Realignment Megathread (All The Moves)

[AuH2O]

M

Argument for best teams only means eye test. That would suck. Give me conference champs for top 5 conferences and their

I’d argue all that really matters is that the best TEAM gets in. Yes, having the playoff be filled with all the best teams is a goal, but the problem is sometimes conventional wisdom and the eyeball test is wrong.

Here’s what is known. A second place most of the time and definitely a third place team in a league isn’t the best team in the country. It’s been proven on the field.

The third place SEC team may be one of the top 8 or even 4 teams in the country. We may be pretty sure they are better than an undefeated G5, or maybe even a Big 12 champ. But without on the field proof we don’t know. If the third place SEC team wins the title, you know the national champ isn’t the best team.

Conventional wisdom has suggested 95/96 Florida was much better than Nebraska. Conventional wisdom said 2006/7(?) Ohio State and Michigan were clearly the two best teams, but Florida squeaked in because OSU-UM just played. And in those cases the “clearly best” team got destroyed.

 

[1UNI2ISU]

Philadelphia to San Diego and Boca Raton to Corvallis.

If this is a real thing, Yikes.

 

[werdnamanhill]

There's nobody I trust more than os underscore beaver when it comes to realignment news

 

[MountainManHawk]

I don’t have the link but BY recently said we are staying at 9 games.

Conferences will only go to 10 games in exchange for more money. The SEC recently tried to get ESPN to pay for an additional conference game and they passed as they were in cost cutting mode but presumably sometime in the next few years the funding will be there.

 

[SCNCY]

Huh, so I guess academic prestige is no longer a concern for Stanford and Cal?

I know that Rice and Tulane are great schools, but the others, woof.

 

[2122]

Stanford in conference with ECU? Didn't see it coming.

 

[SolterraCyclone]

Highly recommend Yormark’s interview on Marchand and Ourand’s podcast. Very impressive, to say the least.

 

[ripvdub]

Ummm sAn Diego st and co aren't paying 34 mil to go to whatever this is.

 

[exCyDing]

Seems sus, mostly because three AAC schools (Charlotte, Navy, Tulsa) just go away? I can't believe the AAC GOR/bylaws wouldn't have language similar to every other conference that bars a school from voting to dissolve the conference if that school has a landing spot lined up. It doesn't matter if it's 11/14 members or 13/14. A conference isn't dissolving to get around a GOR unless everyone's going, otherwise the only schools with a vote would be the ones being left behind.

The PAC 4 is facing a pretty significant problem. Merging with either the MWC or AAC would have to include several schools that would weigh down the conference value, but plucking the better schools from either would be incredibly expensive (particularly the MWC) and the New PAC's media value might not cover the buyouts.

 

[cycfan1]

Seems sus, mostly because three AAC schools (Charlotte, Navy, Tulsa) just go away? I can't believe the AAC GOR/bylaws wouldn't have language similar to every other conference that bars a school from voting to dissolve the conference if that school has a landing spot lined up. It doesn't matter if it's 11/14 members or 13/14. A conference isn't dissolving to get around a GOR unless everyone's going, otherwise the only schools with a vote would be the ones being left behind.

The PAC 4 is facing a pretty significant problem. Merging with either the MWC or AAC would have to include several schools that would weigh down the conference value, but plucking the better schools from either would be incredibly expensive (particularly the MWC) and the New PAC's media value might not cover the buyouts.

Read up on the history of the Pac-4

 

[Gorm]

I can't believe the AAC GOR/bylaws wouldn't have language similar to every other conference that bars a school from voting to dissolve the conference if that school has a landing spot lined up. I

Such a provision would be a nightmare to enforce legally.

 

[NetflixAndClone]

Ummm sAn Diego st and co aren't paying 34 mil to go to whatever this is.

I thought I recently heard that SDSU didn’t have the money for the MWC buyout that’s why they were hoping for a merger or that enough members of the MWC decided to dissolve it. (However the MWC schools outside of them decided to stick together.)

 

[exCyDing]

Read up on the history of the Pac-4

The difference between the PAC-4 and the (hypothetical at this point) AAC-3 is that the PAC's GOR and media deal are expiring. The PAC didn't vote to dissolve. Everyone that is leaving is doing so at the end of the current GOR once their obligations under that agreement have been fulfilled. No negotiations, no buyouts, no exit fees, just the end of the contract.

The same isn't true for the AAC, their media deal (and GOR) runs through 2031-32.

Such a provision would be a nightmare to enforce legally.

Not really sure why you think that. The "just get enough schools with a better landing spot to dissolve the whole conference" strategy has been discussed in depth at least a dozen times on this thread regarding the ACC. It sure doesn't seem like it's a viable strategy based on the available information. I don't see why the AAC would be any different.

 

[HouClone]

There are no conference auto bids. It is simply the top 6 ranked conference champions. The top 6 could very realistically be B1G, Big 12, SEC, ACC, AAC, and MWC.

Good point, my bad.

I think the big ten will eventually make the choice to go to 10 game conference schedules. So my guess is that will end the cyhawk

Hope not. Not that I wouldn't lose any sleep not playing Iowa every year but better for the state of Iowa and better for the fans. Keeping a buy FCS game would be pathetic.

 

[isucy86]

Pac 4 should suck it up and merge with the Mountain West. Mountain West has some good football teams. I'd vote to keep them a power league and keep that auto bid. Granted, they would be the weakest power league. However, we were in the same position a couple years ago relative to the other leagues.

Over the CFP era among Pac4 & MWC schools only Stanford has been in Top 12 of CFP selection rankings.

Seems like 5 conference champ auto qualifiers is enough.

 

[ljm4cy]

Ummm sAn Diego st and co aren't paying 34 mil to go to whatever this is.

San Diego St, Colorado St and Boise St would join in 2025, so the buyout is $17 M.

The AAC schools would join in 2024 so that the PAC would retain its share of the playoff money.

 

[theshadow]

TCU just canceled their series with SMU starting in 2025.

10 league games incoming?

Probably waiting to see where SMU lands (if anywhere) first.

They've also been playing this game in Week 4 recently. In 2021 and 2022, that meant TCU having their open week in Week 3, and then playing 9 conference games straight through. This year, week 3 is filled with a conference game (Houston) so they get a break later in October.

I think TCU would much rather get that open week somewhere in the middle of conference play on a regular basis.

 

[theshadow]

Didn’t they just extend CyHawk to 2031? If that’s the case, I’m guessing ISU would drop its G5 or FCS game.

CyHawk is only out to 2027 for now. There is language that allows it to go away if either B1G or Big 12 add another conference game.

 

[LLCoolCY]

Apologies if this has already been posted but the ESPN article gave some insight in to the stress the ACC is under and the infighting is apparent. Unless there is a major change to infuse money I cant see FSU staying much longer.

State of ACC and realignment: What's next for Florida State and the conference?

Now that the deadline for teams to exit the ACC for 2024 has passed, we break down what happened and what's next.

www.espn.com

 

[cycloneshawn]

Apologies if this has already been posted but the ESPN article gave some insight in to the stress the ACC is under and the infighting is apparent. Unless there is a major change to infuse money I cant see FSU staying much longer.

State of ACC and realignment: What's next for Florida State and the conference?

Now that the deadline for teams to exit the ACC for 2024 has passed, we break down what happened and what's next.

www.espn.com

FSU cant win in the ACC, so not sure why they think they will win in tougher football conferences. I think that 120M exit fee is iron clad; I would be surprised if they could wiggle their way out of it.