USC and UCLA are in talks to move to Big 10 in 2024.
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Yeah, well the problem is that Clemson, Miami, Florida State, Oregon, Washington, Virginia Tech, Baylor, Oklahoma State, and Stanford are on that same phone.
This isn’t the same as when we were competing with WVU, UConn, Syracuse, Cincy, Houston, and UCF
I'm well aware. Doesn't mean you shouldn't be on the phone. Hopefully, we've been working the phones this whole time.
LOL at the thought of Josh Heird making a material difference on this. And I don't hate Heird. I just know the hand I was dealt awhile back...
Do what Jurich did build and make your program more attractive. I think athletically we could be ready for an upswing in athletic performance. One thing that might keep the ACC together is the politicians from the states these programs come from.
In North Carolina and Virginia the politicians pulled some strings to keep their schools from leaving the conference and to make sure their school ( Virginia) lobbied for Virginia Tech for membership into the conference. The thing I like about the ACC is we go along the east coast from New York all the way down to Miami.
USC and UCLA is really stretching the Big10. Imagine the travel for conference games for those 2 schools. When I think about the PAC12 the only 2 schools I think about are UCLA and USC. If this happens I can see the remaining PAC12 schools merging with the remaining Big 12 schools forming another super conference.
One thing for sure you can be sure ESPN is behind these talks. If we can get our football and basketball program back on track I think we are in good shape. The women’s programs are in great shape along with our baseball program and other sports.
In North Carolina and Virginia the politicians pulled some strings to keep their schools from leaving the conference and to make sure their school ( Virginia) lobbied for Virginia Tech for membership into the conference. The thing I like about the ACC is we go along the east coast from New York all the way down to Miami.
USC and UCLA is really stretching the Big10. Imagine the travel for conference games for those 2 schools. When I think about the PAC12 the only 2 schools I think about are UCLA and USC. If this happens I can see the remaining PAC12 schools merging with the remaining Big 12 schools forming another super conference.
One thing for sure you can be sure ESPN is behind these talks. If we can get our football and basketball program back on track I think we are in good shape. The women’s programs are in great shape along with our baseball program and other sports.
The politicking goes well beyond the AD. Having an interim president is not ideal at the moment. BOT’s are important right now.
The only thing standing between the ACC and implosion is the Grant of Rights. What happened today is a terrible scenario for UofL and about 20 other P5 schools.
I just read an article that one of the ACC schools is now looking into a way to get out of the GOR penalty. I agree now is not a good time to have an interim President. I would hope that the BOT understands the importance of finding a President that has ties to the bigger programs unlike our current interim President.
We couldn’t be in worse situation as a university for this right now. Interim President, our FB team has under performed, BB has major issues all over the place and our fan base isn’t showing up. We are in big trouble this time around. Even if everything was perfect it would be tough. Will be left behind this time I’m almost certain of that.
Unless the politicians have had enough of this crap and since we’re talking about 50-60 universities being involved they could say enoughs enough. But they have their hands full with much more important issues right now. So I don’t see that happening
I tend to agree but I am at the point where college sports are not the priority to me they once were.
Reference UL, my outlook started to change when Jurich refused to whack RP after the Sypher debacle and my interest has consistently declined since then. There were other factors as well, then the NIL hit basically destroying any idea of collegiate amateurism.
The idea of USC - UCLA joining the Big10 and creating more mass confusion, speculation etc., into the current conference alignment is just another factor in pushing me and I think many others closer to saying enough, I am done. The idea of USC UCLA flying their baseball teams to New Brunswick - Piscataway, NJ is just mind boggling.
I think UL ends up in conference comprised of WVU, Cincy, Central Florida, etc., and possibly some teams out west. Not bad, not great but certainly not at the level of the Big10 / SEC.
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Lock up ND as a full member and add West Virginia. The ACC will be stable at 16. The PAC 12-2 and the Big 12-4+2+4 will do some kind of merge.
I could see the Big 10+6 adding Cal and Stanford as well, to have the huge Bay Area market. The 2 largest markets on the west coast.
Washington, Oregon, Arizona, and Arizona State have to be saying “WTF?”
I could see the Big 10+6 adding Cal and Stanford as well, to have the huge Bay Area market. The 2 largest markets on the west coast.
Washington, Oregon, Arizona, and Arizona State have to be saying “WTF?”
What is the final number before a conference quits expanding? The BIG and the SEC are already at 16 do they keep growing? In that article I read it suggested the BIG also add Stanford, Oregon and Washington. That way they could have an Eastern and Western division in the BIG.
If they are going to go that big then why don’t the SEC and ACC merge? They would have the best all around conference over everybody if they did that.
The PAC 12 and ACC not agreeing to CFP structure this past winter looks like an incredibly destructive decision in hindsight
I don't always handicap stuff right, but I think I'm closer to right than wrong about this...
As far as college athletic programs, the risk that the "haves" run trying to consolidate wealth among fewer programs is from the Feds. And it's as simple as a voting majority. You get down to where 40-50 schools are in the have category, and two of them are each from states like Alabama and Mississippi, there are plenty of people left outside in states with NO ONE in the group of haves.
For example, why would 20 million overtaxed people in New York be OK with FOUR institutions in the two states I mentioned making boatloads of money and paying no taxes on it? Just for fun, let's overlay high inflation and a looming recession on that question.
Despite an increasing number of socialists among us, it's still OK to concentrate wealth in a country founded on freedom and capitalism. Just make sure you control and can maintain the voting support to carry out your plan...
Boy, some teams are going to get a lot of money to get their teeth kicked in on a weekly basis in multiple sports. That is great for the University not so much for the fans.
I have gone to multiple sites just to see what everyone else is saying about this. The bad thing is nobody is talking about us as one of the schools they would take into their conference. The good thing is nobody is saying anything bad about us either. I think we have anywhere from 6 to 14 years to turn things around and make us viable. That means butts in the seats and a winning product on the field.
i'm not worried one bit. USC and UCLA are in the nations #2 media market. after that what team controls what media market? now for louisville's sake, we're not the worst media market and most importantly we are centrally located in the country which makes travel to and from fairly easy, especially for families. by the end of this year we will be top 25 football, top 15 baseball, top 35 bball, and our facilities are as good as anyones. and at worst, college football will go to 4 major conferences of 16 to 20 teams each, the rest get bumped to FBS and relagation begins. pretty sure we can make one of the 4. but the acc will prbably absorb the AAC and CUSA. IT'll be a weak ACC, Strong SEC, Weak Big 12 and Strong Big 10. Thsoe q
I saw where Washington and Oregon said they weren’t leaving the PAC12 unless Oregon State and Washington State went with them. I also remember the last realignment when they were talking about North Carolina leaving for the B1G that the politicians in Nirth Carolina were going to block it from happening because of the other Carolina teams would be left behind.
always gotta have a dance partner if you want to move in realignment. someone has to be right near your physically to make it easier for all the other teams to travel to you. they travel and come play both schools in same trip, saves money. Big 10 non-Fball sports are going to pay huge travel fees getting their non revenue sports flown to LA
They are making so much money, travel isn’t issue like it was 5 years ago. It is absurd how much money is being thrown around.
Basically the Big 10 and SEC are buying an election. They are ensuring they have more seats at the table when the playoff talk starts up again.
I don’t think ESPN wants to lose the ACC. If it collapses they lose the East Coast eyes. The smart thing to do is grab TCU, Baylor, Oklahoma State, Kansas, and West Virginia. The elephant is Notre Dame if they are seriously considering joining a conference then figure out getting them in the ACC. That would secure their spot in the playoff. The problem is you can’t trust anyone in the room.
If Notre Dame leaves for B10 which seems very likely then ACC will be picked apart.
Basically the Big 10 and SEC are buying an election. They are ensuring they have more seats at the table when the playoff talk starts up again.
I don’t think ESPN wants to lose the ACC. If it collapses they lose the East Coast eyes. The smart thing to do is grab TCU, Baylor, Oklahoma State, Kansas, and West Virginia. The elephant is Notre Dame if they are seriously considering joining a conference then figure out getting them in the ACC. That would secure their spot in the playoff. The problem is you can’t trust anyone in the room.
If Notre Dame leaves for B10 which seems very likely then ACC will be picked apart.
The talk about ND going to the B1G has been going on for years but it never happens. Things could have changed but it doesn’t have anything to do with money. Before ND joined the ACC as a partial member there was rumors of ND going to the B1G . It came out in an article I read that ND would never join the B1G because of anti Catholic sentiment from some of the B1G schools.
I thought all this conference expansion was being driven by ESPN but I read an article on line saying it was being driven by Fox Sports. I hope we have more time to improve our brand before there are more changes. I also wonder if Adidas will have any say in this, I am sure they want Louisville to stay in the room with the big boys.
I thought all this conference expansion was being driven by ESPN but I read an article on line saying it was being driven by Fox Sports. I hope we have more time to improve our brand before there are more changes. I also wonder if Adidas will have any say in this, I am sure they want Louisville to stay in the room with the big boys.
It’s very interesting now to look back at the 12-team playoff news from last year. Yes, the ACC and PAC-12 voted against it. But so did the Big 10. Why is everyone conveniently forgetting that fact?
I don’t see any evidence to support the notion that, had the 12 team playoff been approved last year, that action would have prevented the Big Ten from poaching UCLA and USC this year.
I don’t see any evidence to support the notion that, had the 12 team playoff been approved last year, that action would have prevented the Big Ten from poaching UCLA and USC this year.
This dusting up could in fact just be about the Pac-12 schools. I had no idea that UCLA and USC last year received about HALF the money that Boston College and Wake Forest received from the ACC. And a THIRD of what a school like Vandy received.
That's a helluva difference and more a statement about the Pac-12 than anything else...
That's a helluva difference and more a statement about the Pac-12 than anything else...
The “Alliance” stated purpose was to delay the playoff decision and stop pilferage. It appears the Big Ten played the PAC 12 and ACC. The vote had to be unanimous it is silly everyone is blaming only those two.
It is possible the Notre Dame stays put as an independent. They embrace their uniqueness. Scheduling becomes a problem though when SEC and Big 10 go to 9 games. That alone may force them into a conference. The ACC has shown it is willing to work with ND. Not sure the Big Ten will.
I am wondering about the ACC commissioner and our AD. Both of them are new but you would hope they are on top of this and being proactive.
Big 12
The Big 12 then becomes the 3rd best league with respectable programs like Ok State and Baylor. Maybe Miami gets left out this round and we can move to the Big 12 with schools like Miami, Pitt, Arizona, Oregon, Utah, and others like that.
We’d still basically be in the same spot. We just need to make a good move that’s good for football. Football makes the money. If we’re in the 3rd best league and the playoff is expanded, there’s a chance if our league is good enough then we get an auto-bid.
Once again there is a lot of old and existing friction between ND and the B1G if ND goes there it will be reluctantly. Washington and Oregon both said they aren’t leaving the PAC 12 unless Washington State and Oregon State are invited to go with them. The powers in North Carolina said they don’t want North Carolina leaving unless other North Carolina schools are invited to go with them. I know things can change but these are comments made just recently regarding this situation. I would like to see the ACC be proactive and go after other programs as well.
If ND is in a situation to where they have to join a conference make it the ACC and poach West Virginia from the Big 12. I would hope that the powers that be are not sitting on their hands waiting for the dust to settle. The BOT needs to go after a President from a power school that has respect and connections. It is time to pony up the money for this like we do for coaches. Let’s face it the current interim President does not move the needle she is more of a small college President. Josh Heird is new and doesn’t have a lot of experience or connections for this type of situation so I hope his hire doesn’t bite us in the ass. The current conference Commissioner is also new so I can only hope he is making phone calls and knocking on doors.
If ND is in a situation to where they have to join a conference make it the ACC and poach West Virginia from the Big 12. I would hope that the powers that be are not sitting on their hands waiting for the dust to settle. The BOT needs to go after a President from a power school that has respect and connections. It is time to pony up the money for this like we do for coaches. Let’s face it the current interim President does not move the needle she is more of a small college President. Josh Heird is new and doesn’t have a lot of experience or connections for this type of situation so I hope his hire doesn’t bite us in the ass. The current conference Commissioner is also new so I can only hope he is making phone calls and knocking on doors.
This is the issue.
ND joining in football is complicated. Like forcing them to join a conference, who would be forcing them? The NCAA has 0 power.
The SEC and Big Ten if they choose could box us out in the playoff discussion. ND’s only reason for joining a league would be if the playoff access was tied to being in a conference.
Factor in money too. Their TV deal is up in 2025. Our contract is through 2036. They’d have to look at a massive difference in TV money in the Big Ten and ACC.
So in reality with USC, OU, and Texas going to the big 2 conferences, we can’t really force them to do anything. The issue in college football is that all of this stuff is negotiated by the conferences, the NCAA has 0 power. Had the NCAA mandated a tournament of some sorts years ago and fought back against the bowl system, we wouldn’t be in this mess.
A “mess” will exist to some degree as long as money is the ultimate determinant—it always will be—and some schools are getting more/less than they should be.
As I commented elsewhere this week, tell an Alabama fan that Vandy should get as much money from the SEC as the Tide, and let me know what he says…
As I commented elsewhere this week, tell an Alabama fan that Vandy should get as much money from the SEC as the Tide, and let me know what he says…
I would argue the SEC needs Vandy because as they keep adding powerhouse schools they need someone to beat up on. Vandy just gets zero say in voting.
Who knows where this is really going. I don’t know that I see the benefit for ESPN to push for Clemson-FSU-Miami-North Carolina. They already have those markets and properties. There is no guarantee they will keep the SEC in next TV negotiations. By encouraging the SEC expansion they could be reducing their properties if they lose out in next contract. They become less diversified which is a scary place to be in this landscape.
Louisville I am not sure they go anywhere. At this point I am not sure where this is going. I don’t see the SEC and Big Ten breaking completely away they are just going to control the playoff structure. If they stay or go somewhere else it will depend on access to the playoff. As long as there is access then anywhere is doable. Obviously you want to be in the have’s conference but Louisville knows how to navigate in smaller less prominent conferences.
Who knows where this is really going. I don’t know that I see the benefit for ESPN to push for Clemson-FSU-Miami-North Carolina. They already have those markets and properties. There is no guarantee they will keep the SEC in next TV negotiations. By encouraging the SEC expansion they could be reducing their properties if they lose out in next contract. They become less diversified which is a scary place to be in this landscape.
Louisville I am not sure they go anywhere. At this point I am not sure where this is going. I don’t see the SEC and Big Ten breaking completely away they are just going to control the playoff structure. If they stay or go somewhere else it will depend on access to the playoff. As long as there is access then anywhere is doable. Obviously you want to be in the have’s conference but Louisville knows how to navigate in smaller less prominent conferences.
I doubt that's true, but even if it was, it's soon to end IMO.
You don't need to share tens of millions of dollars with the cupcakes on your schedule by putting or keeping them in your conference with full revenue shares. And if you play them home-and-home (which Vandy gets with SEC teams), neither school gets any money for agreeing to play the other. Each school keeps its gate and its home game media revenue.
U of L has one course they should be following to address future conference uncertainty... Improve yourself. We've done damn little of that lately...
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Some of what is effecting UL, is a result of the cultural changes in the community following the decades following Court-ordered school busing in Jefferson County Public Schools. The decline in HS football and basketball cannot be over-stated. Trinity recognized the deterioration of local football when they initiated the out-of-state scheduling in an effort to find sufficient competition.
UL enjoyed a long history of local HS products contributing to both its success on the court and on the field, but perhaps even more devastating was witnessing the decline in the communities that supported so many of the High Schools throughout Jefferson County.
When I travel throughout the numerous rural communities in Mississippi, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas I can see the pride the people have for their schools and the kids who play sports locally. I recall that same culture here in Louisville back in the 50s and 60s.
UL enjoyed a long history of local HS products contributing to both its success on the court and on the field, but perhaps even more devastating was witnessing the decline in the communities that supported so many of the High Schools throughout Jefferson County.
When I travel throughout the numerous rural communities in Mississippi, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas I can see the pride the people have for their schools and the kids who play sports locally. I recall that same culture here in Louisville back in the 50s and 60s.
