Where I believe this is all heading.

[zeppelin128]

I know my hatred for Texas has gone through the roof after interacting with their fans over the weekend on Twitter and Reddit. The OG SEC better hold together and tell them to go **** themselves when they try to do Texas stuff and get too uppity. God, their fans are insufferable, and they aren't even in the conference yet.

 

[b_gann]

Lower level college football could actually benefit if big chunks of major conference fans don’t accept the evolution of the game and move to something that more closely resembles the pre-1990s version. I’ve entertained the idea of crossing the mountain to witness an Appy State home game when TN has had open dates. I might even have taking in an Ivy League game on the bucket list.

Football is an expensive sport to fund though. If they can't find a TV deal, I'd worry about non-power schools still playing football. The current football model has a lot of profit sharing doesn't it?

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

Football is an expensive sport to fund though. If they can't find a TV deal, I'd worry about non-power schools still playing football. The current football model has a lot of profit sharing doesn't it?

It didn’t use to be expensive. Lawyers have capitalized on the health issues. Training techniques have turned participants into machines capable of extreme violence. It had to end somewhere.

 

[MWAVolfan]

What incentive does the SEC have to partner/rescue the ACC like that? And the B1G w Pac? Will only dilute member school payouts.

It wont dilute the payout because the total size of the put will grow. your value grows and the price you can demand increases when you eliminate your competition (or in this case absorb them). While the SEC and ACC share some of the same footprint (South Carolina, Georgia and Florida), the entire rest of the east coast market would be an addition. Sure, a lot of those teams arent very good in football, but they are in basketball and theres a ton of eyeball that would now be watching SEC games, not ACC games.

 

[golfballs]

It wont dilute the payout because the total size of the put will grow

The total size can increase while the share per school decreases

 

[RhodesVol]

It's about money. All Big10 schools except Nebraska are members of an academic association that steers massive amounts of research dollars their way. the only SEC schools that qualify are A&M, UF, Mizzou and Vandy. The only Big12 schools that qualify are Texas and Kansas. for them to admit another non member it would take a program with the history and fanbase of Nebraska that can give them grounds to renegotiate their TV deal for more money.

Also, I was looking at an earlier post that put Boise and BYU in the PAC12 and opining as to why neither will ever happen. BYU's only real shot at a conference will be with whatever is left of the Big12, but BYU may be better off financially staying an independent.

I see the problem for BYU being that they play most all of their sports in the West Coast Conference, unless I'm mistaken, much like Notre Dame does with the ACC in everything but football. If those small conferences dissolve, then BYU would have trouble maintaining their athletic department if they don't have leagues for the non-revenue sports.

That said, I don't necessarily disagree with your analysis, I just feel like when the super conference ball starts rolling downhill, we will all see the rubber meet the road with respect to these quibbles about academics. The "academic integrity" of some of these leagues will really be put to the test when they are at risk of being squeezed out of the big money competition of football.

 

[RhodesVol]

No, people only started caring about money in 2013.

It's always been about the money...that's why the NCAA has been resistant for athletes to be paid for so long. Rules against players not being able to sell their NIL quit making sense in about 1980.

I agree that money has always been a factor, but the money has grown to epic proportions since the mid-90's. It was much easier to make the argument that the players were getting a fair shake with their scholarships before college football became a multi-billion dollar industry with coaches making millions upon millions, and schools building megalithic facilities while the players get nothing. I don't love it, because it will forever alter the complexion of the game, but these changes are coming faster than ever.

 

[RhodesVol]

I know my hatred for Texas has gone through the roof after interacting with their fans over the weekend on Twitter and Reddit. The OG SEC better hold together and tell them to go **** themselves when they try to do Texas stuff and get too uppity. God, their fans are insufferable, and they aren't even in the conference yet.

They have successfully destroyed every conference they were a part of to this point. So, I won't be surprised if they continue to try and throw their weight around once they join the SEC, but I feel like Sankey is a pretty fair commissioner (aside from our perceived Alabama bias) who can keep them relatively in check. The good thing is that the league has always been established as a group of full partners, essentially, and that legacy is very helpful when you bring in a new member that thinks they can direct the ship.