(07-16-2019 09:02 PM)GE and MTS Wrote:  

(07-16-2019 04:56 PM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  I think the Big Ten should leave the ACC alone simply because if schools start leaving that league the SEC is going to get the best football schools: Florida St, Clemson, and VT.

I think it’s better to focus on reducing the P5 to a P4 by gutting the Big 12 into tweener conference status.

I think the ACC should be left alone because they generally don't have schools that add to the bottom line. Florida State and Clemson are about the only two that can pay for themselves; the rest just aren't there and the Big Ten is pulling away further, so much so that even FSU and Clemson won't be able to keep up for long.

Only FSU and Clemson increase the Big Ten's football attendance average: https://csnbbs.com/thread-873579.html (only Oklahoma and Texas of the Big 12 as well)

Only FSU and Louisville earned more revenue than the average B10 school in 2017-2018: https://csnbbs.com/thread-871659.html (Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas from the B12)

None of the ACC (and the usual two from the B12) are above average compared to the B10 in the WSJ football valuations: https://csnbbs.com/thread-869587.html

Texas and Oklahoma can pay for themselves plus a tag-along but Florida State and Clemson must come with each other or alone. I don't know if I'd want to invite someone with the hopes of the Big Ten brand lifting the profile of a school. It is risky and the Big Ten hasn't seemed to help Rutgers yet.

Good post. If the BIG were to enter the Southern market, I think they have to think in terms of sharing, not beating, the SEC in substantial markets. For example, the BIG taking Virginia, North Carolina, Clemson, Georgia Tech, and Florida State in one swoop would almost certainly result in the SEC taking North Carolina State and Virginia Tech. So, the SEC and BIG would share the states of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Each state would be worth different amounts in media negotiations in various proportions, but they would be shared nonetheless.

It is correct that none of these moves would immediately improve the financial standing of either conference, but it would be an investment in monopolizing the college landscape. This reminds me of the prisoner's dilemma; the BIG or the SEC thinking they can simply eliminate the other is absurd. However, they can find scenarios where both would win by sharing the Atlantic coast state schools. If the PAC would get their act together, a clean split of three conferences with 20 +/- teams each is easy to foresee.