There is a lot of TINA at play. TV rights are much higher than ever before and new entrants are emerging for a reason. If anything college athletic rights are still undervalued.First, thanks for backing up your 'disagree'. Borrowing in general will continue to get more difficult (inflation and interest rates). As highly leveraged as ESPN still is in cable, they're now approaching financial woes. Fox having spread agreements with the B12, but now playing the power move suggests they'll be devoting more resources to the B1G for next round of negotiations. Finding deeper pockets will require a better product. Unless (and mind you, this all runs in parallel behind closed doors just as ESPN and FOX have done with their primaries) the revenue stream increases as product is enhanced, there will be no product enhancement. I just suggested making a power move for ND, but that's only IF we have money eyeballs on our plans. We'll see just how big our new commissioner's kahunas are. And, finally, I agree better product equals more money. BUT, that's an ever increasing 'risk'. Watch for Disney to bail if the SEC payouts aren't happening as optimistically as their play was advertised.
Further brand consolidation is good for the networks though. And the schools on the outside of the P2 certainly want movement.
Costs to these schools have not gone up like the TV rights- the BIG and SEC will have no issue affording adding more, it is whether they want to. Would the BIG rather be at 16 with two far-flung outliers, or make a little less per team, but more than now, and add 2-4 more Pac 12 schools? Or they could do unequal revenue sharing, with all schools still making more than the alternative.
There is ZERO chance of the ND even taking the Big 12's call.
Big 12's power play is to grab fear-driven middle Pac 12 program, and remove any backup conference for UW and Oregon is they get told "not now" from the BIG. IF that happens, you then work with ESPN to remove the ACC.