https://x.com/WinterSportsLaw/status/2035110641741307939?s=20
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First time I’ve heard of this…… not
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They’re going to strangle the golden goose
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As long as we are a part of it, and there’s no P2 excluding us, I can live with that.
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Unfortunately I don’t think we have the fanbase or finances to compete with the new Big 10/SEC separation.
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My pee-wee league baseball league in my hometown had five teams. We played the same teams over and over.
That’s what a B10/Sec breakaway would be. Fans would tune into Missouri-South Carolina as the game of the week and they’d never go back
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all that matters
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You’re part of it til you aren’t
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Money is ruining my favorite sport.
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An analogy? The so called blue bloods have used the ncaa as their money laundering scheme.
If this go through expect:
This has nothing to do with all p4’s. This is about big10 and sec.
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Pause and think how big the timing of UH’s jump to the Big 12 was in 2021. Prior to that, I used to think of UH and Memphis as equals. Sorry, Memphis. I mean that. Memphis got the shortest end of the stick of any team.
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True though that may be, they also brought the least to the table in terms of on campus playing venues, academics and research, etc.
And of course, they lacked the local political pull that UH had in Texas.
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P4 has long talked about separation, so they can set up their own governance, have a few new rules, etc. Big 12 is a part of it, so fine.
Brand wise - they historically were equals I would suggest. The UH brand has gotten more awareness with being in the Big 12 + basketball success.
With that said, the issue with Memphis is where it’s located. Memphis.
While UH isn’t Texas, Texas A&M or even Texas Tech in terms of national recognition, it’s the Houston media market that likely gave us the edge over Memphis for the Big 12 invitation.
However, now that we are a member of the Big 12, it gives us a platform to expand our brand to greater heights.
but is it though? Or was college athletics just never a truly good business model to begin with?
Universities have generated billions of dollars over the past century on the backs of student athletes, who never made a cent from it legally until just a few years ago. Now they get to take advantage of their skillsets. What high-performing athletes bring to universities is worth multiples more than the cost of college tuition.
With that said, the problem that college athletics faces is that a pool of universities that typically dominate want to keep dominating, in perpetuity. Alabama, Ohio State, etc. want to remain the most elite programs.
This is not possible with the NFL because of the draft.
The only way to fix CFB in particular given the direction its heading in, is to implement a draft. But not only is that logistically impossible, it will destroy the fabric that is college tradition
Some people do not like the business of college sports, but the play on the field/court is better than ever which is why TV viewership is up.
Let me clarify. I have no problem with athletes making money. Why shouldn’t these billions of dollars be shared with the people who are doing the actual work.
Instead, what I mean is that TV money is driving the fragmentation of regional conferences. People today scoff at the old Southwest Conference. But I can tell you how awesome it was to be able to drive to virtually all my team’s conference road games, and to talk about the results the next Monday with friends, neighbors, and co-workers who were alums or at least fans of the schools in question. The quest by so-called “elite” schools to separate themselves from the rest, to gain more revenue, has destroyed that. Incredible rivalries, like OU-Nebraska, Michigan-Notre Dame, and many other, lesser-known games that used to inspire passion from the fans, are history now. Programs get elevated or relegated not because of on-field results, but because of the strength of their “brand.” Just ask yourself: Who was more deserving over the past twenty years–University of Texas or Boise State? Yet it’s taken as beyond question that the “blue bloods” should run the sport, to the detriment of fan enjoyment.
I’ll wrap up my ranting now, though I have much more to say. I am thankful we’re among the “haves” now, after thirty years in college sports purgatory. I’m glad I can watch virtually all my team’s games, plus any other college game I want. And yeah, the product is still exciting. But the stuff that made it distinct from pro sports–the rivalries, traditions, passion, and most of all, the potential for a tiny school to reach the top of the peak–are going away. And money is the reason.
The love of money is the root of all sorts of evils.
Conference realignment isn’t over, I can assure you that.
The way I see it, coastal-based power conferences are no longer sustainable
The SEC has a pocket of the USA all to itself, and that’s all it needs.
The B1G has the rust belt and the west coast.
Eventually, the ACC will suffer the very demise of the PAC12, and the Big 12 will be the only remaining power conference that has a true, nationwide-reach.
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This is way more simple than athletic dominance. This is greed, pure and simple. The p4 programs are, at least partially, the only ones making money in all this. Where I agree with the above poster is in the term, “in perpetuity.”
Ron, from 1 to 5 what are your favorite teams/schools?