Latest expansion rumor…

[nja13]

Late Sunday night stuff is being reported about Florida State and Clemson being approached by the Big Ten. There’s a thread RSS about it. Anyone hearing anything like that?

 

[Tyneb23]

 

[Huskerforlife]

 

[BorWhiskey]

“If this is a play…”

That feels like the case.

1. FSU and Clemson are further down the list in terms of culture for for the B1G. Academically neither are AAU. FSU has repaired its N&WR ranking over the years but still not a top 50 school. UNC, GT, and UVa are far closer to the brand that the B1G would seemingly want.
2. I don’t know why the B1G would approach them, and only them, because of #1. It feels, if true, exploratory and not serious. We heard rumors 6 months ago or so about a bunch of schools we were interested in. If this is a narrowing down of that list it is odd that it’s these two.
3. It further isolated your west coast additions. I felt we’d either expand out west or hold for ND. This feels like odd timing given the challenges the GOR brings. I don’t see a difference between adding UO and UW academically and maybe even football wise.
4. The SEC is clearly a better fit for both schools given where importance is placed in the schools and where their rivals are.

So, going back to the top quote, this all feels like FSU getting stuff out in the public, perhaps even completely made up, to get unequal distributions ASAP or to make the SEC react.

My counter points are: they took Nebraska which wasn’t a culture fit. Maybe they are focusing on football for the next round of realignment. Maybe the east coast televisions are vastly more valuable than west coast in college football.

 

[Carm]

“If this is a play…”

That feels like the case.

1. FSU and Clemson are further down the list in terms of culture for for the B1G. Academically neither are AAU. FSU has repaired its N&WR ranking over the years but still not a top 50 school. UNC, GT, and UVa are far closer to the brand that the B1G would seemingly want.
2. I don’t know why the B1G would approach them, and only them, because of #1. It feels, if true, exploratory and not serious. We heard rumors 6 months ago or so about a bunch of schools we were interested in. If this is a narrowing down of that list it is odd that it’s these two.
3. It further isolated your west coast additions. I felt we’d either expand out west or hold for ND. This feels like odd timing given the challenges the GOR brings. I don’t see a difference between adding UO and UW academically and maybe even football wise.
4. The SEC is clearly a better fit for both schools given where importance is placed in the schools and where their rivals are.

So, going back to the top quote, this all feels like FSU getting stuff out in the public, perhaps even completely made up, to get unequal distributions ASAP or to make the SEC react.

My counter points are: they took Nebraska which wasn’t a culture fit. Maybe they are focusing on football for the next round of realignment. Maybe the east coast televisions are vastly more valuable than west coast in college football.

I agree in general with what you say.

I don't see any point in adding UW or Oregon from a financial POV.

I could see Florida St/Clemson going to the B1G under one line of reasoning: a TV play designed to break up the ACC. I.e., it wouldn't be directly B1G driven, but the B1G would go along with it as a catalyst to get more of the ACC and in the process increase the chances of getting ND.

One of the rumor threads said Fox is willing to front $300M to get FSU out of the ACC (as a settlement of the GOR obligation), which FSU would have repay to Fox over ten years. If they get a full share from the B1G that gets them out of the ACC with probably no worse than a financial break even for ten years. Fox financing FSU and Clemson's departure. If Clemson comes out in a similar way, the remaining ACC deal can't be worth much going forward to ESPN and the entire thing could unravel at that point.

As much as the B1G might prefer a traditional profile, at some point the TV partners are putting in so much money that it creates a ton of pressure on the conference to accommodate them.

If there is a path to adding Clemson/FSU, followed by UVA, UNC, Miami and GT, wouldn't the B1G find that attreactive?

 

[BorWhiskey]

Interesting point. If true, I wonder what the end state is they are playing toward. Feels like they see the PAC as done. So the ACC is next. If they can pull the best out of that conference, you’ve got the Big Ten, the SEC, and everyone else.

In other words they are actively executing a strategy to control as much about the sport as they can.

 

[Carm]

Ever since the B1G took USC/UCLAbia, it appears the ACC has been the focus. Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia are 4 of the most populous 12 states. Getting the B1G in those states is a good tactic in trying to limit the SEC.

 

[Frogsker30]

Clemson... interesting. Dont hate it.

 

[Kazman5k]

Prior to the dabo run, did Clemson really have a big national following?

 

[Faux Sean Callahan]

Late Sunday night stuff is being reported about Florida State and Clemson being approached by the Big Ten. There’s a thread RSS about it. Anyone hearing anything like that?


View attachment 25469
View attachment 25470

I will allow it...

 

[Baron Winnebago]

Prior to the dabo run, did Clemson really have a big national following?

I mean do they even know?

 

[Kazman5k]

I mean do they even know?

Idk… maybe I was just to young before dabo to pay attention to the national scene, but I feel like nobody cared about them before he got there

 

[Faux Sean Callahan]

“If this is a play…”

That feels like the case.

1. FSU and Clemson are further down the list in terms of culture for for the B1G. Academically neither are AAU. FSU has repaired its N&WR ranking over the years but still not a top 50 school. UNC, GT, and UVa are far closer to the brand that the B1G would seemingly want.
2. I don’t know why the B1G would approach them, and only them, because of #1. It feels, if true, exploratory and not serious. We heard rumors 6 months ago or so about a bunch of schools we were interested in. If this is a narrowing down of that list it is odd that it’s these two.
3. It further isolated your west coast additions. I felt we’d either expand out west or hold for ND. This feels like odd timing given the challenges the GOR brings. I don’t see a difference between adding UO and UW academically and maybe even football wise.
4. The SEC is clearly a better fit for both schools given where importance is placed in the schools and where their rivals are.

So, going back to the top quote, this all feels like FSU getting stuff out in the public, perhaps even completely made up, to get unequal distributions ASAP or to make the SEC react.

My counter points are: they took Nebraska which wasn’t a culture fit. Maybe they are focusing on football for the next round of realignment. Maybe the east coast televisions are vastly more valuable than west coast in college football.

I mean this in the most professional way possible...

Fuck the AAU and give me the best teams that drive the most amount of money for the conference

 

[Baron Winnebago]

Idk… maybe I was just to young before dabo to pay attention to the national scene, but I feel like nobody cared about them before he got there

You're right that no one cared about Clemson and from a brand perspective I'm not sure that a large amount of people care about Clemson, so even with their recent football success I wonder if they are a more attractive option for the Big Ten than UNC for example

 

[Carm]

Prior to the dabo run, did Clemson really have a big national following?

they're 14th in FBS wins all-time., I don't know how national their following is, but a match-up between an existing B1G team and Clemson would always generate lots of viewers

 

[jaihawk]

I agree in general with what you say.

I don't see any point in adding UW or Oregon from a financial POV.

I could see Florida St/Clemson going to the B1G under one line of reasoning: a TV play designed to break up the ACC. I.e., it wouldn't be directly B1G driven, but the B1G would go along with it as a catalyst to get more of the ACC and in the process increase the chances of getting ND.

One of the rumor threads said Fox is willing to front $300M to get FSU out of the ACC (as a settlement of the GOR obligation), which FSU would have repay to Fox over ten years. If they get a full share from the B1G that gets them out of the ACC with probably no worse than a financial break even for ten years. Fox financing FSU and Clemson's departure. If Clemson comes out in a similar way, the remaining ACC deal can't be worth much going forward to ESPN and the entire thing could unravel at that point.

As much as the B1G might prefer a traditional profile, at some point the TV partners are putting in so much money that it creates a ton of pressure on the conference to accommodate them.

If there is a path to adding Clemson/FSU, followed by UVA, UNC, Miami and GT, wouldn't the B1G find that attreactive?

I get that about Washington, but is it possible that Oregon, with their ties to Nike may bring something? If you ended up finding a way to do an exclusive Nike line for Big Ten schools, that might result in a lot of money for both parties...

 

[DrinkItIn]

they're 14th in FBS wins all-time., I don't know how national their following is, but a match-up between an existing B1G team and Clemson would always generate lots of viewers

Clemson had a lot of success in the 1980s and won the conference five times, including a national championship.

 

[Ripping Lips]

Well, the area around Clemson has been infiltrated with a bunch of trash from Ohio who moved down there. So they need someone to root for in order to fit in with the locals down there.

 

[Carm]

I get that about Washington, but is it possible that Oregon, with their ties to Nike may bring something? If you ended up finding a way to do an exclusive Nike line for Big Ten schools, that might result in a lot of money for both parties...

Nobody involved with running the conference or any member school would want Phil Knight in the conference is my guess. His motivation will be to use his money/power to help Oregon.

 

[Carm]