Glass houses, stones. We employed Art Briles, and hired his two closest relatives immediately post-scandal.
This is not even close. To think that an entire town was in it, 158k+ people. I still canât comprehend that no one spoke up. The same for the other schools. These atrocities went on for years and some case decades. The ncaa is an accomplice to me.
Problem the ACC has is the UT problem which is âif you can, you willâ as a big dog like Fla st, clemson, NC , Miami , so they all feel they can and deserve greener passages . Itâs what will tear the league apart. Those teams feel they deserve to be sec or big so itâs gonna split that league bc they will keep trying to leave. They wonât stop wanting it. The big 12 on the other hand has stability bc we donât have those type teams other than maybe UTah or kanas and if those 2 left we will be ok bc they arenât big dogs.
The ACC has the UT problem âif I can, I willâ which will destroy that conference. Iâm so glad we donât have UT in our conference always wanting to leave or demanding more .
Ohio State had a gross wrestling coach
Unfortunately, for the Big 12 to be able to close the revenue gap as much as possible, we need an FSU or Clemson⊠(or both)
Itâs great that the Big 12 has stability for now because itâs sets a good foundation for future expansion, but we need brands that call for higher media deals eventually
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Three of the last four schools admitted to the Sec are AAU. Again, all things being equal, Sankey would choose AAU members. So would Yormark. What P4 commissioner wouldnât?
I think Law is confusing AAU being a requirement for an invitation vs. what the conference is now looking for
The SEC obviously does not require AAU Designation to be a member of its conference as opposed to the Big Ten, but that doesnât mean that the conference isnât seeking AAU schools either.
The SEC definitely wants more AAU schools in its conference, and UNC / UVA are the perfect matches for expansion because the bring AAU, they are flagship universities, they have great basketball programs, they donât immediately threaten the SEC hierarchy, and most of all they are in states that the SEC currently does not occupy.
FSU & Clemson do not make much sense if you really do an analysis. FSU is a mere 2 hour drive from UF. They arenât really adding much net benefit given they are in the same exact market. If Clemson ends up being an average performer in the SEC, then the conference is essentially dividing the pie with 2 of the same schools (Clemson and U of South Carolina).
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Wasnât a fan of hiring Kendall but hiring someone after a scandal (and before in the case of Art) in no way compares to employing them while theyâre in the midst of said scandal.
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The teams added to the SEC were added because of their brand size (especially UT, aTm, and OU), and/or geography in or adjacent to the SECâs preferred region; AAU had nothing to do with it.
OU got in because itâs an 80K+ per game brand, is a historical football blue blood, and is close enough regionally; it didnât even make R1 until after UH did, much less AAU.
UT got in because it is a 100K+ per game brand and football blue blood, and is close enough regionally.
aTm got in because it is a 100K+ per game brand and is close enough regionally.
Mizzou got in because of its location near the SE and because it is a big enough brand; AAU wasnât a part of it.
That three of those four were AAU was NOT a factor in their accession and did not play a role in that process.
Tulane may be in the SECâs region, and is AAU, but its minuscule football brand size and historical weakness means itâll NEVER be back in the SEC.
In the end, with the SEC, itâs all about brand size and to a lesser extent geography.
AAU ainât a factor there.
For the THIRD time, AAU only matters to:
a) UAA - never had a non-AAU member
b) B1G - never invited a non-AAU member; only has one now
c) Ivy - only historically had one non-AAU member, now has none
Dig?
LAW: the only thing that matters is BRAND NAMEâŠmarkets no longer matter
Also, LAW: AAU is the only thing that matters âŠlol
Brand size (mainly football) is indeed what drives power conference realignment now more than anything else.
Anyone thinking or saying otherwise is fooling themselves.
AAU matters only to the UAA, B1G, and Ivy League; itâs a non-factor in realignment for other conferences.
Whether the B1G will change in the future regarding AAU remains to be seen. Itâs a possibility, but Iâm not betting on it.
The Big 12 and ACC each have R2 schools (BYU and TCU in our case, and Wake Forest in the ACCâs case).
Some may wonder if the SEC has an AAU requirement for new members. It almost does.
OU is headed toward the AAU. Its research is rising sharply and the SEC will help it through multiple programs including collaboration among the leagueâs 16 campuses, study of how to use artificial intelligence in higher-education classrooms, and an Emerging Scholars Initiative
Plus Oklahoma sits in the OKC metro
A lot of good points, Top25âŠThose schoolsâ problem is that other than NC, the BIG and SEC havent shown any interest. FSU and Clemson can âwant itâ all they want. They arent going to get it. That is probably a big reason for their anger. They KNOW they arent going to get it. What ESPN does with their ACC contracts will dictate what happens, if anything.
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AAU isnât a requirement in the ACC, but the conference still views itself as an academically prestigious conference despite having non AAU schools.
I agree that brand size matters, but itâs not a one size fits all, black and white standard. While the ACC cares about prestige, it also understands the importance of sacrificing some prestige for schools like FSU & Clemson in order to get paid.
The Big Tenâs most valuable âbrandsâ are Michigan, Penn State, and Ohio State, all of which are responsible for the majority of its media deal value while also being AAU schools. The standard is already set. There is no other school outside of Notre Dame that could be added to the Big Ten that will really add any net benefit in terms of media value (which is why adding schools all the way furthest down south makes zero sense for travel logistics, i.e Florida or Miami).
Itâs not just football.
Regarding SEC - There are maybe 4 to 5 schools left worthy of being vetted to the conference
- UNC (likely wanted by both SEC & B1G)
- Virginia (AAU, basketball, flagship, non-threatening to the Bamas/Georgias/LSUs/A&Ms, etc etc etc)
- FSU (great brand, but lacks in other incentives)
- Clemson (great brand WHEN theyâre good. If theyâre bad, then itâs a Gamecocks replica â paying 2x for the same exact market)
- Miami (doesnât fit SEC culture, too small for Big Ten at this point
Clemson and Miami suffer the same problem. Theyâre only national brands when theyâre good. When theyâre bad, they slowly return to being regional.
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How do you know the AAU memberships of the additions to the Sec were not a consideration in them being invited?
Also, Kansas.
Rival of Mizzou, a State Flagship, and a blue blood basketball school in a conference that is elevating their basketball presence
Ehhh⊠Kansas doesnât really fit SEC culture either.
Even UVA is treading the line because they get so many northerners, but they are still far more âsouthernâ culturally than Kansas.
Mizzou isnât really an SEC school culturally either. They really should be in the Big Ten.
In fact⊠the SEC actually wanted OU along with A&M back in 2012 but they settled for Mizzou because OU didnât want to join the SEC at the time. Even Mizzou preferred Big Ten, but the Big Ten just didnât want them at the time
Kansas football also doesnât really add to the P2 in terms of media value.
Kansas fits SEC culture as well as 3 of their last 4 addsâŠMissouri, Texas & Oklahoma.
Only Texas A&M fit the prototype âSEC Cultureâ requirement.
Mizzou and OU are Midwest Big 8 culture types (as is KU) and UT is its own category.
UT is the anomaly. They will be accepted in any conference because theyâre just as valuable as NFL teams.
OU is Midwest but they are culturally more SEC than Texas. They arenât really âthe southâ, but they get a lot of âthe southâ personalities
Theoretically, any public AAU school doesnât fully fit âSEC Cultureâ, but thatâs where regionality comes into play (i.e. UNC & Virginia)
What makes Texas A&M fit SEC culture is their undergrad. Once you start hitting the grad programs, Texas A&M starts to turn very progressive very fast. This is essentially the exact same situation with University of Florida â conservative undergrad with progressive grad programs (hence why theyâre both AAU)
Kansas and Mizzou are far more liberal/progressive even in their undergrad programs which is why they arenât really SEC cultural fits, in my opinion. Mizzou joined because they really had no other option