(10-21-2017 01:17 PM)AllTideUp Wrote:  

(10-21-2017 03:44 AM)JRsec Wrote:  It may be 2035 before the ACC finds that there are members in their ranks who no longer want to sign a GOR renewal. I accept that to an extent.

But ESPN will want to sew up Texas. If Texa-homa to the SEC does that I think it happens. I think FOX will go to the mat on it as well and both will push for it sooner rather than later. The reason being they don't want to wait until the streamers bid it up. ESPN has the leverage with the LHN.

The question in my mind however is do they want to use Texas, to acquire a larger % of the Big 10 in 5 years? Or do they want to use the ACC to acquire a larger % of the Big 10 and to mend old fences? Because if they do they can easily place 6 schools each in the Big 10 and SEC and do so profitably. The LHN along with a contingent from the Big 12 is the only option for a PAC which is beginning to ooze discontent.

And Transic, for all the yammering, the Irish when put to the question will go for the conference that offers them the most. The most money. The largest exposure to recruiting grounds, and the most rivals to play.

The Big 10 could accomplish that with a scheduling agreement with the PAC and with a rotating 1 game for the Irish with the SEC. When things were in question with regards to the ACC, and Notre Dame was nosing around membership in what later would turn out to be a failed larger deal, Swarbrick visited Birmingham. Supposedly he wanted insight about the ACC and he wanted to know the viability of scheduling SEC schools should N.D. not take the ACC plunge. Georgia in South Bend is just the first fruit of that.

Should the SEC and Big 10 work together to assimilate the ACC all of the above can be accomplished. The Irish could join the Big 10 solidifying Big 10 control of Northern Cities. They could count on a continued rotation of SEC schools in key recruiting areas, they could have all of their minor sports close to home, play hockey , and probably join with some of their ACC lacrosse buddies as they move to the B1G as well.

The SEC would move to solidify the Southeast and safeguard key rivalries.

If neither of our conferences land Texas and Oklahoma then we maintain a good balance financially and the PAC plays catch up.

It's why I favor the 3 x 20 and if the AAC is renamed & promoted a 4 x 20 would be even better for competitive balance and as a repository for 2nd state schools which otherwise would snag the final move.

Boston College, Syracuse, Notre Dame, Duke (good appeal in NY), Virginia and UNC becomes the rug that ties the B1G room together.

Virginia Tech, N.C. State, Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech, and Miami solidifies the Southeast.

12 is what it takes to dissolve the ACC. We don't fight over Texas and Oklahoma and we all solidify our geography for minor sports.

I think it is still viable.

If ESPN can grab more Big 10 content and split the PAC 50/50 as they do now by lease. I think it would work.

I'm not sure it's viable anymore. With ESPN investing in an ACC Network, I think their plan is to use the SEC and ACC to complement one another.

1. Use the 2 networks to leverage each other into markets they might not be able to get into by themselves.

2. Make sure their inventory is stocked by scheduling plenty of cross-conference content. For example, the number of SEC/ACC games being scheduled has taken a precipitous jump in recent years.

I think this is part of the reason ESPN will "steer" UT and OU to the SEC so that we are fat and happy and far less likely to to want to raid the ACC in the future.

Two points:

1. They haven't really invested anything in the ACCN yet. And it won't launch until 2019 so there's still plenty of time to work out other options. So would they rather pit the ACC against the SEC and further alienate the #2 product in the country for the sake of placating #5? Or is #5 the fallback option if they can't get more of #2.

2. If Texas decides to head to the PAC and takes OU with them along with 4 other Big 12 products then how is ESPN going to placate the SEC? Our T1 is up in 2024-5. It would be poor timing on their part indeed to tick us off right before that part of the contract is signed. How do you think ESPN stock would fare if the SEC cooled to the Mouse? Sure were signed until the mid 2030's but 10 years of knowing the SEC would head elsewhere would devastate their stock expectations.

So I just don't see any angle where they permit Bevo to head West and placate the SEC without reexamining their commitment to the ACC. And I wouldn't be surprised at all with the issues they have faced this past year if Skipper isn't replaced.

The smartest move ESPN could make while staring down the streaming companies that will want to bid on product the next time around would be to double their efforts to land more of the Big 10 (who knows that FOX's coverage hasn't been great for their product) and to play off of Big 10 / SEC rivalry which is deeper and stronger in every way than the SEC / ACC thing.

I'm betting they placate Texas and the SEC and if they do that somebody is going to be on the auction block.

The only way they can avoid that is to land Texas and OU into the SEC. But Texas will have a say in that.