🏈 Expansion. Pitt and Syracuse to ACC?

[LBS]

General topic: Conference expansion, and how that impacts the SEC's efforts to expand.

Pitt and Syracuse ask to join the ACC. So is the ACC moving to expand or replace members that it anticipates losing?


At the same time ACC moves to increase the "buy-your-way-out" fees charged to teams who chose to move to other conferences in order to a better themselves. To me this sounds dirty on the ACC's part. Nearly doubling the fees seems clearly NOT about helping a school do what is best for its students, unless the conference is willing/able to replace that lost revenue. And if each school petitons the conferences for more money, how do you avoid the unfairness of a Texas/Big12 environment?


Is this the end of the Big East? Will the Big10 and ACC swallow up the value of the BigEast? What would this mean for the SEC, who seems geopgraphically limited to having a shot at West Virginia and TCU?


Pitt was one of the name floated as a potential pick up by the Big10. I have to think that this increases the odds that Boston College and Missouri end up in the Big10. Add Notre Dame and they only need one more. I'm guessing some Big East member, maybe Rutgers (NYC media).


If TCU comes free from the Big East, does the SEC have interest? Can we pull TCU from a state of Texas that desires to sustain the Big12? (Remember, if Missouri goes to the Big10, then the SEC will need one more out-west team to join TAMU to keep divisions the same in a 16 team framework.)


Texas A&M and (rumored) West Virginia seem to be the two bird-in-the-hand expansion options. Are there more? Who are they?

 

[planomateo]

seems there is a reason WVU's name wasn't mentioned in the recent ACC expansion....their proximity would almost make them a lock for the ACC. some suggest WVU might submit an application to SEC soon, as in today.

TCU - that would be the smallest enrollment in the SEC @ 9k, seems like an odd fit to me. Been to a few TCU games, fun environment.

I think there is more poaching to be done from the ACC - I'd imagine the SEC grows more east than west. I guess we could always grow north, just struggling to think of any teams to the north that would consider such a move.

 

[LBS]

seems there is a reason WVU's name wasn't mentioned in the recent ACC expansion....their proximity would almost make them a lock for the ACC. some suggest WVU might submit an application to SEC soon, as in today.

TCU - that would be the smallest enrollment in the SEC @ 9k, seems like an odd fit to me. Been to a few TCU games, fun environment.

I think there is more poaching to be done from the ACC - I'd imagine the SEC grows more east than west. I guess we could always grow north, just struggling to think of any teams to the north that would consider such a move.

Keeping an eye on WVU from here.

A case for TCU: Although it would be the smallest, it would not be that much smaller that the Vanderbilt that we have survived with. Despite not having SEC money to sustain an athletic department, their football stadium is not tiny. In fact, with an expansion ("additional upper deck" sized) it could be flirting with 70K, and lets not forget the possibility of taking games to Cowboy stadium. TCU also brings the Dallas-Ft.Worth market, which along with TAMU would be a very respectable slice of the Texas market.

ESPN.com is running a story that UCONN is moving to become ACC #15. They are either flirting with being done with 16, or getting ahead of suspected/known pending losses...to the SEC. But WHO then becomes the fun question. Any thoughts?

 

[planomateo]

Yeah, just saw something about UCONN peaking at the ACC.

so what happens to ND when the Big East goes bust...they play all sports except football with the big east if I'm not mistaken.

I have to think the big conferences already have things lined up, ACC is just moving first.

I hate all the conf shuffle going on right now...damn Aggies.

 

[LBS]

Yeah, just saw something about UCONN peaking at the ACC.

so what happens to ND when the Big East goes bust...they play all sports except football with the big east if I'm not mistaken.

I have to think the big conferences already have things lined up, ACC is just moving first.

I hate all the conf shuffle going on right now...damn Aggies.

So many options that it hurts my head.

Read a few places where the B10's wish list would be ND, Boston College (because ND would not come without BC), Missouri (because it's too natural a fit and because the SEC is Missou's Plan B), and with a final pick Pitt or Rutgers. Well the Pitt thing is a non-starter, so Rutgers and the NYC market get #16. This would crush the BigEast football-wise.

As the value teams of the B12 flee, the leftovers are in a sport. I pondered if half of C-USA (the northern schools) would not leave to join the balance of the Big East (because its a better media market), and the other half (the southern schools) would not unite with the balance of the Big12 (because they need members and Texas is a good market to reach into. So in the end, C-USA goes away instead of the BigEast or the B12.

As for the Aggies, it didn't start with them.

 

[planomateo]

As for the Aggies, it didn't start with them.

Ok, this year, the Aggies for sure. Last year it was Mizzou/Nebraska - with Colorado trying to force their way into a situation they were gonna get left outta. TCU tired of being left outta the hunt, so they made a good move in my opinion...just now in hindsight, possibly not a good move.

who are you suggesting it started with...please don't say Texas has force their hand. The Aggies would have you believe it's Texas' fault...but it's not the case in my opinion, the Big-XII has never had equal revenue sharing, the aggies have always been outworked by the tsips in recruiting (and always will be).

 

[TerryP]

seems there is a reason WVU's name wasn't mentioned in the recent ACC expansion....their proximity would almost make them a lock for the ACC. some suggest WVU might submit an application to SEC soon, as in today.

TCU - that would be the smallest enrollment in the SEC @ 9k, seems like an odd fit to me. Been to a few TCU games, fun environment.

I think there is more poaching to be done from the ACC - I'd imagine the SEC grows more east than west. I guess we could always grow north, just struggling to think of any teams to the north that would consider such a move.

IIRC, the deal with WVU and the ACC's expansion rested on what would happen with Virginia. It seems like there was some anxiety, so to speak, in their state legislature about WVU's move.

TCU? That would bring in the Dallas TV market.

Yeah, just saw something about UCONN peaking at the ACC.
.

Do you have a link for that?

One a different note, basketball specifically, I LOVE this move by the ACC.

Roy Williams, Coach K, Jamie Dixon, and Jim Boeheim coached teams all playing in the same conference?

Hell, I've always enjoyed watching ACC basketball and their season ending tournament. BUT, with these additions how good is that going to be now?

Imagine if they could snag Pitino and Louisville along with UConn and Jim Calhoun?!?!

 

[planomateo]

speaking of basketball, you see Madison Square Garden is already being mentioned as the ACC tournament location, ruffling feathers

as far as the UCONN thing, I think it was a tweet I read, can't remember Andy Katz has one here --> http://espn.go.com/college-sports/s...ies-aggressively-seeking-acc-move-source-says

 

[planomateo]

worth a read

this is actually a fascinating article about fan bases specifically around conference realignment - they take the data from a few locations and visualize it.

http://thequad.blogs.nytimes.com/20...-college-football-fans-and-realignment-chaos/

thought this was an interesting comment at the end.

The only two conferences that can feel completely secure right now are the Big Ten and the S.E.C..


They’re the two that have taken the most conservative attitude toward expansion over the past decade or two, waiting for programs of the caliber of Penn State, Nebraska and Texas A&M to become interested before increasing their ranks. They’ve been rewarded with extreme loyalty among their fan bases. In a sport where rooting interests are so highly localized, that goes a long way toward explaining their success.

whats even more interesting, a site commonconsensus.org has had about 30k people vote to where they could get some visualization around where fans are in relation to their location. I'd be interested in seeing the data the conferences are looking at, I don't think all the conferences have this data - but I'd imagine the real players do.