I'm all for getting rid of the bowl games. Expand the playoffs to eight. Use the big bowls for the matchups and the rest can go. They are unnecessary and meaningless. Glorified scrimmages. At the very least the qualifications for a bowl should be set at eight wins.
I have no problem with the Podunk Bowl taking whoever they want. A paycheck for a smaller program and a chance for their fans to celebrate a little. ND isn't joining the ACC anyway but expanding the playoffs to eight (or more) just cements that since a conference affiliation for them becomes less important. The big question for ND is what happens to their schedule with the B1G and SEC going large. Will USC or any Power 2 school still face them while playing a full conference schedule?
ND is going to have to join the Big at some point. The scheduling issues, like you mentioned, and the money will force them to. They don't want to end up playing mostly lower level teams and they can't stay competitive against that type of money.
Wake has hurt the ACC from its birth. VPI should have had that slot. Or WVU.
For now. They would take Notre Dame at any time. And if they line up enough Fox money yo be the one and only truly national conference, they will take Oregon and Washington.
I think the most likely scenario is a bunch of ACC schools leave at the same time and challenge the GofR in court or agree to a settlement. I could see UNC, UVA, Clemson, FSU, Miami, VT, ND and maybe duke leaving together.
And that's the biggest downfall of the ACC. Miami and VT were brought in because they were seen as big time football schools and it was going to help raise the conference football profile. Miami and FSU were put in separate divisions because a Miami vs FSU championship game would bring in high ratings. Instead, Miami and VT have become average at best, FSU has fallen off a cliff and other than Clemson, no one else has stepped up. If Miami, VT and FSU are still playing at a high level this isn't a conversation.
That's where all this timing is so bad. Miami and FSU will definitely be national players again at some point - too much tradition, and too much of a recruiting base not to. But the reorganization is happening during a big dip in both programs (and to an extent VT, though they seemed more a blip program to me).
Big East says that, but the reality is this type of thing has been going on for ages. The Big 12 was the Big 8, the ACC was much smaller at one time. South Carolina jumped ship decades ago. Etc. It's just now it seems far more financially focused with no consideration for anything other than football money. Rivalries, fan experience, etc. are all non-factors. It's going to ultimately lead to a decreased fan experience that will likely, slowly, kill college sports. Having family that attended USC, they loved doing road trips to UW and OU for games. There is virtually no chance they'll travel to Penn State, or Maryland for a game.
The Big East is still going, and is a Major conference in basketball, which is what it was founded to be. You do not hear the Catholic schools in the BE hating the fact that the football schools are gone. Their view - the majority of of the original BE, was that the BE was blackmailed to start a football division. They never wanted it.
I'm not sure where things stand - I haven't seen the numbers - but the Big 12 added a couple of good programs and a couple of good regional schools, whereas the Pac lost it's two powers, has two other powers, then a bunch of low value teams. As much as the Big 12 has been poached through the years, they are currently sitting #3 as the best positioned conference, strangely. Pac is probably last.
The problem with the ACC is that they have too many schools with little to no brand. Teams like BC, WF and moo add nothing outside of their state. And in the case of moo, are redundant for market share.
The BIG 10 is in great shape because they have great fan bases huge universities and rich alumni and backers. With the NYC Chicago LA Philly markets that’s a lot of TV sets. So the BIG has what it takes to get a few ACC teams to leave like $100m a year. I see if the BIG goes after ACC teams it will be UVA UNC VT. And I like Miami to join as well. Now you are taking
I hope it’s Clemson, UNC, FSU, and Miami to the SEC if anywhere. I can see the sniping those four for sure. unc over vt for the mere fact of brand and all sports. Imo the bib10 can rot. Besides, I can catch a lot of games if the come this way to play.
I would be surprised if Clemson chose B1G over the SEC. They are a more natural fit in the SEC than the Big whatever.
Regional fit yes. But here is the issue with Clemson. They are in South Carolina. The SEC already has a big state university there and clemson does not bring in a new market. They are pretty muck a smaller private school that does not have a huge alumni base nor is it in an area that has a lot of NIL opportunities Now the BIG can offer more $$ than the SEC but I think the BIG if they go after Amy ACC teams it will have to be schools who fit academically. Those schools are UNC. UVA. GTech. Those schools would bring new markets to the BIG. And the BIG would fill their coffers with lots of $$$$$. Incan see t he SEC not going after FSU Miami GTech and Clemson. Why? Because they do not bring in new tv markets to them. So look for the bidding was for UNC and UVA between the SEC and BIG.
I hope you are wrong. Lol. What does Clemson bring in more than sc? A football program.
When you get to 20-24 teams, plus streaming, it's about brand not TV market. Nobody is going to be interested in the North Dakota market once the top 25 markets are gone. Boston is a top 10 market, but the SEC isn't going to go after BC. But they'll be interested in UNC, Clemson or ND because of the brand they bring.
I think 20 teams is about as far as each conference will go. After that you are cutting that money pie too many ways. The key is ND. They want to stay independent but if they are locked out of the playoffs they will join the BIG. If not and they can stand alone look for the SEC and BIG to target in on the ACC. Both will go after UNC very hard. Both conferences will want UNC. After that I don’t think they will target the same schools. The BIG will go after UVA and GT the SEC will not target those two. But then there is clemson inam not sure if the SEC will target them. I just don’t. If one conference gets UNC they might take Duke as well or maybe not. There will he schools left out of expansion in the ACC but after Notre Dame the next best get is not clemson I think it’s UNC. Then schools like Clemson Georgia Tech FSU Miami NC state and UVA.
Other than moo, I agree with you. They bring no value other than history in the state of NC. Their brand stops at the borders of NC. That adds no value. Moo is going to end up in a mid major or an ACC that resembles a mid major, which will be hilarious to me.
That's a big reason this sucks. While there's no need to have love for State, but it seems crazy to think of Duke, UNC, State, and Wake all in different conferences. Or UNC in one, and those three in a lesser conference. Younger generations will eventually forget and get amped for the big rivalry game between Michigan and UNC, but losing regional rivalries is a huge loss for the sport, which is ultimately a loss for UNC.
Reading between the lines: UNC, Clemson, FSU and UVa are looking elsewhere and ND ain't coming.
