida State are negotiating to join the SEC, and ESPN is trying to void the ACC Network tv contract.

Also, there is some Big 10 interest in Georgia Tech as Atlanta is a big market with a lot of high school football players.

[Uncle Duke]

Rumors are North Carolina, Virginia, Clempson (that’s how it’s pronounced) and Florida State are negotiating to join the SEC, and ESPN is trying to void the ACC Network tv contract.

Also, there is some Big 10 interest in Georgia Tech as Atlanta is a big market with a lot of high school football players.

SEC not interested in Miami?  Great talent around Miami and a TV market bigger than any of the other four you mentioned. Also hard to believe the SEC would not want GT as well for the same reasons, Atlanta talent and TV market. I think Atlanta is a top ten TV market.

So you have to wonder how U of Florida would feel about the
addition of FSU and/or Miami, S Carolina about Clemson, UGa about GT, etc.  Not uncommon for a school in a given state, especially if it's the only school from that state in a conference, to vote against a new school joining from that state.  For example, Texas kept Houston out of the B12 for several years.  Houston did get into the B12 only after TX jumped to the SEC.  Similarly, WVU kept Marshall out of the Big East back in the day.

[JUAN]

Georgia brings the Atlanta market.  Tech fans and eyeballs are not numerous.  The school brings the SEC nothing but could help the Big 10. Miami is a big market, but football has not been a part of the city culture for a while.  If the new coach and their major donor get Miami up to speed, maybe so.

Clempson and North Carolina together would bring three markets that are about 30 in size plus solidify a couple more that are about 50.  That’s a lot of eyes.  Virginia brings the DC market, Richmond and Norfolk.

[Walks_At_Night]

Big 10 is gonna be the Big 24 by the time this lunacy is done.

[JUAN]

College football writer Matt Hayes reports the SEC presidents want to stick with 16- for now.

[Uncle Duke]

Georgia brings the Atlanta market.  Tech fans and eyeballs are not numerous.  The school brings the SEC nothing but could help the Big 10. Miami is a big market, but football has not been a part of the city culture for a while.  If the new coach and their major donor get Miami up to speed, maybe so.

Clempson and North Carolina together would bring three markets that are about 30 in size plus solidify a couple more that are about 50.  That’s a lot of eyes.  Virginia brings the DC market, Richmond and Norfolk.

UGa getting the Atlanta market makes sense, but I believe Miami would be a plus for both talent and market. Yes, local support for Miami ebbs and wanes, but it's still a big market.

I lived in DC for a couple years, and there is no preeminent college football fan base there.  Maryland and USNA were probably the most popular, with smaller numbers pulling for PSU and VT.  Don't recall any vocal UVa fans, except for basketball. The most popular college sports team in DC was Georgetown basketball, while lacrosse was surprisingly popular as a non-revenue sport.