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Realignment Musings

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NJDeac’22

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Schools worse off after leaving their historic league for money:

B12 abandoners: Nebraska, Colorado, Missouri, Arkansas, aTm (literally all of them)
Big East abandoners: Syracuse, Louisville (arguable), Rutgers, Boston College
ACC abandoners: Maryland, South Carolina (not really for money but will count)

Schools better off after leaving their historic league for money:
West Virginia (maybe???), Utah (for now)

I often see on Twitter fans of these schools saying they secretly wish they could go back to their old leagues, but the problem now is even if their school decided culture and history was more important than money, it's not like they could naturally just go back where they belong, because their leagues have already replaced them. With the benefit of hindsight, I think just about every fanbase in the country would want to go back to the way conferences existed in the early 2000s if not earlier, but there is just no feasible way for that to happen, which sucks, and with the revenue and talent gap about to blow as wide open as it will, the fans will now just be thankful they made the move before the schism of P5 into P2.

With the upcoming B10 and SEC expansion into national businesses (what was so wrong with regional amateur sports orgs???), the only major football brands not in one of those two leagues will be Clemson, FSU, Washington, Oregon, Notre Dame, and arguably Miami. I think this reality leaves us with a few distinct possibilities:

1. Next round of realignment (expected early-mid 2030s) sees Clemson, FSU, Miami, UNC join the SEC and Washington, Oregon, Arizona, and Cal join the B10. Those two leagues break off from NCAA
2. Expanded CFBP stays at 12 teams with 5 autobids and that is enough to incentivize the few football players left in the ACC, B12, and P12 to stay in their leagues for the easier route to the playoff
3. Further expansion of postseason football and cooperation between TV networks leads to a nationalization of college football regardless of conference affiliations (i.e. much larger playoff) and this minimizes the importance of being in one of the two mega conferences.

I'm curious if anyone else has thoughts on which of those outcomes seems most likely, or if you think I am missing a potential outcome.

FYI - when I say I hate college football, I hate it because it's causing this. I absolutely love the sport itself, but the greed of its stakeholders means hell for fans and athletes of every other sport. Imo, as the only truly profitable college sport, football should be organized separately. It's a shame to see so many other sports and athletes dragged down by major corporations like Disney and FOX.
 
Is BC really worst off? Seems like the football Big East schools benefited from joining the ACC.
 
Deacon92 said:
Is BC really worst off? Seems like the football Big East schools benefited from joining the ACC.
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BC has had like 2 good seasons since joining and went from being one of the bigger brands around to nobody cares. Their basketball program was once beloved in Boston and is now a joke.
 
TCU would absolutely qualify for the better off category (MWC - > Big 12).

That said, I probably agree with the long term alignment for football and maybe basketball. I do think that the money making sports will likely split off and have their own conferences at some point to keep the olympic sports travel more reasonable. It's a little ridiculous that UCLA's Soccer teams will be flying to New Jersey for a conference game. I don't know how that would work with title 9 stuff though.
 
TooManyWeapons said:
TCU would absolutely qualify for the better off category (MWC - > Big 12).

That said, I probably agree with the long term alignment for football and maybe basketball. I do think that the money making sports will likely split off and have their own conferences at some point to keep the olympic sports travel more reasonable. It's a little ridiculous that UCLA's Soccer teams will be flying to New Jersey for a conference game. I don't know how that would work with title 9 stuff though.
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Yes, schools moving up from non power leagues into power leagues usually see some level of benefit. Louisville’s CUSA to Big East move is also an example of that. I’m more speaking of established power conference schools leaving their established position to chase money.
 
NJDeac’22 said:
BC has had like 2 good seasons since joining and went from being one of the bigger brands around to nobody cares. Their basketball program was once beloved in Boston and is now a joke.
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I'm from the NE with a lot of family in Boston and I lived there for a few years after Wake.

BC basketball has never, ever been "beloved in Boston."

BC's only run of hoops success was with Al Skinner at the helm. It started in the Big East and continued when they went to the ACC.

In Big East hoops, they were NEVER consistently up there with Syracuse, Georgetown, St. John's, Villanova, Seton Hall, Providence, etc.

College sports, outside of college hockey, don't matter at all. Pro sports town through and through.

Even BC football has rarely mattered... You have to go back to Doug Flutie for that (outside of some one-off seasons with Matt Ryan and Luke Kuechly).
 
DeacsATS said:
I'm from the NE with a lot of family in Boston and I lived there for a few years after Wake.

BC basketball has never, ever been "beloved in Boston."

BC's only run of hoops success was with Al Skinner at the helm. It started in the Big East and continued when they went to the ACC.

In Big East hoops, they were NEVER consistently up there with Syracuse, Georgetown, St. John's, Villanova, Seton Hall, Providence, etc.

College sports, outside of college hockey, don't matter at all. Pro sports town through and through.

Even BC football has rarely mattered... You have to go back to Doug Flutie for that (outside of some one-off seasons with Matt Ryan and Luke Kuechly).
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Interesting context. I saw an old 30 for 30 on some of the sports gambling and thrown games around BC basketball back in the 80s and 90s and it certainly seemed to be a pretty major program and way bigger than it is now.
 
Well, you're correct that the Big East was huge back then and they were a part of it.

Especially in gambling (point shaving).
 
NJDeac’22 said:
FYI - when I say I hate college football, I hate it because it's causing this. I absolutely love the sport itself, but the greed of its stakeholders means hell for fans and athletes of every other sport. Imo, as the only truly profitable college sport, football should be organized separately. It's a shame to see so many other sports and athletes dragged down by major corporations like Disney and FOX.
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you could also, you know, just not devote so much time and energy to this shit and just watch the games. You are not contractually obligated to pay attention to all the in’s and outs of realignment and NIL to be a sports fan. If it is making you enjoy the game less, then just devote less attention to it.
 
DeacsATS said:
Well, you're correct that the Big East was huge back then and they were a part of it.

Especially in gambling (point shaving).
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Haha yea that documentary was crazy. Good watch, must have been crazy to follow at the time.
 
BeachBumDeac said:
you could also, you know, just not devote so much time and energy to this shit and just watch the games. You are not contractually obligated to pay attention to all the in’s and outs of realignment and NIL to be a sports fan. If it is making you enjoy the game less, then just devote less attention to it.
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If your train was at risk of derailment in 20 minutes, it's probably hard for train enthusiasts to enjoy the ride. Unfortunately, that's kind of where I'm at with this stuff, it's just a decade out and it's sports instead of trains. It's refreshing when the ball is tipped and that's all that matters for two hours.
 
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Really don't understand the point of this again.

There is no one on this Board that is pro-realignment. Everyone hates expansion. Everyone agrees that the schools that the ACC added through expansion and have disappointed in almost every respect, and especially via the performance on the football field and basketball court, which has damaged the ACC, probably irreparably. Everyone is aware that the ACC is in jeopardy of losing members. Everyone is aware that WF will not be among the schools invited to the SEC or Big 10.

So, unless you have something new on this front (like ND is joining the ACC in football or Clemson is joining the SEC), please STFU about this and stop:

Enjoy-Denial-Beating-a-Dead-Horse-1.jpg
 
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Spot the Wonder said:
Arkansas was never in the big 12. Never
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Lulz - This board definitely needs one of the vaunted CNN or WaPo "fact checkers" (who have all conveniently been on vacation during the Biden presidency) to weigh-in with their expertise anytime GoDeacsHoyaSaxa goes on one of his NIL or realignment rants
 
The theory that at the SEC covets Clemson, Miami, and FSU is not supported by reality. UNC-CH and UVa hold the cards here.
 
The Biffermeister said:
The theory that at the SEC covets Clemson, Miami, and FSU is not supported by reality. UNC-CH and UVa hold the cards here.
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Agreed. The SEC and Big 10 are all about expanding markets. In a twist, Clemson, Miami and FSU would jump if given the chance. The lure of money (and a viable future) may be enough to overcome loyalty, but UNC and UVA are the two schools likely to hold out the longest before caving.
 
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