What they've been doing hasn't been a sustainable thing in any way either.
Realignment Megathread (All The Moves)
- Thread starter ISUcyclones11
- Start date
The EIU fanbase seems to think that since they currently are a member of the Big easy, that every member along with the SEC schools will some day make up this NFL light super conference. What they seem to be forgetting is if this conference does occur, the Blue Bloods will break away, and start their own new league, and just because you are currently in the Big Easy or the SEC does not mean that you are fore sure going to make it into the new league.
As much as EIU fans love to scream that no schools have value in the B12, I would offer the thought that schools like Ok. State, TCU and even Baylor have done more than EIU has over the past 20 years, and that even though their attendance is good, Iowa is a small state, and their attendance is not a lot larger than what ISU gets in what they call a HS field.
As much as EIU fans love to scream that no schools have value in the B12, I would offer the thought that schools like Ok. State, TCU and even Baylor have done more than EIU has over the past 20 years, and that even though their attendance is good, Iowa is a small state, and their attendance is not a lot larger than what ISU gets in what they call a HS field.
Some serious talk out there that Stan and Cal might go to the ACC.
That is a lot of travel, for them, for less money, I know I have downplayed the travel, but the ACC is about as far away, every game, as you can get from the Bay area. At least in the B12 and B1G there are midwest teams and Mountain teams that are half the distance or less.
But I also question, if they do go to the ACC, are they just hitching their wagons to the next sinking ship.
So if FSU, Clemson, etc figure out how to get out, sooner or later, is the ACC just going to break up and then STan and Cal will be out again.
I guess it may get them down the road until the next round.
I am curious if they merge with the MTW, and come up with some form of rebranded PAC....to attempt to maintain their status moving forward, for the playoff etc.
I do think something is going have to happen soon because those 4 have no conference in less than a year.
That is a lot of travel, for them, for less money, I know I have downplayed the travel, but the ACC is about as far away, every game, as you can get from the Bay area. At least in the B12 and B1G there are midwest teams and Mountain teams that are half the distance or less.
But I also question, if they do go to the ACC, are they just hitching their wagons to the next sinking ship.
So if FSU, Clemson, etc figure out how to get out, sooner or later, is the ACC just going to break up and then STan and Cal will be out again.
I guess it may get them down the road until the next round.
I am curious if they merge with the MTW, and come up with some form of rebranded PAC....to attempt to maintain their status moving forward, for the playoff etc.
I do think something is going have to happen soon because those 4 have no conference in less than a year.
If those two go to ACC, it’ll increase the conferences chances if surviving when they get raided by Big10 and SEC. Now, will those two be enough? I don’t know, probably who has the better media deal when the time comes.
Nope. Because at some point these national brand football teams will withdraw from the ncaa and form their own independent league where they control their own rules, including payment of players in salary (not in form of NIL or scholarships). ESPN, Fox, NBC will work together with this new league, much like the NFL. The league will have their own commissioner, just like the NFL.
Why? Money. Networks know viewership will be sky high if **each week** there would be headline games such as Ohio State vs Georgia, Texas vs Alabama, Michigan vs. Clemson, Michigan vs Florida State. Teams would be willing to join this new league for money and prestige.
Will this happen? We don’t know for sure. But I can say what the Big 10 and SEC have now isn’t sustainable. Teams like Mizzou, Vandy, the entire Big 10 west, etc., won’t be included in this new league (well, possibly Nebraska from the big 10 west)
Edit: I know you think that’s funny, Gonzo, but people would had laughed 15 years ago if you said the Big 10 would stretch from LA to New Jersey.
Last edited:
I’m just salty I was on vacation and missed 150+ pages of realignment lol. Whole year of random speculation and gone for the actual action, just classic.
I have no doubt that if your big superconference one day happens that Iowa will be left out. I just don't think it's going to happen anytime soon, if ever.
The forces that have been pulling at the threads of college football ever since the 1984 OU decision in the Supreme Court are always going to be there. The fact that the SEC and B1G have been largely exempt from them so far isn't consequential. It just hasn't been your turn yet.
The degree to which our B1G posters come in here and insist "nothing bad can happen" in a forum of a school that has been through this stuff three times in fifteen years tells me you get it, even if you don't want to admit it.
The super conference stuff starts to draw lots of congressional intervention and an insane amount of lawsuits.
I think the Big Ten and SEC can live with this setup.
I think the Big Ten and SEC can live with this setup.
I’d expect the ACC to play hardball with FSU or any others that want to leave. The ACC doesn’t have to sell their rights back, nobody could make them. We’re probably on two ends of the spectrum on this.
I could see one spot where the ACC might be willing to negotiate something - if FSU can devise a legal strategy that might very well succeed in blowing up the GOR for everyone the SEC & B10 might want. The only thing worse than facing an existential threat in 13 years is facing one now. ACC schools - even those that might face relegation - might take the windfall in that case and hope for the best.
Of course, Fox & ESPN would have to be willing to pay full shares at least 4 if not 6 in the SEC & B10, otherwise it’s still an empty threat as a half- or 3/4 share probably isn’t going to get enough $$ to pay the negotiation until the 2030s.
Nobody is saying this super conference will happen in the near future. But when the ACC GOR is up, everything is on the table. People like myself are looking 10-15 years from now.
Is Iowa safe for the immediate future? Of course. Same can be said for Iowa State. But what each conference has isn’t sustainable for the long term.
And note that even people who are envisioning one super conference are not saying they want a super conference. If it were me, there would be conferences of 8 teams all regionally based.
I think it’s much more likely that those 2 conferences try and marginalize the rest by only scheduling games amongst themselves. Except for Iowa which will still play a couple MAC schools and say the rest of their schedule is too tough to justify playing a big 12 team.
Exactly.
If the next media contract is similar or only a bit larger than now the big names will be expecting/suggesting that Northwestern, Vandy, Indiana, Rutgers etc get smaller shares - based on the number of eye-balls on media making the money for the networks.
If the big boys tell them they get 35Mil and the name teams get 70Mil what are they going to do. If the money is still better than they can get going to Big XII or ACC. They'll just grumble and take the cash.
I guess that’s the problem. I can’t tell you with a high degree of certainty that something won’t happen that far out. But to the same point it’s futile to try to think that far out. 15 years ago in 2008 no one would have even believed or thought of Rutgers to the big ten. Let alone the LA schools. We don’t even know what the media landscape would look 15 years from now. 15 years ago Netflix was only a dvd sevice and a new one at that. That’s just so long to be saying anything with any confidence.
I think the cracks might start to show if the next B10 deal (2030?) isn’t richer than the current, and will pick up speed if the SEC’s isn’t (2034?). It’s Important to note, I don’t believe either conference has a GOR.
