So essentially, the claim here is that the SEC is saying "We'll all play another conference game just so two schools not currently in the SEC can get a full share of our money, while our existing members don't get an extra dime." I'm skeptical...
The only problem is who is around to play them? With increased conference games, the superconference teams want mostly cream puffs to play OOC. With playoff expansion, making the schedules more difficult is less important. This is partially the reason ND plays ACC games.
I think the money equation is that the SEC picks up 2 new TV markets, making the tv money pot bigger, so adding 2 teams leaves the same or more distribution per school, plus a bigger overall tv deal because of the extra games, while the loss of gate from a home game being lost for an added conference game not hurting the schools because of how much more the conference tv deal will be increased with the extra game compared to the tv deal at the current number of conference games. I hate the idea though because of how few times in our lifetimes we would play certain conference schools we have played semi-regularly and potentially losing opportunities to play instate schools.
I wonder exactly where an extra game would go right now. I have to think ESPN has all their available TV slots filled between the SEC and all their other TV contracts. I just don't see where they'd put them. They'd almost have to either split up some of the SEC games into regional coverage (which I doubt would add revenue for the SEC) or maybe they'd add a Friday night SEC game, which could make sense.
Again, credit goes to @g8orbill: Here's An Idea: Set Up Football Only College Conferences Probably where things are headed with football anyway. . . chasing after the NFL model.
I have consistently posted this and will do so again: (props to @g8orbill btw). As sure as the sun rises and sets: College Football is NFL light. Paid players, (NIL) Free Agency (Transfer Portal) and of course, perhaps the most alarming aspect: Conference Re-Alignment. I see it as clear as day. 2 entities will emerge, very much like the AFC and the NFC. The old "conference" designator will probably stick around as the last gasp nod to "The Old World" but it won't mean anything. The money pigs that have destroyed amatuer football DON'T CARE about traditions, rivalries and certainly not the fan bases. Interestingly the SEC money pigs have, to this point, attempted to keep the conference to a somewhat "regional" basis - If you call Mizzou, Texas and Oklahoma Southeastern. Watch this fall apart real fast and real soon. Why? because the Big 10 Money pigs have read the tea leaves and could care less about geography. USC / UCLA? LOL yeah, thats in the midwest all right. Once the money pigs show the spread sheets of TV and market value dollars enough times to the right people any notion of keeping a group of teams in a "conference" at a regional level will disintigrate completely and will subsequently be mocked: "What were we thinking" lol. The question is where is the most money and who gets it. I hope that GC fans realize that media interests (TV, Cable, Streamers and the like) apparantly run the show now. Just as in the NFL, all decisions will be based on TV contracts and maximizing profits. Sooo......... You will have such things as USC / UCLA in the Big 10 (Already happened) Texas and Oklahoma in the SEC (Already happened). So the money pigs will cast covetous eyes on existing and future TV markets. What does this mean: Notre Dame will wind up somewhere - What used to be called the SEC or the Big 10 - (For my money the Pac 10 will dissolve, The big 12 will dissolve and the ACC will desolve and will be absorbed into the entities that used to be called the SEC and the Big 10. The other big and concerning issue for the money pigs will be how many teams get to participate in the NFL light. Power 5 will shrink as surley as Bud Light sales did when promoted by a tranny. How many current Power 5 teams will "make it" into the NFL light structure? I believe Power 5 now consists of around 64 - 65 teamsd or so. I believe consolidation will result in a reduction of 1/4 - 1/3 of these programs into a lower classification. This will have devestating consequences for some programs: Ga Tech, Boise State, BYU, Boston College, Oregon State and so many others. I find it (unfortunate) that so many GC posters keep thinking this train wreck will somehow stop and some level of (normalcy) will arrive. In my very strong opinion the carnage has only just begun. And while I don't even begin to pretend to understand all of the crooked nuances of what is going to happen, I do believe what I have posted, in some general way is inevitable. Not next year, or the year after, but in the next 8 - 10 years, I believe it will. In closing, let me express to the Gator Fan base that I hope you enjoy your upcoming road trips to Vermont or Wyoming in late November, as the coming schedules are developed.
I’m laughing because can you imagine FSU (and Clemson) in the discussions to add the Cal and Stanford? “I’ll vote yea if they take my place”
Personally I would love to see a super league of the top 30-40 programs playing each other every week. No cupcakes, just super league play.
I understand your position, but I don't think it's all bad. I do think NIL, at least in it's current form is bad. I was never in favor of that, except for a very small number of players each year who are used to promote the college football brand. Those 5-10 players each year should be compensated, but I'm not sure how. And I don't like the portal either. But at least for football, I actually think the conference realignment is a good thing ... at least for the SEC and Big-10. Big-12 too. We're going to see some monster match-ups every single week. Think about the SEC. It used to be Bama, Auburn, LSU, UF, UGA and Tennessee at the top and the other 6 at the bottom. About half of the conference were real quality teams. We typically had maybe 2 big home conference games a year, plus FSU every other year. Add Texas A&M, OU and Texas as quality teams (Mizzou isn't bad either), and I think the growth of the conference has really made every single program, except maybe Vandy, considerably better. Outside of the cupcake games almost every Gator home game now is a big game. Across the conference, we're seeing multiple big games every single week. I think it's helped the Big-10 as well, though maybe not of the same level. I do agree that the re-alignment is a bad thing for college athletics outside of football. I wish they had given it more thought in regards to keeping the all-sports conferences more regional and quite honestly, I think the SEC has tried it's best to preserve that. But in my opinion, the college football problems didn't start with NIL, transfer portal and re-alignment. The problem began with the capping of the large public state land grant universities enrollment and explosion of the smaller state colleges and universities. When those smaller schools, like UCF and USF in Florida, started getting huge enrollment nationwide, suddenly we have a lot more new schools qualifying for FBS and competing for the money and working their way into "power 5" conferences. The big historical state land grant universities who built the college football brand through generations don't like these new schools getting their share of the money. I personally think the college football realignment of the Big-10 and SEC is more about the big historical state land grant universities taking back control over what they view as theirs. I don't think they're directly trying to emulate any play format or become a development league. What I believe they want is to put the SEC and Big-10 conferences on a clearly different top tier. I don't blame them for that. That's a big part of the reason I don't believe the Big-10 and SEC will go much further in expansion. There aren't many major historical programs left.
It’s been a topic of discussion. Ubben: I've been wondering if Saudi Arabia's PIF could enter college football. So I asked around
I would much rather see us play USCw/Oregon/Clemson/Ohio State etc or increase SEC play to 10+ games than schedule Charlotte and McNeese St. A super League would get you that.
It’s coming but the only part I like is maybe only the top 40 teams that aspire to play at the top level will be left and maybe we get a full schedule of quality games. The other 100 teams that don’t even try to win at the highest level can compete against each other as amateurs like it’s always sorta been.
Uhhhhh - You need to watch Josh Pates podcast on this........according to HIM, College Footballs next "assault" will come from the Saudi's with an "LIV" type arrangement. Be prepared to roll out your blanket and pray in the general direction of MECCA at halftime. Oh and no short shorts, halter tops or cleaveage in September, unless of course you want your right hand cut off.
