Official 2021 College Football thread
 

The opening games are a little over 5 weeks away.

Now that NIL is in place, and current TV deals are up for renewal, the realignment carousel music is starting.

Report: Texas, Oklahoma in talks to bolt Big 12 for SEC

Anything to get rid of that awful Longhorn Network

I thought Oklahoma St. was legally tied to Oklahoma.

I hope the B1G picks up Pitt. Not sure who the 16th would be.

Take a Syracuse or BC.

It'd be a while.

Both OU & Texas TV rights are tied up until 2024-25, even if they left tomorrow they go without their media rights until then.

As this popped up earlier it hit me that, really, it's probably just a matter of time until teams in the new semi-pro (and I'm being generous) "college" football leagues start relocating their brands to better media markets. Miss State could be based in Jackson instead of Starkvegas and so forth.

Love to see OK and TX in the SEC.

Bobby Bowden has a "terminal medical condition"

This is from 2016, but the dates still hold:

"The ACC also extended its conference rights deal nine years through 2035-36.

The conference's grant of rights makes it financially untenable for a school to leave, guaranteeing in the 20 years of the deal that a school's media rights, including revenue, for all home games would remain with the ACC regardless of the school's affiliation."

Pitt, BC, Syracuse, etc aren't going anywhere without a massive shift that causes the entire system to be ripped up.

[Jason Whitely] BREAKING: Early next week, the @TexasLonghorns and @UofOklahoma will send a letter to the @Big12Conference stating that neither school will renew their media contracts when they expire in 2025.

SEC Network quick to join in on the speculation/fun.

SEC Network, the league’s own TV channel, has some ideas. pic.twitter.com/MSnth9IYMM

— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) July 22, 2021

Pod D: Technically SEC, but eh - you guys stay over there k thx

edit: with an FU to Arky I guess by exiling them over Tamu

That's probably more of a hypothetical nod to trying to mollify A&M

I would think having Texas/A&M playing every year, especially after the upcoming battle to keep them out of the SEC, will be in the SEC and its TV partner's best interests.

They're whining enough already, why poke them with a hypothetical exercise?

Plenty of time for that once they have to reorganize for real.

Here's a solid summary of all of the potential dominoes that could fall if this happens (and it sounds like it is all but over and all that will be left is for the lawyers to handle the divorce details and timing of the exit).

Oklahoma, Texas jump to SEC has massive ESPN, conference implications

Apparently the SEC kept A&M in the dark about Texas and OU. The word is they've been discussing this for at least six months, but A&M only found out a couple of weeks ago, and leaked the story to their Houston Chronicle contact.

Asked about A&M being kept in the dark during secret negotiations between Texas-OU and SEC, one connected SEC source tells me, "I wouldn't dispute that."

— Kirk Bohls (@kbohls) July 23, 2021

If I had a magic wand, I'd revert conference affiliations back to 1992 or so (right after FSU -> ACC and Penn St -> Big 10 happened).

If you have a magic wand you better bring back the 80s Southwestern Conference. Can you imagine the shit those teams would do with NIL?

I'm hoping that if/when this happens, Big 10 and ACC make the move up to 16, as well. I think that gives WVU the best chance to find a home once the dominos all fall. Maybe Kansas and Missouri (unlikely) or an ACC team or three to the Big 10, then that opens up the chance for ACC or long shot SEC to backfill with WVU as an option. I'd guess if Missouri would leave, the SEC would make a big play to try to get into the state of North Carolina, but that would be a tough political move for either UNC or North Carolina State.

/waits for the superconferences

I hate the idea of 4 super conferences, which seems most likely and if you are going this route you might as well go full European soccer mode and make tiered leagues with relegation/promotion turn the playoffs into "cup" competitions.

Super League - Top 32 teams
4 team play for the National championship
Bottom 8 relegated to the closest regional league

Then lump in FCS teams with the remaining FBS to come up with 8 regional leagues of 28 teams (Would need to find a couple more teams from D2 to bring up.

Top 4 teams in each region make the playoffs, with the winner promoted to Super League, 8 total promoted each year.

Yes, my idea is completely absurd, but I guarantee the NCAA will find a way to top it when all is said and done going be there track record.

UNC would, of course, rather remain a respected elder in the ACC and will (I assume) do everything in its power to help keep the ACC relevant and make sure that they are one of the Super Conferences when the shakeout is all done. I don't see them wanting to move to the SEC.

I don't know who would decide for NC State. But I could see a move to the SEC being good for them if the SEC wants it. Being the only NC school in the conference would seem to be a better deal than being the "other" North Carolina public school in the ACC.

But this is all me talking out of my ass. People who follow this stuff more closely than I do probably have a better sense of what is possible/likely,

I think NC State fans generally think the ACC looks out for UNC so I'd think they would be happy to get into the SEC. But maybe I'm wrong.

I read something that said assuming Texas and OU are leaving, the best place for them for the good of the sport would be the ACC as it gives Clemson some competition and prevents the SEC from growing too top heavy.

Im glad all the awful play over the past few years hasnt effected the Texas ego.

Is being a bottom feeder in the SEC going to bring their prestige levels back up?

This is your answer:

For the 2018-19 fiscal year (per @USATODAY) Texas generated $224M in revenue, $11+M more than any other school.

Since 2010, Texas has more losses to Kansas (1) than B12 titles (0).

Texas now wants to make a move that will make winning much harder so it can earn even more money.

— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) July 22, 2021

Per @BruceFeldmanCFB, "Reaching out to the Pac-12 about a potential 20-school merger was discussed during Thursday’s Big 12 leadership call."

God bless realignment.https://t.co/Dw0E4nQf17

— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) July 23, 2021

I'm an NC State alum and contributor to the athletic department, and I can assure you that NC State is not going to move to the SEC. Thirteen of the current fourteen SEC stadiums have a higher seating capacity than Carter-Finley Stadium, and we would have to add 20,000 seats just to get to the 80,000 seat midpoint of those SEC stadiums.

Plus, we're historically a mediocre football program, but at least we usually win 7 or 8 games a year and go to a minor bowl. There's no way we'd want to be battling it out with Vanderbilt every year for last place in the SEC.

But 4th or 5th place in your pod sounds better than last place in the conference!

When I was at UNC for law school, I went to a football game with a friend who went to Tennessee for undergrad. He called UNC football the "rule of 1/3." The stadium was 1/3 as big, the team was 1/3 as good, and the fans were 1/3 as crazy.

Edit--I went to Emory undergrad, which was D3 no football. So I was happy to go to any college football game.

Along those same lines, UNC actually decreased the seating capacity of Keenan Stadium from 63,000 to 51,000 in 2017.

Sark is going to return to getting drunk if he has to play a SEC schedule.

Reports saying that the SEC have approached Ohio State, Michigan, Clemson and FSU in an attempt to make a 20 team "super conference."

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk

If OU/UT are gone, the Big 12 is done.

Woof. Would think the MWC and AAC are ready to pounce. https://t.co/XXUiF7SW8m pic.twitter.com/PCOBRcSg0e

— Mark Ennis (@MarkEnnis) July 26, 2021

At a certain point there's no need for a national playoff anymore. I guess you'd just have an SEC playoff and LOL if you're in another conference, go play in a bowl game if you really feel like it.

In addition to Texas and Oklahoma joining the SEC, there is some speculation on a SEC-ACC merger. If that comes to fruition, they could form their own cartel, essentially a AAA farm system for the NFL. With the pod system, they can somewhat emulate the NFL divisions and playoffs. The "National Championship Game" would be their version of the Super Bowl.

If they do that madness, I sure hope they set it up for promotion/relegation divisions within the new conference.

Maybe the minnows could have a Cup to play for or something while the premium programs played in the only part anyone gave a damn about.

I don't see what the SEC gets from an ACC merger. It surely helps the ACC, but all the SEC gets is, what, NC out of it?

I guess . . . more men's basketball relevance?

But my sense is that even men's basketball is basically a rounding error when talking about the $$ generated by SEC football.

(Clemson is still in the ACC, right?)

I saw an article (Forgot source), that talked about the B1G raiding the PAC12 and picking USC, Colorado, UW and ASU. Those 4 give you the TV markets in LA, Seattle, Denver and Phoenix. The B1Gs footprint would cover something like 17of the top 25 markets.

Throw in Cal and Stanford for academics and Oregon and Nike. The B1G then breaks them into 3x7 pods keeping the WC teams together.

That would trump OU and UT going to the SEC.

Does it seem too predictable that, in another 15-20 years, these mega conferences are not going to need Northwestern and Mississippi State and Vanderbilt, etc. and be looking to downsize?

I think I'm just going to follow the Ivy League from now on. And the Big Sky.

Nathan Ford's arm looks pretty strong.

Cover them, yes.
Have more eyeballs than much smaller markets that actually watch college football, no.

edit to expand: Take Birmingham, where college football ratings are often 10x -- TEN TIMES -- the size of the national average.
That's a 700,000 TV household market that can provide more viewers than every market not named New York.

What some aren't seeing is this time around eyeballs on your games means more or, at minimum, as much as market. With sports moving away from basic cable and over to subscription services such as ESPN+, Amazon prime, and potentially Disney+, Netflix, Hulu, paramount+, HBO Max and anyone else that wants to separate themselves in the subscription wars you need eyeballs more than markets.

Dammit Dwight!

Tree falling in an empty forest etc

When you add 4 larger markets, of course there is diversity, but LA is probably more profitable than Ames, IA.

And dont forget that the B1G network caters to B1G fans. If you git NY may as well get LA. Im sure both have se fans there. Millions?

.@SINow has obtained the cease and desist letter that the Big 12 sent to ESPN.

In it, commissioner Bob Bowlsby says that ESPN has reached out to at least one of the eight remaining Big 12 members in an attempt to convince the school to leave in wake of the Texas and OU exit. pic.twitter.com/j50gEBPWBY

— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) July 28, 2021

I dont think the B1G listens to ESPN, so my guess is Kansas to the ACC. Thats a BB conference after all.