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Realignment talk not going away


The Tower

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How are the PAC apologists doing this morning? Honestly, this an improvement. 
Would you rather watch Wisconsin v Oregon at 930 or Washington State v Oregon at 930?
 

WSU-Oregon is not a great example, specifically, because there’s some entertaining secondary rivalry energy there. But point taken.
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54 minutes ago, bolverk said:

Mitch, I mean this with the utmost love but

oh-fuck-off-fuck.gif

 

Before you go further, recognize this is a whiskey-fueled Saturday afternoon rant.

I'm a fan of both TEXAS and TEXAS TCEH but fully realize the two schools are in two different worlds. Maybe it's just because I'm now an old or simply a realist due to having a piece of paper from both schools. To briefly explain those affiliations, I'll just say that I grew up in a small town south of Lubbock where giving a shit about the Red Raiders was kind of a normal thing, but I also grew up in awe of Texas and its history.

Scrappy school to the north and athletic/academic behemoth to the south. It's just how it was. Yeah, I wanted to go to Texas (also accepted into Rice) but my Raider parents enrolled me at Tech while I was an exchange student in France while I wasn't paying attention. They were paying, so I got my undergrad there. Simple matter in the mind of an 18-year-old.

UT later called and I got my Master's here at the University in Austin. But, at Tech, I had a helluva time as a band geek, playing the trumpet for the "Goin' Band from Raiderland" for my PE credit, attending every home game and a few away games at Texas, aggy, TCU, Baylor, etc. I even got to march the field at Texas Stadium in Irving for a Cowboys game, Mile High for another Cowboys game, in the Astrodome of an Oilers game.

 

LONG STORY SHORT:

It was fun; I had a good time. No Tceh fans I knew took any of that shit seriously, because we knew we weren't all that in 1990 & '91. Some brief success under the Pirate may have changed the culture since then (and I haven't kept up too closely), but I think from that perspective, attitudes will likely regress to the mean. I mean, that's really what going to Tceh is all about. You get a degree and get all your ya-yas out.

 

IT'S ONLY A GAME.

Here's the difference in fandom between Texas and Tceh fans. UT takes it seriously, and I deeply respect the commitment to excellence. In fact, I love it. Watching Vince get that last-second touchdown on the fourth down was sheer ecstasy. Feeling the swell of pride from having a diploma from this school along with being a native of this state, was irreplaceable.

But you've got to keep this shit in perspective, which is what being a Tceh fan should be all about. You know you're not the best; you know you're the underdog; but, gotdammit, it's going to be fun as shit if we knock them down a peg or two. Watching Texas play sometimes feels like a lot of work and pressure, because of the stress and pressure to be the fuckin' best.

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So, as a fan of both schools, I'm happy as shit about the split. It takes away the tight tension to have that grounding factor and just enjoy the fucking game. They're supposed to be fun, yeah? Those are 18-20-old kids running around carrying, tackling, kicking, throwing, and catching an oddly shaped inflated balloon to market an institution of scholastic repute. It's fucking hilarious.

 

BUT IT'S A BUSINESS!

Unfortunately, yes, there are millions of dollars at stake but ain't none of them mine. I'm watching for the simple pleasure of the sport, and so long as I can watch either of my teams play this game without utterly embarrassing themselves, I'll be happy. Tceh, Okie lite, and the Cyclones were never going to compete with the likes of Texas and OUsux on a regular basis, but I'll keep watching for the fun of it. I'll also keep watching Texas for the semi-professional import.

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So, yeah, I'll watch Texas in the SEC while stressed out because I want to see the LONGHORNS KICK SOME FUCKING ASS, but I'll probably have a lot more fun watching the Raider Rash Claptastic Bowl against the Tempe Temptresses.

wtf-gif.gif

 

Whiskey fueled or water fueled? This rant is way too eloquent. It has headings.

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8 hours ago, Zhorn96 said:

Cal’s leadership has really fucked themselves.  Chancellor is retiring and doesn’t give a fuck and the AD is an incompetent who is likely getting fired for covering up the abuse from the c bag swim coach.  Cal BMDs are pissed.  They know there is a number where the Big10 takes them and Furd and they’ve told the Chancellor to go get it.

ACC was a thing for a while too apparently.  Rev sports would’ve been national with the non rev regional and while discussions aren’t dead (add SDSU with the remaining 4 for example), UO and UW being out… that’s looking like it is on life support.

My guess is that Cal and Stanford go hat in hand to the Big 10 and take whatever pittance they can get to gain membership.  BMDs know they have to get the unengaged donor money involved (and there is a lot out there) to bridge some of the spending gap over the next decade or so.  Will believe that when I see it, frankly. But the Big10 does want them, it’s just a question how much much the TV networks will pay additionally.  I’m guessing $20m per team to start.  We’ll see…

 

35 minutes ago, HookEm said:

Going to be fun to....

make him eat crow.

sunglasses help GIF

 

 

5 minutes ago, bullet said:

Apparently Arizona had to drag them out of the WAC in the first place in 1978.

President Crow never had to pretend to care about college athletics because the town doesn't either.  The sport in Phoenix is partying.  Crow's only goal was to transform ASU into UCal-Tempe.  IN this he has largely succeeded, even imposing censorship on conservative speech, and Crow has the full support of the town. 

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2 minutes ago, mdmost said:

JK has always been downplaying the SEC in favor of the Big 10. He would change his tune if he was calling SEC games. Washington and Oregon have done nothing but be an easy out in the opening playoff round. 

Well, except that one time...

AnimatedUnevenCockerspaniel-size_restric

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1 hour ago, DanTheHorn said:

I think ESPN has an incentive to get the ACC to dissolve. We know worth while teams are desperate to find a home in the Power 2 even if it means doing it at a discount. So lets say FSU and Clemson to SEC for $40M a piece. North Carolina, Virginia and Miami to BIG 10 at no cost to ESPN. Then Duke, Pitt, Louisville and UConn to BIG 12 at $31M.

So ESPN gets the premier basketball conference and decent football and two more great teams in the SEC for $204M a year instead of the $240 it pays today for the ACC. I think getting the ACC to dissolve is a better deal for ESPN. I really don't understand why people think ESPN does not have an incentive to break up the ACC.

In this scenario, ESPN would lose all games for North Carolina, Virginia, and Miami, because they don’t have Big 10 rights and parts of Duke, Pitt and Louisville because the Big 12 rights are split with FOX. Is that worth just 36M in savings? That’s not that great of a deal for ESPN.

Also, 31 million is a steep pay cut for Duke, Pitt, and Louisville, and the Big 12 contract isn’t big enough in the future to make up for it.

Edited by Lonestar88
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2 hours ago, 'stache said:

The idea of ND in the SEC is so bizarre. They are part of the rust belt definition. South Bend is a quasi exurb of Chicago. Nothing at all in common with the SEC except they play football. They are BIG, Indy, or special status ACC.

Geographically, the B1G makes more sense, but there is animosity between ND and that conference going back generations. ND is still in a state that’s contiguous with an SEC one, so one shouldn’t assume ND would automatically join B1G. 

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19 hours ago, The Hot Dog Buffet said:

UA has a quality basketball program. Yormark has a long term strategy of getting a separate basketball contract from football.

I wish I could find some data out there that shows what each football program pulls as far as TV ratings and dollars go.

I would guess that UA is way down on the list in football.  Their basketball is decent and maybe that is a long term play for the Big 12. I don't see the value in UA though.

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27 minutes ago, Lonestar88 said:

In this scenario, ESPN would lose all games for North Carolina, Virginia, and Miami, because they don’t have Big 10 rights and parts of Duke, Pitt and Louisville because the Big 12 rights are split with FOX. Is that worth just 36M in savings? That’s not that great of a deal for ESPN.

Also, 31 million is a steep pay cut for Duke, Pitt, and Louisville, and the Big 12 contract isn’t big enough in the future to make up for it.

I know it's football based but find it hard ESPN wouldn't fight hard to keep the Duke/UNC basketball rivalry, guess they could still do a HnH, ND/UCLA use to do so back in the day but a new era in college sports is upon us now. 

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17 hours ago, Francisco 2.0 said:

No worries folks; the Cal braintrust has got this.

 

 

 

 

i keep seeing this quoted so i'm coming back to it to congratulate christ, carol for breaking plonsky's 12-year hold on the Braindead Ostrich crown she earned on 3 September 2011 when during halftime of the first LHN game (v. rice), when asked about every bar in austin having the game on, which on that night wasn't legally possible given LHN's limited carriage, when asked about this plonsky was incredulous and in visible shock when she answered, almost screamed, "THAT'S NOT POSSIBLE!  THAT'S A PIRATE STATION!!!!"

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1 minute ago, Hagbard Celine said:

i keep seeing this quoted so i'm coming back to it to congratulate christ, carol for breaking plonsky's 12-year hold on the Braindead Ostrich crown she earned on 3 September 2011 when during halftime of the first LHN game (v. rice), when asked about every bar in austin having the game on, which on that night wasn't legally possible given LHN's limited carriage, when asked about this plonsky was incredulous and in visible shock when she answered, almost screamed, "THAT'S NOT POSSIBLE!  THAT'S A PIRATE STATION!!!!"

Should I be drunk or stoned when reading this?

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2 hours ago, 'stache said:

The idea of ND in the SEC is so bizarre. They are part of the rust belt definition. South Bend is a quasi exurb of Chicago. Nothing at all in common with the SEC except they play football. They are BIG, Indy, or special status ACC.

Playing in the south in front of top recruits and full stadia?  It would never be considered by our admin, because then they might actually have to compete.

 

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47 minutes ago, Saint Austin said:

Geographically, the B1G makes more sense, but there is animosity between ND and that conference going back generations. ND is still in a state that’s contiguous with an SEC one, so one shouldn’t assume ND would automatically join B1G. 

Indiana, the south's middle finger.

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I don't know how we get from point A to point B, but I would guess we'll see FSU and Clemson in the SEC sometime in the next couple of years.  Those are the squeaky wheels with the best options. Both would be better monetized in the SEC.  ESPN owns both the ACC and SEC deals so they can facilitate the move.  

Strategically, I think the TV side is working toward making more of the best content without destroying inventory volume.  The TV partners obviously want more games that draw 5M+ viewers.  But they don't want to get rid of the vast amount of 600K-2M viewership games.  Live audiences are very valuable, so those games are valuable, too.  You can point at the new Big 12 as an example of what the goal might be.  The Big 12 will have a bunch of schools that care about athletics and ton of parity.  It will thus have a bunch of great games.  The ACC is fundamentally less interesting than it might otherwise be because it's got Clemson and FSU so far out in front of everyone else for most of the last couple of decades.  But it's not too hard to imagine an ACC without those two, looking a lot like the new Big 12 - elite in basketball, with a ton of competitive parity in football.

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I'm sad that this round of realignment is pretty much over.  I wasted a lot of time following it the past year or so, even though I don't really have a dog in the fight.  Honestly, in the long term, I'm not real sure that the changes make that much of a difference for the Big 12.  I wonder how 4 teams that didn't make the Pac 12 better are going to improve the Big 12?  I guess more markets will be good for them, but they'll also be dealing with teams that didn't really want to be there in the first place, and now there are 4 more mouths to feed as well.  Folks are trying to frame the story like the Big 12 won and the Pac 12 lost, but in truth, the Pac 12 was a dead man walking once USC & UCLA said they were leaving.  But it has all been fun to watch.  

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9 minutes ago, 6th Street said:

SEC would like to add UVA and UNC as well. Two quality universities in contiguous states that add new media markets. 

I cannot remember. Was it UNC that had an academic scandal that goes back 15-20 years?

Something about tests and papers not being taken and written by the students whose names were on it?

Edited by redswingline
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8 minutes ago, 6th Street said:

SEC would like to add UVA and UNC as well. Two quality universities in contiguous states that add new media markets. 

It should be Florida State or Clemson or f—k off.  Yes, I’m aware of historic feelings in SEC about expanding to multiple schools from the same state, but lately in college football it seems that history can f—k right off as well

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6 minutes ago, 6th Street said:

SEC would like to add UVA and UNC as well. Two quality universities in contiguous states that add new media markets. 

The Big Ten allegedly would, too, but 1) I get the impression both like being kings of that castle, and 2) neither adds much to the football slate of either conference.  If FSU and Clemson both paid out $100M+ each to the ACC, to leave, I think UNC/UVA would accept the pay bump and ride out the ACC deal making Big 12-ish money.  

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2 minutes ago, Hairy Biped said:

in truth, the Pac 12 was a dead man walking once USC & UCLA said they were leaving.  But it has all been fun to watch.  

I'm convinced it is Big 10 media / sources that are pushing out the narrative that the Big 12 killed the PAC 12 and the PAC 12 was a dead man walking etc.

The reality is, the Big 10 poached and killed the PAC 12.

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18 minutes ago, redswingline said:

I cannot remember. Was it UNC that had an academic scandal that goes back 15-20 years?

Something about tests and papers not being taken and written by the students whose names were on it?

Well now all the papers at every university are being written by ChatGPT, so that type of thing really doesn't matter anymore.

 

 

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13 minutes ago, redswingline said:

The reality is, the Big 10 poached and killed the PAC 12.

Naw.

The PAC could've been a leader in conference realignment. They had a chance to make big moves in 2011. All they had to do was not fuck it up, and every major program from the Mississippi to the Pacific would've been theirs.

But no, they had to fuck it up.

And then they kept fucking up. And on and on. Mistake after mistake after mistake. So the big boys left for greener pastures, and the rest -- those smart enough to see what was going on -- kept their options open.

 

LOL. You know who's laughing and breathing a sigh of relief right now? SDSU. Talk about God's Greatest Gifts being Unanswered Prayers. Talk about narrowly escaping getting what you wanted.

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1 hour ago, troph said:

Damn what the fuck the rose bowl gonna do?

 

1 hour ago, Sbbruin said:

Be part of the expanded playoff rotation.

 

What happens to the Rose Bowl?

Conference realignment didn't change the Rose Bowl's storied partnership with the Big Ten and Pac-12 -- the College Football Playoff did. Last year's game between Penn State and Utah was the last, true historic matchup between those leagues. Moving forward, the Rose Bowl has fully integrated with the CFP and will host a semifinal this season, followed by quarterfinals in each of the first two seasons of the 12-team playoff.

The teams in those games will be slotted based on the selection committee's rankings. While it's possible there could be a Big Ten team involved by chance, the guaranteed matchup between the two leagues ended when the Nittany Lions beat the Utes. -- Dinich

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1 minute ago, Aqua Buddha said:

Big 10 needs to take Notre Dame and Stanford.  ND likes their California exposure which they get to keep with USC and then with Stanford.  It's a win/win for everyone.

Except Cal.

But you know... fuck Cal.

 

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3 hours ago, bolverk said:

Yeah, I wanted to go to Texas (also accepted into Rice) but my Raider parents enrolled me at Tech while I was an exchange student in France while I wasn't paying attention.

Great post.  Really cool to hear about the two sides of it, and was blown away by the above.  That's like something out of a movie.

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18 minutes ago, Rimbo said:

Naw.

The PAC could've been a leader in conference realignment. They had a chance to make big moves in 2011.

I think it has more to do with demographics. The PAC has been lagging for years and its because there are not as many people out west vs. the eastern half of the US and the ones out west don't watch football like they do in the eastern part of the US.  So less population, less viewership = no more PAC.

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22 minutes ago, Rimbo said:

Naw.

The PAC could've been a leader in conference realignment. They had a chance to make big moves in 2011. All they had to do was not fuck it up, and every major program from the Mississippi to the Pacific would've been theirs.

But no, they had to fuck it up.

And then they kept fucking up. And on and on. Mistake after mistake after mistake. So the big boys left for greener pastures, and the rest -- those smart enough to see what was going on -- kept their options open.

 

LOL. You know who's laughing and breathing a sigh of relief right now? SDSU. Talk about God's Greatest Gifts being Unanswered Prayers. Talk about narrowly escaping getting what you wanted.

This the PAC dropped did this to themselves. They had a chance to expand but sat on their hands until the wheels fell off.

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