A lot of people think that, but I don't think the networks think it one bit. They would assume maybe 10-20% drop, but that it would rebuild over time as people drift away from the also rand and back to the prime timeslots on the prime networks. Bonus - it also reduces their costs - both overall contract but also less games => less crews, talking heads, travel, etc.
This is 100% what I believe would happen. Networks don't care about you and I, they care about the casual fan. Because there are WAY more casual fans.
I agree these changes probably aren’t great for Iowa. I just read an article that said Ohio St pays their QB room more than Iowa spends on the entire roster. Obviously we didn’t do a great job of competing with Ohio St even before these changes but the advantages the blue bloods have always had seem to have grown significantly in a very short period of time.
The NCAA is going to pay out of football and championship money that it withholds from the schools. So technically the schools won't pay, but it's money schools had the expectation that they would receive that they won't.
I’d love to get a straw poll of Big 10/SEC fans who are cheering this idea on. I’ve talked to more fans (Iowa, Penn State, A&M fans) who despise where this is all going rather than cheering it on.
If there’s a selective breakaway and Iowa’s part of it, they’re going to be completely irrelevant.
The biggest error the NCAA has made is letting the narrative run wild that the student-athletes have been victims all this timeThe NCAA is going to pay out of football and championship money that it withholds from the schools. So technically the schools won't pay, but it's money schools had the expectation that they would receive that they won't.
So if that's the reality, then what's the fair way to pay the damages. IMO it shouldn't be equal per school. It should be based on some formula like each school's TV revenue (conference & championship). Maybe it should be based on professional athletes a school places in NBA, NFL, etc.
Regardless, I don't feel student-athletes have been cheated financially over the years. Universities have provided an academic scholarship (which is worth millions in lifetime job earnings) and elite coaching, facilities, equipment, competition, etc. And those athletes had options, they could have pushed for NFL and NBA sponsored development paths like MLB. So what's next? Microsoft, Google, Amazon, etc. non-executive employees are going to sue those companies for their fair share of revenues.
I'll come back to my final point, college athletics has become a professional league and IMO is outside the core mission of academic entities. If college athletics is going to become a semi-pro development path, then the Presidents need to bring some of that money back into the general fund to pay for academic programs.
I have a feeling they are on their way to irrelevance either way.
I talk with a lot of USC fans and they are split 50/50 but at least they can argue with the right coaching and pieces in place they can compete for titles but all of them realize it would be easier under the old format and conferences.
Yeah. I’d expect them to be more favorable about what is going on versus your standard B10/SEC fan, considering they were one of the catalysts for all this happening.
But it also goes beyond the NCAA's narrative. College Presidents have lost their way when it comes to college athletics. Seems like the tail is wagging the dog. And universities have so much money invested in facilities that they have to ride the TV money train to pay down their debt service and potentially hundreds of millions in damages.
It doesn't matter if you feel that they've been cheated. The billions in damages that the NCAA is going to pay out, say otherwise.The NCAA is going to pay out of football and championship money that it withholds from the schools. So technically the schools won't pay, but it's money schools had the expectation that they would receive that they won't.
So if that's the reality, then what's the fair way to pay the damages. IMO it shouldn't be equal per school. It should be based on some formula like each school's TV revenue (conference & championship). Maybe it should be based on professional athletes a school places in NBA, NFL, etc.
Regardless, I don't feel student-athletes have been cheated financially over the years. Universities have provided an academic scholarship (which is worth millions in lifetime job earnings) and elite coaching, facilities, equipment, competition, etc. And those athletes had options, they could have pushed for NFL and NBA sponsored development paths like MLB. So what's next? Microsoft, Google, Amazon, etc. non-executive employees are going to sue those companies for their fair share of revenues.
I'll come back to my final point, college athletics has become a professional league and IMO is outside the core mission of academic entities. If college athletics is going to become a semi-pro development path, then the Presidents need to bring some of that money back into the general fund to pay for academic programs.
And to be clear they are excited about playing OSU, Mich, Penn st out here. They are already rolling their eyes at having a 9am local start time playing at Minnesota and Indiana on BTN. That’s “beneath” them.
I agree it's going to happen in some form.
It certainly sounds like a recipe for a subset of schools within the SEC/big to break off. No way most schools can pay 120 FB players.
