Realignment Megathread (All The Moves)

[KnappShack]

Cool, here is one persona we are looking for. IF we finally get the super league we are all craving (according to the numbnuts in the media) would you then:
1) come back to watch the super league alone
2) add the super league to your weekend ritual
3) still not watch the super league becuase all of college football is messed up

What do you say Knapp?

I follow the economics of college football and know how my school has been on death's door. My interest in anything other than ISU is pretty much dead.

But are there enough fans in a super league footprint to make up for guys like me? I'm not really a casual fan.

Do the economics make sense to pay the top and **** the bottom?

Reallocate the B1G and SEC cash to the top 24 which gets close to doubling their payout right off the bat.

Then pay every other league like the AAC. Even with a little drop-off in viewers this could still be a money maker for a super league owned ESPN-Fox partnership.

Mix in some media propaganda and ESPN wins. The super league wins. The rest lose.

I'm not saying anything will or won't happen, but never doubt the haves ******* the have nots

 

[Antihawk240]

I always thought I was a typical college athletics fan. I would watch Iowa State (or enter team of choice) whenever they played on what ever channel they played on. I would more times than not be pulled away by a kids event or have a more important task at hand that needed done on Saturday. I would either listen to the game via radio or follow along on ESPN App.

Saturday night rolls around and I fall asleep on the couch watching whatever game is on TV that sparks my interest most and the channel they are playing on has zero influence of which game I watch. I guess the real question is what is the motivating factor and definition of "sparks my interest."

I'm beginning to realize I'm not the typical household.

 

[SolterraCyclone]

The Friday game is on Prime Video, so this is already setting up to be a test case for streaming getting around that broadcast rule. Although, the teams playing in the game still get it broadcast in their home markets. Not going to bother checking if there are any HS games within 75 miles of either of those teams.

I think officially, it’s any TV stations within 75 miles of a scheduled intercollegiate or interscholastic game cannot broadcast the NFL game.

But I 100% agree, NFL is testing to see if they get challenged with streaming. Part of me actually thinks the NFL wants to get sued so they can try and overturn this law.

 

[simply1]

I tend to check scores and see if a later game looks close or entertaining and go to it.

 

[Statefan10]

I always thought I was a typical college athletics fan. I would watch Iowa State (or enter team of choice) whenever they played on what ever channel they played on. I would more times than not be pulled away by a kids event or have a more important task at hand that needed done on Saturday. I would either listen to the game via radio or follow along on ESPN App.

Saturday night rolls around and I fall asleep on the couch watching whatever game is on TV that sparks my interest most and the channel they are playing on has zero influence of which game I watch. I guess the real question is what is the motivating factor and definition of "sparks my interest."

I'm beginning to realize I'm not the typical household.

I'd say you're pretty typical. I watch CFB all day and all night when games are on. I do the same with the NFL.

 

[KennyPratt42]

I believe there are currently 257 division 1 football teams (129 FBS and 128 FCS). What would make by far the most sense is to remove division 1 football from conferences and have some centralized organizing body. Split the teams into 4 levels of 64/65 teams that each have their own playoff. Media contracts are centralized and a portion is paid directly to the players. Each level probably has different numbers of scholarships and other requirements the schools need to meet. Scheduling is centralized with a preference towards regional games and schedule strength balancing based on the past 3 to 5 years. The top level teams play one game against a second level and one game against a third level team early in the season (TV money from those games helps replace revenue from the current 'buy' games). There is a set mechanism for teams to move up or down between levels based upon on field performance.

 

[HFCS]

So the big ten is already making millions more per team then the SEC so by your logic bama and Georgia should have left for the big ten already right? Two best teams in the sport, why are they content to make millions less than northwestern? That’s why this super league logic falls apart, we’re already in a place where one P2 conference is making millions more than the other. So why don’t they leave, well it has to do with diminishing returns and tradition.

Give it time.

Maybe you’re right that some day they’ll wake up and no longer like money.

If college fb is still popular in 50 years there’s no way NW is getting more money to broadcast games than Texas. Zero.

 

[LLCoolCY]

I tend to check scores and see if a later game looks close or entertaining and go to it.

Precisely why the PACX couldn't take the Apple+ deal. If your not a fan of the PACX most CFB fans wouldn't purchase Apple TV and the PAC add on for a few games. If PACX had a close game the casual viewer would just pass if a game and check out the highlights on College Gameday or Fox Recap showt. Now if B12 has a close game late on ESPN/Fox it is an easy flip of the channel or app you already have due to watching ISU earlier..

 

[CloniesForLife]

I tend to check scores and see if a later game looks close or entertaining and go to it.

Yeah outside of ISU I will watch Big 12 first because that is most relevant to me. but if the Big 12 game is a blowout I will change to a close game that's in the 2nd half as that is much more entertaining and it's still in the same universe as ISU so there is some relevance.

If there is a super conference and then a 2nd tier conference with ISU and they both have their own separate post season I will only watch the 2nd tier conference games as I am an ISU fan and I would always watch their games even if they had ended up in the American or something. I won't be tuning in for any super conference games as that would be a separate universe from ISU so why would I care? Maybe I'd tune into the championship game or something but that would be it.

 

[cyclonewino]

Realignment to date has left very few schools in worse financial position. If the "top" 40 leave and most are taking a lower payment, they'll likely kick the super league schools out of the NCAA in all sports and could make any left behind ineligible for post season play if you schedule one.

 

[stateofmind]

I LOVE CFB, I haven't missed a home Cyclone game since 1997. When I get home from our game I watch football until I fall asleep, but will avoid B1G and SEC unless I have a dog in the fight. I barely follow NFL. If this ends up being a "super" league of the top 20-30 teams I will never purposely watch any of those games. If the rest of the FBS becomes it's own league I may love CFB more than ever before.

 

[Gonzo]

Give it time.

Maybe you’re right that some day they’ll wake up and no longer like money.

If college fb is still popular in 50 years there’s no way NW is getting more money to broadcast games than Texas. Zero.

I'm sure they'll always like money. But I also think they'll always be equally averse to risk. For the elite SEC and B1G programs to blow up the current system that's made them the richest in the country by far and go all-in on a new superconference set up could definitely bring them even more riches. But it could also bring a lot of risk, namely, "what if our program becomes the NW or Vandy of said superconference and we eventually get left out in the cold?" OU and UT and USC/UCLA/UO/UW definitely jumped because they like money. But they also jumped because it was a much more safe and stable situation in the SEC and B1G with basically zero risk. That's the part that your "maybe they'll no longer like money" thing leaves out.

 

[1UNI2ISU]

I believe there are currently 257 division 1 football teams (129 FBS and 128 FCS). What would make by far the most sense is to remove division 1 football from conferences and have some centralized organizing body. Split the teams into 4 levels of 64/65 teams that each have their own playoff. Media contracts are centralized and a portion is paid directly to the players. Each level probably has different numbers of scholarships and other requirements the schools need to meet. Scheduling is centralized with a preference towards regional games and schedule strength balancing based on the past 3 to 5 years. The top level teams play one game against a second level and one game against a third level team early in the season (TV money from those games helps replace revenue from the current 'buy' games). There is a set mechanism for teams to move up or down between levels based upon on field performance.

Whoa, whoa, whoa there is absolutely no room for common sense here, sir.

 

[CascadeClone]

I believe there are currently 257 division 1 football teams (129 FBS and 128 FCS). What would make by far the most sense is to remove division 1 football from conferences and have some centralized organizing body. Split the teams into 4 levels of 64/65 teams that each have their own playoff. Media contracts are centralized and a portion is paid directly to the players. Each level probably has different numbers of scholarships and other requirements the schools need to meet. Scheduling is centralized with a preference towards regional games and schedule strength balancing based on the past 3 to 5 years. The top level teams play one game against a second level and one game against a third level team early in the season (TV money from those games helps replace revenue from the current 'buy' games). There is a set mechanism for teams to move up or down between levels based upon on field performance.

You could call it the "Normalizing College Association of America"!

I am sure someone could come up with an acronym for it.

 

[simply1]

'Worst possible news at the worst possible time': Oregon State athletics faces uncertain future, growing debt including stadium remodel

Oregon State just completed a $162 million remodel of Reser Stadium, increasing capacity to more than 43,000. That's partly why the Pac-12 shakeup is such bad news.

www.kgw.com

 

[Cyhig]

I get your point. But you aren’t getting mine.

We are simply looking at this from different perspectives. My perspective is everything is trending towards one mega conference. I have never argued whether such a conference is A) good for collegiate athletics or B) would actually work in the long run

Your perspective is simply saying such a conference would never actually work.

 

[FriendlySpartan]

Give it time.

Maybe you’re right that some day they’ll wake up and no longer like money.

If college fb is still popular in 50 years there’s no way NW is getting more money to broadcast games than Texas. Zero.

I just want to comment to say how stupid it is to make a bold prediction 50 years out. Legit insane to do so and to think that you have any idea what the world or cfb would be like then.

 

[AuH2O]

The Friday game is on Prime Video, so this is already setting up to be a test case for streaming getting around that broadcast rule. Although, the teams playing in the game still get it broadcast in their home markets. Not going to bother checking if there are any HS games within 75 miles of either of those teams.

I think the challenge can come because the language states broadcast by a “station” within 75 miles, not the home/market. At the time of the law, the station was of course going to be located within the market. I don’t know what would be ruled as the streaming equivalent to a TV station.

 

[SEIOWA CLONE]

I'm sure they'll always like money. But I also think they'll always be equally averse to risk. For the elite SEC and B1G programs to blow up the current system that's made them the richest in the country by far and go all-in on a new superconference set up could definitely bring them even more riches. But it could also bring a lot of risk, namely, "what if our program becomes the NW or Vandy of said superconference and we eventually get left out in the cold?" OU and UT and USC/UCLA/UO/UW definitely jumped because they like money. But they also jumped because it was a much more safe and stable situation in the SEC and B1G with basically zero risk. That's the part that your "maybe they'll no longer like money" thing leaves out.

What risk would there be for those teams? Right now say each team is getting $100 X 18 teams, so 1.8 billion, Fox tells them, how would you like to go "say 9/10 teams at the same 1.8 billion per year". So, Ohio State doubles their payout, and Fox gets better games for the same amount. The losers are the 9 teams that do not make the cut, but Fox is gambling that they can reform those left over teams, and use the money from say the B12 or ACC to pay for it.
Premium games every week from the top 32 teams, and use the other games as fillers in their TV schedule, all done without costing FOX or ESPN any more money.

 

[FerShizzle]

all this talk about a super league and i just dont see it. i think ND has it figured out and already developed the model that the other big dogs will run with.

eventually Ohio St and Alabama and Texas etc, will just go independent, agree to yearly games with the other independents, sell these games ala carte for huge dollars, they will buy home games (5-10 million per game for the visiting team) with some of the teams that stay in conferences. and they will cash giant checks.

maybe a super league will form out of the remnants of the conferences.