Realignment Megathread (All The Moves)

[MountainManHawk]

Yes, and they arent replacing one of their cupcakes with that game, they are replacing their current P4 game with it. So its not an additional P4 game instead of a G5/FCS as was mentioned.

No way is the SEC going to do something to get rid of a cupcake, they wont even add a 9th conference game.

From what I read, the Big10 only wants to do this if they play the same number of conference games as the SEC. I saw that one idea that was floated was the Big10 could just drop to 8 and replace that lost conference game with this, but obviously the incremental media money would be a lot higher if the SEC goes to 9 conference games as well and then adds this on top. It just depends on if ESPN be willing to pay for that.

Another alternative would be for the Big10 to just go to 10 conference games and forget about scheduling the SEC. But obviously the big advantage of the SEC deal would be that you could almost guarantee marquee matches that the media would like because #1-4 Big10 against #1-4 SEC are almost always going to be blue bloods, possibly rematches of playoff games, etc.

Whereas if you think about it, an additional normal conference game is statistically just as likely to match the best team vs the worst team in a game that wouldn’t get good ratings.

 

[simply1]

Oregon State and Wazzu playing each other twice next year

 

[HawaiiClone]

Oregon State and Wazzu playing each other twice next year

That's cool. With the difficulty scheduling non-conf games on short notice this makes a lot of sense.

I know this would normally be absurd, but with the scheduling difficulties they had for this year, had they scheduled against each other for four games this year they maybe could have avoided the scheduling expenses they had for the games against MW teams in addition to the poaching penalties they have to pay.

 

[jctisu]

I have zero issues with a Big12 vs Big Ten matchup. That’s not going to get you those ranked matchups the way you want them though and if they do something like basketball where they rig that before the season to the best plays the best I’m not sure you would be happy with the results.

Also for the millionth time cfb is not the NFL anytime anyone tries to bring up things that they should be doing like the NFL is just not going to work because there has never for an instant been parity in college football.

You are right about your last point on parity. But maybe that’s the question everyone should be asking instead of just that’s the way it’s always been.

Shouldn’t the question be moving forward “Why can’t there be parity?”

 

[Cyclonsin]

You are right about your last point on parity. But maybe that’s the question everyone should be asking instead of just that’s the way it’s always been.

Shouldn’t the question be moving forward “Why can’t there be parity?”

Because the entities that don't want parity have all the power. And it's not like that's unique to CFB.

Just look at MLB where low budget teams can occasionally punch up, but they have a huge uphill battle and have to hit on a lot of prospects to do so.

Or the NBA, where teams are essentially trying to buy a championship every year.

If Pete Rozelle didn't get the big market teams on board with revenue sharing in the NFL teams like Buffalo and Green Bay would have had no shot. That's still the biggest and most important move in American sports. But these days the dollar amounts are so much larger, and the disparity so much more distinct, there will never be another league with full revenue sharing.

And, lastly, those leagues are only trying to manufacture competitiveness between 30-32 teams. There are 134 FBS teams. CFB has never had parity and, so long as it contains more than 40ish teams, it never will. And that's ok. What's not ok is the notion that all 134 teams are trying to play for the same championship. That's psychotic.

 

[cykadelic2]

That's cool. With the difficulty scheduling non-conf games on short notice this makes a lot of sense.

I know this would normally be absurd, but with the scheduling difficulties they had for this year, had they scheduled against each other for four games this year they maybe could have avoided the scheduling expenses they had for the games against MW teams in addition to the poaching penalties they have to pay.

Nothing cool about that schedule. It's a sad result of the Fox/B10 destruction of the PAC and those two schools.

 

[StateThrowdown]

the "deserving" B12 teams have already been taken.

True, but I have a very hard time thinking of Mizzou as "deserving"

 

[HawaiiClone]

Nothing cool about that schedule. It's a sad result of the Fox/B10 destruction of the PAC and those two schools.

I wasn't saying it was "cool" in the sense that it was ideal. I was just saying it was "cool" in the sense of "Oh well, they're making the best of a challenging situation."

 

[Beernuts]

We should invite both Washington State and Oregon State to the Big12. Good schools that would fit right in with us misfit looked over not worthy universities. F the Big 10 and SEC. Let's be part of a conference that enjoys sports, have great students and enjoy a brotherhood of fun. Let the Big 10 and SEC try to out spend each for some fleeting feeling of success and entitlement.

Kind of like when you are dating. Sure we all want the sexy Ginger, but in reality we all have better lives with the cute Mary Ann's.

 

[cyIclSoneU]

Oregon State and Wazzu playing each other twice next year

Oregon State built a pretty good schedule. 5 true P4 opponents, plus Wazzu twice, plus two strong G5s in Fresno State (soon to be Pac-12) and App State.

Guessing they would've liked to trade Sam Houston or Tulsa for someone like Kansas or Purdue, but they should be happy with what they managed here.

 

[MountainManHawk]

Oregon State built a pretty good schedule. 5 true P4 opponents, plus Wazzu twice, plus two strong G5s in Fresno State (soon to be Pac-12) and App State.

Guessing they would've liked to trade Sam Houston or Tulsa for someone like Kansas or Purdue, but they should be happy with what they managed here.

This schedule is fine, especially if Oregon is a good team so they get at least one shot at a real marquee win for the year.

I do think they gummed up their conference situation about as badly as they could have though. They were sitting on a huge pile of cash from the Pac12 assets and the only thing they accomplished with it is to not have to associate with the bottom few schools of the Mountain West.

I feel like if I was a fan I would have preferred to just join the Mountain West and use that pile of cash for NIL to buy a roster good enough to make the playoff each year. I think that would have positioned them well to someday get an invite to either the ACC or Big12 once the realignment musical chairs start again in a year or two.

And I would have said that even if their original plan of prying lose the top few schools of the AAC would have worked.

I guess they felt like the risk of being permanently relegated to the Mountain West was too big to take but it feels like such a huge waste of money for an outcome that in my mind isn’t much different than just being in the Mountain West conference.

 

[1SEIACLONE]

This schedule is fine, especially if Oregon is a good team so they get at least one shot at a real marquee win for the year.

I do think they gummed up their conference situation about as badly as they could have though. They were sitting on a huge pile of cash from the Pac12 assets and the only thing they accomplished with it is to not have to associate with the bottom few schools of the Mountain West.

I feel like if I was a fan I would have preferred to just join the Mountain West and use that pile of cash for NIL to buy a roster good enough to make the playoff each year. I think that would have positioned them well to someday get an invite to either the ACC or Big12 once the realignment musical chairs start again in a year or two.

And I would have said that even if their original plan of prying lose the top few schools of the AAC would have worked.

I guess they felt like the risk of being permanently relegated to the Mountain West was too big to take but it feels like such a huge waste of money for an outcome that in my mind isn’t much different than just being in the Mountain West conference.

You have to feel sorry for both schools, but in the end, neither Oregon St or Wash. St are worth admission to the league. Hard to get to schools, and roughly 800 miles from the closest B12 school.

 

[jctisu]

Because the entities that don't want parity have all the power. And it's not like that's unique to CFB.

Just look at MLB where low budget teams can occasionally punch up, but they have a huge uphill battle and have to hit on a lot of prospects to do so.

Or the NBA, where teams are essentially trying to buy a championship every year.

If Pete Rozelle didn't get the big market teams on board with revenue sharing in the NFL teams like Buffalo and Green Bay would have had no shot. That's still the biggest and most important move in American sports. But these days the dollar amounts are so much larger, and the disparity so much more distinct, there will never be another league with full revenue sharing.

And, lastly, those leagues are only trying to manufacture competitiveness between 30-32 teams. There are 134 FBS teams. CFB has never had parity and, so long as it contains more than 40ish teams, it never will. And that's ok. What's not ok is the notion that all 134 teams are trying to play for the same championship. That's psychotic.

Exactly. And I know all of this. I also know what I am about to say is a pipe dream.

But that’s the entire point, the only thing holding any parity back is like most walks of life where a few folks in power have to have it all and control what happens.

There’s a reason the NFL is as big as it is, and yes there are a ton of other factors as to why they are as big as they are. But you laid out one of the biggest deals that happened to give them a huge boost as the years have gone by.

 

[MountainManHawk]

Exactly. And I know all of this. I also know what I am about to say is a pipe dream.

But that’s the entire point, the only thing holding any parity back is like most walks of life where a few folks in power have to have it all and control what happens.

There’s a reason the NFL is as big as it is, and yes there are a ton of other factors as to why they are as big as they are. But you laid out one of the biggest deals that happened to give them a huge boost as the years have gone by.

I agree with what you’re saying but I could argue that the NFL would make even more money if they went the way of the MLB and did away with salary caps and equal revenue sharing amongst the teams. Occasionally the small market teams would get to the Super Bowl because upsets are part of sports, but more often than not it would be the big market teams.

For example, I was reading an article about how terrible the ratings were for the World Series last year (Diamondbacks vs Rangers) and how happy the advertisers are that this year it’s Dodgers vs Yankees. If the MLB had the same rules as the NFL, then the Dodgers and Yankees wouldn’t have been able to assemble these super teams with free agents like Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto.

Obviously the Super Bowl does crazy ratings no matter what but imagine if we didn’t share revenue equally and didn’t have a salary cap. After Tom Brady retired the Patriots could have used their NIL to lure away Patrick Mahomes via the portal. And in the Super Bowl they could face another team like the Cowboys that also have massive NIL spending to build a super team with all the best free agents. The advertisers would go nuts and fans in small market Middle America would grumble and complain but still tune in anyway.

 

[NetflixAndClone]

We should invite both Washington State and Oregon State to the Big12. Good schools that would fit right in with us misfit looked over not worthy universities. F the Big 10 and SEC. Let's be part of a conference that enjoys sports, have great students and enjoy a brotherhood of fun. Let the Big 10 and SEC try to out spend each for some fleeting feeling of success and entitlement.

Kind of like when you are dating. Sure we all want the sexy Ginger, but in reality we all have better lives with the cute Mary Ann's.

We already lost money absorbing the 4 corner schools. No reason to dilute the prize money more. Big conferences are stupid. 10 teams should be the limit. It was perfect for football and basketball scheduling.

 

[FriendlySpartan]

I agree with what you’re saying but I could argue that the NFL would make even more money if they went the way of the MLB and did away with salary caps and equal revenue sharing amongst the teams. Occasionally the small market teams would get to the Super Bowl because upsets are part of sports, but more often than not it would be the big market teams.

For example, I was reading an article about how terrible the ratings were for the World Series last year (Diamondbacks vs Rangers) and how happy the advertisers are that this year it’s Dodgers vs Yankees. If the MLB had the same rules as the NFL, then the Dodgers and Yankees wouldn’t have been able to assemble these super teams with free agents like Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto.

Obviously the Super Bowl does crazy ratings no matter what but imagine if we didn’t share revenue equally and didn’t have a salary cap. After Tom Brady retired the Patriots could have used their NIL to lure away Patrick Mahomes via the portal. And in the Super Bowl they could face another team like the Cowboys that also have massive NIL spending to build a super team with all the best free agents. The advertisers would go nuts and fans in small market Middle America would grumble and complain but still tune in anyway.

You already see this in effect globally with soccer. No one is complaining that the same 8ish teams are the top dogs each year. Parity only actually exists in 2 American sports which is funny because of how anti American it is.

It’s also why horrible owners never leave, they print money without having to worry about being successful.

 

[MountainManHawk]

You already see this in effect globally with soccer. No one is complaining that the same 8ish teams are the top dogs each year. Parity only actually exists in 2 American sports which is funny because of how anti American it is.

It’s also why horrible owners never leave, they print money without having to worry about being successful.

Yeah. I mean, the numbers show that some fans obviously don’t watch when their teams have no chance. Like the terrible ratings for a Diamondbacks World Series imply that a lot of fans on the coast aren’t watching. And vice versa I’m sure for the Dodgers-Yankees World Series I bet a lot of people in Arizona are already tuned out and won’t watch. But advertisers and the media seem pretty happy to trade the TV sets on the coasts for whatever they lose in Arizona…

 

[FriendlySpartan]

Yeah. I mean, the numbers show that some fans obviously don’t watch when their teams have no chance. Like the terrible ratings for a Diamondbacks World Series imply that a lot of fans on the coast aren’t watching. And vice versa I’m sure for the Dodgers-Yankees World Series I bet a lot of people in Arizona are already tuned out and won’t watch. But advertisers and the media seem pretty happy to trade the TV sets on the coasts for whatever they lose in Arizona…

It also implies that the diamond backs just don’t have a good following or any cache to an average fan. Baseball in general is declining fast but I do like the changes that have brought some viewers back. The issue specifically with Zona is you have a massive amount of transplants who already had teams to root for.

Dodgers/Yankees is like USC/Bama you’re gonna bring in a ton of casual fans just for the brands.

 

[1SEIACLONE]

I agree with what you’re saying but I could argue that the NFL would make even more money if they went the way of the MLB and did away with salary caps and equal revenue sharing amongst the teams. Occasionally the small market teams would get to the Super Bowl because upsets are part of sports, but more often than not it would be the big market teams.

For example, I was reading an article about how terrible the ratings were for the World Series last year (Diamondbacks vs Rangers) and how happy the advertisers are that this year it’s Dodgers vs Yankees. If the MLB had the same rules as the NFL, then the Dodgers and Yankees wouldn’t have been able to assemble these super teams with free agents like Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto.

Obviously the Super Bowl does crazy ratings no matter what but imagine if we didn’t share revenue equally and didn’t have a salary cap. After Tom Brady retired the Patriots could have used their NIL to lure away Patrick Mahomes via the portal. And in the Super Bowl they could face another team like the Cowboys that also have massive NIL spending to build a super team with all the best free agents. The advertisers would go nuts and fans in small market Middle America would grumble and complain but still tune in anyway.

The NFL is already printing money, look at the 100 most watched events last season, 93 of them were NFL games. Put a game on TV between two horrible teams and it wins the ratings share for that night. The NFL has the perfect combination of only playing once a week, easy to bet on and they have created a system where every team has a chance to win a championship. Take away equal revenue streams and their is no team in Green Bay, many people forget they used to play up to half their games in Milwaukee because they could not draw fans. Now they sell out every game. Why because they have a chance to win, the Giants and Jets cannot use their money to give them an unfair edge, everyone has the same amount to spend.
The problem with MLB is they allow teams in the major cities to corner the market on talent, while teams like the Royals cycle up, then can no longer afford to keep the talent and have to let them leave and rebuild.

NFL Swallows TV Whole, With 93 of Year’s Top 100 Broadcasts

Rob Lowe's 2022 playoff fit made him look like a down-on-his-luck referee, but his generic cap was a harbinger of the NFL's world-gobbling hegemony.

www.sportico.com

 

[MountainManHawk]

It also implies that the diamond backs just don’t have a good following or any cache to an average fan. Baseball in general is declining fast but I do like the changes that have brought some viewers back. The issue specifically with Zona is you have a massive amount of transplants who already had teams to root for.

Dodgers/Yankees is like USC/Bama you’re gonna bring in a ton of casual fans just for the brands.

Totally. With realignment I used to wonder how is North Carolina somehow this uber-desirable market and at the same time nobody wants Arizona but I think the transplant issue explains a lot. Like obviously the population in Arizona has exploded but so much of it is retired snowbirds that are probably asleep before the Sun Devils after-dark football game even kicks off.