(01-13-2021 06:36 PM)Thiefery Wrote:  

(01-13-2021 05:26 PM)Sicembear11 Wrote:  Anything can happen in realignment. But my money, and. I would guess house money too, is on an expanded playoff. Adds more inventory for the networks, addresses access concerns for the conferences, increases parity for the sport.

I would be surprised if the B1G or SEC expanded. I don’t see them being able to grab the inventory pieces they desire out of the ACC. The Big 12 could be an option, but I think Texas and OU are fine with the status quo so long as they still make their money and have access to the CFP. Texas could be a wildcard with the LHN winding up and losing that revenue stream. A Pac-12 merger might have some benefits for both parties, but there is a real question about differing cultures athletically and academically, commitment to high level competition, increased travel expenses, lack of fan interest in the tier 2 matchups, and not least of all who’s conference takes over? The PAC-12 leadership has been a disaster the past decade and the Big 12 has more or less stabilized.

But money talks...

LHN isn't winding up anywhere.. Still here for another 10 years

LHN is a disaster for everyone but Texas's bottom line, but it also helps the Big 12 when early concerns were that it would harm the Big 12. By basically giving Texas $15 million a year on top of the existing Big 12 media deals, it essentially ensures that Texas will be ballpark-competitive in media revenue with SEC and B1G schools, thus making it less tempting for them to seek greener conference pastures.

If the LHN didn't exist, the rest of the Big 12 might have had to chip in among themselves an amount similar to it - as the MW does with Boise - to keep the Big Kahuna happy.