2011 Conference Realignment

South
Tech
UT
Baylor
TCU
Houston
FSU
Clemson
Georgia Tech

North
WVU
Louisville
Kansas
KState
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State
ISU
Boise State

Ta Da!

 

I never understood why there were Boise State-Big 12 rumors in the first place.

Small market. Bad academics. Very inconvenient location. And they'll kick the crap out of you.

They're the definition of a program you don't want in your conference if it is already competitive.

 

Fair point.

 

My problem with adding Boise is...what happens when they start to suck again? It's bound to happen. Odds on them maintaining long term success like they're having is not good. All it takes is 1 bad season and they're done. TV games disappear. Recruits stop coming. Then all you have is a small market team in the middle of no where that no one gives a crap about.

Though, to be fair, Baylor eventually became relevant again...

 

Once Chris Peterson leaves they are done

Same potential with the coaching situations at Baylor and tcu

 

Didn't everybody say that when Dan Hawkins left? And they went on to kick even more ass?

People said the same thing when Franchione left TCU... and when Briles left Houston... etc etc.

I wouldn't be worried about Boise State falling off the face of the earth, I'd be worried about them not contributing anything to the conference yet winning titles every year.

 

@schadjoe: In memo, FSU Prez Barron writes, "the faculty are adamantly opposed to joining a league that is academically weaker"

 

I'm thinking their below the alumni and trustees in terms of relative importance of opinion.

Interesting, nonetheless. I still think the whole idea that conference affiliation impacts academics is just dumb. Nothing should change academically about FSU if they decide to bolt for another conference.

 

No kidding, right?

Money has trumped a lot of cards bigger than that before.

Although it is kind of weird seeing so many conflicting reports about the ACC TV deal.

 

AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. -- The financial crashes of a few years ago were always going to happen because of poor choices made by bankers and their customers, but perception dictated when they occurred. As long as Lehman Brothers seemed healthy, business rolled along. But the moment a few key people noticed the underlying issues and panicked, word spread like wildfire and the freefall began.

So it is in conference realignment. A conference's perceived strength can hold it together until some influential person steps forward and publicly questions that strength. If that person is influential enough -- and if that person's accusations of weakness are backed up by even an inkling of actual weakness -- the next steps can happen quite quickly. The Big 12 nearly imploded twice because of perceived weakness. The Big East has seemed to teeter on the brink of annihilation since realignment madness began in December 2009 with a decision by Big Ten presidents to explore expansion.

Now, the ACC -- one of the few leagues that has avoided getting raided -- sweats as it holds its spring meetings. Two influential people spoke Saturday, and their words thundered across the college sports landscape. First, Florida State Board of Trustees chairman Andy Haggard blasted the ACC's new media rights deal on popular Rivals network site Warchant.com. Haggard said the board was unanimous that FSU should see what the Big 12 might offer. Later Saturday, before a speech to an alumni group, Seminoles football coach Jimbo Fisher echoed that sentiment.

"There have been no official talks, but I think you always have to look out there to see what's best for Florida State," Fisher told The Orlando Sentinel. "If that [jumping to the Big 12] is what's best for Florida State, then that's what we need to do."

It doesn't matter that one of Haggard's main points was based on an incorrect assumption about the ACC's media rights deal. It also doesn't matter that he softened his stance in a Sunday interview with the Tallahassee Democrat or that Fisher clarified his stance Monday. "The powers that be will make the decision for Florida State," Fisher said Monday. "That's the board of trustees and the president. That's all I said that day. They'll do what's best for Florida State. We're in the ACC, and that's where we're at. I'm not a decision-maker."

But Fisher is a decision-influencer. In this climate, once the idea is planted, it finds a way to grow. It begins as chatter on message boards and fan blogs and causes actual change once boosters begin threatening to withhold donations.

Besides, Haggard's big-picture point remains correct; FSU probably could make more money as a member of the Big 12 than it could as a member of the ACC. This is how Texas A&M's journey from the Big 12 to the SEC began. A few trustees, tired of being kicked around in the conference room and on the balance sheet by Texas, thought a change would help. The SEC, sensing a shift toward consolidation, had put out feelers in early 2010. By the summer of 2010, most of the Texas A&M fan base was ready to -- as the T-shirts said -- SECede. But the Aggies stayed put in the Big 12, and the fan base nearly revolted. A year later, the SEC needed to open a new market. Its media rights deals, which seemed so massive when they were signed in 2008, had just been eclipsed by the Pac-12's new deal. The Aggies weren't going to miss another chance to find out if the grass really is greener, so they jumped to the SEC.

Now comes Florida State, perhaps the biggest prize to consider moving since this reshuffling began. Even though they haven't won a conference title since 2005, the Seminoles have a national cachet similar to or greater than that of Nebraska, which used its ability to draw ratings to wrangle a spot in the Big Ten. Like Texas A&M, FSU has the ability to open a huge market to a new league and drive up that conference's media rights revenues. The 2010 census revealed that Florida has 18.8 million people; only California, Texas and New York have more. Also, Florida is a football-mad state with relatively young professional sports franchises. For most residents, the Florida Gators and the Florida State Seminoles are the sports brands that matter most. The Seminoles guarantee significant market share.

Florida State moved quickly to throw cold water on Haggard's and Fisher's initial statements. President Eric Barron released a statement saying "Florida State University is not seeking an alternative to the ACC nor are we considering alternatives." That might be true. But now that Haggard and Fisher have lit the match, that may not remain true.

The ACC remained stable through the first two rounds of realignment because Commissioner John Swofford and conference leaders went on the offensive. They swiped Pittsburgh and Syracuse from the Big East, and those moves enhanced the perception of the league's strength. Though Clemson and FSU and Georgia Tech fans floated SEC scenarios, none of it was serious. The people in charge remained pleased with the conference.

Last week, the ACC had to show its hand, and its strength (read: earning power) as a 14-school league could finally be measured against the other leagues. Sports Business Journal reported that the ACC's new 15-year deal with ESPN would pay an average of $17 million a year per school. The schools surrendered the rights to every football and men's basketball game for that amount. (This is where Haggard was mistaken. He thought schools retained the right to sell some men's basketball games, which would have benefitted the old-guard, basketball-first schools.)

That dollar figure produced immediate consternation in Tallahassee. Big Ten schools already receive more. Pac-12 schools will make more before even a penny is realized from the soon-to-be-launched Pac-12 Network. SEC schools make less from television now, but they'll certainly make more when that league renegotiates its deals with ESPN and CBS to reflect its new, 14-school membership. Meanwhile, the Big 12 is finalizing a media rights deal that would pay each school $20 million a year.

The upcoming SEC figure is important, because while Florida State plays in the ACC, geography dictates that its main recruiting rivals are Alabama, Auburn, Florida and Georgia. It can't afford to fall behind the SEC powers in a revenue/facilities arms race. For the same reasons, it's doubtful the SEC would consider inviting FSU again. (The Seminoles politely declined the SEC in the early '90s and joined the ACC.)

Would Florida State be better off in the Big 12? That's debatable, just as it is debatable whether Texas A&M and Missouri are better off in the SEC. Another question: Does the Big 12 even want to expand? Consider this quote earlier this month from incoming Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby: "I'm not going to presume a direction we will go," he said. "It has to be expansion that has at its roots enhancement of the league. There is nothing magic about 11, 12 or 10. To the extent that we can advance our agenda, we ought to at least consider that." Now consider this Bowlsby quote from the same teleconference: "It's not a geographic footprint anymore. We're talking about an electronic footprint." In other words, what markets enhance the league the most?

This talk has made ACC leaders understandably nervous -- and angry. That Haggard's initial statement was based on incorrect information has caused grief that might never have existed. "There was a lot of misinformation that was put out there," Clemson athletic director Terry Don Phillips said Monday. "It just takes one bit of that to occur, and you get a lot of reaction."

Sometimes, that reaction can rile a fan/booster base enough to turn an unlikely scenario into a realistic one. That may have happened in FSU's case. That should concern the ACC, but not as much as it should concern the Big East. That league has cobbled together an uneasy alliance after losing several sets of defectors. Should the ACC lose a member (or two), it likely would look to the Big East to find a replacement. (Probably Rutgers or Connecticut.) The ACC has a strong enough membership to survive a loss or two. The Big East might not have a strong enough membership to survive another one.

No one has to make any decisions this week or even this month. But before the year is out, FSU's leaders will have to answer the questions of an increasingly aggravated fan base by either exploring the idea of another conference or by committing completely to the ACC.

If they choose the former, the dominoes will begin falling again.


Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/20...da-state-realignment/index.html#ixzz1usFwFKiM

 

Here's the full memo - it gives the impression that the President is opposed to moving.

I want to assure you that any decision made about FSU athletics will be
reasoned and thoughtful and based on athletics, finances and academics.
Allow me to provide you with some of the issues we are facing:

In support of a move are four basic factors argued by many alumni:

1. The ACC is more basketball than it is football, and many of our alumni
view us as more football oriented than the ACC
2. The ACC is too North Carolina centric and the contract advantages
basketball and hence advantages the North Carolina schools
3. The Big 12 has some big football schools that match up with FSU
4. The Big 12 contract (which actually isn't signed yet) is rumored to be
$2.9M more per year than the ACC contract. We need this money to be
competitive.

But, in contrast:

1. The information presented about the ACC contract that initiated the
blogosphere discussion was not correct. The ACC is an equal share
conference and this applies to football and to basketball * there is no
preferential treatment of any university with the exception of 3rd tier
rights for women's basketball and Olympic sports. FSU is advantaged by
that aspect of the contract over the majority of other ACC schools.
2. Colorado, Missouri, Nebraska and Texas A&M left the Big 12, at least in
part because the Big 12 is not an equal share conference. Texas has
considerably more resource avenues and gains a larger share (and I say
this as a former dean of the University of Texas at Austin - I watched the
Big 12 disintegration with interest). So, when fans realize that Texas
would get more dollars than FSU, always having a competitive advantage, it
would be interesting to see the fan reaction.
3. Much is being made of the extra $2.9M that the Big 12 contract (which
hasn't been inked yet) gets over the ACC contract. Given that the Texas
schools are expected to play each other (the Big 12 is at least as Texas
centered than the ACC is North Carolina centered), the most likely
scenario has FSU playing Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State, and West
Virginia on a recurring basis and the other teams sporadically (and one
more unnamed team has to join to allow the Big 12 to regain a championship
game), we realize that our sports teams can no longer travel by bus to
most games * the estimate is that the travel by plane required by FSU to
be in the Big 12 appears to exceed the $2.9M difference in the contract *
actually giving us fewer dollars than we have now to be competitive with
the Big 12 teams, who obviously do not have to travel as far. Any
renegotiated amount depends not just on FSU but the caliber of any other
new team to the Big 12.
4. Few believe that the above teams will fill our stadium with fans of
these teams and so our lack of sales and ticket revenue would continue.
5. We would lose the rivalry with University of Miami that does fill our
stadium
6. It will cost between $20M and $25M to leave the ACC * we have no idea
where that money would come from. It would have to come from the Boosters
which currently are unable to support our current University athletic
budget, hence the 2% cut in that budget.
7. The faculty are adamantly opposed to joining a league that is
academically weaker * and in fact, many of them resent the fact that a 2%
($2.4M) deficit in the athletics budget receives so much attention from
concerned Seminoles, but the loss of 25% of the academic budget (105M)
gets none when it is the most critical concern of this University in terms
of its successful future.


I present these issues to you so that you realize that this is not so
simple (not to mention that negotiations aren't even taking place). One
of the few wise comments made in the blogosphere is that no one negotiates
their future in the media. We can't afford to have conference affiliation
be governed by emotion * it has to be based on a careful assessment of
athletics, finances and academics. I assure you that every aspect of
conference affiliation will be looked at by this institution, but it must
be a reasoned decision.

Eric Barron
President

 

That's significantly more substantial and convincing than the 'faculty' tweet summary.

FSU may have money problems, but it appears they should focus on fixing them internally, rather than chasing rainbows or hoping the Big 12 can fix it for them.

 

http://texas.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1365405

I was told Monday the pros and cons of expansion in the Big 12 will definitely be discussed at the league's meetings in Kansas City at the end of this month, and there's probably a good chance Florida State will come up, even if it's just to reflect on the twists and turns in Tallahassee over the past week.

That conversation can now include an email that became a headline across college athletics Monday from Florida State president Eric Barron.

The email to school followers wanting an answer about any potential conference move included Barron openly questioning a move by Florida State to the Big 12.

The email followed public comments made Saturday by FSU board of trustees chairman Andrew Haggard to Warchant.com saying the Seminoles, who are facing a $2.4 million athletic department deficit for 2012-13, should explore any conference situation that might be a better fit (financially or otherwise).

"On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I can say unanimously we would be in favor of seeing what the Big 12 might have to offer. We have to do what it is in Florida State's best interest," Haggard told Warchant.com.

So, in light of that, consider Monday's email from Barron, the dean of the geosciences school at the University of Texas from 2006-08:

I want to assure you that any decision made about FSU athletics will be reasoned and thoughtful and based on athletics, finances and academics. Allow me to provide you with some of the issues we are facing:

In support of a move are four basic factors argued by many alumni:

1. The ACC is more basketball than it is football, and many of our alumni view us as more football oriented than the ACC
2. The ACC is too North Carolina centric and the contract advantages basketball and hence advantages the North Carolina schools
3. The Big 12 has some big football schools that match up with FSU
4. The Big 12 contract (which actually isn't signed yet) is rumored to be
$2.9M more per year than the ACC contract. We need this money to be competitive.

But, in contrast:

1. The information presented about the ACC contract that initiated the blogosphere discussion was not correct. The ACC is an equal share conference and this applies to football and to basketball - there is no preferential treatment of any university with the exception of 3rd tier
rights for women's basketball and Olympic sports. FSU is advantaged by that aspect of the contract over the majority of other ACC schools.

2. Colorado, Missouri, Nebraska and Texas A&M left the Big 12, at least in part because the Big 12 is not an equal share conference. Texas has considerably more resource avenues and gains a larger share (and I say this as a former dean of the University of Texas at Austin - I watched the Big 12 disintegration with interest). So, when fans realize that Texas would get more dollars than FSU, always having a competitive advantage, it would be interesting to see the fan reaction.

3. Much is being made of the extra $2.9M that the Big 12 contract (which hasn't been inked yet) gets over the ACC contract. Given that the Texas schools are expected to play each other (the Big 12 is at least as Texas centered than the ACC is North Carolina centered), the most likely
scenario has FSU playing Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State, and West Virginia on a recurring basis and the other teams sporadically (and one more unnamed team has to join to allow the Big 12 to regain a championship game), we realize that our sports teams can no longer travel by bus to most games - the estimate is that the travel by plane required by FSU to be in the Big 12 appears to exceed the $2.9M difference in the contract - actually giving us fewer dollars than we have now to be competitive with the Big 12 teams, who obviously do not have to travel as far. Any
renegotiated amount depends not just on FSU but the caliber of any other new team to the Big 12.

4. Few believe that the above teams will fill our stadium with fans of these teams and so our lack of sales and ticket revenue would continue.

5. We would lose the rivalry with University of Miami that does fill our stadium

6. It will cost between $20M and $25M to leave the ACC - we have no idea where that money would come from. It would have to come from the Boosters which currently are unable to support our current University athletic budget, hence the 2% cut in that budget.

7. The faculty are adamantly opposed to joining a league that is academically weaker - and in fact, many of them resent the fact that a 2% ($2.4M) deficit in the athletics budget receives so much attention from concerned Seminoles, but the loss of 25% of the academic budget (105M) gets none when it is the most critical concern of this University in terms of its successful future.

I present these issues to you so that you realize that this is not so simple (not to mention that negotiations aren't even taking place). One of the few wise comments made in the blogosphere is that no one negotiates their future in the media. We can't afford to have conference affiliation
be governed by emotion - it has to be based on a careful assessment of athletics, finances and academics. I assure you that every aspect of conference affiliation will be looked at by this institution, but it must be a reasoned decision.

Eric Barron
President

So let's go point by point and address Barron's email:

1) Barron says the information presented about the ACC contract that started the blogosphere discussion was not correct.

If Barron is referring to the Orangebloods.com report last Wednesday, it merely pointed out that cash-strapped Florida State had more of an opportunity to maximize its third-tier revenue in the Big 12 than in the ACC because schools in the Big 12 own their third-tier rights, whereas most of those rights are shared in the ACC.

Third-tier inventory is comprised of football and basketball games and any other athletic events that go unselected by the Tier 1 and Tier 2 TV partners. In the Big 12, schools own all of their Tier 3 rights, which includes at least one football game and a handful of basketball games as well as women's basketball, baseball, softball and Olympic sports.

FSU would have more third-tier inventory to package and sell in the Big 12 than in the ACC. And in Florida (population 19 million), it's hard to gauge what those third-tier rights could command. All of this would take some vision and leadership by Florida State to make happen.

Texas thought it would have to spend money to launch its own third-tier network initially. Then, Texas figured it might get roughly $3 million per year for its third-tier rights. The Longhorns ended up getting $15 million per year for 20 years from ESPN. Fox was also a bidder.

Speaking of Fox, Oklahoma is close to announcing a third-tier rights agreement with Fox that will add money to OU's TV revenue outside of the money it already receives from the conference.

I was told by an industry expert Florida State "could probably land somewhere between Oklahoma and Texas in terms of third-tier revenue in the Big 12."

But even more than Tier 3 revenue is the overall compensation FSU stands to gain when you combine its Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 TV money together in the Big 12. By the most conservative of estimates, it reaches between $22 million and $25 million per year (with FSU getting a projected $20 million from Tier 1 and Tier 2 in the Big 12 and between $2 million and $5 million for Tier 3 rights annually).

2) Barron talks about unequal revenue sharing in the Big 12. The Big 12 now shares Tier 1 and Tier 2 money equally. That wasn't the case before realignment hit the Big 12 in 2010.

The unequal revenue Barron now refers to is at the Tier 3 level, which Florida State is uniquely equipped to exploit for itself (being in a populous state with a strong football brand and tradition).

Big 12 schools have also verbally agreed to a 13-year granting of TV rights back to the conference, which effectively bars any defections (since you can't take your TV rights with you).

3) Barron speculates on how the Big 12 would be split into divisions with 12 schools and complains about travel costs.

No one knows how divisions would be drawn in the Big 12 if the league returned to 12 schools. The new commissioner Bob Bowlsby would have some say in it, and he's still unpacking boxes.

Barron estimates FSU would only get an additional $2.9 million per year in revenue from the Big 12 ($20 million) as opposed to the ACC ($17.1 million) and that would not cover the costs of flying to remote destinations in the Big 12, such as Lubbock and Ames. Barron even says FSU's bus trips would go away.

First of all, if FSU could maximize its third-tier revenue, plus any potential increase in Big 12 TV money with addition of FSU, the Seminoles would stand to earn between $22 million and $25 million annually, if not more. Secondly, where is FSU taking buses in the ACC?

Here's a list of drive times by car from Florida State to the rest of the ACC?

Clemson - 6 hours 47 minutes
Wake Forest - 9 hours 34 minutes
North Carolina State - 10 hours 8 minute
Boston College - 22 hours 31 minutes
Maryland - 14 hours 41 minutes
Virginia Tech - 11 hours 3 minutes
Virginia - 12 hours 53 minutes
Georgia Tech - 4 hours 47 minutes
Miami - 7 hours 54 minutes
North Carolina - 10 hours 34 minutes
Duke - 10 hours 30 minutes

4) Barron says fans at opposing schools in the Big 12, especially at Iowa State, K-State, Kansas and West Virginia, would not buy up their allotment of tickets when playing at FSU.

Again, no one knows how the divisions would be drawn. Fan bases in the Big 12 tend to enjoy destination trips, and Florida State would certainly be one of those.

And if FSU ended up in a division with Kansas, K-State, Iowa State and West Virginia as well as a yet-to-be-determined addition, only a few of those would be home games each year with the rest of the home games against either Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, TCU or Baylor.

Would those games be worse than FSU's current ACC Atlantic Division opponents, which include N.C. State, Boston College, Maryland and Wake Forest (in addition to marquee foe Clemson)?

And the financial models for ticket sales should be predicated on your own fan base, not the 4,000 or so tickets sold to opposing teams. Those home ticket sales might improve dramatically if the fan base is energized about its conference. And according to local polls, FSU fans appear energized about a possible move to the Big 12.

5) Barron says Florida State would lose the rivalry with Miami (Fla.)

That wouldn't be clear until it was known how many conference games (8 or 9) there would be in the Big 12 if Florida State joined. If there was only 8 conference games, FSU would still have a chance to play Miami in non-conference action every year.

Because Florida State has basically been contracted to play Florida under the Florida State Control Board since 1958, FSU may run out of non-conference room for Miami(unless the Hurricanes became a candidate for the Big 12, which is unlikely. Miami is radioactive in the wake of the Nevin Shapiro scandal).

There's a better chance of Clemson becoming a candidate for the Big 12 than Miami.

So all of this is unclear at the moment.

6) Barron estimates FSU's buyout from the ACC at $20 million to $25 million and questions how FSU would pay for it. Barron even indicts the FSU boosters by saying they'd have to pay for it and that they don't currently contribute enough to support the athletic budget (hence the current deficit).

First of all, it seems no one pays full price to leave a conference. Colorado, Nebraska, Texas A&M and Missouri certainly didn't pay full price to leave the Big 12. That's what lawyers are for.

Secondly, there could be a loan made to FSU by any new conference to be paid back over time or an effort by a new league to pay that tab outright by sharing the expenses. That would all have to be negotiated. Again, that's what good lawyers are for. (Sources have told Orangebloods.com, the Big 12 is loaning West Virginia up to half of its $20 million Big East buyout.)

7) Barron says Florida State's faculty is apparently "adamantly opposed to joining a conference that is academically weaker" in reference to the Big 12.

Florida and Vanderbilt, two members of the prestigious American Association of Universities, which recognizes top research schools in the U.S., have not been negatively impacted by being in the Southeastern Conference, which has not been known for its academics.

Haggard may have addressed this best in talking to Warchant.com, saying when Florida State grads seek jobs, they don't say they went to Florida State, which is in the same conference with Duke and Virginia. They stand on their Florida State education, which currently ranks No. 101 in the U.S. News and World report rankings for 2012.

Messages left with Haggard about Barron's email weren't immediately returned.

Florida State football coach Jimbo Fisher told the Orlando Sentinel on Saturday, "If that is what's best for Florida State (jumping to the Big 12), then that's what we need to do."

At the ACC meetings on Monday, Fisher softened that stance a bit, saying the FSU administration will handle the matter, adding to reporters, "I'm not a decision-maker."

Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds told the Austin America-Statesman Monday:

"There's no traction. There've been no conversations between Florida State and the Big 12."

And Dodds is right. There's been no contact between Florida State and the Big 12. But that could change after the Big 12 meetings in two weeks or after it becomes clear what the BCS and a potential four-team playoff in college football looks like at the end of the summer. That's when ESPN's exclusive negotiating window to renew its current $500 million TV contract with the BCS begins.

No matter how you add this up, Florida State is going to be seen as a wildcard in the realignment game for the foreseeable future for a couple reasons:

1) Haggard has expressed the FSU trustees would be unanimous in hearing what the Big 12 has to say.

2) The FSU fan base may be getting restless about life in the ACC, which puts the kind of pressure on trustees that lead to the same kinds of decisions made by regents and curators that we saw at Texas A&M and Missouri in their move to the SEC.

From the Big 12 perspective, things could get interesting at the league meetings in two weeks. While Dodds continues to champion a 10-member Big 12, Oklahoma president David Boren is on the record saying he'd like to see the league grow back to 12 to increase stability.

Bowlsby said at his introductory news conference when asked about expansion:

"I think the Big 12 can do anything the Big 12 wants to do. The landscape is changing quickly and we're going to need to change with it. ... It's not a geographic footprint anymore. We're talking about an electronic footprint."

Some in the Big 12 wonder if expansion will ultimately be Bowlsby's legacy as commissioner.

Bowlsby was not available for comment on Monday, according to a Big 12 official.

Bowlsby's ability to build a consensus and manage the two biggest voices in his conference could be tested early.

The Big 12 has not disbanded the expansion committee it had when TCU and West Virginia were invited to the league, sources said. And multiple sources in the Big 12 have said the league would be foolish not to take a look at Florida State from an expansion standpoint.

Calls to Oklahoma State president Burns Hargis, chairman of the Big 12 Board of Directors and chair of the league's expansion committee, were not immediately returned Monday.

So if Florida State and the Big 12 are to ever get together for a conversation, some differing viewpoints internally would most likely have to be rectified.

First, Barron and the FSU trustees would have to figure things out. And the Big 12 would have to determine if it wants to grow past 10.

But don't look for any sudden moves.

Stay tuned.

 

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sp...-to-thicken-for-florida-state-big-12-acc.html

Jim Lamar, one of the Tallahassee Democrat’s longtime writers, tracked down Barron on Monday night — during a softball game he was covering no less — and spoke to him about his motivations for sending the email, and where he stands on the conference expansion conversation.

For the first time, Barron, without speaking through news releases and prearranged statements, indicated his true feelings. He isn’t against the expansion talk at all.

“There is no way that the university wouldn’t at least do its homework,” Barron told the Democrat. “That wouldn’t make sense otherwise. But that happened last year and I didn’t believe there was any truth to the rumors then. And I don’t believe there is any truth to these rumors now.”

Late last summer, rumors circulated that FSU was interested in making a move to the SEC. It didn’t happen, and likely won’t ever happen because of an apparent gentleman’s agreement that schools like Florida, Auburn, South Carolina and Georgia have reached in preventing a school from joining that is geographically located in a state shared by one of its current members. Some believe the SEC’s exposure and television dollars in those markets could be altered in adverse ways if a school like an FSU, Clemson or Georgia Tech was added to the mix.


For now, while Barron appears to believe this spring’s Big 12 rumors are nonexistent, he still believes it is in his school’s best interest to not close down the lines of communication.

“It would have been strange for us not to think about it,” he said to the Democrat. “To do a study and issue a report? No. But of course you think about it.”

 

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefoo...onsolidation-of-power-in-top-four-conferences

Jim Delany, among others, may get his way.

That's the first thought that came to mind when a blabby Florida State trustee made noise about the Seminoles joining the Big 12.

It has something to do with third-tier basketball rights but the reason doesn't really matter. If Florida State called interim commissioner Chuck Neinas about joining his league, the 80-year old patriarch would have a decision to make. Do the Big 12 league presidents want to stay put with newly agreed upon $2.6 billion deal or be an aggressor in conference realignment – something the Big 12 has never been?

Sure, the Large Dozen added West Virginia and TCU from the Big East, but that was easy. The Big Least was a BCS conference that shouldn't have been (and won't be). By taking Florida State, the Big 12 would be “raiding” the ACC.

Think of the implications.

First a disclaimer: There is no evidence at all at this point that Big 12 is interested in expanding. The league's new deal will guarantee its schools $20 million per year, on a par with the Pac-12, Big Ten and SEC. FSU's president released a statement late Saturday saying “misinformation” had been spread about the ACC contract.

Second disclaimer: All these deals are backloaded so any per-year figures you read are averages only.

But if the Big 12 is interested in FSU at any point, the league will need a dance partner. Think Virginia Tech first, not Clemson or Louisville. As stated in this space before, in terms of conference realignment you're either a brand or a market or both. Florida State is a brand, a damaged one admittedly. It obviously had little leverage in the TV negotiations if it wants to leave over a minor point in a contract it couldn't massage.

Also, it's more than ironic that if FSU leaves it will be an indirect result of the ACC's original expansion in 2003-04 “failing.” The point of those moves was to unite Florida State and Miami attempting to create somewhat of a powerhouse league. Upon arriving, the Florida schools almost simultaneously went into a slump . The ACC already was well on its way to becoming a non-factor in the national championship race.

The circle would be complete: The ACC would have actually "damaged" itself by taking schools that have won a combined seven national championships. That's where Delany comes in. If FSU leaves, obviously the Big 12 is going to need another school. As I said, the Big 12 could be the aggressor. If it's about market and brand, then I'd go after Virginia Tech.

The Hokies would bring football excellence and, to some extent, the Washington, D.C. market. Virginia Tech has become the flagship ACC football franchise with four titles in the last eight years.

At the same time, the Big 12 would be consolidating football power among the top four conferences. Taking those schools would diminish the ACC at a particularly sensitive time. The commissioners are in the process of deciding the 2014 playoff model.

Delany wants conference champs only for the four-team playoff. That becomes a lot easier to digest if there are only four major conferences that matter – Pac-12, Big 12, SEC and Big Ten. You don't need to be told those schools have won the last 10 national championships. In fact, they've combined to win the most of the national championships. Ever.

None of this should be particularly surprising. Division I-AA was formed in 1978 the game's top division became too unwieldy. The BCS put labels on the haves and have nots. With the end of automatic qualifiers in 2014, we already know that the Big East is wounded. If the Big 12 takes FSU and Tech, the ACC would have lost the teams that won seven of its last 10 titles.

The BCS automatic qualifier status that once included six conferences would now be down to four. At least in terms of those markets, brands -- and perception.

That translates to those four leagues dominating revenue-earning power. And revenue equals power when it comes time for rightsholders to decide where to spend their money. More for the Big Four, less for everyone else.

We're getting ahead ourselves. For now, ESPN would almost certainly discourage Florida State from leaving. FSU to the Big 12 would devalue that just-signed ESPN extension. Meanwhile, with expansion, the Big 12 would be soon asking for more money.

Sure, the money might cancel out but wouldn't ESPN be sick and tired of reopened multi-billion dollar deals? Don't forget the network is currently in negotiations with the SEC trying to figure out what the addition of Texas A&M and Missouri are worth.

What's going to happen? Remember the immortal words of Boston College AD Gene DiFilippo last year when Syracuse and Pittsburgh came to the ACC: “ESPN is the one who told us what to do.”

A&M was guided into the SEC by a board of trustees that included a convenience store mogul and trucking firm owner. At least FSU trustee Andy Haggard is a lawyer whose firm might actually profit from working on an FSU move to the Big 12. That wouldn't be the motivation behind his comments would it? Naaaah.

As stated, the reason really doesn't matter if FSU bolts. Texas A&M was pissed at Texas. Missouri wanted stability. Haggard says its about third-tier basketball rights.

“You don't get extra money for basketball,” DiFilippo said after the Syracuse-Pittsburgh expansion. “It's 85 percent football money. This was football. It had nothing to do with basketball.”

While the Big 12 might have a decision to make, ACC football might be on the brink of (a further loss) of relevance.

 

Imma laugh my azz off when UH is stuck in the scrapheap of the Big East and sending their women's softball players to Villanova to play a conference game.

 

I wish I could catch the first Rice vs. UTSA football game in Conference United States of America, but I'll be too busy counting the dollars from the Big East's new TV contract

 

you guys could use the money, that's for sure.

let us know if you need a loan from our massive endowment

 

Rice, the rich private school that can't afford to build its own stadium.

Welfare school needs to stop suckling on the public teat.