(10-19-2026 09:54 AM)Pounce FTW Wrote:  

(10-14-2026 04:14 PM)monarx Wrote:  There are only two teams I care to add if they come east. First would be Delaware, and second would be WKU. Delaware has a ton of potential and expands our recruiting footprint and maybe even our media footprint. They also have good academics and when they are good a pretty nice fanbase. They arent much different from JMU and would be a good replacement. WKU is basically bringing back an old friend who you know fits well in the group. A safe choice who wouldnt leave (again). I really hope its Delaware being added.

I'm with you pretty completely here. Delaware is my top choice!

Ohio and Delaware for sure.
Hope like Hell WKU or Charlotte doesn't end up here.

(10-19-2026 09:43 AM)Herd6993 Wrote:  

(10-19-2026 08:14 AM)islandTROYtrojan Wrote:  Very likely that post PCSA once the P4 have reached their limit that almost all if not all conference realignment will stop. At that point, ESPN and others will hopefully have a vested interest in equalizing the G6 conferences more than they are now for competitive and interest purposes. Hopefully other media partners are in the mix by then as ESPN does not have unlimited funds and do not release profit or deficit numbers on the CFP while Disney will continue to tighten the reigns. They will be paying 205 million dollars (345 million minus CCG savings) more per year on the P4's CFP bringing the total to about 1.5 billion dollars. Approximately 100 million in add sales per game in the CFP (50 thirty second spots at 2 million each). As some media partners are priced out of the P4 we can only hope the G6 becomes more attractive to them as ESPN will only be able to afford or be interested in the P4 at that time. Not sure how any team we might add will increase our chances at higher payouts. We shall see. I am leaning towards Ohio as the better add but probably does not make that much difference overall.

I see the opposite happening. Once the P4 conferences establish themselves at roughly 18–20 teams each, the battle shifts to the American and PAC. Both will want to be the top G6 conference. While that lone CFP spot may be a pittance compared to what the P4 receives, it still holds value, and there is value in being the conference that consistently has the best opportunity to claim it.

The PAC probably has the better opportunity to be selective and target the schools it wants, but its current TV package is not that strong. The American has the better TV situation and an established relationship with ESPN, but it also has some baggage with its current membership and may be the conference that loses some marquee names.

Ultimately, ESPN may be the biggest decision-maker in all of this. If ESPN decides there is value in consolidating the strongest available G6 programs into one conference, its money and influence could go a long way toward determining which conference comes out on top. Conversely, if another media company decides it wants a larger presence in college football and sees value in the Pac, that could completely change the equation.

We will have a little bit of an idea with how the negotiations with the MAC, SBC, and ESPN media deals go. Does ESPN offer nice increases? Do the current members stay or leave? I

Certainly, anything can happen. My comments come from a discussion with a friend who works for ESPN in contracts who, granted, does not know the future any more than we do. His point was that ESPN would not want one conference stacked with all the best teams in G6 because to do so would lessen the appeal of the games against other conferences and would not be healthy in increasing subscribers to Plus etc. Basically, if one conference steamrolls all the others it would be harmful to the other conferences and therefore not in ESPN's best interest. This is ok at the P4 level but not here. Not sure where the value is in the CFP at all but some apparently do which is fine. I certainly am not so arrogant as to think I am right on all things. Like you say though...time will tell. I personally long for the old times where we hardly ever talked about money. Unfortunately it is #1 now and I hate it.

Is the SBC getting close to a decision?

(10-19-2026 10:01 AM)islandTROYtrojan Wrote:  

(10-19-2026 09:43 AM)Herd6993 Wrote:  

(10-19-2026 08:14 AM)islandTROYtrojan Wrote:  Very likely that post PCSA once the P4 have reached their limit that almost all if not all conference realignment will stop. At that point, ESPN and others will hopefully have a vested interest in equalizing the G6 conferences more than they are now for competitive and interest purposes. Hopefully other media partners are in the mix by then as ESPN does not have unlimited funds and do not release profit or deficit numbers on the CFP while Disney will continue to tighten the reigns. They will be paying 205 million dollars (345 million minus CCG savings) more per year on the P4's CFP bringing the total to about 1.5 billion dollars. Approximately 100 million in add sales per game in the CFP (50 thirty second spots at 2 million each). As some media partners are priced out of the P4 we can only hope the G6 becomes more attractive to them as ESPN will only be able to afford or be interested in the P4 at that time. Not sure how any team we might add will increase our chances at higher payouts. We shall see. I am leaning towards Ohio as the better add but probably does not make that much difference overall.

I see the opposite happening. Once the P4 conferences establish themselves at roughly 18–20 teams each, the battle shifts to the American and PAC. Both will want to be the top G6 conference. While that lone CFP spot may be a pittance compared to what the P4 receives, it still holds value, and there is value in being the conference that consistently has the best opportunity to claim it.

The PAC probably has the better opportunity to be selective and target the schools it wants, but its current TV package is not that strong. The American has the better TV situation and an established relationship with ESPN, but it also has some baggage with its current membership and may be the conference that loses some marquee names.

Ultimately, ESPN may be the biggest decision-maker in all of this. If ESPN decides there is value in consolidating the strongest available G6 programs into one conference, its money and influence could go a long way toward determining which conference comes out on top. Conversely, if another media company decides it wants a larger presence in college football and sees value in the Pac, that could completely change the equation.

We will have a little bit of an idea with how the negotiations with the MAC, SBC, and ESPN media deals go. Does ESPN offer nice increases? Do the current members stay or leave? I

Certainly, anything can happen. My comments come from a discussion with a friend who works for ESPN in contracts who, granted, does not know the future any more than we do. His point was that ESPN would not want one conference stacked with all the best teams in G6 because to do so would lessen the appeal of the games against other conferences and would not be healthy in increasing subscribers to Plus etc. Basically, if one conference steamrolls all the others it would be harmful to the other conferences and therefore not in ESPN's best interest. This is ok at the P4 level but not here. Not sure where the value is in the CFP at all but some apparently do which is fine. I certainly am not so arrogant as to think I am right on all things. Like you say though...time will tell. I personally long for the old times where we hardly ever talked about money. Unfortunately it is #1 now and I hate it.

Make sense and I can see that too, but does FOX? or another network? And 100% agree, I long for the days of loyalty to your school, regional conferences (SBC has this right), and the value of an education was factored into your compensation.

(10-19-2026 10:15 AM)Herd6993 Wrote:  

(10-19-2026 10:01 AM)islandTROYtrojan Wrote:  

(10-19-2026 09:43 AM)Herd6993 Wrote:  

(10-19-2026 08:14 AM)islandTROYtrojan Wrote:  Very likely that post PCSA once the P4 have reached their limit that almost all if not all conference realignment will stop. At that point, ESPN and others will hopefully have a vested interest in equalizing the G6 conferences more than they are now for competitive and interest purposes. Hopefully other media partners are in the mix by then as ESPN does not have unlimited funds and do not release profit or deficit numbers on the CFP while Disney will continue to tighten the reigns. They will be paying 205 million dollars (345 million minus CCG savings) more per year on the P4's CFP bringing the total to about 1.5 billion dollars. Approximately 100 million in add sales per game in the CFP (50 thirty second spots at 2 million each). As some media partners are priced out of the P4 we can only hope the G6 becomes more attractive to them as ESPN will only be able to afford or be interested in the P4 at that time. Not sure how any team we might add will increase our chances at higher payouts. We shall see. I am leaning towards Ohio as the better add but probably does not make that much difference overall.

I see the opposite happening. Once the P4 conferences establish themselves at roughly 18–20 teams each, the battle shifts to the American and PAC. Both will want to be the top G6 conference. While that lone CFP spot may be a pittance compared to what the P4 receives, it still holds value, and there is value in being the conference that consistently has the best opportunity to claim it.

The PAC probably has the better opportunity to be selective and target the schools it wants, but its current TV package is not that strong. The American has the better TV situation and an established relationship with ESPN, but it also has some baggage with its current membership and may be the conference that loses some marquee names.

Ultimately, ESPN may be the biggest decision-maker in all of this. If ESPN decides there is value in consolidating the strongest available G6 programs into one conference, its money and influence could go a long way toward determining which conference comes out on top. Conversely, if another media company decides it wants a larger presence in college football and sees value in the Pac, that could completely change the equation.

We will have a little bit of an idea with how the negotiations with the MAC, SBC, and ESPN media deals go. Does ESPN offer nice increases? Do the current members stay or leave? I

Certainly, anything can happen. My comments come from a discussion with a friend who works for ESPN in contracts who, granted, does not know the future any more than we do. His point was that ESPN would not want one conference stacked with all the best teams in G6 because to do so would lessen the appeal of the games against other conferences and would not be healthy in increasing subscribers to Plus etc. Basically, if one conference steamrolls all the others it would be harmful to the other conferences and therefore not in ESPN's best interest. This is ok at the P4 level but not here. Not sure where the value is in the CFP at all but some apparently do which is fine. I certainly am not so arrogant as to think I am right on all things. Like you say though...time will tell. I personally long for the old times where we hardly ever talked about money. Unfortunately it is #1 now and I hate it.

Make sense and I can see that too, but does FOX? or another network? And 100% agree, I long for the days of loyalty to your school, regional conferences (SBC has this right), and the value of an education was factored into your compensation.

You are right. Other possible media partners are the big wildcard in all of this.

(10-19-2026 10:01 AM)islandTROYtrojan Wrote:  

(10-19-2026 09:43 AM)Herd6993 Wrote:  

(10-19-2026 08:14 AM)islandTROYtrojan Wrote:  Very likely that post PCSA once the P4 have reached their limit that almost all if not all conference realignment will stop. At that point, ESPN and others will hopefully have a vested interest in equalizing the G6 conferences more than they are now for competitive and interest purposes. Hopefully other media partners are in the mix by then as ESPN does not have unlimited funds and do not release profit or deficit numbers on the CFP while Disney will continue to tighten the reigns. They will be paying 205 million dollars (345 million minus CCG savings) more per year on the P4's CFP bringing the total to about 1.5 billion dollars. Approximately 100 million in add sales per game in the CFP (50 thirty second spots at 2 million each). As some media partners are priced out of the P4 we can only hope the G6 becomes more attractive to them as ESPN will only be able to afford or be interested in the P4 at that time. Not sure how any team we might add will increase our chances at higher payouts. We shall see. I am leaning towards Ohio as the better add but probably does not make that much difference overall.

I see the opposite happening. Once the P4 conferences establish themselves at roughly 18–20 teams each, the battle shifts to the American and PAC. Both will want to be the top G6 conference. While that lone CFP spot may be a pittance compared to what the P4 receives, it still holds value, and there is value in being the conference that consistently has the best opportunity to claim it.

The PAC probably has the better opportunity to be selective and target the schools it wants, but its current TV package is not that strong. The American has the better TV situation and an established relationship with ESPN, but it also has some baggage with its current membership and may be the conference that loses some marquee names.

Ultimately, ESPN may be the biggest decision-maker in all of this. If ESPN decides there is value in consolidating the strongest available G6 programs into one conference, its money and influence could go a long way toward determining which conference comes out on top. Conversely, if another media company decides it wants a larger presence in college football and sees value in the Pac, that could completely change the equation.

We will have a little bit of an idea with how the negotiations with the MAC, SBC, and ESPN media deals go. Does ESPN offer nice increases? Do the current members stay or leave? I

Certainly, anything can happen. My comments come from a discussion with a friend who works for ESPN in contracts who, granted, does not know the future any more than we do. His point was that ESPN would not want one conference stacked with all the best teams in G6 because to do so would lessen the appeal of the games against other conferences and would not be healthy in increasing subscribers to Plus etc. Basically, if one conference steamrolls all the others it would be harmful to the other conferences and therefore not in ESPN's best interest. This is ok at the P4 level but not here. Not sure where the value is in the CFP at all but some apparently do which is fine. I certainly am not so arrogant as to think I am right on all things. Like you say though...time will tell. I personally long for the old times where we hardly ever talked about money. Unfortunately it is #1 now and I hate it.

This parity seems to be playing out at the G4 level. Indiana and now Miami who couldn't fill half the stadium two years ago. Interesting. This makes ECU IMO more of a possibility. Programs in the G6 aware of this, as I'm sure they all are, will likely be more interested in less travel and regional affiliation and academic alignment to fill stadiums and build rivalry. Privates get bunched with privates may be an outlier but for most I can see building a regional brand becoming more valuable if this is the case.

(10-19-2026 10:13 AM)hburg Wrote:  Is the SBC getting close to a decision?

SBC is not in a rush. We'll get there when we get there

I think the decision depends on if JMU is leaving in 2027 or 2028. Would bet negotiations will take place for a 2027 exit for a few million more.

(10-19-2026 09:55 AM)monarx Wrote:  It would be so hilarious to bring in ECU as JMU goes there. I wouldnt mind bringing in Charlotte, I think they're a good fit TBH. Delaware is actually the closest thing to replacing what JMU brought though. They'd be my top choice behind ECU which I cant see happening.

What does Charlotte bring for the SBC? They do not fit the vibe (except GASt), and are not competitive. AppSt already gives us NC. One of the worst FBS candidates imho

Sent from my SM-S928U using Tapatalk

I don't care at all who the East chooses to add. I'd imagine most SBC West folks don't care. The East needs to make the choice that fits their best interests. Delaware, Ohio, WKU, Liberty, Toledo... take your pick.

(10-19-2026 02:07 PM)CardinalBlackTrojan Wrote:  I don't care at all who the East chooses to add. I'd imagine most SBC West folks don't care. The East needs to make the choice that fits their best interests. Delaware, Ohio, WKU, Liberty, Toledo... take your pick.

Unless they choose something like Hawaii or UMass. May be a bit too far

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(10-19-2026 09:55 AM)monarx Wrote:  It would be so hilarious to bring in ECU as JMU goes there. I wouldnt mind bringing in Charlotte, I think they're a good fit TBH. Delaware is actually the closest thing to replacing what JMU brought though. They'd be my top choice behind ECU which I cant see happening.

How is Delaware anything like JMU? JMU was good in football and basketball before they joined us and competed in the SBC from day one. Delaware doesn't have that pedigree. They are more like Charlotte, and you are the only one that wants Charlotte. Does the East just really need a doormat?

(10-19-2026 02:11 PM)hannibalDawg Wrote:  

(10-19-2026 02:07 PM)CardinalBlackTrojan Wrote:  I don't care at all who the East chooses to add. I'd imagine most SBC West folks don't care. The East needs to make the choice that fits their best interests. Delaware, Ohio, WKU, Liberty, Toledo... take your pick.

Unless they choose something like Hawaii or UMass. May be a bit too far

Sent from my SM-S928U using Tapatalk

Let's go big and add LU and UD to the East and WKU to the west.

(10-19-2026 02:16 PM)monarx Wrote:  

(10-19-2026 02:11 PM)hannibalDawg Wrote:  

(10-19-2026 02:07 PM)CardinalBlackTrojan Wrote:  I don't care at all who the East chooses to add. I'd imagine most SBC West folks don't care. The East needs to make the choice that fits their best interests. Delaware, Ohio, WKU, Liberty, Toledo... take your pick.

Unless they choose something like Hawaii or UMass. May be a bit too far

Sent from my SM-S928U using Tapatalk

Let's go big and add LU and UD to the East and WKU to the west.

WKU is a backwards move and taking them doesnt weaken CUSA. Taking Ohio damages the MAC and Strengthens the SBC. Same can be said about taking Delaware, Liberty, or Missouri State from CUSA.

(10-19-2026 02:07 PM)CardinalBlackTrojan Wrote:  I don't care at all who the East chooses to add. I'd imagine most SBC West folks don't care. The East needs to make the choice that fits their best interests. Delaware, Ohio, WKU, Liberty, Toledo... take your pick.

This whole premise underscores the deepening divide between one side of the conference and the other.

(10-19-2026 04:15 PM)Michael in Raleigh Wrote:  

(10-19-2026 02:07 PM)CardinalBlackTrojan Wrote:  I don't care at all who the East chooses to add. I'd imagine most SBC West folks don't care. The East needs to make the choice that fits their best interests. Delaware, Ohio, WKU, Liberty, Toledo... take your pick.

This whole premise underscores the deepening divide between one side of the conference and the other.

I don't quite understand how this shows any divide. If, as many have said here, the western schools were allowed to choose the western add then the eastern schools should be allowed to choose the eastern add. Personally, I believe this east and west divide issue is a message board discussion point that only exists here in the minds of some and not within conference leadership. It is very silly when you think about it. Grown men and certainly men in power at our schools are not that immature as to hold grudges or get angry when they can't have their way. There really is no evidence outside a few posters here and there where this divide is said to exist. It takes more than 7 schools to approve any additions.

(10-19-2026 04:15 PM)Michael in Raleigh Wrote:  

(10-19-2026 02:07 PM)CardinalBlackTrojan Wrote:  I don't care at all who the East chooses to add. I'd imagine most SBC West folks don't care. The East needs to make the choice that fits their best interests. Delaware, Ohio, WKU, Liberty, Toledo... take your pick.

This whole premise underscores the deepening divide between one side of the conference and the other.

The state of Ohio has 708 high school football teams and 12m people (7th largest state). OU has 25k students and $1B endowment.

Delaware is the flagship and only fbs school in a state of 1m and growing. Enrollment of 24k and endowment of $2.06B

Our conference can elevate these programs and they will elevate the SBC. We shouldn't want the other g6 conferences to have them. I think fans of the eastern schools get it.

I wouldn't want any random to join the west either. Only the best available.

1 million and growing. Impressive. Kenpom #249

(10-19-2026 10:13 AM)hburg Wrote:  Is the SBC getting close to a decision?

We are in negotiations with you guys about leaving after 2027 first. We won't bring anyone in until that part is largely done.

(10-19-2026 02:25 PM)polkhigh Wrote:  

(10-19-2026 02:16 PM)monarx Wrote:  

(10-19-2026 02:11 PM)hannibalDawg Wrote:  

(10-19-2026 02:07 PM)CardinalBlackTrojan Wrote:  I don't care at all who the East chooses to add. I'd imagine most SBC West folks don't care. The East needs to make the choice that fits their best interests. Delaware, Ohio, WKU, Liberty, Toledo... take your pick.

Unless they choose something like Hawaii or UMass. May be a bit too far

Sent from my SM-S928U using Tapatalk

Let's go big and add LU and UD to the East and WKU to the west.

WKU is a backwards move and taking them doesnt weaken CUSA. Taking Ohio damages the MAC and Strengthens the SBC. Same can be said about taking Delaware, Liberty, or Missouri State from CUSA.

The West cares, believe me. Its just we're probably not going to split hairs if its like an Ohio or WKU. Where you might see the West say something is a Liberty type add,