(08-15-2021 09:39 AM)Attackcoog Wrote: Unless I’m misreading the piece—-this isn’t an opinion piece—-it’s what sources within the negotiations are saying. ...
Or what they
aren't saying.
On the scheduling alliance:
Quote: Collusion? You bet. Completely legal in the cutthroat corporate world of major college athletics. While this process has been rapid in nature, sources tell CBS Sports there is currently no appetite for such a move among stakeholders.
A scheduling alliance remains complicated. There would be current nonconference contracts to unwind. There are conference media rights deals that expire at different times: the Big Ten in 2023, the Pac-12 in 2024 and the ACC in 2036.
Explicitly, sources say the type of scheduling alliance he discusses is not on the cards.
Quote:The four power conferences could then agree to a common set of playing and eligibility rules to keep that circle taut and powerful.
Which appears to be speculation, and the only ambiguity is whether it is his or somebody else's ... if he has a source or sources for this part, they go unmentioned.
Quote: With the SEC strengthened and the other three conferences potentially aligned, would any of those leagues actually want to give two berths to the Group of Five?
A rhetorical question in lieu of a sourced claim.
Quote: Taken a step further, it suggests a reality that could see the Big 12 or American fade away with one likely absorbing the other.
Clearly unsourced speculation.
Now, HERE we finally get to a sourced claim:
Quote: Cut from that herd would be eight Big 12 athletic departments with a combined nine national championships in football and basketball and 44 major bowl berths.
"That's a massive, massive blow," one high-profile sports TV industry source said.
Breaking News: The Big12 dropping from Power conference status is a "massive blow".
To the extent that Dodds received the bulk of this article from any sources, it would seem to be from sources who were aware that they were just speculating and refused to be acknowledged as a source in the piece, even anonymously.
To the extent that he took his own speculations to industry sources for confirmation, the piece is entirely compatible with most everyone saying, "yeah, for most of that stuff, maybe, I dunno, though there isn't any appetite for that scheduling thing you are talking about" and one TV industry source saying, "yeah, I don't know if the Big12 realignment is going to shake out that way, but I tell you, it's a massive, massive blow to the Big12 to get dropped down from power conference status."