Would the league move back to 8 conference games, freeing up a nonconference slot? Or does the league need the TV inventory that only 9 conference games would provide?

(12-18-2014 03:35 PM)Eichorst Wrote:  Would the league move back to 8 conference games, freeing up a nonconference slot? Or does the league need the TV inventory that only 9 conference games would provide?

Contract was for 9 games.

I'm not 100% sold they'll actually use the CCG if they get the waiver. I think about 90% chance they will, but wouldn't be stunned if they give the current set-up another year or two first.

That said, if they add a CCG, I think they stick at 9 for now as I think that's probably required in their current TV contracts.

As a follow-up, will the B1G move to a 10 game conference schedule with their TV deal being negotiated soon?

(12-18-2014 03:42 PM)Dasville Wrote:  As a follow-up, will the B1G move to a 10 game conference schedule with their TV deal being negotiated soon?

Doubt it. If I remember correctly, there was opposition in getting 9 games approved.

Cheers,
Neil

(12-18-2014 03:55 PM)omniorange Wrote:  

(12-18-2014 03:42 PM)Dasville Wrote:  As a follow-up, will the B1G move to a 10 game conference schedule with their TV deal being negotiated soon?

Doubt it. If I remember correctly, there was opposition in getting 9 games approved.

Cheers,
Neil

I think I read that they talked about playing 10 conference games at one point, but there were only two firm yes votes for that.

Would sure be a moneymaker, though. 10 conference games in a 14-team league means you have 70 conference games to sell to the TV networks. That would be enough to give a lot to each of two networks with plenty left over for BTN. In contrast, the Big 12 only has 45 conference games to potentially sell.

(12-18-2014 04:04 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(12-18-2014 03:55 PM)omniorange Wrote:  

(12-18-2014 03:42 PM)Dasville Wrote:  As a follow-up, will the B1G move to a 10 game conference schedule with their TV deal being negotiated soon?

Doubt it. If I remember correctly, there was opposition in getting 9 games approved.

Cheers,
Neil

I think I read that they talked about playing 10 conference games at one point, but there were only two firm yes votes for that.

Would sure be a moneymaker, though. 10 conference games in a 14-team league means you have 70 conference games to sell to the TV networks. That would be enough to give a lot to each of two networks with plenty left over for BTN. In contrast, the Big 12 only has 45 conference games to potentially sell.

10 games plus G5 match-ups plus Championship Game. That is tough.

(12-18-2014 03:35 PM)Eichorst Wrote:  Would the league move back to 8 conference games, freeing up a nonconference slot? Or does the league need the TV inventory that only 9 conference games would provide?

If they ever go to 11 teams, they would have to decide to 8 conference games or 10, since exactly 9 games each is impossible for an 11-team conference.

But hey if they wanted to go 8 games + ccg they could do that now in a way.

just schedule 8 games by thanksgiving weekend and let the final week be flexible scheduling. Have 5 tentative games scheduled, but make it flexible.

More conference games actually reduces tier 3 inventory, which is the main reason the SEC stayed at 8 conference games. With 4 OOC games spread across the season, you have 14 less games to broadcast because they are now SEC head to head, rather than SEC vs whoever.

(12-18-2014 05:01 PM)LSUtah Wrote:  More conference games actually reduces tier 3 inventory, which is the main reason the SEC stayed at 8 conference games. With 4 OOC games spread across the season, you have 14 less games to broadcast because they are now SEC head to head, rather than SEC vs whoever.

SEC conference games are much more valuable to TV than SEC vs. Directional Small State U. But a lower-tier SEC team wants the extra game vs. Directional Small State U, instead of a game against Alabama or Georgia, to increase their chances of being bowl-eligible, and an upper-tier SEC team wants a fourth home game against Directional Small State U to increase its chances of being 11-1 instead of 10-2, or 10-2 instead of 9-3, etc.

(12-18-2014 04:37 PM)goofus Wrote:  

(12-18-2014 03:35 PM)Eichorst Wrote:  Would the league move back to 8 conference games, freeing up a nonconference slot? Or does the league need the TV inventory that only 9 conference games would provide?

If they ever go to 11 teams, they would have to decide to 8 conference games or 10, since exactly 9 games each is impossible for an 11-team conference.

But hey if they wanted to go 8 games + ccg they could do that now in a way.

just schedule 8 games by thanksgiving weekend and let the final week be flexible scheduling. Have 5 tentative games scheduled, but make it flexible.

With 10 schools, you need the inventory of 9 league games. But your flex schedule works. In the first 13 weeks, have everybody play their three OOC opponents plus 8 conference games. In week 14, you set up a conference semifinal, matching the four teams with the best conference records. Then you pair up the remaining 6 teams to finish their 12 game schedule, giving the odd home game to the three with the best league records. In week 15, you now have a conference final with the 2 semifinal winners.

By not exceeding the 12 game regular season limit, you get what none of the larger conferences have - a four team conference playoff, for big bucks - and your eventual champion has added two quality wins on its resume. And you still don't have to slice the TV and bowl pie in smaller pieces.

(12-18-2014 05:10 PM)ken d Wrote:  

(12-18-2014 04:37 PM)goofus Wrote:  

(12-18-2014 03:35 PM)Eichorst Wrote:  Would the league move back to 8 conference games, freeing up a nonconference slot? Or does the league need the TV inventory that only 9 conference games would provide?

If they ever go to 11 teams, they would have to decide to 8 conference games or 10, since exactly 9 games each is impossible for an 11-team conference.

But hey if they wanted to go 8 games + ccg they could do that now in a way.

just schedule 8 games by thanksgiving weekend and let the final week be flexible scheduling. Have 5 tentative games scheduled, but make it flexible.

With 10 schools, you need the inventory of 9 league games. But your flex schedule works. In the first 13 weeks, have everybody play their three OOC opponents plus 8 conference games. In week 14, you set up a conference semifinal, matching the four teams with the best conference records. Then you pair up the remaining 6 teams to finish their 12 game schedule, giving the odd home game to the three with the best league records. In week 15, you now have a conference final with the 2 semifinal winners.

By not exceeding the 12 game regular season limit, you get what none of the larger conferences have - a four team conference playoff, for big bucks - and your eventual champion has added two quality wins on its resume. And you still don't have to slice the TV and bowl pie in smaller pieces.

I don't see why the other conferences couldn't do similar flex scheduling, but on a divisional basis. No reason Wisconsin / Minnesota and Ohio St / Michigan St couldn't have been actual semifinal games the last week of the season vs de facto semifinal games.

(12-18-2014 04:13 PM)Dasville Wrote:  

(12-18-2014 04:04 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(12-18-2014 03:55 PM)omniorange Wrote:  

(12-18-2014 03:42 PM)Dasville Wrote:  As a follow-up, will the B1G move to a 10 game conference schedule with their TV deal being negotiated soon?

Doubt it. If I remember correctly, there was opposition in getting 9 games approved.

Cheers,
Neil

I think I read that they talked about playing 10 conference games at one point, but there were only two firm yes votes for that.

Would sure be a moneymaker, though. 10 conference games in a 14-team league means you have 70 conference games to sell to the TV networks. That would be enough to give a lot to each of two networks with plenty left over for BTN. In contrast, the Big 12 only has 45 conference games to potentially sell.

10 games plus G5 match-ups plus Championship Game. That is tough.

10 B1G games makes for a pretty soft schedule most years

(12-18-2014 05:10 PM)ken d Wrote:  

(12-18-2014 04:37 PM)goofus Wrote:  

(12-18-2014 03:35 PM)Eichorst Wrote:  Would the league move back to 8 conference games, freeing up a nonconference slot? Or does the league need the TV inventory that only 9 conference games would provide?

If they ever go to 11 teams, they would have to decide to 8 conference games or 10, since exactly 9 games each is impossible for an 11-team conference.

But hey if they wanted to go 8 games + ccg they could do that now in a way.

just schedule 8 games by thanksgiving weekend and let the final week be flexible scheduling. Have 5 tentative games scheduled, but make it flexible.

With 10 schools, you need the inventory of 9 league games. But your flex schedule works. In the first 13 weeks, have everybody play their three OOC opponents plus 8 conference games. In week 14, you set up a conference semifinal, matching the four teams with the best conference records. Then you pair up the remaining 6 teams to finish their 12 game schedule, giving the odd home game to the three with the best league records.

The problem with this is, you probably need to already have the sites set up. I remember thinking about this when the Big East was having issues because of only seven conference games, and I thought it would be a good idea to have a rematch set up the final week, with four set home games (needed to balance home games), and mix and match the road teams based on record. So if you did this with the Big 12, you would need to already have the five home sites selected, and mix and match the road teams, so it may not work as an exact playoff seeding, but you can have two sets of top four teams play each other.

(12-18-2014 03:39 PM)ohio1317 Wrote:  I'm not 100% sold they'll actually use the CCG if they get the waiver. I think about 90% chance they will, but wouldn't be stunned if they give the current set-up another year or two first.

That said, if they add a CCG, I think they stick at 9 for now as I think that's probably required in their current TV contracts.

I don't think they would, at least not right away. They would wait and see.

And they have to stick at 9. That was one of the issues with Louisville as #11. They couldn't go back to 8.

(12-18-2014 05:10 PM)ken d Wrote:  

(12-18-2014 04:37 PM)goofus Wrote:  

(12-18-2014 03:35 PM)Eichorst Wrote:  Would the league move back to 8 conference games, freeing up a nonconference slot? Or does the league need the TV inventory that only 9 conference games would provide?

If they ever go to 11 teams, they would have to decide to 8 conference games or 10, since exactly 9 games each is impossible for an 11-team conference.

But hey if they wanted to go 8 games + ccg they could do that now in a way.

just schedule 8 games by thanksgiving weekend and let the final week be flexible scheduling. Have 5 tentative games scheduled, but make it flexible.

With 10 schools, you need the inventory of 9 league games. But your flex schedule works. In the first 13 weeks, have everybody play their three OOC opponents plus 8 conference games. In week 14, you set up a conference semifinal, matching the four teams with the best conference records. Then you pair up the remaining 6 teams to finish their 12 game schedule, giving the odd home game to the three with the best league records. In week 15, you now have a conference final with the 2 semifinal winners.

By not exceeding the 12 game regular season limit, you get what none of the larger conferences have - a four team conference playoff, for big bucks - and your eventual champion has added two quality wins on its resume. And you still don't have to slice the TV and bowl pie in smaller pieces.

For the teams not involved with the playoff, that "spare game" would be a financial disaster. Nearly all of those games would be rematches of games from a few weeks earlier -- they've already played 8 of their 9 possible conference opponents once, so even if you try to avoid rematches you will rarely be able to do so. And each game would be two days after Thanksgiving, with only a week's advance notice. Giving the extra home games to the three also-ran teams with the best records would be a nice cynical way to boost their chances of bowl eligibility, though. Let the 5-6 teams play at home and play their second game of the year against Kansas or Iowa State.

(12-18-2014 05:21 PM)ren.hoek Wrote:  

(12-18-2014 04:13 PM)Dasville Wrote:  

(12-18-2014 04:04 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(12-18-2014 03:55 PM)omniorange Wrote:  

(12-18-2014 03:42 PM)Dasville Wrote:  As a follow-up, will the B1G move to a 10 game conference schedule with their TV deal being negotiated soon?

Doubt it. If I remember correctly, there was opposition in getting 9 games approved.

Cheers,
Neil

I think I read that they talked about playing 10 conference games at one point, but there were only two firm yes votes for that.

Would sure be a moneymaker, though. 10 conference games in a 14-team league means you have 70 conference games to sell to the TV networks. That would be enough to give a lot to each of two networks with plenty left over for BTN. In contrast, the Big 12 only has 45 conference games to potentially sell.

10 games plus G5 match-ups plus Championship Game. That is tough.

10 B1G games makes for a pretty soft schedule most years

LOL coming from a Clemson fan :)

(12-18-2014 05:29 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(12-18-2014 05:10 PM)ken d Wrote:  

(12-18-2014 04:37 PM)goofus Wrote:  

(12-18-2014 03:35 PM)Eichorst Wrote:  Would the league move back to 8 conference games, freeing up a nonconference slot? Or does the league need the TV inventory that only 9 conference games would provide?

If they ever go to 11 teams, they would have to decide to 8 conference games or 10, since exactly 9 games each is impossible for an 11-team conference.

But hey if they wanted to go 8 games + ccg they could do that now in a way.

just schedule 8 games by thanksgiving weekend and let the final week be flexible scheduling. Have 5 tentative games scheduled, but make it flexible.

With 10 schools, you need the inventory of 9 league games. But your flex schedule works. In the first 13 weeks, have everybody play their three OOC opponents plus 8 conference games. In week 14, you set up a conference semifinal, matching the four teams with the best conference records. Then you pair up the remaining 6 teams to finish their 12 game schedule, giving the odd home game to the three with the best league records. In week 15, you now have a conference final with the 2 semifinal winners.

By not exceeding the 12 game regular season limit, you get what none of the larger conferences have - a four team conference playoff, for big bucks - and your eventual champion has added two quality wins on its resume. And you still don't have to slice the TV and bowl pie in smaller pieces.

For the teams not involved with the playoff, that "spare game" would be a financial disaster. Nearly all of those games would be rematches of games from a few weeks earlier -- they've already played 8 of their 9 possible conference opponents once, so even if you try to avoid rematches you will rarely be able to do so. And each game would be two days after Thanksgiving, with only a week's advance notice. Giving the extra home games to the three also-ran teams with the best records would be a nice cynical way to boost their chances of bowl eligibility, though. Let the 5-6 teams play at home and play their second game of the year against Kansas or Iowa State.

I'm all about cynicism. That's the reason P5 teams are playing FCS teams in the first place. I'm also cynical enough to assume that if the Big 12 plays a four team CCT, the rest of the P5 will quickly follow suit. And the scenario plays out even better for the 14 team conferences, who can arrange to have fewer rematches in the end of season games played with bowl eligibility as the prize. That's all a part of my plan to have a de facto 32 team playoff without extending the current regular season past week 15, culminating in the final two teams playing off during New Year's week.

That would be 20 P5 teams playing down to five spots in the quarterfinals, and 12 teams from the G5 plus indies playing down to the other three. What would be interesting to me in this scenario is how the different conferences would arrange their pre-playoff schedule. I assume they would guarantee to preserve long standing rivalries. But after that would they deliberately schedule their heavy hitters against weak sisters to assure their playoff teams of the gaudiest possible records? Or would they match their heavy hitters in the pre-season to optimize TV revenue and enhance the chances that their weaker teams will qualify for a bowl?

Since conference champs would be guaranteed a spot in the quarterfinals regardless of their record, I assume it would be the latter, with those top teams also playing prime time matchups OOC. Wouldn't all those things produce what's best for fans, and therefore the networks? There will still be a market in the third tier for games of purely local or regional interest (like the four North Carolina schools) while providing great inter-regional games throughout the year for the national audience.

They should all play 9 + 1 P5, 1 GO5 and 1 Baby Seal.

(12-18-2014 03:35 PM)Eichorst Wrote:  Would the league move back to 8 conference games, freeing up a nonconference slot? Or does the league need the TV inventory that only 9 conference games would provide?

FYi--Comference tv inventory is effectively any home game played by conference members. The reality is a 9 game Comference schedule actually REDUCES tv inventory. Why? Because most power conference teams have as many as 3 home games in a 4 game OOC so the conference could have more teams at home on any given weekend during OOC play. Theoretically, every team could be at home on a weekend. However, during conference play--half the teams will always be on the road---which significantly limits inventory.