I don't know how the future will look. As others have mentioned in other threads, the networks appear to be driving the bus on realignment. Here are my thoughts on realignment and college sports in general.

I think the networks are looking to "franchise" the biggest name schools and will use a model that has been wildly successful over the past 10+ years - make it look like the NFL. I believe this is what the networks want to see in order to get to a sport that has a true playoff. And in the end it will end up improving the quality of the product on the field. But...it will become NFL lite in the end. Hypothetically if all realignment stops today, and all the current teams are frozen in place and the power 5 are the "rich" - if the split materializes like people think it will then the networks are going to ruin it in the end.

A lot of us are already tuning out and not watching sports to the extent that we used to. I'm pretty much down to watching only one sport on TV now - football. All other sports have been cut out of my life. I Didn't bother to watch the NCAAs this year at all. I have no interest in it anymore. I used to, but there are too many other things going on in my life to bother with unnecessary distractions. It's probably just a matter of time until I stop watching football and then all pro and college sports are out of my life. Anyone else professing similar views will have my respect.

I've about had it with colleges trying to play the game of semi-pro sports franchises. The tail is wagging the dog more than I care to see it. Frankly, I'd rather hear news that Pitt's academic standing in the world goes up by 20 spots than to see Pitt win championships. Seriously, who cares in the end anyways? I was there when the Steelers won their 5th super bowl - hanging on almost every game throughout that season. Guess what? After they won it all, I still had the same amount of bills to pay. I still had the same projects due at work. I still had the same amount of money in my 401k, bank accounts, IRA's, etc... Nothing changed. But I made an investment of time following it all. What did I get for that investment? Ha! A few moments of happiness that soon faded into...nothing.

College sports used to be about the rivalries, the tradition, the sense that these are amateurs who are there playing for their school pride - not for payoffs. Yes, we all knew that it hasn't been this way for quite some time. But you know, the veneer is coming off. What is happening today is that the intentional ignorance we clung to about college athletics is being stripped away. Speaking for myself, it's resulting in my fandom being slowly stripped away too.

I play the game on this forum from time to time. Many of you know what I'm all about, and many of you simply do not get me and you never will. But at the end of the day, whatever happens to Pitt athletics has no bearing on my life. It does not change one iota of my existence in any way. I love my school and I root for it daily. But I care most about what my school does to better itself as a degree granting institution, what does it do in the greater Pittsburgh area and how does Pitt make life better for it's students and everyone associated with it. I root for that. The athletics I truly care about for Pitt now are swimming, track and field, baseball, wrestiling, the sports that do not matter. Because the students who compete in those sports aren't doing it for the big payday. They are doing it because they want to compete and they want the opportunity to get the education. That's what I root for. Football and Basketball? Sure, I still root for it, but I don't care if they really win or lose. Because the truth is that both sports have become a farce, and they really don't reflect the universities anymore. They're mere franchises. I only care about how many times Pitt athletics are shown on TV because that is advertising for the school. Otherwise, I don't care...

Now you guys should know who I am and what I am all about.

Ratings for the NCAA tournament are up 5% over last year and are the best ratings in 23 years. People may be tuning out football more as ratings are down for that sport, but the NCAA tourney ratings this year are solid.

I also fear that big money makers will eventually kill the goose that lays the golden egg we know as CFB. They are forgetting what made it such a great game. Soon they will price the everyday people out of the game... These massive TV contacts are exactly what is keeping folks in front of the tube instead of at the stadium. Why are ticket prices to CFB games going up when the schools are raking in millions in TV revenue? Sure, a lot of stadiums are still filling up , but how long will people choose to pay these prices. More and more sports bars now, and more private game parties are now the theme. I used to buy season tickets to FSU for $120. Checked lately? So you may say that that was a while ago. Have the salaries of today increased that much? Not really. JMHO of course, and I appreciate your thoughts...

Miko and USAFMEDIC, I agree. (And USAFMEDIC, thank you for finding room for USM in that small/crowded area of your signature).

Miko, you are 100% right about what the networks are doing. I do blame the administration at places like Florida, Penn State, and UT-Austin. Their mission was to educate. They had every reason (hell- they're required) to abandon the profit motive unless it helps with the real mission.

We've seen the end game. It's the Harlem Globetrotters, the XFL, or the WWE. Big Bad Bama will get to wear the belt most of the time. Then, after resentment builds for a while, maybe Florida will. But it's all becoming completely pre-engineered.

(03-25-2013 01:26 PM)USAFMEDIC Wrote:  I also fear that money makers will eventually kill the goose that lays the golden egg we know as CFB. They are forgetting what made it such a great game. Soon they will price the everyday people out of the game...

I agree. CFB cannot compete with the NFL head to head if you are looking at pure performance. It's one of the reasons I always chuckled when people talked about "dream conferences" and putting all these power schools under one umbrella. It doesn't work because it will always be inferior to the NFL. Thursday nights proved that out week after week throughout the 2012 FB season.

When you lose the rivalries and the school pride, then it morphs into something not so appealing.

If you boil it down. The truth is very little has changed over time.

CUSA has 8 schools that at least passed through the Sun Belt. The Former Big East with it's 11 members features 3 old Valley teams (four if/when Tulsa enters), four former Metro, 8 former CUSA.

The MWC is four former Mountain States Conference (Skyline) members, 7 former Big West, 12 former WAC.

The ACC is 7 former Big East, 8 former Southern, 4 former Metro.

It's a constant churn. A few fall by the wayside, a few new ones emerge but every school getting the brass ring finds itself eventually back with many of the schools they happily deemed beneath them.

When Georgia Tech left the Metro for the ACC did they ever dream that eventually Florida State, Louisville and Virginia Tech would be joining too?

(03-25-2013 01:40 PM)miko33 Wrote:  

(03-25-2013 01:26 PM)USAFMEDIC Wrote:  I also fear that money makers will eventually kill the goose that lays the golden egg we know as CFB. They are forgetting what made it such a great game. Soon they will price the everyday people out of the game...

I agree. CFB cannot compete with the NFL head to head if you are looking at pure performance. It's one of the reasons I always chuckled when people talked about "dream conferences" and putting all these power schools under one umbrella. It doesn't work because it will always be inferior to the NFL. Thursday nights proved that out week after week throughout the 2012 FB season.

When you lose the rivalries and the school pride, then it morphs into something not so appealing.

No one except a few deluded SEC fans watches college football to see the best football played. It is an inferior product between the white lines compared to the NFL. From time to time people will declare college X could beat whatever NFL team is tragic that year but it ignores something. That great college team of 105 players, has fewer NFL caliber players than the worst NFL team.

No one except some economists and lawyers really believe that people watch college football to see the star players. Put 22 kids who couldn't start in high school in white helmets with a red N on the side and send them out of the tunnel to face 22 kids who couldn't start in high school and stick black helmets with a gold hawk on the side and the place will be full and hanging on the outcome of every play.

It is about my team, my school vs. the low-down cheating, poor academic scumbags from the other school. It is about the scarlet and black vs. the maroon and silver or whatever color combinations.

i think we're headed toward a reorganization of the NCAA. what is now FCS will eventually become div. II level football. the Gang of 5 conference schools end up with their own 8 team playoff similar to the current FCS playoff & bowl eligible teams from those conferences fill out the lower tier bowls like they currently do.

I disagree with you guys. I actually prefer college football, mainly due to its unpredictability. I find pro football to be predictable and dull, whereas college football always has the possibility of something big happening at any moment...

As for putting anyone in a certain college jersey, and expecting the fans to show up and cheer them on regardless, that's ludicrous. If the university puts out a poor product on a continual basis, it shows at the box office eventually...

I certainly hope they never drag high school football into a mess like this, but they probably will. It's one game folks can afford to attend anymore.

(03-25-2013 01:26 PM)USAFMEDIC Wrote:  These massive TV contacts are exactly what is keeping folks in front of the tube instead of at the stadium.

I think it's the other way around -- the appeal of watching the game at home (60-inch HDTV, surround sound, refrigerator full of food and beer) is the reason for the massive TV contracts, along with TV sports being one of the few things people watch live (and don't skip commercials).

(03-25-2013 01:26 PM)USAFMEDIC Wrote:  Why are ticket prices to CFB games going up when the schools are raking in millions in TV revenue?

Why do the top schools want all that money? Salaries are part of it, but renovation and new construction are even more expensive. Just check out this one item from a recent column:

http://espn.go.com/blog/ncfnation/post/_...e-on-hoops

Quote:Colorado coach Mike MacIntyre said that the Buffs’ facilities are fine, even as the university has begun a campaign to add to them. Adding and renovating are a necessity in the Pac-12, he said. “USC has built a $70 million complex, and Washington has built a $400 million complex and stadium, and Cal has built a $350 million complex and stadium,” MacIntyre said. “They just kind of raised the bar.”

TV money and donations aren't enough to cover those kind of expenditures. Also, I think the more casual fans aren't likely to go to the stadium even if the tickets are less expensive -- they're going to sit in front of their HDTV. The money to be made is in charging more to the people who are dedicated enough to really want to be in the stadium.

(03-25-2013 02:14 PM)mj4life Wrote:  i think we're headed toward a reorganization of the NCAA. what is now FCS will eventually become div. II level football. the Gang of 5 conference schools end up with their own 8 team playoff similar to the current FCS playoff & bowl eligible teams from those conferences fill out the lower tier bowls like they currently do.

I'm not so sure if it won't go even farther than that. With the O'Bannon lawsuit, a new DI (or similar) non-BCS division could emerge.

I don't think Delany is bluffing. Football and Basketball can be "downsized" and with BTN in place, a significant percentage of regular-season watchers are still going to watch their schools play ball. And most importantly, the same or better "profit" margin might still be realized.

So the bottom line balances, schools focus and academics instead of multi-million dollar coaching salaries and facilities, and life goes on.

The regular season would matter more as rivalries would take precedence over making sure the schedule is perfectly groomed for a title run.

I love how someone can say pro football is predictable when the NFL has had 8 different champs in 11 years and 12 in 19 and 13 in 22 years. Meanwhile in the college game- in the same 22 years- 14 champs with 2 being partial champs only(Washington 1991 and Michigan in 1997). Only difference- NFL has 32 teams, college football 120+ now.

(03-25-2013 01:38 PM)AndreWhere Wrote:  Miko and USAFMEDIC, I agree. (And USAFMEDIC, thank you for finding room for USM in that small/crowded area of your signature).

Miko, you are 100% right about what the networks are doing. I do blame the administration at places like Florida, Penn State, and UT-Austin. Their mission was to educate. They had every reason (hell- they're required) to abandon the profit motive unless it helps with the real mission.

We've seen the end game. It's the Harlem Globetrotters, the XFL, or the WWE. Big Bad Bama will get to wear the belt most of the time. Then, after resentment builds for a while, maybe Florida will. But it's all becoming completely pre-engineered.

I love Hattiesburg. An All-American city in it's population class. A beautiful town and area with awesome people. The school is a great school. They just suffered a great tragedy with the recent tornado. People who dog out Hattiesburg and USM probably haven't been anywhere near it. And they will play anyone...

stever, you're only looking at one aspect of the pro and college game - who becomes champion. The NFL has fewer teams, and they're all pretty much on a level playing field. The only real difference between them is the ownership. It makes the pro game more distributed in nature, allowing more teams the opportunity to win the big game. But it doesn't change the fact that each and every play is pretty predictable, based upon their history, how they line up, etc....

College teams have the big brand names, who have all the advantages. But they don't have professional players at every position, which allows for more unpredictability in every play of the game. Sure they have all the advantages stacked in their favor. But it doesn't stop them from being upset on occasion. If college football was so predictable, the preseason polls would reflect the post season polls exactly every year. But they don't. Perhaps you can resolve this conundrum, since you seem to know it all...

(03-25-2013 02:15 PM)bitcruncher Wrote:  I disagree with you guys. I actually prefer college football, mainly due to its unpredictability. I find pro football to be predictable and dull, whereas college football always has the possibility of something big happening at any moment...

As for putting anyone in a certain college jersey, and expecting the fans to show up and cheer them on regardless, that's ludicrous. If the university puts out a poor product on a continual basis, it shows at the box office eventually...

I agree with the pro football comment. Unless there's a specific player I follow, I feel little connection to any NFL team.

There are colleges that push a subpar product without losing fans. LSU sucked from about 1990-1999 and still drew well. Notre Dame is like that too. Ole Miss have never done a damned thing, but if they mailed their used toilet paper to ESPN, it'd still end up on the fridge.

The early season polls are a lot closer than folks think. Looked at the prediction at the end of the 2011 season from ESPN. Of the top 25 teams- 16 were in the end of year top 25. Of those 16, 8 were within 2 spots. I think 2011 season- 8/10 teams were in the preseason poll.

college game reminds me of the NFL 20 years ago when the NFC was on that dominating streak.

(03-25-2013 02:25 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(03-25-2013 01:26 PM)USAFMEDIC Wrote:  These massive TV contacts are exactly what is keeping folks in front of the tube instead of at the stadium.

I think it's the other way around -- the appeal of watching the game at home (60-inch HDTV, surround sound, refrigerator full of food and beer) is the reason for the massive TV contracts, along with TV sports being one of the few things people watch live (and don't skip commercials).

(03-25-2013 01:26 PM)USAFMEDIC Wrote:  Why are ticket prices to CFB games going up when the schools are raking in millions in TV revenue?

Why do the top schools want all that money? Salaries are part of it, but renovation and new construction are even more expensive. Just check out this one item from a recent column:

http://espn.go.com/blog/ncfnation/post/_...e-on-hoops

Quote:Colorado coach Mike MacIntyre said that the Buffs’ facilities are fine, even as the university has begun a campaign to add to them. Adding and renovating are a necessity in the Pac-12, he said. “USC has built a $70 million complex, and Washington has built a $400 million complex and stadium, and Cal has built a $350 million complex and stadium,” MacIntyre said. “They just kind of raised the bar.”

TV money and donations aren't enough to cover those kind of expenditures. Also, I think the more casual fans aren't likely to go to the stadium even if the tickets are less expensive -- they're going to sit in front of their HDTV. The money to be made is in charging more to the people who are dedicated enough to really want to be in the stadium.

That's what I meant. More and more TV games gives everyone more options to stay at home or at Buffalo Wild Wings, and not at the stadium... I get your point though. And why do college stadium/complex upgrades have to cost 350 mil? Bench seats too uncomfortable after 75 years of working just fine? In the end the fans pay for the vanity and pride.

Here!Here! Miko33.

I think realignment has made everyone stop and appreciate the rivalries they have left. For me, I really want to see the Heels play UVa, Wake Forest, Dook, Clemson............even NC State. Va. Tech has turned into a nice rivalry, but I'm not really broken up to see Maryland leave.

I just ordered my season tickets today. 6 tickets, $1,910, Plus I'll send at least that much to the Ram's Club (which will insure my chosen seat location and procure my on campus parking space in my chosen lot). When I graduated, football tickets were $5 each. Just a few years ago a $750 per year donation to the Ram's Club got the same parking spot and 4 football tickets too. Now?, what, 4 grand.

I am not complaining, but what's the future goning to hold? Will a young family choose to spend thousands when their children are really young to start a football tradition? Where will the fans come from in 20 to 30 years if others are starting not to care now? It only takes me an hour to get from Greensboro to Chapel Hill, but a football Saturday is a day long affair. With peoples lives getting more complicated will people choose to take a 10 to 12 hour chunk of time to go to a college football game (and what about those who have to travel a lot more than I do).

Let's hope we can keep conferences (at least what we have left) and not morph in associations or alliances for the sake of more and more money, and that the people that have really made the sport of college football won't be priced out of the game they love.

(03-25-2013 01:40 PM)miko33 Wrote:  

(03-25-2013 01:26 PM)USAFMEDIC Wrote:  I also fear that money makers will eventually kill the goose that lays the golden egg we know as CFB. They are forgetting what made it such a great game. Soon they will price the everyday people out of the game...

I agree. CFB cannot compete with the NFL head to head if you are looking at pure performance. It's one of the reasons I always chuckled when people talked about "dream conferences" and putting all these power schools under one umbrella. It doesn't work because it will always be inferior to the NFL. Thursday nights proved that out week after week throughout the 2012 FB season.

When you lose the rivalries and the school pride, then it morphs into something not so appealing.

My choice to watch college football, and college sports in general, has about as much to do with the quality of the product on the field compared to the NFL/MLB/NBA/etc. as my decision to watch Dancing With The Stars has to do with the quality of the dancing.

Too many people have started to forget why they and most people started watching college sports in the first place.