(10-01-2026 07:57 PM)murrdcu Wrote:  

(09-30-2026 08:31 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(09-30-2026 08:20 PM)murrdcu Wrote:  

(09-29-2026 07:20 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(09-29-2026 07:11 PM)murrdcu Wrote:  That’s a good cap to give the bill the best chance today to get passed by both houses. Obviously there are more than 6 ACC schools wanting a spot in the Big Ten or SEC, let’s not forget the Big 12 schools are still waiting for their tv contracts to expire in a couple more years so they too can have meaningful realignment talks.

The next step is to help find additional funding to pay for this round of expansion; college football playoff expansion. Increasing the revenue and payouts for that tournament should help facilitate adding more members to the P2.

Big Ten and the SEC want new markets. Big Ten wants rich southeastern cities while the sec wants rich untapped contiguous states.

Just gotta keep waiting until the dominos start to drop.

If the House approves it with the same cap of 20, I would think that somebody within college sports with a brain would say, let the Big Ten and SEC go ahead and add the schools they will be taking. That makes it easier on everyone else to know what to do. Exit fees can be withheld as a % of their new earnings in their new conferences.

What good does it serve college sports to keep this going any longer than is necessary? People are getting far more turned off by it now than interested. Traffic here indicates that strongly. In the past we would have 10's of thousands of visitors reading up to see what is going on. Now it's maybe 10 thousand or less and on the weekends mostly. Fans are weary. The sooner they end it now the better for the sport.

If the Big Ten and SEC are in agreement on who they want, they can go ahead and add the uncontested ones, settle any that might be contested and finish it. Then they can begin their negotiations on post seasons and scheduling agreements. It seems the Big Ten is willing to offer Notre Dame a scheduling agreement as is the SEC. I can see them remaining independent but playing a set number of games with both the SEC and Big Ten.

The sooner the ACC can backfill or the Big 12, if necessary, the quicker we can get back to just enjoying the sport. Realignment enthusiasts like many here, are in the vast minority compared to the viewing public. Dragging this out six years will prove unprofitable and off-putting.

I too am tired of the realignment can getting kicked down the road repeatedly. If the CFP gets expanded to 24, then that will be a strong signal as to how much money the P2 is expecting from postseason play and should help finance the next round of expansion. Everyone has been talking and preparing since the FSU vs ACC settlement. Let the dominos drop already.

Notre Dame as a partial just to keep them out of the Big Ten? Their fanbase is not exactly in the south, but to screw over the Big Ten I’m sure the boys in Birmingham could come to an agreement to make that happen. Could add another partial member to keep things balanced. How serious do you think those talks, ND/SEC, are if the ACC does lose six or more?

Well things changed again yesterday evening. 12 House members signed an amendment to the PCSA which kills the time for waiting as an independent and wipes out the caps. If that amendment passes the House and the Senate doesn't oppose it and it becomes law, it wipes out all of the above. If it doesn't pass the House and neither does the Bill that wipes it out as well. It would take both the House rejecting the amendment and passing the bill for the Senate to approve it and the cap remain at 20 and the time as an independent at 3 minutes. We may be looking at 24 again.

If the bills passes without caps or probation, or fails to pass the senate amendment vote which kills the bill, we are back into the Wild West and expansion is wide open. To be honest, too much leg work has been done by all sides for there not to be some movement, if not a lot.

If the cap is gone, I think it will be a lot. The Big Ten set out to have a national market and their West Coast additions are costing them in travel. They likely want Stanford for at least a 5th if they stop at 20. Stanford is yet another lure for the Irish, but they are one of the two top research schools left, the other being Duke.

Let's say they set their cap for Stanford and Miami to 20. The SEC counters with North Carolina, Virginia, Florida State and Clemson, but the promise made to UNC & Va was that the SEC was prepared to go larger and would accommodate Duke. ESPN approves and will pay for it. Virginia Tech and N.C. State are taken as well. Who do we take next? Kansas or Georgia Tech. Tech has pissed the SEC off twice. Once when they left and when Bryant apologized to Dodd and offered his support for their return and Dodd threw it in his fact and joined the ACC. The memory of that is deep in the conference though it predates your Hogs joining. I think they'll go for Kansas.

The Big Ten may take Tech but if they do Georgia carries 85% of the state outside of Atlanta and 52% of Atlanta. It doesn't hurt us.

I think they would then pick up Cal, Colorado, and Utah and Arizona. But that leaves them imbalanced which is their issue to solve.

The SEC would be very regionally grouped:

Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Virginia Tech

Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, N.C. State, South Carolina

Alabama, Auburn, Louisiana State, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt

Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M

If we return to divisions and drop the CCG for the stupid 24 team playoff each division champ should get a national bid or no dice. The Big Ten can do the same.

I don't think we wait for another Congressional attempt from a Congress we don't yet know the composition. I think the public is ready for this to be over. I hope we move swiftly and definitively.

If a third conference wants to form fine. But until we monetize Basketball you can't call it a breakaway.

(10-01-2026 08:23 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(10-01-2026 07:57 PM)murrdcu Wrote:  

(09-30-2026 08:31 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(09-30-2026 08:20 PM)murrdcu Wrote:  

(09-29-2026 07:20 PM)JRsec Wrote:  If the House approves it with the same cap of 20, I would think that somebody within college sports with a brain would say, let the Big Ten and SEC go ahead and add the schools they will be taking. That makes it easier on everyone else to know what to do. Exit fees can be withheld as a % of their new earnings in their new conferences.

What good does it serve college sports to keep this going any longer than is necessary? People are getting far more turned off by it now than interested. Traffic here indicates that strongly. In the past we would have 10's of thousands of visitors reading up to see what is going on. Now it's maybe 10 thousand or less and on the weekends mostly. Fans are weary. The sooner they end it now the better for the sport.

If the Big Ten and SEC are in agreement on who they want, they can go ahead and add the uncontested ones, settle any that might be contested and finish it. Then they can begin their negotiations on post seasons and scheduling agreements. It seems the Big Ten is willing to offer Notre Dame a scheduling agreement as is the SEC. I can see them remaining independent but playing a set number of games with both the SEC and Big Ten.

The sooner the ACC can backfill or the Big 12, if necessary, the quicker we can get back to just enjoying the sport. Realignment enthusiasts like many here, are in the vast minority compared to the viewing public. Dragging this out six years will prove unprofitable and off-putting.

I too am tired of the realignment can getting kicked down the road repeatedly. If the CFP gets expanded to 24, then that will be a strong signal as to how much money the P2 is expecting from postseason play and should help finance the next round of expansion. Everyone has been talking and preparing since the FSU vs ACC settlement. Let the dominos drop already.

Notre Dame as a partial just to keep them out of the Big Ten? Their fanbase is not exactly in the south, but to screw over the Big Ten I’m sure the boys in Birmingham could come to an agreement to make that happen. Could add another partial member to keep things balanced. How serious do you think those talks, ND/SEC, are if the ACC does lose six or more?

Well things changed again yesterday evening. 12 House members signed an amendment to the PCSA which kills the time for waiting as an independent and wipes out the caps. If that amendment passes the House and the Senate doesn't oppose it and it becomes law, it wipes out all of the above. If it doesn't pass the House and neither does the Bill that wipes it out as well. It would take both the House rejecting the amendment and passing the bill for the Senate to approve it and the cap remain at 20 and the time as an independent at 3 minutes. We may be looking at 24 again.

If the bills passes without caps or probation, or fails to pass the senate amendment vote which kills the bill, we are back into the Wild West and expansion is wide open. To be honest, too much leg work has been done by all sides for there not to be some movement, if not a lot.

If the cap is gone, I think it will be a lot. The Big Ten set out to have a national market and their West Coast additions are costing them in travel. They likely want Stanford for at least a 5th if they stop at 20. Stanford is yet another lure for the Irish, but they are one of the two top research schools left, the other being Duke.

Let's say they set their cap for Stanford and Miami to 20. The SEC counters with North Carolina, Virginia, Florida State and Clemson, but the promise made to UNC & Va was that the SEC was prepared to go larger and would accommodate Duke. ESPN approves and will pay for it. Virginia Tech and N.C. State are taken as well. Who do we take next? Kansas or Georgia Tech. Tech has pissed the SEC off twice. Once when they left and when Bryant apologized to Dodd and offered his support for their return and Dodd threw it in his fact and joined the ACC. The memory of that is deep in the conference though it predates your Hogs joining. I think they'll go for Kansas.

The Big Ten may take Tech but if they do Georgia carries 85% of the state outside of Atlanta and 52% of Atlanta. It doesn't hurt us.

I think they would then pick up Cal, Colorado, and Utah and Arizona. But that leaves them imbalanced which is their issue to solve.

The SEC would be very regionally grouped:

Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Virginia Tech

Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, N.C. State, South Carolina

Alabama, Auburn, Louisiana State, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt

Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M

If we return to divisions and drop the CCG for the stupid 24 team playoff each division champ should get a national bid or no dice. The Big Ten can do the same.

I don't think we wait for another Congressional attempt from a Congress we don't yet know the composition. I think the public is ready for this to be over. I hope we move swiftly and definitively.

If a third conference wants to form fine. But until we monetize Basketball you can't call it a breakaway.

Eight in one shot is too much. Six might be the max as espn would start complaining about half them schools can’t justify the full share world wide sports leader will be paying for. If the Big Ten starts this off with Miami, GT, Stanford and Clemson (because Notre Dame said no), then the SEC could grab what they want from the ACC and not be looked at as the conference killer, but rather picking up the floating life rafts in UNC, UVA, FSU, and Duke. I could see the state little brothers, NCSU and VT, offering to take a small share just to get in; schools will be wheeling and dealing for the last seats on those two boats.

(10-01-2026 09:34 PM)murrdcu Wrote:  

(10-01-2026 08:23 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(10-01-2026 07:57 PM)murrdcu Wrote:  

(09-30-2026 08:31 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(09-30-2026 08:20 PM)murrdcu Wrote:  I too am tired of the realignment can getting kicked down the road repeatedly. If the CFP gets expanded to 24, then that will be a strong signal as to how much money the P2 is expecting from postseason play and should help finance the next round of expansion. Everyone has been talking and preparing since the FSU vs ACC settlement. Let the dominos drop already.

Notre Dame as a partial just to keep them out of the Big Ten? Their fanbase is not exactly in the south, but to screw over the Big Ten I’m sure the boys in Birmingham could come to an agreement to make that happen. Could add another partial member to keep things balanced. How serious do you think those talks, ND/SEC, are if the ACC does lose six or more?

Well things changed again yesterday evening. 12 House members signed an amendment to the PCSA which kills the time for waiting as an independent and wipes out the caps. If that amendment passes the House and the Senate doesn't oppose it and it becomes law, it wipes out all of the above. If it doesn't pass the House and neither does the Bill that wipes it out as well. It would take both the House rejecting the amendment and passing the bill for the Senate to approve it and the cap remain at 20 and the time as an independent at 3 minutes. We may be looking at 24 again.

If the bills passes without caps or probation, or fails to pass the senate amendment vote which kills the bill, we are back into the Wild West and expansion is wide open. To be honest, too much leg work has been done by all sides for there not to be some movement, if not a lot.

If the cap is gone, I think it will be a lot. The Big Ten set out to have a national market and their West Coast additions are costing them in travel. They likely want Stanford for at least a 5th if they stop at 20. Stanford is yet another lure for the Irish, but they are one of the two top research schools left, the other being Duke.

Let's say they set their cap for Stanford and Miami to 20. The SEC counters with North Carolina, Virginia, Florida State and Clemson, but the promise made to UNC & Va was that the SEC was prepared to go larger and would accommodate Duke. ESPN approves and will pay for it. Virginia Tech and N.C. State are taken as well. Who do we take next? Kansas or Georgia Tech. Tech has pissed the SEC off twice. Once when they left and when Bryant apologized to Dodd and offered his support for their return and Dodd threw it in his fact and joined the ACC. The memory of that is deep in the conference though it predates your Hogs joining. I think they'll go for Kansas.

The Big Ten may take Tech but if they do Georgia carries 85% of the state outside of Atlanta and 52% of Atlanta. It doesn't hurt us.

I think they would then pick up Cal, Colorado, and Utah and Arizona. But that leaves them imbalanced which is their issue to solve.

The SEC would be very regionally grouped:

Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Virginia Tech

Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, N.C. State, South Carolina

Alabama, Auburn, Louisiana State, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt

Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M

If we return to divisions and drop the CCG for the stupid 24 team playoff each division champ should get a national bid or no dice. The Big Ten can do the same.

I don't think we wait for another Congressional attempt from a Congress we don't yet know the composition. I think the public is ready for this to be over. I hope we move swiftly and definitively.

If a third conference wants to form fine. But until we monetize Basketball you can't call it a breakaway.

Eight in one shot is too much. Six might be the max as espn would start complaining about half them schools can’t justify the full share world wide sports leader will be paying for. If the Big Ten starts this off with Miami, GT, Stanford and Clemson (because Notre Dame said no), then the SEC could grab what they want from the ACC and not be looked at as the conference killer, but rather picking up the floating life rafts in UNC, UVA, FSU, and Duke. I could see the state little brothers, NCSU and VT, offering to take a small share just to get in; schools will be wheeling and dealing for the last seats on those two boats.

The SEC doesn't do partial members. Twenty would be fine for a start but it does leave a couple more viable hanging. My point was the Big Ten had larger ambitions for a national market they believe will hem us in. They are frustrated that from our region we outdraw them nationally by a significant percentage. They want into the region to try to nullify part of our advantage. The issue is they likely won't take Va Tech or N.C. State, but we could use them to help our middle, and like the Big Ten does pad the wins off our elite teams by not being brutal in scheduling at the top. We'll still be highly competitive in the middle. The Big Ten is limited at the top, and as broad at the bottom as they are in the middle. This is why they are pushing the 24 team model for the playoff. It gets not only their top schools in but more from the middle.

If the move to 24 is what they have in mind, we need to go there as well and when they do. We have some advantages they don't. ESPN wants to protect its revenue model of which the ACC is a part. Take care of the AAU's and the Big Ten doesn't even get a toehold in the SE. Duke, Georgia Tech, Miami, North Carolina, Virginia. And I would toss in Kansas to the West. Those are the AAU schools located in the South (Kansas excepted) that they will target. Fortunately for us they have an interest in Stanford and possibly Cal as well. They have to make the West more affordable for minor sports, so they'll grow in the West as well.
If we go to 22 with those six first, then offering the lifeboats to Clemson, F.S.U., N.C. State, Virginia Tech are possible later. In fact it may become easier just to take Clemson and FSU and stop at 24 without the others objecting about their 2nd home state schools. They are safely in and with friends and the growth is over.

But again, equal media distributions is a benchmark of the SEC's values. That won't change but it won't have to. The expanded playoff is the trade for the covering of the new additions. I don't think it a good trade, but we'll lose our own 100% owned CCG and ESPN will pick up the expanded CFP and pay us shares totaling what we would have made but then using a portion of that to pay for the expansion. The Big Ten will do what it always does. They'll have a buy in period and half shares and they'll pay their top schools more. It's how they prop up their brands.

So the ACC “Coalition “ of Clemson, North Carolina, FSU and Miami are formally asking the House to raise the cap to 22 and to remove the independence requirements.

You know JRSec, the SEC could maximize brands and regional power while limiting Big Ten incursion into their territory by adding these six:
1. UNC
2. UVA
3. Duke
4. Clemson
5. Florida State
6. Miami.


That really only leaves the B1G with GT as an option and maybe USF.

(10-02-2026 09:33 PM)murrdcu Wrote:  So the ACC “Coalition “ of Clemson, North Carolina, FSU and Miami are formally asking the House to raise the cap to 22 and to remove the independence requirements.

You know JRSec, the SEC could maximize brands and regional power while limiting Big Ten incursion into their territory by adding these six:
1. UNC
2. UVA
3. Duke
4. Clemson
5. Florida State
6. Miami.


That really only leaves the B1G with GT as an option and maybe USF.

Yes. 3 add markets and increase our hoops revenue considerably. 3 add to the football.

Georgia Tech is not showing signs of life and have some restrictions academically to have to get around. They deliver about 47% of Atlanta which if everyone in the DMA was watching according to school preference would mean 3 million or less. And of course everyone doesn't watch. USF will be a great addition for somebody in about 10 years. Right now they can't come close to paying their way.

Truly, if you remove the AAU schools and have the ability to add Clemson and FSU there's nothing left in the cupboard.

(10-02-2026 10:02 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(10-02-2026 09:33 PM)murrdcu Wrote:  So the ACC “Coalition “ of Clemson, North Carolina, FSU and Miami are formally asking the House to raise the cap to 22 and to remove the independence requirements.

You know JRSec, the SEC could maximize brands and regional power while limiting Big Ten incursion into their territory by adding these six:
1. UNC
2. UVA
3. Duke
4. Clemson
5. Florida State
6. Miami.


That really only leaves the B1G with GT as an option and maybe USF.

Yes. 3 add markets and increase our hoops revenue considerably. 3 add to the football.

Georgia Tech is not showing signs of life and have some restrictions academically to have to get around. They deliver about 47% of Atlanta which if everyone in the DMA was watching according to school preference would mean 3 million or less. And of course everyone doesn't watch. USF will be a great addition for somebody in about 10 years. Right now they can't come close to paying their way.

Truly, if you remove the AAU schools and have the ability to add Clemson and FSU there's nothing left in the cupboard.

Yes, but for the sake of groupings/divisions I would prefer we add Duke, North Carolina, Virginia and Miami to 20. Or, that we add Clemson, Florida State, Kansas, and Georgia Tech to build this:

SEC North: Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Virginia

SEC East: Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, South Carolina

SEC South: Alabama, Auburn, Louisiana State, Miami, Mississippi, Mississippi State

SEC West: Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M

That really sews it up entirely.

(10-11-2026 04:34 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(10-02-2026 10:02 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(10-02-2026 09:33 PM)murrdcu Wrote:  So the ACC “Coalition “ of Clemson, North Carolina, FSU and Miami are formally asking the House to raise the cap to 22 and to remove the independence requirements.

You know JRSec, the SEC could maximize brands and regional power while limiting Big Ten incursion into their territory by adding these six:
1. UNC
2. UVA
3. Duke
4. Clemson
5. Florida State
6. Miami.


That really only leaves the B1G with GT as an option and maybe USF.

Yes. 3 add markets and increase our hoops revenue considerably. 3 add to the football.

Georgia Tech is not showing signs of life and have some restrictions academically to have to get around. They deliver about 47% of Atlanta which if everyone in the DMA was watching according to school preference would mean 3 million or less. And of course everyone doesn't watch. USF will be a great addition for somebody in about 10 years. Right now they can't come close to paying their way.

Truly, if you remove the AAU schools and have the ability to add Clemson and FSU there's nothing left in the cupboard.

Yes, but for the sake of groupings/divisions I would prefer we add Duke, North Carolina, Virginia and Miami to 20. Or, that we add Clemson, Florida State, Kansas, and Georgia Tech to build this:

SEC North: Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Virginia

SEC East: Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, South Carolina

SEC South: Alabama, Auburn, Louisiana State, Miami, Mississippi, Mississippi State

SEC West: Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M

That really sews it up entirely.

Nice balance between geography and expansion, but pods sshould be removed. I would rather have yearly rivalries instead of mostly geographic groupings.

(10-13-2026 12:08 AM)murrdcu Wrote:  

(10-11-2026 04:34 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(10-02-2026 10:02 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(10-02-2026 09:33 PM)murrdcu Wrote:  So the ACC “Coalition “ of Clemson, North Carolina, FSU and Miami are formally asking the House to raise the cap to 22 and to remove the independence requirements.

You know JRSec, the SEC could maximize brands and regional power while limiting Big Ten incursion into their territory by adding these six:
1. UNC
2. UVA
3. Duke
4. Clemson
5. Florida State
6. Miami.


That really only leaves the B1G with GT as an option and maybe USF.

Yes. 3 add markets and increase our hoops revenue considerably. 3 add to the football.

Georgia Tech is not showing signs of life and have some restrictions academically to have to get around. They deliver about 47% of Atlanta which if everyone in the DMA was watching according to school preference would mean 3 million or less. And of course everyone doesn't watch. USF will be a great addition for somebody in about 10 years. Right now they can't come close to paying their way.

Truly, if you remove the AAU schools and have the ability to add Clemson and FSU there's nothing left in the cupboard.

Yes, but for the sake of groupings/divisions I would prefer we add Duke, North Carolina, Virginia and Miami to 20. Or, that we add Clemson, Florida State, Kansas, and Georgia Tech to build this:

SEC North: Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Virginia

SEC East: Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, South Carolina

SEC South: Alabama, Auburn, Louisiana State, Miami, Mississippi, Mississippi State

SEC West: Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M

That really sews it up entirely.

Nice balance between geography and expansion, but pods sshould be removed. I would rather have yearly rivalries instead of mostly geographic groupings.

It doesn't matter much. We are likely to get capped at 20, and it may possibly even return to 18. We'll see. But if the whoofing of Tobacco Road schools causes an unfavorable reaction with the House as they asked for 20 and now want to bump the cap to 22, if we do get slapped down to 18, perhaps we should consider taking Miami and Kansas and letting them suck on it. Remember the Big Ten is already at 18. I sear this whole exercise of pursing an exemption for anti-trust has been like herding cats. A lot of hissing and slapping and jumping up in the air. And they call themselves higher education.

(10-02-2026 10:02 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(10-02-2026 09:33 PM)murrdcu Wrote:  So the ACC “Coalition “ of Clemson, North Carolina, FSU and Miami are formally asking the House to raise the cap to 22 and to remove the independence requirements.

You know JRSec, the SEC could maximize brands and regional power while limiting Big Ten incursion into their territory by adding these six:
1. UNC
2. UVA
3. Duke
4. Clemson
5. Florida State
6. Miami.


That really only leaves the B1G with GT as an option and maybe USF.

Yes. 3 add markets and increase our hoops revenue considerably. 3 add to the football.

Georgia Tech is not showing signs of life and have some restrictions academically to have to get around. They deliver about 47% of Atlanta which if everyone in the DMA was watching according to school preference would mean 3 million or less. And of course everyone doesn't watch. USF will be a great addition for somebody in about 10 years. Right now they can't come close to paying their way.

Truly, if you remove the AAU schools and have the ability to add Clemson and FSU there's nothing left in the cupboard.

USF is great backfill if the ACC loses both Florida schools. The ACC Network will need the carriage fees from that state to keep profitable.

GT had two things the big ten wants; rich new markets and a major airport to cut down on travel costs. The academics are already there, but the big key is just getting into that market for recruiting and advertising money. Big ten already made more from their new additions out west than forecasted and the investors, Private equity or public equity, are telling them they are leaving money on the table if they don’t get into this region as it brings in a different set of advertisers they don’t quite have. Remember, there was an article about CBS switching from SEC to Big Ten in the afternoon slot and CBS admitted despite the ratings being lower, CBS is bringing in more revenue due to the markets.

So, imho, if the cap gets pushed to 22, then that allows 4 schools to the B1G. Expand into the southeast with Miami and GT(football brand and ATL market), see what ND does after UNC and friend(s) leave for the SEC. If ND gives up independence, then it’s them and Stanford to round out the B1G, if ND doesn’t, then Stanford and some football brand to cover the cost or not if a football brand isn’t found.

with news of Miami’s President announcing that they will not remain in a second rate conference, the presumed independence route of them and several other ACC schools has taken the national headlines. The actual interesting nugget is that Amazon is interested in acquiring the rights of these possible independents. That surveys two purposes; gives the schools leverage when negotiating with the P2 and it signals that Amazon desperately wants CFB inventory.

I mentioned earlier in this thread that a great way to add the schools that the sec presidents want (UNC and uva) and the brands that espn would probably prefer to keep away from the B1G (FSU, Miami, Clemson, Duke). It would seem to be a hard sell to get espn to pony up six prorata increases for all these new members. What if a new partner gets added to the sec broadcasting family? An Amazon or a Netflix or a Paramount/TNT? Heck, I could see Fox kicking a can and asking how much picking second weekly from the sec schedule would cost given some weeks the big ten lineup ain’t that great.

(10-24-2026 03:47 AM)murrdcu Wrote:  with news of Miami’s President announcing that they will not remain in a second rate conference, the presumed independence route of them and several other ACC schools has taken the national headlines. The actual interesting nugget is that Amazon is interested in acquiring the rights of these possible independents. That surveys two purposes; gives the schools leverage when negotiating with the P2 and it signals that Amazon desperately wants CFB inventory.

I mentioned earlier in this thread that a great way to add the schools that the sec presidents want (UNC and uva) and the brands that espn would probably prefer to keep away from the B1G (FSU, Miami, Clemson, Duke). It would seem to be a hard sell to get espn to pony up six prorata increases for all these new members. What if a new partner gets added to the sec broadcasting family? An Amazon or a Netflix or a Paramount/TNT? Heck, I could see Fox kicking a can and asking how much picking second weekly from the sec schedule would cost given some weeks the big ten lineup ain’t that great.

Personally, I like the idea of locking up all those schools.

Florida State and Miami in the SEC would lock down the state for the SEC. USF would be a growth property for the Big Ten if they really wanted to get into the state, and it wouldn't shock me if they went that direction. They've essentially done it before with Rutgers. Nonetheless, the SEC owning all 3 national brands based in FL could not be equalized by the B1G.

Virginia, UNC, and Duke would give you a triangle of elite schools in that region that give you a great presence and give you strong basketball brands too.

Clemson completes the list with another strong football brand, a historic and regional rival of current SEC schools, and honestly, a little bit better penetration in the state of NC...they have a decent sized fan base in that state so it's a backdoor for anyone to get into NC. In this scenario, it just helps secure any meaningful presence there. Lots of Duke fans are not in NC so they don't really add so much in that area, but they would be a valued rivalry for both UNC and UVA.

ESPN should be interested in maintaining control over all those properties. The ACC would be weakened, but might not lose anyone to the Big Ten in that scenario. Maybe, maybe not. The ACC still has a strong core in order to attract some schools for rebuild, possibly from the Big 12, and their network helps them maintain strong profitability.

(10-24-2026 09:57 PM)AllTideUp Wrote:  

(10-24-2026 03:47 AM)murrdcu Wrote:  with news of Miami’s President announcing that they will not remain in a second rate conference, the presumed independence route of them and several other ACC schools has taken the national headlines. The actual interesting nugget is that Amazon is interested in acquiring the rights of these possible independents. That surveys two purposes; gives the schools leverage when negotiating with the P2 and it signals that Amazon desperately wants CFB inventory.

I mentioned earlier in this thread that a great way to add the schools that the sec presidents want (UNC and uva) and the brands that espn would probably prefer to keep away from the B1G (FSU, Miami, Clemson, Duke). It would seem to be a hard sell to get espn to pony up six prorata increases for all these new members. What if a new partner gets added to the sec broadcasting family? An Amazon or a Netflix or a Paramount/TNT? Heck, I could see Fox kicking a can and asking how much picking second weekly from the sec schedule would cost given some weeks the big ten lineup ain’t that great.

Personally, I like the idea of locking up all those schools.

Florida State and Miami in the SEC would lock down the state for the SEC. USF would be a growth property for the Big Ten if they really wanted to get into the state, and it wouldn't shock me if they went that direction. They've essentially done it before with Rutgers. Nonetheless, the SEC owning all 3 national brands based in FL could not be equalized by the B1G.

Virginia, UNC, and Duke would give you a triangle of elite schools in that region that give you a great presence and give you strong basketball brands too.

Clemson completes the list with another strong football brand, a historic and regional rival of current SEC schools, and honestly, a little bit better penetration in the state of NC...they have a decent sized fan base in that state so it's a backdoor for anyone to get into NC. In this scenario, it just helps secure any meaningful presence there. Lots of Duke fans are not in NC so they don't really add so much in that area, but they would be a valued rivalry for both UNC and UVA.

ESPN should be interested in maintaining control over all those properties. The ACC would be weakened, but might not lose anyone to the Big Ten in that scenario. Maybe, maybe not. The ACC still has a strong core in order to attract some schools for rebuild, possibly from the Big 12, and their network helps them maintain strong profitability.

IF the House passes the Bill and...
IF the House keeps the 20 school cap...
Then taking UNC, UVa, Duke and Miami make more sense.

It would give the SEC dominance in the Florida market, remove the top 4 AAU targets of the Big Ten and leave ESPN what they want, a nucleus of football power with which to rebuild that conference possibly splitting the overhead with FOX and taking the best remaining Big 12 schools to do it.

We move to a P3 of 60 schools. That does make the N.D. situation a bit more interesting. The Big Ten can only take 2 and Georgia Tech won't be one of them. They are #2 in their own DMA.

In that world I think the Big Ten takes Stanford to lessen travel for the Western quarter of the new Big Ten. Then they'll make a run at Notre Dame and failing that would likely go after a Colorado or Kansas to try to use the schools in the Plains as their bridge West.

ESPN and FOX get their Tier 2 and Tier 3 product to augment their Big Ten and SEC rights.