Is this the longest thread in cyclonefanatic history not directly related to one of the teams?
Realignment Megathread (All The Moves)
- Thread starter ISUcyclones11
- Start date
No. The original realignment thread was so big it nearly crashed CF.
Realignment threads are kind of existential, multi-year topics for cyclone athletics. Meanwhile every team gets a bunch of individual threads each year. So not surprising.
There's gotta be an off season thread about bathroom rituals that's longer.
On that note, ultra soft TP is not fit for proper hygiene
ESPN owns the rights to all the current teams. The new teams would still retain the rights to their home games even if they entered a new conference. Entering the conference is separate than entering the TV deal. At least until they sign a GOR, which they won't do without an escalator in the existing TV contract.
So if Clemson and FSU were able to get out of the ACC GOR somehow and join the SEC, then they would be able to bid out their home games if ESPN didn't want to increase the SEC deal enough to pay for the new schools.
We haven't come close to "Megathread" territory yet. That thread was so large it was impacting overall site performance.
Agreed. I don't think any conference really wants to go past 16. At 16 you can still schedule every team to play every other year. After 16 you start to run into the scheduling issues that the SEC currently has with their 14 team format.
Wasn't there a Megathread and Son of Megathread too?
I seem to remember that thing hitting a national writer's article.
Which is a really good indication that Big 12 fans ******* care.
The eventual SuperLeague would be the rationale for ESPN. Pulling a couple teams out of the ACC to help facilitate that would add a lot of actual value to the SuperLeague. If that helps make it happen sooner, it could be worth a few hundred million incremental for the TV folks annually. That's a swag on the dollars, but I do think it is a 9-figure number.
Looking long term (5-10 years out), I think the TV folks think this :
1) status quo value of college FB is $X
2) Superleague plus LeftoverLeague is worth $2X
Not saying they are right, but I think this is what they think. And why they are pushing it in this direction.
It can work, even before you factor multiple business cycle implications and the value of eventual free agent risk reduction
ESPN is on the hook for 14 ACC. If I recall correctly 2020-2021 ACC averaged $28 million in TV revenue when ACC got 80% shares on ACC Network (owned by espn not ACC)
In the future ACC will receive more than $32+ million in TV revenue, mostly from espn. Plus
Flipping 10 of those to Big 12 $20 million pro rata and 4 to current P2 is basically break even starting in 2025, and ahead for the balance of ACC GOR
That doesn’t include espn pocketing growth in Big 12/ACC network
It also doesn’t factor in the value to espn in freeing up scarce linear space for its more premium 20 team SEC. That is what consolidation is about- not wasting premium linear bandwidth on 10 non-premium schools just to get 4.
It gets easier when adding BIG as a potential P2 home, and the desperation by the extremes (FSU, Clemson, BC, Wake). Some P2s would move for partial P2, some low ACC will do nearly anything to improve post-GOR prospects
There are also favorable CFP implications.
The sooner the B12 can take on a few PAC schools the better, but I'm not really buying the idea of a PAC/ACC merger. I don't see how the numbers would be much better than a PAC/B12 merger, and I can't see WAOR signing onto the ACC's GOR for 12 years if they're goal is to be in the B10 ASAP. I could see them hanging with whatever is left of the PAC even if the B12 raids the 4 corners over giving up on the B10 until 2036.
If it’s going to happen, it can happen when the ACC runs its course, or is closer to the end where the cost to dissolve or exit will be much less. Otherwise it’s ESPN spending money to benefit Fox.
What ratings are bearing out is that a de facto P2 with an expanded third league built on the Big 12 is probably the best business model. Keep those teams “in the club” at a much lower cost and with some playoff access. No need to risk fracturing CFB and risking losing some viewers when you don’t have to. History tells us when big name brands play irrelevant games because they are having a down year they take a huge hit in viewers.
If they are looking at this assuming incorrectly that no matter the records a big name matchup is going to draw the same or better than the current model where those teams are usually in contention for something deep in the season, then they deserve to fail. If they assume fans of the rest of CFB are going to watch at the same level when their teams are not even in the same division, then they deserve to fail.
But then again, ESPN was dumb enough to think the remaining Big 12 teams would jump to the AAC, so they are pretty bad at understanding their own business.
Last edited:
Maybe not, but I'm guessing the average post within this thread is 7 paragraphs long!
I'm now to the point where I just scroll down to look for tweets or links that might include any real news.
Most realignment threads on any board just turn into lengthy versions of "what ifs" or fan fiction when stuff isn't actually happening.
I refresh them because I want so badly for that next refresh to be one where schools are leaving the Pac 12 for the Big 12, but I'm not super optimistic in that happening.
If WAOR leave for Big 10, curious if PAC/ACC merger heats up. PAC teams left may not have a problem with the 2036 GOR and games will be on ESPN/ACCN.
The fact that Rutgers has a seat at the table continues to show how stupid the past 15 years have been.
