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Scheduling alliance

KozmasAgain

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I just read an article stating that the ACC, B1G and the PAC12 are discussing an alliance between the 3 conferences for scheduling purposes. This would give them leverage with TV contracts and also help all 3 of them compete with the SEC for TV money. The article also said that the 3 conferences could refuse to schedule SEC schools during the regular season.
 
I just read an article stating that the ACC, B1G and the PAC12 are discussing an alliance between the 3 conferences for scheduling purposes. This would give them leverage with TV contracts and also help all 3 of them compete with the SEC for TV money. The article also said that the 3 conferences could refuse to schedule SEC schools during the regular season.
Would be interesting for sure. But how would it work? Would it mean we give up a non-conference game and go 8 + 1? Clemson, Ga Tech, Florida State, and us have the rivalry week games we'd have to consider. I'd also point out that some programs schedule certain games based on recruiting. The SEC states are the best in the nation and if some schools stop playing those programs, it could be used in negative recruiting and only serve the SEC's interests.

Expand the ACC. That's the best option.
 
IMO, it reads you would give up that rivals game, if they are in that other conference and continue to help the EKU, WKU of your world. 😎
 
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I will agree with one of the Radiohead announcers....this is geographically unstable when the PAC 12 is put in.
The school presidents are trying to align by academic standard....perfectly sound AND reasonable. For sports, and the BUSINESS side of sports.....not so sound.
 
Instead of us playing UK we would end up playing UCLA or Wisconsin or another team from those conferences. What they are trying to do is isolate the SEC from controlling scheduling nationally. If these 3 conferences don’t play SEC teams then the SEC will play each other and some really weak non conference games. It would keep the SEC from dominating the playoffs.
Especially if they expand to 12 teams or more. It would also keep ESPN from calling so many shots.
 
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Instead of us playing UK we would end up playing UCLA or Wisconsin or another team from those conferences. What they are trying to do is isolate the SEC from controlling scheduling nationally. If these 3 conferences don’t play SEC teams then the SEC will play each other and some really weak non conference games. It would keep the SEC from dominating the playoffs.
Especially if they expand to 12 teams or more. It would also keep ESPN from calling so many shots.
You're thinking of it from how things are right now and not how it will be.

But they now have Alabama, Texas, Florida, Oklahoma, LSU, Florida, Georgia, & Texas A&M in 1 league. Those brands are just too large and they produce way too much NFL talent and draw way too high ratings.

Now the Big Ten has Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Michigan State, Wisconsin, and Nebraska. Not as high a level, but close and respected.

Who are the powerhouses left?
ACC has Clemson and a damaged FSU. Then you have to start looking at UNC, VT, and Miami for the next group.
The BIG 12 has?? Baylor and OK State? A solid conference top to bottom, but not real elite teams.
The Pac 12 has USC who is about to fire a coach and Oregon. They aren't relevant in the title picture.

The Big Ten is already at 9 games and they're in good shape and I bet they'll want to add 2 teams before their new TV deal. If you don't have the Big Ten in any deal, then really the 3 remaining conferences making an alliance won't matter.
 
from cbssports.com

Once word broke in July that Oklahoma and Texas planned on leaving the Big 12 for the SEC, the gears turned quickly on making that seismic shift a reality. Similarly, the other three power conferences appear to be moving quickly on an alliance to counter the SEC's aggressiveness in the ever-changing landscape of college athletics.
Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic reports the ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12 are "expected to make a formal announcement about their alignment soon, perhaps as early as next week." The news comes just one week after CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd and The Athletic initially reported the trio were actively engaged in discussions about forming a scheduling alliance.
While scheduling does appear to be a focal point of the alliance, it is not the only one. Academics, governance and other broad-based issues are also cornerstones as the three leagues make their next step in response to the SEC's expansion and influence. However, exact details of the announcement are scarce.
"This is not down on them [SEC], but given some of the movement that occurred, I think this is the right decision to be made to have that conversation amongst the three of us and to really form this alliance that sort of thinks about things on a more consistent basis than just waiting for our annual NCAA meeting," Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel told reporters on Thursday, per the Detroit News.


Still, it's easy to see why the three power conferences -- all of which feature fairly new commissioners -- would team up in response to Oklahoma and Texas joining the SEC. Television money and College Football Playoff access are front and center items that will need to be addressed. Athletic directors in all three conferences have expressed concerns over the new 12-team playoff format in light of the SEC's expansion.
And, in the name of collegiate athletics, each of the three conferences also share a like-mindedness about academics. However, it's not clear how the NCAA, which has seen its presence in major college athletics diminish recently, would factor in -- if at all.


What does appear clear is that the eight remaining Big 12 teams are not part of the discussion, at least for now. Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby previously discussed a potential scheduling agreement with new Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff, but so far nothing publicly has come out of those discussions.
 
We all know the consequences if ND left the ACC at the end of season. What would be the consequences if the ACC kick ND to the curb and entered the Alliance without ND? They have a binding contract with the ACC through 2036. I don't know but I sure would like to find out.
 
Can’t wait for that Wake Forest and Washington State match up. This alliance seems like a bad idea.
 
I think the main reason would be to look for marquee matchups to guarantee strength of schedule to ensure a spot in the playoffs. Top tier teams in the conference would benefit the most but it would guarantee all power conferences would be represented. I do wonder if this happens what would happen to Norte Dame because of scheduling.
 
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Alliance will certainly try to use its voting strength to determine outline of CFP deal. Weaken SEC.

Alliance WILL piss off ESPN. ACC's relationship with ESPN would definitely be affected. Negatively.

Lawyers may sharpen their pencils looking for ways to negate ACC GoR's (due to effects of Alliance).

It is always POSSIBLE that dueling National Championships are set up after 2025. FOX Alliance conducting one. ESPN SEC conducting the other.

ACC may have to vote to cede Clemson and Florida State to SEC/ESPN in order to do a new Media deal for remaining ACC teams with FOX.

Interesting Contract and Sports times!
 
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CHANGE is GOOD until its NOT!!!

How long will it take for all this....to shake out.???
 
ND will keep playing five games against ACC teams as agreed in contract through 2036. We know the terms of the agreement signed by ND through 2036, but we don't know is the terms in the agreement the ACC signed with Notre Dame. In dealing with Notre Dame, they always do what's best for them.
 
Alliance will certainly try to use its voting strength to determine outline of CFP deal. Weaken SEC.

Alliance WILL piss off ESPN. ACC's relationship with ESPN would definitely be affected. Negatively.

Lawyers may sharpen their pencils looking for ways to negate ACC GoR's (due to effects of Alliance).

It is always POSSIBLE that dueling National Championships are set up after 2025. FOX Alliance conducting one. ESPN SEC conducting the other.

ACC may have to vote to cede Clemson and Florida State to SEC/ESPN in order to do a new Media deal for remaining ACC teams with FOX.

Interesting Contract and Sports times!

Why would it piss off ESPN? If anything it should help boost the ratings for the ACC. Also not sure why the ACC would have to vote to cede Clemson and FSU to SEC/ESPN - ESPN already owns both properties.
 
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Why would it piss off ESPN? If anything it should help boost the ratings for the ACC. Also not sure why the ACC would have to vote to cede Clemson and FSU to SEC/ESPN - ESPN already owns both properties.
Maybe the point is they know ESPN started this hoopla and they plan to put them in their place. Remember the ACCN/ESPN deal has not exactly been all that favorable of an option across all sports.
 
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Why would it piss off ESPN? If anything it should help boost the ratings for the ACC. Also not sure why the ACC would have to vote to cede Clemson and FSU to SEC/ESPN - ESPN already owns both properties.
The Alliance would probably vote against the SEC in a couple significant CFP matters. The Rose Bowl is just one of those. Minimum and maximum conference CFP reps are one other. While ESPN is joined at the hip to the ACC, they are far more tightly joined to the SEC. I would surmise that ad spending and profits from ESPN's SEC games are much much greater than from ESPN's ACC games.

The ACC gets far less revenue per team from ESPN's contract than the SEC does. ESPN wants to continue paying the ACC as little as it can. The ACC needs more revenue from ESPN.

But ESPN sells many more ads for SEC games. So ESPN wants to carry more SEC games. ESPN benefits less by carrying more ACC games. The ACC will try to do anything it can to force ESPN to pay them more. Including putting pressure on anything ESPN within the upcoming CFP new-deal.

Having Texas and Oklahoma in the SEC, as well as the potential for a 9-game SEC season schedule, raises revenue to ESPN and to the SEC a whole lot. The SEC and ESPN would love to also get Clemson and Florida State into the SEC. And Clemson and Florida State would love to earn the super added revenue from the SEC-ESPN relationship.

If the remaining membership of the ACC would vote to allow FSU and Clemson (and maybe a couple others) out of the ACC's Grant of Rights deal, so that they could go join the SEC (thereby benefiting ESPN with more high quality games), then in return the remaining ACC teams could demand and receive substantially more ESPN revenue than they do now --- from a renegotiated ESPN contract.

I can envision where the ACC uses their Alliance votes as a hostage to getting what they want from ESPN.

And as I mentioned in my post earlier, it is also completely possible that the ACC would vote with the Alliance to set up a CFP having only non-SEC teams. And you can bet that would be a FOX deal. Leaving ESPN and SEC to set up their own tiny incestuous CFP.

The Alliance wants to force the SEC and ESPN to do what they want in terms of a CFP. The ACC wants to use whatever leverage they can find to get more media revenue.
 
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This may very well evolve into a battle between a united ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX against ESPN. I do not believe ESPN wants that fight, and the SEC is not going to be satisfied with just playing each other week after week, particularly when the other P5 conferences will have some intriguing inter conference matchups. As I understand, some of the most popular TV games all season are on the Thanksgiving weekend where ACC and SEC play their respective in-state rivalries. Obviously that goes away.
 
This may very well evolve into a battle between a united ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX against ESPN. I do not believe ESPN wants that fight, and the SEC is not going to be satisfied with just playing each other week after week, particularly when the other P5 conferences will have some intriguing inter conference matchups. As I understand, some of the most popular TV games all season are on the Thanksgiving weekend where ACC and SEC play their respective in-state rivalries. Obviously that goes away.
Well, ABC is not going to unite against ESPN. :cool:

But it could well be FOX and Comcast (NBC).
 
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The Alliance would probably vote against the SEC in a couple significant CFP matters. The Rose Bowl is just one of those. Minimum and maximum conference CFP reps are one other. While ESPN is joined at the hip to the ACC, they are far more tightly joined to the SEC. I would surmise that ad spending and profits from ESPN's SEC games are much much greater than from ESPN's ACC games.

The ACC gets far less revenue per team from ESPN's contract than the SEC does. ESPN wants to continue paying the ACC as little as it can. The ACC needs more revenue from ESPN.

But ESPN sells many more ads for SEC games. So ESPN wants to carry more SEC games. ESPN benefits less by carrying more ACC games. The ACC will try to do anything it can to force ESPN to pay them more. Including putting pressure on anything ESPN within the upcoming CFP new-deal.

Having Texas and Oklahoma in the SEC, as well as the potential for a 9-game SEC season schedule, raises revenue to ESPN and to the SEC a whole lot. The SEC and ESPN would love to also get Clemson and Florida State into the SEC. And Clemson and Florida State would love to earn the super added revenue from the SEC-ESPN relationship.

If the remaining membership of the ACC would vote to allow FSU and Clemson (and maybe a couple others) out of the ACC's Grant of Rights deal, so that they could go join the SEC (thereby benefiting ESPN with more high quality games), then in return the remaining ACC teams could demand and receive substantially more ESPN revenue than they do now --- from a renegotiated ESPN contract.

I can envision where the ACC uses their Alliance votes as a hostage to getting what they want from ESPN.

And as I mentioned in my post earlier, it is also completely possible that the ACC would vote with the Alliance to set up a CFP having only non-SEC teams. And you can bet that would be a FOX deal. Leaving ESPN and SEC to set up their own tiny incestuous CFP.

The Alliance wants to force the SEC and ESPN to do what they want in terms of a CFP. The ACC wants to use whatever leverage they can find to get more media revenue.

I'm with you until about that fifth paragraph. I don't see a scenario where the ACC allows Clemson and/or FSU to walk away from the GOR and demand and receive more media revenue than we do currently. Unless you're thinking about actually merging with a different conference as opposed to some type of scheduling alliance. And I don't think we're anywhere near that point yet. Just my 2.
 
Maybe the point is they know ESPN started this hoopla and they plan to put them in their place. Remember the ACCN/ESPN deal has not exactly been all that favorable of an option across all sports.

Maybe. I've always suspected ESPN might be too involved with conference matters behind the scenes. They certainly act as if they're the sole authority on who makes the CFB playoffs - as if there's no committee at all.

With the ESPN/ACC deal, I think a lot of that hinges on Notre Dame joining in football. Last year, with Notre Dame as a full member, we had the most viewed conference championship game, and the second most viewed game of the year, and we saw about a 15% increase in media revenue. Might be some leverage there with expanding the playoffs. Then some potential on the basketball side (albeit probably not as much) if the NCAA loses the tournament.
 
Maybe. I've always suspected ESPN might be too involved with conference matters behind the scenes. They certainly act as if they're the sole authority on who makes the CFB playoffs - as if there's no committee at all.

With the ESPN/ACC deal, I think a lot of that hinges on Notre Dame joining in football. Last year, with Notre Dame as a full member, we had the most viewed conference championship game, and the second most viewed game of the year, and we saw about a 15% increase in media revenue. Might be some leverage there with expanding the playoffs. Then some potential on the basketball side (albeit probably not as much) if the NCAA loses the tournament.
I was referring to the many many issues we've (Cards fans) had with the ACCN/ESPN since it went live. Something tells me the other ACC fans have most likely had some of the same issues with ACCN/ESPN. The RSN black outs, due to some kind of so called 20 game obligation/contract in the beginning, has NOW has turned into YEARS contract of enduring RSN black outs.
 
I was referring to the many many issues we've (Cards fans) had with the ACCN/ESPN since it went live. Something tells me the other ACC fans have most likely had some of the same issues with ACCN/ESPN. The RSN black outs, due to some kind of so called 20 game obligation/contract in the beginning, has NOW has turned into YEARS contract of enduring RSN black outs.

Gotcha. That makes sense. Yeah, I've heard the complaints. I haven't experienced a lot of that firsthand, but usually don't have much time for games not on our schedule unfortunately.
 
ND will do whatever is in their own best interest. However, from all indications, they have forged a very healthy relationship within the ACC, and their long tradition with the old BIG 10 and USC will place them most solidly aligned with this new alliance. The SEC may discover their effort to monopolize college football TV may instead result in isolation.
 
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This allliance isn't worth the paper it's written on.....oh wait, there isn't anything written and contractually agreed to? They just pinky sweared to not let each other down. The new alliance sounds unbreakable (LOL). Tyra's word salad on 93.9 this morning was hollow and weightless.
 
This allliance isn't worth the paper it's written on.....oh wait, there isn't anything written and contractually agreed to? They just pinky sweared to not let each other down. The new alliance sounds unbreakable (LOL). Tyra's word salad on 93.9 this morning was hollow and weightless.
True.

Nothing will change and the $EC will throw them crumbs. (JK) ;)

Seriously, whether anything is written or not, these conferences better do something to “check” the sec.

If not, they will wish they had.
 
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I think the main reason would be to look for marquee matchups to guarantee strength of schedule to ensure a spot in the playoffs. Top tier teams in the conference would benefit the most but it would guarantee all power conferences would be represented. I do wonder if this happens what would happen to Norte Dame because of scheduling.

"Any Big Ten or Pac-12 team already playing Notre Dame, which has its own scheduling deal with the ACC, would be able to count the Irish as its ACC opponent.

Pac-12 members USC and Stanford have annual series with Notre Dame. Big Ten programs Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State and Purdue also have future series scheduled with the Irish."


So, it appears that they are carving out ND's games against Pac 12 and Big Ten schools, preserving ND's independence, and counting those games as games against the ACC as part of this Alliance.

Additionally, the Big Ten and Pac 12 commissioners have already stated their support for an expanded playoff.

Jim Phillips said that the ACC hasn't decided, yet.

There is nothing in the Alliance that is threatening to ND's football independence, hence the Irish are on board with this Alliance as the 41st school.
 
Since scheduling is done in advance the alliance scheduling won’t go into play for a few years so we won’t be able to tell how it will effect teams. I am including Notre Dame and schools in the AAC, CUSA, Mountain West, etc. as long as ND has a good year I think they are safe but let’s say they go 10-2 and you have 12 of the 41 teams plus the SEC teams go 10-2 or better ND will be on the outside looking in.
 
Just like the Texas & Okla move to SEC won't happen until '24-'25. Contracts would need to be honored. But then again, since when have contracts been worth the paper they are written on? ND has plenty of time to decide where they want to be.
 
True.

Nothing will change and the $EC will throw them crumbs. (JK) ;)

Seriously, whether anything is written or not, these conferences better do something to “check” the sec.

If not, they will wish they had.

The scheduling has the potential to increase revenues for all three conferences. But it's also a huge voting bloc on the CFP Board of Managers meaning the SEC is no longer the loudest voice in the room.
 
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This alliance won't matter until we see the money. That's what it's all about. The new ESPN/ABC SEC deal will make the $EC bias much much worse. They'll have big games every week and kill in the ratings. Their recruiting will go up another level as the marketing will make it seem like the NFL minor league.

Right now they are acting in the moment. But the $$$$$ will matter. We can talk GOR and etc., but moves will be made. The Big Ten will approach other teams.
 
I would bet ESPN loses their exclusive rights to the CFP - that contract ends 2025 and with this new alliance it will likely go on the open market.
 
Money is one of the big reasons for this but as CC Joe has pointed voting is the big thing. The SEC won’t be the loudest voice in the room because they will only have 16 votes where as the alliance will have 41 votes and that is huge. This will also keep ESPN in check and I think that is hilarious, they thought they were calling all the shots and they just got slapped down.
 
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The funny thing about this is I think ESPN, Texas and Oklahoma were relying on the PAC12 taking some of the remaining BIG 12 teams. They want the BIG 12 to breakup so they wouldn’t have to pay the enormous GOR for leaving the conference. As a matter of fact I think that was their plan all along.
It wouldn’t surprise me if ESPN was trying to organize more movement between the other conferences to try and take some of the teams by offering them a few dollars more to do so. As long as the ACC, PAC12 B1G stay pat the BIG12 can expand by adding Memphis and Cincinnati and keep their P5 status.
 
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