Decision Time for SEC

[CAVPUT]

Somebody tell Brett that this Richard G West character has hacked his twit feed.

 

[BruisedOrange]

If we keep our geographical footprint small, the SEC could come away with another built-in recruiting advantage:
significantly less travel time.

Problem is, I'm afraid the only footprints they're tracking are

 

[GreyWolf1129]

"Super Conferences" are the future of FBS football. As is an expanded playoff. As is the chaos of NIL and the "one time transfer rule".

This is not your grandfather's college football landscape, or even your father's. The landscape is changing week by week, and sometimes day by day. At some point, it will settle out, for a while. The transfer rule will get fixed; NIL will sort itself out; and there will be relative stability on that front for a while.

Same with conference realignment. It's all about the money, and who's broadcasting where and on what. I think we'll end up with 4 super conferences of 16-20 teams each. Notre Dame will end up in one of them, or risk getting left out on the media rights money. The playoff will eventually expand to 12-16 teams, once the conferences sort themselves out. The NCAA will probably survive, but will also probably always be 4-5 years behind in terms of "legislating" the game. I look for the super conferences to more or less "tell" the NCAA what they will and won't agree to.

Might as well try to enjoy the ride, because at this point the roller coaster has left the boarding platform. Hang on...it could be a wild ride.

Go Vols.

 

[HuntlandVolinColo]

I think we should add Hawaii and Maine. This would marginally help Vandy become bowl eligible and give our boys some nice travel opportunities. Probably will want that Maine game in September. lol

The undesirables of WashSt and OregonSt will merge with Mountain West and may take on the PAC namesake.

The B1G will probably take in Stanford and try to use them to lure in ND. If that doesn't work out, then the B1G will throw Cal a lifeline.

Don't be shocked if the SEC leapfrogs the B1G and snatches ND. ND continues to rebuff the B1G for some reason.

I think FSU is a far better brand/team, but Miami serves the TV coverage better.

Once B1G goes to 20+ teams, the SEC will move to absorb most of the ACC (4-8 teams): Top teams for poaching will include: 2 Clemson, 1 FSU, 4 Miami, 3 NC, 5 Virginia, 6 VT, 8 NC State, 9 Duke and possibly 7 Pitt/ 10 Syracuse for expanded TV Footprint into PA/NY/NE. I ranked them, for value to SEC IMHO. ND would move to the front if available.

FSU and Clemson bring powerhouses and large fanbases. Miami delivers better South Florida TV saturation. NC brings TV Coverage, fanbase and decent athletics. VA, Pitt, Syracuse all opens up TV coverage footprint.

I don't think the SEC will take more than 2 NC teams between NC, NCSt, Duke and Wake or more than one from VA/VT.

The counter theory is that all these additional teams will water down the B1G revenues going forward as there are more mouths to feed. And the SEC would be sitting pretty with only 16 teams, much smaller travel budgets, and in possession of about 8 traditional powerhouse football programs, more than the expanded B1G.

Or the SEC could just wait for the ACC to implode just like the PAC-12 did.

 

[OrangeEtBlanc]

I think what most people are missing here is that we, the SEC, really caused all of this realignment. We expanded in ‘92 and started our conference championship game.

When SEC teams started utterly dominating the sport in the ‘00s we created the TV deal arms-race as other conferences tried to keep up. We left them in the dust and expansion became necessary to try to match or exceed what we were doing. Then Texas A&M & Mizzou, then Texas & Oklahoma. We already had a concentration of 6 programs that have won a National Title in the past 25 years, and are adding 2 more. No other conference can match that.

If other conferences didn’t expand and programs didn’t look to join, then it would eventually just be the SEC and a bunch of conferences of far less-funded and inferior programs. Realignment is ensuring that more programs, in the long run, WILL be competitive.

I think that’s what you all are missing.

TL;DR: Realignment is helping maintain long-term competitive balance in College Football for more programs, where the former status quo would have relegated even more teams to de facto irrelevancy.

 

[LadyVolette]

To clarify further (why I titled the thread “Decision time for SEC” is that it has been reported Oregon/Washington are going to Big 10 (now appears to be Big 18) and Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah are waiting to join the Big 12 (soon to be 16).
The decision for the SEC is whether or not to make counter-move (e.g. swoop in and grab some ACC teams as example).
If so (and intent is to remain “on top” by collecting some more marquee brands from those eager to re-align), I was suggesting that why not go all in now and just bypass this Game of Thrones drama.
I looked it up… Sankey makes $3.7M and his staff collectively makes a little more. If CFB is heading to a NFL model, I’d rather UT just get the roughly $1m/year back into it’s coffers than some staff in Birmingham.

What I took away is how would you spend all of that money in Bham? I lived there for a bit, and that is a ridiculous amount for that area.. I don’t care what you’re doing

 

[HalfullVol]

We shall see.

 

[fefe]

The worst thing about the NFL is you can't watch every game easily. As long as CFB TV contracts still allow all the high profile games to be aired on separate channels, I will be happy.

 

[Savannahbayvol]

Georgia Tech left on their own. One of the worst decisions ever.

Only expansion that makes sense to me is getting into the North Carolina and Virginia markets.

 

[spyfish007]

The worst thing about the NFL is you can't watch every game easily. As long as CFB TV contracts still allow all the high profile games to be aired on separate channels, I will be happy.

As long as you pony up $30 a month to ESPN.... It is where that is heading.

 

[BruisedOrange]

...and once again, the Ivy League will hold a monopoly on "tradition" after every other conference has sold its historical soul.

 

[Volnanza]

I blame the Big 10 for taking two schools, UCLA and USC, that were not even remotely close to the region they play in and tore apart the Pac 12. From this day on, everyone should hate the Big 10 and publically root against their schools and avoid supporting them in any capacity.

You are late to the party. I've "disliked" the big ten since I was a kid (way back). Every year SEC teams were blocked from big bowl games because "everybody knows the big ten teams are far superior to the southern schools". I will always like Bobby Bowdin for starting the trend of going up north and beating those teams. He punched a hole in the bias wall and established that southern schools did indeed stand eye to eye with any mid-west big ten schools (Yeah, I know he was famous for playing ND, but ND was basically a big ten team back then).

 

[The Original Fade]

I will watch. I'm not going to lie and say I'm not going to watch or follow it.

But, it will never be the same. Change is constant. This stuff is a change for the worst

Change is constant but before Mizzou and A&M joined, the conference had been the same for about 20 years and that’s when most on here group up watching SEC football

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

I think we should add Hawaii and Maine. This would marginally help Vandy become bowl eligible and give our boys some nice travel opportunities. Probably will want that Maine game in September. lol

The undesirables of WashSt and OregonSt will merge with Mountain West and may take on the PAC namesake.

The B1G will probably take in Stanford and try to use them to lure in ND. If that doesn't work out, then the B1G will throw Cal a lifeline.

Don't be shocked if the SEC leapfrogs the B1G and snatches ND. ND continues to rebuff the B1G for some reason.

I think FSU is a far better brand/team, but Miami serves the TV coverage better.

Once B1G goes to 20+ teams, the SEC will move to absorb most of the ACC (4-8 teams): Top teams for poaching will include: 2 Clemson, 1 FSU, 4 Miami, 3 NC, 5 Virginia, 6 VT, 8 NC State, 9 Duke and possibly 7 Pitt/ 10 Syracuse for expanded TV Footprint into PA/NY/NE. I ranked them, for value to SEC IMHO. ND would move to the front if available.

FSU and Clemson bring powerhouses and large fanbases. Miami delivers better South Florida TV saturation. NC brings TV Coverage, fanbase and decent athletics. VA, Pitt, Syracuse all opens up TV coverage footprint.

I don't think the SEC will take more than 2 NC teams between NC, NCSt, Duke and Wake or more than one from VA/VT.

The counter theory is that all these additional teams will water down the B1G revenues going forward as there are more mouths to feed. And the SEC would be sitting pretty with only 16 teams, much smaller travel budgets, and in possession of about 8 traditional powerhouse football programs, more than the expanded B1G.

Or the SEC could just wait for the ACC to implode just like the PAC-12 did.

ND keeps turning down the Big 10+ because they don't want to hurt their brand by ending up a middle of the pack team in a decent conference.

For the same reason, they won't come to the SEC.

It's bad enough for them in the ACC.

ND could've joined the old B1G years ago and grown tougher but they didn't. Now, yeah..... they bring eyes and they have their own money..... but they have overrated teams that consistently underperform.

I guess they're worth the eyeballs..... TX was. Same kind of team: thinks highly of their "historically great" brand and underperforms 9 years out of 10.

 

[Sarms58]

I hope we only add schools that are located in the southeast (and I know Texas/Oklahoma/Missouri/Arkansas are a stretch but that's water under the bridge). But no way should we look at any west coast Teams, ND, etc. Physical proximity should be required. I'm good with Florida State, Clemson, the North Carolina schools and maybe Virginia Tech and West Virginia.

 

[onevol74]

I agree with Chip Kelly. Do away with the conferences and do regional play like the NFL does. That way more of the money goes directly to the schools and less to the middle man. It would be equal revenue sharing with every school and no program suffers. Let the schools determine their own schedules and reward them for more difficult competition when it comes to playoff status.

 

[Batman1948]

What’s made the NFL so strong is the revenue sharing on TV deals. Dallas brings more to the table than Titans, Pittsburgh brings more than Houston, Green Bay brings more than San Diego, yet they share the TV package equally. Sad to see college football destroy itself with a few conferences grabbing the majority of the money. Next step will be the bigger schools wanting more inside their own conference. The competitive balance will be destroyed.

I'm guessing the Saudi's are watching all this and licking their chops to get involved with college conference expansion. Too soon

 

[VOL89grad]

Beyond me being a VFL whatever the future holds, I’m actually glad I posted this… lots of great insights and opinions out there, hoping the SEC front office monitors and considers the views from VOLNATION before making their decision(s) about Moving Forward in this brave new world.
Go VOLS!

 

[RDU VOL#14]

I think we should add Hawaii and Maine. This would marginally help Vandy become bowl eligible and give our boys some nice travel opportunities. Probably will want that Maine game in September. lol

The undesirables of WashSt and OregonSt will merge with Mountain West and may take on the PAC namesake.

The B1G will probably take in Stanford and try to use them to lure in ND. If that doesn't work out, then the B1G will throw Cal a lifeline.

Don't be shocked if the SEC leapfrogs the B1G and snatches ND. ND continues to rebuff the B1G for some reason.

I think FSU is a far better brand/team, but Miami serves the TV coverage better.

Once B1G goes to 20+ teams, the SEC will move to absorb most of the ACC (4-8 teams): Top teams for poaching will include: 2 Clemson, 1 FSU, 4 Miami, 3 NC, 5 Virginia, 6 VT, 8 NC State, 9 Duke and possibly 7 Pitt/ 10 Syracuse for expanded TV Footprint into PA/NY/NE. I ranked them, for value to SEC IMHO. ND would move to the front if available.

FSU and Clemson bring powerhouses and large fanbases. Miami delivers better South Florida TV saturation. NC brings TV Coverage, fanbase and decent athletics. VA, Pitt, Syracuse all opens up TV coverage footprint.

I don't think the SEC will take more than 2 NC teams between NC, NCSt, Duke and Wake or more than one from VA/VT.

The counter theory is that all these additional teams will water down the B1G revenues going forward as there are more mouths to feed. And the SEC would be sitting pretty with only 16 teams, much smaller travel budgets, and in possession of about 8 traditional powerhouse football programs, more than the expanded B1G.

Or the SEC could just wait for the ACC to implode just like the PAC-12 did.

Why do you think the SEC will be able to land Notre Dame? I would guess that the SEC would be the last place they would ever want to be. They think they’re so far above basically everyone, especially in how they handle their academics, that I think they would rather be left out of qualifying for the CFP than join the SEC.

 

[sami]

I blame the Big 10 for taking two schools, UCLA and USC, that were not even remotely close to the region they play in and tore apart the Pac 12. From this day on, everyone should hate the Big 10 and publically root against their schools and avoid supporting them in any capacity.

It was about getting a foothold on the west coast and the L.A. TV market, nothing more and nothing less. Same with the Pacific Northwest with the Oregon and Washington additions. The Big 10 wanted to be a coast to coast conference, and now they've achieved that. It's going to further water down an already top heavy product, but it's only about the media rights money at this point, and $60 million per school is the payoff for a watered down conference.

 

[sami]

I agree with Chip Kelly. Do away with the conferences and do regional play like the NFL does. That way more of the money goes directly to the schools and less to the middle man. It would be equal revenue sharing with every school and no program suffers. Let the schools determine their own schedules and reward them for more difficult competition when it comes to playoff status.

Interesting concept, but the conferences are like the deep state in DC, already established and running the show. To do away with conferences at this point is as much a fantasy as the talk of 'draining the swamp', much as it would make things better.

 

[Voltopia]

Why do you think the SEC will be able to land Notre Dame? I would guess that the SEC would be the last place they would ever want to be. They think they’re so far above basically everyone, especially in how they handle their academics, that I think they would rather be left out of qualifying for the CFP than join the SEC.

I really don't think some Tennessee fans - younger ones usually (but not always) - understand how much the Big 10 schools look down on the south and on southern colleges, both in their educational rankings and their cultural environment. For as long as football has been around, the northern / east coast schools and their big market media have downplayed the SEC as a lesser conference. Part of the SEC's historic unity comes from that disdain for their snobby attitudes. Notre Dame's attitude is no less snobby, and in that sense, they're a perfect fit for the Big 10. All those northern schools look down on the SEC, on every school in the SEC, and really, on any school that isn't part of their little AAU club. They wouldn't touch the SEC with a ten foot pole, and I promise you that none of them would ever want to be a part of the SEC. We're a bunch of uncultered uneducated morons whose degrees mean nothing.

That's part of why all those prissy Big 10 schools can't stand the SEC beating the crap out of them all these years. Their inability to dominate the SEC galls them. They hate it. They hate losing to "inferior" programs run by pretend schools who aren't "legitimate" academic institutions.

 

[Vol737]

I really don't think some Tennessee fans - younger ones usually (but not always) - understand how much the Big 10 schools look down on the south and on southern colleges, both in their educational rankings and their cultural environment. For as long as football has been around, the northern / east coast schools and their big market media have downplayed the SEC as a lesser conference. Part of the SEC's historic unity comes from that disdain for their snobby attitudes. Notre Dame's attitude is no less snobby, and in that sense, they're a perfect fit for the Big 10. All those northern schools look down on the SEC, on every school in the SEC, and really, on any school that isn't part of their little AAU club. They wouldn't touch the SEC with a ten foot pole, and I promise you that none of them would ever want to be a part of the SEC. We're a bunch of unculutered uneducated morons whose degrees mean nothing.

That's part of why all those prissy Big 10 schools can't stand the SEC beating the crap out of them all these years. Their inability to dominate the SEC galls them. They hate it. They hate losing to "inferior" programs run by pretend schools who aren't "legitimate" academic institutions.

Agree. And let’s keep it that way. The SEC needs to be focused on their culture as much as $$ during these realignment shenanigans.

 

[Woodlawn VOL]

I don’t think the sec is interesting in adding any at this time. GBO

 

[Dadof2Vols]

As long as you pony up $30 a month to ESPN.... It is where that is heading.

It will be more than $30…they are losing about a B a quarter.