Realignment Megathread (All The Moves)

[Gonzo]

TV deals are up.

ESPN and Fox will no longer hoard billions of TV dollars than can be used to fund more athlete opportunities, reduce taxpayer/student burden on AD funding, and prevent additional relegation and destruction of more ADs like what has already been done to Oregon St and Wazzu.

Cody Campbell gets this:

Is college football undervalued? America's second-most popular game still leaving billions on the table

Ripe for venture capitalists and mega streaming deals down the line, college football's bottom line is getting astronomical

www.cbssports.com

Well that certainly buys you some time, lol.

 

[cykadelic2]

Well that certainly buys you some time, lol.

Also buys you time, B10 boy.

 

[FinalFourCy]

Lol, are you still predicting that college football media rights are going to be aggregated and bid out NFL style with all conferences splitting $$$ equally? Lol.

Pettiti and Sankey are running the show. Just the truth. Sorry.

Carter/Bjork and about 20 other president/ADs are running the show.

If/when major money decides in earnest to try to change college athletics, it won’t be Pettiti and Sankey that decide the fate of college athletics

 

[Gonzo]

Also buys you time, B10 boy.

So as of 2030 the world of college football won't revolve around the power programs from the B1G and SEC?

 

[qwerty]

So as of 2030 the world of college football won't revolve around the power programs from the B1G and SEC?

No, it will revolve around Iowa City as Brian Ferentz makes his triumphant return as The Moon Family Head Football Coach of THE University of Iowa.

 

[cykadelic2]

So as of 2030 the world of college football won't revolve around the power programs from the B1G and SEC?

Yeah, that's the plan and already posted why.

 

[Cyhig]

Lol, are you still predicting that college football media rights are going to be aggregated and bid out NFL style with all conferences splitting $$$ equally? Lol.

Pettiti and Sankey are running the show. Just the truth. Sorry.

So if you feel the Big 10 and SEC should receive more media rights dollars than the other power conferences, then you should also feel there should not be equal revenue sharing within the teams of the conference. Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, Oregon, USC, should all receive more money from the Big 10 media rights than Iowa

Same concept

 

[cykadelic2]

Lol, are you still predicting that college football media rights are going to be aggregated and bid out NFL style with all conferences splitting $$$ equally? Lol.

Pettiti and Sankey are running the show. Just the truth. Sorry.

Actually, conferences wouldn't equally share aggregated media rights. A portion of the overall revenue pool (e.g. 20%) would be allocated to conferences based on TV ratings including the CFP.

B10 schools would make more money under this model than what they do now.

 

[NWICY]

No, it will revolve around Iowa City as Brian Ferentz makes his triumphant return as The Moon Family Head Football Coach of THE University of Iowa.

We can only hope.

 

[JM4CY]

No, it will revolve around Iowa City as Brian Ferentz makes his triumphant return as The Moon Family Head Football Coach of THE University of Iowa.

That still is one of dumbest things I've ever heard.

 

[Gonzo]

So if you feel the Big 10 and SEC should receive more media rights dollars than the other power conferences, then you should also feel there should not be equal revenue sharing within the teams of the conference. Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, Oregon, USC, should all receive more money from the Big 10 media rights than Iowa

Same concept

Yes, that would 100% be the fair move and if I were a fan of one of those bluebloods it's how I would want it to be. Do I think it will ever happen? No. I just don't see the B1G going there.

What I could see happening, which I also agree with, is that B1G teams stop getting an equal split of CFP and bowl game revenue. I wouldn't at all be surprised if they change it to where teams that generate more of that CFP and bowl revenue get a bigger cut of the revenue for that year. So in this sense, there would be unequal revenue sharing in the B1G, just not of the media revenue.

 

[JM4CY]

Yes, that would 100% be the fair move and if I were a fan of one of those bluebloods it's how I would want it to be. Do I think it will ever happen? No. I just don't see the B1G going there.

LOL Right, those with all the power eventually say "no, I don't want any more power and money".

 

[1UNI2ISU]

Actually, conferences wouldn't equally share aggregated media rights. A portion of the overall revenue pool (e.g. 20%) would be allocated to conferences based on TV ratings including the CFP.

B10 schools would make more money under this model than what they do now.

They're going to get a massive raise anyway in the next deal and they don't need to drag 50 other schools along to get it done.

 

[Cyhig]

Yes, that would 100% be the fair move and if I were a fan of one of those bluebloods it's how I would want it to be. Do I think it will ever happen? No. I just don't see the B1G going there.

What I could see happening, which I also agree with, is that B1G teams stop getting an equal split of CFP and bowl game revenue. I wouldn't at all be surprised if they change it to where teams that generate more of that CFP and bowl revenue get a bigger cut of the revenue for that year. So in this sense, there would be unequal revenue sharing in the B1G, just not of the media revenue.

The real "fair move" is for universal shared media rights with teams in the CFP receiving extra media revenues. One way to look at the current landscape is like the NFL. The NFL currently has 2 conferences. The NCAA currently has 4 conferences (technically more, but there are 4 major conferences). In each case, teams are competing against teams in their own conferences as well as some games from other conferences. At the end of the regular season, teams from each conference will compete against each other in a playoff to determine the overall champion

So one can argue the power conferences have formed their own league. The main difference is the NCAA is lacking a commissioner to oversee these 4 power conferences. Instead, the NCAA has given the power to each individual conference.

What the sport really needs is a commissioner to oversee all power conferences to make decisions that will best align for the college football brand as a whole. The current situation is just enabling the rich to get richer. In the long run, this will be detrimental to college football as a whole

But the Big 10 and SEC have become too powerful for them to ever agree on this change. They only care about themselves and not the overall product. And that's really at the core for the hatred of the Big 10 and SEC

 

[CascadeClone]

Great input here from Cody Campbell re' aggregation of CFB media rights and rational, geographic realignment that would bust up the existing mega-conferences spanning 3 or 4 time zones. Campbell will be working with Nick Saban on both issues:

Not going to spend time reading this, but the headline begs a question-
is that half the money per team? per game? or top line total?

Because I would think the NBA has a boatload more games per team, so you'd expect more $/team. I would also suspect that CFB has fewer games with big viewer numbers, which are the primary value drivers. A more apples-to-apples comparison might be the NBA+GLeague vs CFB.

I'd love if they succeed and we get eight geographically sensible, 10-team, round robin schedule conferences. But someone is going to notice (likely already knows) that ~20 teams and like 4-5 games per week drive 80% of the value of CFB.

 

[cykadelic2]

They're going to get a massive raise anyway in the next deal and they don't need to drag 50 other schools along to get it done.

They would get a bigger raise with aggregated media rights (including CFP) and an element of unequal revenue sharing based on TV ratings. And dragging the other 50 schools in doing so would pass the collusion and political correctness tests especially given the B10 and Fox have already destroyed two ADs in Oregon St and Washington St.

I am willing to bet the core 10/11 B10 Presidents would vote for a downsized conference and make more money instead of continuing with the absurdity of the current conference footprint and moving to an even more absurd CFP model with multiple auto qualifiers.

 

[FriendlySpartan]

The real "fair move" is for universal shared media rights with teams in the CFP receiving extra media revenues. One way to look at the current landscape is like the NFL. The NFL currently has 2 conferences. The NCAA currently has 4 conferences (technically more, but there are 4 major conferences). In each case, teams are competing against teams in their own conferences as well as some games from other conferences. At the end of the regular season, teams from each conference will compete against each other in a playoff to determine the overall champion

So one can argue the power conferences have formed their own league. The main difference is the NCAA is lacking a commissioner to oversee these 4 power conferences. Instead, the NCAA has given the power to each individual conference.

What the sport really needs is a commissioner to oversee all power conferences to make decisions that will best align for the college football brand as a whole. The current situation is just enabling the rich to get richer. In the long run, this will be detrimental to college football as a whole

But the Big 10 and SEC have become too powerful for them to ever agree on this change. They only care about themselves and not the overall product. And that's really at the core for the hatred of the Big 10 and SEC

I do 100% agree with the commissioner aspect but one issue is that in any pro sport the commissioner is just executing the owners desires. Nothing really gets passed as a new rule or policy without that approval. While in theory this would give every team a seat at the table like it does in the pro sports it could also lead to a lot roadblocks and zero change. The Bigten and SEC would never agree to a commissioner system that gave up power they have hoarded so it would take concessions by the other two conferences.

I think the commish idea could work for reigning things in like the transfer portal but not things that would lead to more equality in college sports

 

[Gonzo]

LOL Right, those with all the power eventually say "no, I don't want any more power and money".

Why didn't they demand a bigger cut when the B1G signed its new $8 billion media deal a few years ago?

 

[Gonzo]

The real "fair move" is for universal shared media rights with teams in the CFP receiving extra media revenues. One way to look at the current landscape is like the NFL. The NFL currently has 2 conferences. The NCAA currently has 4 conferences (technically more, but there are 4 major conferences). In each case, teams are competing against teams in their own conferences as well as some games from other conferences. At the end of the regular season, teams from each conference will compete against each other in a playoff to determine the overall champion

So one can argue the power conferences have formed their own league. The main difference is the NCAA is lacking a commissioner to oversee these 4 power conferences. Instead, the NCAA has given the power to each individual conference.

What the sport really needs is a commissioner to oversee all power conferences to make decisions that will best align for the college football brand as a whole. The current situation is just enabling the rich to get richer. In the long run, this will be detrimental to college football as a whole

But the Big 10 and SEC have become too powerful for them to ever agree on this change. They only care about themselves and not the overall product. And that's really at the core for the hatred of the Big 10 and SEC

Does the NFC draw significantly higher viewership and ratings than the AFC? Or does the AFC draw way more than the NFC?

The problem with your analogy is that the 4 college conferences aren't even close to being equal when it comes to viewership, ratings, brands, etc. There are two that are head-and-shoulders above the others. So how is it the "fair move" for those two to give an equal cut to the other two that haven't done nearly as much in terms of generating that revenue?

I've already said the B1G giving equal shares to all members isn't really fair to the bluebloods, it's just the way they do it and it's how they've always done it.

 

[Cyhig]

Does the NFC draw significantly higher viewership and ratings than the AFC? Or does the AFC draw way more than the NFC?

The problem with your analogy is that the 4 college conferences aren't even close to being equal when it comes to viewership, ratings, brands, etc. There are two that are head-and-shoulders above the others. So how is it the "fair move" for those two to give an equal cut to the other two that haven't done nearly as much in terms of generating that revenue?

I've already said the B1G giving equal shares to all members isn't really fair to the bluebloods, it's just the way they do it and it's how they've always done it.

What are you talking about? Do you think Jacksonville gets the same viewership as the cowboys? Do the Browns get the same viewership as the 49ers? Or how about the Titans getting the same viewership as the Packers?

The NFL has a large viewership discrepancy between the teams even within the same conference. Just like in college