Bob Bowlsby accuses ESPN of tortious interference - Frogs O' War

Sounds like ESPN is trying to get enough teams to leave the Big 12 for the AAC, so that UTOU can leave without penalty. Pretty shitty, but I doubt there are any consequences for bad behavior. ESPN probably gets out of what will be a bad deal with the Big 12 and gets those teams to the SEC more quickly.

Is it pretty shitty on the part of ESPN though? I am serious when I ask the question. This feels like something that is just encouraged and probably required in that world. Maybe I am just thinking the worst of the people in that world but this feels like it is only a problem because it is being done to the Big 12.

ESPN gets caught trying to hurt the Big 10 or SEC: Major scandal. People get fired.

ESPN gets caught trying to hurt the Big 12: Vague sense of that's not cool.

ESPN gets caught trying to hurt a non Power Conference: To the extent anyone notices or cares, they think it's totally fine.

Word out of the PAC12 media days is they do not want any of the leftover B8 schools. There was a lot of talk about a merger or partnership with the B1G.

If true, this is a lot bigger than OU/TX to the SEC.

It's actually about even more than that. I'll repost (with minor edits) what I had somewhere else:


ESPN has total rights with AAC with a 10 year deal that started in 2019 (a paltry $80M per year for the entire league). The Big XII rights are split between ESPN and Fox. So ESPN has a very vested interest in the remaining Big XII schools joining the AAC so they have them over a barrel with rights as opposed to if the Big XII absorbed some AAC teams.
This also explains why it was such a quick "no" when the Big XII tried to open up negotiations earlier this year. This was already brewing.



Big 12 television partners decline preemptive negotiations, Texas Tech president says


It also takes one conference off the table and pretty much auto-relegates them to lesser status. It’s clear they want the SEC rights for a flagship brand and then the Big AAC for inventory. Whatever the new equivalent of Thursday and Friday night MAC-tion is, here comes the new league, which is perfect for them over-saturating ESPN2 and ESPNU with garbage football (like my beloved Kansas).


It's coming but the Arkansas and Missouris and Washington States, etc, of the world are going to try and cash the good checks as long as they keep coming. This time, it's wipe out the remaining 8 Big XII schools and prevent them from building their brand. Next will be the breakaway league i when Ohio State gets tired of sharing their money with Northwestern and Clemson doesn't get why they have to share with Pitt. We're probably about 12 years away from the headline "Shocked Mississippi Senators threaten to sue SEC for not including any state schools in new SEC" (ACC grant of rights is 2036, right? so it'll be about 3 years before that).

It's oddly contradictory as it means Disney is playing the long game with a short-sighted idea: to lock up the strongest brand, all while squeezing out and other competition. However, that competition is also advertising. Sure, the SEC thinks they can play games by themselves but if there are only 20 alumni bases watching, it's going to be a lot smaller piece of the pie. For as crappy as Kansas football is, I'll watch their games most because I went there. I wouldn't be in this new system.

It's like when MLB decided to shoot itself in the foot by contracting 40+ minor league teams, walking billboards in all sorts of small town America for baseball. But, hey, it'll save a few bucks today and give the more control. And they'll look back in 30 more years and be asking "hey, where did all the fans go?" Just like they're starting to do now as the game grows increasingly local and regional rather than a national sport (and has been for more than 20 years as they only promote a couple of teams nationally and let the rest starve).

SI

This seems to make a lot of sense as a counter to the SEC's moves.

Big Ten, Pac-12, ACC in discussions about forming alliance: Sources - The Athletic

I suggested this 2 weeks ago Damn conferences should hire me

It sounds good in theory but what would it do in practice? If we're talking football, you still can only play 12~14 games a year and they will still mostly be in conference.

SI

I think there would be a small amount of scheduling synergy, but I took it to mean they would align as a voting block to ensure the SEC doesn't essentially get to place as many teams as they want into the CFP and similar decisions that would adversely affect each individual conference on its own.

If they go to 12, the most likely way to prevent the SEC from having 4-6 of those is to gift spots to various cannon fodder.

Maybe that's what bloc voting is intending but with likely only 4 major conferences left standing, everybody meaningful in the picture is going to be looking at 1-2 min regardless.

edit to add:
Final CFP rankings after conference championship last year, tweaking for future alignments
SEC 5 (counting Oklahoma)
ACC 2 (counting ND)
B10 2
B12 1 (not sure where Iowa State ends up)
Non P5 2
Coastal was #12, so they'd be hypothetically out in favor of a Pac 12 champ I guess

Since 2020 was so weird, 2019 numbers would have SEC 5 (counting OU), B10 would have claimed 3.
*obviously not knowing where Iowa State (2020) and Baylor (2019) will end up makes this less than precise.

edit 2:
Probably worth noting that those rankings were from committee voters than only counted 2 SEC members among their numbers. It's not as if there's not already a sizable majority available to the remainder of the conferences.

I don't mean the literal CFP committee spots, I'm talking about seats at the table to determine what the rules are going to be in the next iteration of the CFP. If they can block an SEC initiative to make it virtually certain the SEC is going to get 7-8 of 12 spots (remember, there may not be a P5 when this is all determined - the Big 12 appears to be gone already, which reduces the number of "legitimate contenders" who will get spots), then that is definitely in those three conferences' best interests.

I don't know that there has to be an initiative to make that possible, on field might very well do it.

5-6 seem likely on a regular basis, you only need a down year with somebody getting only their (presumed) automatic qualifier to open that door for 7 or more.

UK named Will Levis starting QB (apparently he transferred from Penn State? Never heard of him until today) with local product Beau Allen as the #2. Joey Gatewood, transfer from Auburn? Apparently going to transfer again. I mean dude, if you can't crack the lineup at UK - whose best QB of the past 5+ years was a WR - you might want to downsize your expectations during the next school search. Or change positions.

He's the guy who nearly rallied them from a 24-3 deficit against Nebraska after Clifford got benched. Started the next week vs Iowa with so-so production and then Clifford regained the job.

As for Gatewood, he was the likely transfer candidate regardless of whether he was officially the #2 or the #3. He's farther along his career than hometown boy Beau Allen, who could very well be the backup regardless of who is more game ready today based simply on his time remaining to develop.

A situation not entirely dissimilar to how he was beaten out by Bo Nix at Auburn come to think of it.

Wherever he ends up, I'd recommend he pick a program where there isn't a geographically anointed QB in the wings.

As a QB, Levis is mainly a fullback. He seemed totally lost running RPOs but he's a big, strong guy.

What's funny is that Stoops essentially said in so many words that the competition wasn't even close. So I guess that means yet another season without an actual QB.

Which, really, has been their most productive offensive approach for quite a few years now.

If only they had experimented with Lynn Bowden a year earlier...

Former Miami Hurricanes player Rashaun Jones arrested in 2006 murder of teammate Bryan Pata

Great to finally see an arrest made

The look on his face in that picture where the team is honoring Pata is disturbing. Almost smug, so glad to see this arrest made as he was the primary suspect through most of the investigation.

Kudos to #5 GA playing #3 Clemson and #1 Alabama playing #14 Miami as first games.

Also kudos to the Razorbacks taking on Rice. Definitely a dangerous opponent and not a sure thing!

2 to 3 million reasons that's happening (more added revenue for Clemson than Georgia, because their buyout with Wyoming was about $700k less the Georgia's buyout of San Jose State)

Big Ten, ACC, Pac-12 alliance to combat SEC's influence expected to be announced Tuesday - CBSSports.com

It almost feels like the college football world wants to be like pre-WW1 Europe.

So in this scenario, Kirby Smart will be shot by a DB from Georgia Tech and football will be plummeted into years of bloodshed?

Illinois/Nebraska on Fox Saturday to kickoff the season. Kind of a crap game, but at least its college football.

I think Nebraska will be improved, but yeah not a Saturday of stellar matchups. I am curious to see what UCLA looks like ion their game. Chip Kelly has to be out if they don't show some major improvement this season.

I'll be at the UCLA-Hawaii game as I picked up season tickets again.

What are your thoughts on the team this year, does DTR finally have that breakthrough?

I think he had it last year, we basically pissed away some games that we should have easily won, *cough* Stanford/USC *cough*. But I'm a UCLA fan and things never come easy for us.

This was amazing
https://twitter.com/apthirteen/statu...29988700299267

That was great.

Cool story.

This story is not getting nearly enough attention. Zeb Noland, North Dakota State’s starting QB last spring, came to South Carolina as a GA, but last week got added to the roster and is now vying for their starting job.

⁦@JoshTheAthletic⁩ story. https://t.co/PoSYc98DhR

— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) August 25, 2021

And we're off.

Illinois and Nebby struggling a little on offense to start the game.

I am really excited it has started

Rode by the Game Day set up yesterday. Wasn't expecting that at old Turner Field. Pretty wild just riding up on it.

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Illinois up 16-9 at halftime. If Nebraska loses this game, Scott Frost might get fired on the tarmac before boarding the team plane (e.g. USC and Lane Kiffin).

Nebby is such a poorly coached team. I cannot figure out how Frost went undefeated at UCF.

He had superior talent at UCF than what he has at Nebraska, and he had to beat teams like East Carolina and Tulane instead of Ohio State and Wisconsin.

"Leadership and culture" are better than ever .... that phrase seems likely to be on the tombstone of Scott Frost's HC career.

Have a look at their schedule

Is that the same Martinez kid at QB who was there in like 2002? Dude should have a degree in every major offered there by now.

Bart Bielema looking good in Week 0!

(I do think it was a solid hire for Illinois)

Their offense looks like Iowa's. If Biellema can develop they are a real B1G team.

It takes a special sort of dedication to be as bad as UConn has been for a rather long stretch.

Yup, followed by Bobby Petrino turning to traitor to the side he just pledged his undying loyalty to.

I was put in the unusual spot of rooting for Bielema and Illinois. Love watching Nebraska suck!

College football brings out true love and true hatred in people.

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On the other side we had Artur Sitkowski enter the game after the Illinois starter was injured. The same Artur Sitkowski that committed to Miami in HS as a 4* QB, was benched in HS for being ineffective, dropped to a 3*, signed with Rutgers, started the 2018 season with Rutgers, was quite possibly the worst QB I've ever seen start a P5 game, and is now at Illinois with Sophomore eligibility.

Nebraska is dead as a program. Who would want to coach in that black hole?

And I love it.

As a Kansas football fan, let me tall you about....

(I'm still so disappointed we missed 100 losses in the decade because KU-UT was cancelled last year "due to COVID" i.e. due to no one wanting to play the game)

SI