(05-04-2021 03:21 AM)jedclampett Wrote:  I was thinking that perhaps they would vote first on whether to expand and second on the format, but if they can't agree on a format, perhaps there would be no point in a preliminary vote on whether to expand.

As far as a cash offer from ESPN, my guess would be that they're not going to offer any more than they have to. Thus, if the only way to get an approval would hinge on getting a wheel barrow full of cash, it wouldn't seem likely to happen, especially with ESPN's coffers being dented by the pandemic.

As far as a unanimous vote is concerned, requiring a unanimous vote is tantamount to giving veto power to any President that wishes to oppose an expansion proposal.

They're all talking nicely about being open-minded right now, but they're just trying to be diplomatic right now. When crunch time comes, if anyone is opposed to expansion, they could simply nix it by being the 1 vote against the proposal, and that would be that.

As upbeat as the article was, many of the positive things were said may turn out to be nothing more than a pretense or a smokescreen.

Now, I can understand why Commissioner Aresco was so pessimistic and frustrated about the situation.

.

Wut?

Where is pessimistic/frustrated?

Here is the April 2021 quote, WITH WHICH YOU KICKED OFF THIS ENTIRE THREAD

(04-16-2021 04:34 PM)jedclampett Wrote:  AAC Commissioner Mike Aresco Believes The College Football Playoff Will Expand

“There will be discussions coming up in a few weeks at the CFP meetings. Do I think some proposals will be made regarding an expanded playoff – yes. Do I think down the road it could well happen – yes.”
AAC Commissioner Mike Aresco on playoff expansion

— Paul Finebaum (@finebaum) April 7, 2021

(jedclampett's original post edited here - I didn't pick up on it earlier, but the finebaum tweet with the Aresco quote ended there...jedclampett included the quote below, which is actually attributable to the Daily Caller article's author, David Hookstead. jedclampett additionally emphasized (italics/bold) the "when will it happen? I have no idea..." excerpt)

"As I’ve said too many times to count, the playoff is 100% going to expand. It’s absolutely going to happen. Now, when will it happen? I have no idea..."

https://dailycaller.com/2021/04/07/aac-c...ly-expand/

Was the pessimism/frustration the 14 March "crossroads" remarks?
Because we've addressed that already - it was a couple minutes of response to a question (during the basketball conference tourney presser), it didn't say anything that hadn't been the Commissioner's messaging for years, it actually was talking about separation from the G4 not conference expansion -- that separation has always been a key line of effort in the P6 AAC strategy.
Heck, one minute and twenty seconds before the first use of the word "crossroads" Commissioner Aresco says "In terms of the future of the conference...I am bullish on our prospects." And then one minute and thirty seconds after the first use of the word "crossroads" Commissioner Aresco says "I think there's a great future for this league." That's the opposite of pessimism and frustration.

He does touch on CFP expansion:
"If the playoff expands, we are going to have to fight hard for an automatic bid, because a two-loss team in our conference I think is often the best team in the so-called Group of Five. We get lumped into that back at the very beginning, when, again, people weren't even sure our conference would survive, and we've clearly outgrown it...we have a TV deal that gives us tremendous exposure...I see a bright future for the league, but we are at a turning point. We definitely have to get out of the situation we're in."
That's identifying the problem, talking about the way ahead, and doing so with "I see a bright future" not with pessimism or frustration.

Then he says about "frustration":
"As you know its very frustrating when they talk about non-power, and then you win a championship, you win a big bowl game, you do the things we're doing, of course we're powerful. But unfortunately that's a term that got coined and we have to deal with it. "
Frustration with the 2013 to present lumping in as "Group of Five" same as he's said for 6 years. Not with the probability/pace of CFP expansion.

Then back to the second and final mention of CFP expansion, as well as second use of the word "crossroads":
"I think the future is bright, I really do, but we are at a crossroads, we've got to figure out in the next year or two, if that playoff gets expanded, we've got to be at the table."
Note the acceptance of a non-immediate time frame, in the next year or two. No impatience here, or frustration with the pace.
And that's where the "gotta figure out" line comes in.

See posts #7 and #17 in this thread.