Group of 5 Conferences in talks to split away from Big Ten/SEC?
I can't remember if Bleacher Report is allowed but I didn't see it on the list. Not sure how serious these talks are but it's a pretty valid concern with the B1G/SEC alliance taking the lion's share of the money.
April 24th, 2024 at 12:19 PM ^
Take Notre Dame with you.
April 24th, 2024 at 12:24 PM ^
Honestly, aside from brand recognition, how is Notre Dame given such respect at the bargaining table? I was going to say they have as many CFP appearances as MSU, but then I looked it up and apparently I blocked out their second appearance.
April 24th, 2024 at 12:27 PM ^
National fanbase, and as you said, wide brand recognition. This is about money. Why would they carve out one of the biggest brands when they're trying to drive up revenue?
April 24th, 2024 at 12:32 PM ^
Are they really carving them out though? ND has its own TV contract separate from SEC/B1G.
There is a simple way to get ND to join a conference. Don't schedule them unless they agree to join be it the ACC. B1G. etc.
Having a contract without games is like having no contract at all.
April 24th, 2024 at 12:36 PM ^
I presume because the SEC is likely in favor of them having a seat at the table.
If both the SEC and the B1G didn't want to accommodate ND independence by letting them into a playoff as an independent, then ND would be out of the picture until they joined a conference. Any conference they join would have a much larger audience than it currently does. There is no way ND joins the SEC, so from the SEC's perspective, it makes sense to accommodate ND's independence to keep the B1G or the ACC with smaller audiences which strengthens the SEC in TV negotiations.
As said above, the brand recognition and the fan base. Also the hatred of those outside the fan base. Love them or hate them, you will want to watch them. Like the New York Yankees, the Dallas Cowboys and the LA Lakers.
You want to keep them in the TV deal just as we would have wanted to keep them on the schedule. Same with Ohio.
Staee on the other hand, the only ones who watch them are Michigan fans, fans of the opponent and the few Sparts who still have hope.
No one watches the Minnesotas and the Purdues except fans of the opposition.
But again, they're not in the TV deal for either of the two conferences. IF they make the playoffs, they'd be on the same network, sure. Far as loving/hating them but wanting to watch them..... ehhhh. I can't stand ND and I'm not going to turn on NBC (or sub to Peacock, lol) explicitly to root against them.
Wins and losses are secondary. Notre Dame has great brand strength and a large, national fanbase. Bottom line: they draw a lot of the eyeballs to the TVs and bring in a lot of the monies to the bank accounts.
I hate them with a passion, but there's no denying reality.
To hell with Notre Dame.
April 24th, 2024 at 12:21 PM ^
This should have happened years ago.
April 24th, 2024 at 12:31 PM ^
It kind of did. By the 70's there were 667 member colleges and universities in the NCAA. They all competed as one big group. That was when DI, DII, and DIII were created. About a decade later, DI split into two groups.
These original splits happened because of the financial investment schools wanted (were willing) to make into their athletic departments.
These new splits would be initiated because Conferences/Schools want to grab the biggest share of the revenue. A very different impetus.
I agreed with the first round of splits because it was a choice. It's harder to support something when it is purely about greed.
This was bandied about a few years ago, during the early playoff era and the G5 commissioners all hated the idea, so it died. Aresco was very vocal about disliking the idea last time and hates it this time around too. He's been a shill for the SEC though his entire time, so he was never going to advance anything because he always felt like the G5 is good enough to earn a seat at the table. He is retiring soon though, and there is potentially some money behind it this time around, so with a potential payout coming as well...might be good. I'd watch.
April 24th, 2024 at 12:22 PM ^
you want to solve our problem for us??? oh noooo...
eyeballs = $$$$$. all the eyeballs are on the b10 and sec
April 24th, 2024 at 12:23 PM ^
Sankey and Petiti channeling Willy Wonka: "Stop, don't, comeback."
April 24th, 2024 at 12:24 PM ^
Oh no!
Anyway . . .
I have no confidence that Petiti is a match for Sankey as a negotiator. The BIG10 will end up playing second fiddle to the SEC
Is Sankey known as a great negotiator? He's pulled teams into the SEC, sure, but it's not like he had to twist arms when he has a tremendous bank vault backing him up.
For all of Pettiti's flaws that he's put on display since taking the job, I thought that his big strength was supposed to be that he was an ace TV negotiator. Wasn't that what he was known for when he did his work in MLB?
If that's true, wouldn't this be an area where we'd (sigh.....) want Pettiti around to negotiate on the Big Ten's behalf?
April 24th, 2024 at 12:23 PM ^
This is opposite of what I expected! Bizarro world!!! I thought the G5 would have tried hard to stick with the P2, err P5, not branch off on their own...
I think its brilliant. You could, potentially, have the FCS playoff, this new G5 playoff, and then the P2. Yeah the P2 playoff will get all the eyeballs and more money, of course, but dont let them dictate everything and create your own new brand.
I hope this happens
April 24th, 2024 at 12:23 PM ^
They're in talks but keep falling short of a quorum....people keep leaving to "take a call".
April 24th, 2024 at 12:23 PM ^
In a related note, I've informed Kate Beckinsale that she is no longer on my hall pass list.
April 24th, 2024 at 12:28 PM ^
Good for you! I just hope your notification to her hasn't violated the restraining order she has out on you....
savage
Yes, but meant to be all in good fun. Probably should have put a winky smiley on that one....
April 24th, 2024 at 12:28 PM ^
Yes please.
April 24th, 2024 at 12:31 PM ^
The old "You can't fire me, I quit."
April 24th, 2024 at 12:33 PM ^
"Some higher-ups want a G5-only playoff in place of the traditional bowl games."
If the G5 have their own playoff, there will be people agitating almost immediately for the G5 playoff winner to play the BIG/SEC playoff winner. Boffo ratings.
April 24th, 2024 at 12:45 PM ^
"Hey 2023 Michigan, good job beating OSU, Alabama, and Washington...but are you ready for the game to determine the TRUE Division 1 Champion??? To do that, you need go go play... The Fighting Falwell's of Liberty!"
The Fighting Falwells are more comfortable as spectators than participants.
+1 underrated
Also, +1 for the cat profile picture.
Nice. They also do their best work in and around the pool.
April 24th, 2024 at 12:48 PM ^
I think you have the right thought but the wrong outcome. I don't think many people at all will want to see the G5 winner lose to the B10/SEC champ by 30. However a G5 playoff with the final spot in the main playoff as a prize. People would be interested in that.
It's almost impossible for this to work out due to timing and volume of games, but I think that is the most interesting way of creating something to play for at that level and still having access to the big revenue.
April 24th, 2024 at 12:33 PM ^
What happens to the ACC & B12?
Eventually toast......just a matter of time. It's all about TV and eyeballs.
April 24th, 2024 at 12:34 PM ^
B1G and SEC seem worried... considering a 'solution'.
April 24th, 2024 at 12:42 PM ^
Poor Maurie. He got a raw deal.
April 24th, 2024 at 12:54 PM ^
Na, na, na... you insulted him a little bit. You got a little out of order. You insulted him a little.
I have seen that movie a million times, and I still don't know the answer to: Was he really going to whack Karen at the end? Or was that just her being paranoid?
IMO, absolutely. The "pull back" to the "Don't Walk" sign* was the clue to me.
As in --- don't walk Karen --- RUN!!!!!!
----
*I tried to embed the screen shot, but not working. :-(
April 24th, 2024 at 12:35 PM ^
Insert <you cant fire me, I quit> meme from Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.
Sure was a lot more fun back in the day when we could actually upload pictures, memes, GIFs and assorted what-not instead of just having to describe things.
April 24th, 2024 at 12:36 PM ^
That's cute. Have fun G5.
They will
April 24th, 2024 at 12:47 PM ^
This will surely help them in recruiting.
April 24th, 2024 at 12:48 PM ^
I know the answer is economics, butu feel like culturally the G5 are more like FCS than Power 5, except with more TV exposure (hence, MACtion). I think the exceptions are the American and the Mtn West 10 years ago. But the rest splitting off is fine. I'll still watch intermittently
April 24th, 2024 at 12:56 PM ^
Just go to a Premier League model with the Power 5..er, 4...uh, 2+...and a Championship Division for the Group of 5 and the eventual carcass of the ACC. Promotion/Relegation for the bottom 3 teams in the Premier and top 3 teams in the Championship.
April 24th, 2024 at 12:56 PM ^
Not a fan - I think the G5 schools add some good flavor and stories to FBS college football. I've always wished there were a TRUE tournament where their best teams got a legit chance at the Championship.
But I suppose this is probably how it's going to be --- and crazily enough, right when we actually are getting to that tournament (the 4-team CFP was more of an "invitational" than a "tournament").
Late 1990s Marshall, Early 2000s Fresno State, Mid 2000s Miami University (when Big Ben was there), Late 2000s Boise State, mid 2010s UCF, early 2020s Cincinnati ....... there have been a number of teams from "lesser" conferences that have been able to legitimately compete with the big boys.
Are they going to be forever excluded now? Will schools like this even have a potential avenue to the Top if this goes through?
Even the likes of Penn State, Florida State and Oregon --- which most would list among the 15 programs with the most structural advantages in modern day college football --- they were nowhere near the Top as recently as the 1960s (PSU), 1970s (FSU) and 1990s (Oregon).
This is a pretty good rationale for the promotion/relegation model I just suggested. There should always be a path up... and down.