Yeah I’m sure splitting TV revenue amongst 32 schools would turn up to pennies
24 is the largest workable number. You can break it into two 4 divisions of 6 teams that keep some regionality and rivals.
The only question about growing a conference and breaking into divisions is do the fans of teams in one division have any interest in the teams in other divisions.
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If FSU and Clemson win their law suites there won’t be any buyouts.
If the lawsuit results in a settlement (not an outright win at trial), then this would in a way still be a win for FSU/Clemson.
There would still be exit penalties, but it’s likely that any exit fees associated with leaving the conference is “settled” or mutually agreed upon by both parties.
The problem is though, is that any settlement essentially is a path for other schools to exit the conference in the exact same manner.
If there are any teams in the current Big 12 that would be invited to the Big 10 based on brand, academics and recency bias, it’s either going to be Utah or Kansas.
That being said, I agree, I don’t see either of those teams being invited to the B1G before Notre Dame does
I’d also see them going after Colorado and Arizona one day
Those are big public flagship universities on large states.
Neither really have the brand. And truthfully, I’m giving a lot of leeway to Utah and Kansas.
Arizona and Colorado fit in tier-2 Autonomy conferences such as Big 12 or some sort of Autonomy Pacific Coast (i.e. PAC-12) conference. Doesn’t matter if they are flagship.
Colorado has recency bias (purely on hype really), but they aren’t Power 2 material and even less so is Arizona.
The state of New Mexico doesn’t even have a P5 school in its entire geography.
Didn’t the Big 12’s media deal end in 2025? It renegotiated a year ago. The ACC has another year to be on the same track. The NBA is getting a far better deal with its new contract. Why wouldn’t the ACC?
It’s not up to the ACC. It’s up to ESPN.
Hey, ESPN could very well offer them a better deal, but if that was the honest case, then why hasn’t it already happened?
Why is it coming down to the last second, in almost the exact same manner is it did with the PAC12?
The Big 12 negotiated their deal ahead of time before the PAC could jump on any deal, which would’ve hypothetically resulted in the demise of the Big 12.
Because, unlike the NBA, the ACC may soon lose its most valuable brands.
yes, just as the Big 1`2 lost it’s most valuable brands (Texas & Oklahoma) yet was offered MORE money
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But the Big 12 rights expired two years ahead of the ACC. Yes, ESPN wants to see how it shakes out with UNC, Clemson and FSU. I suspect they all have to pay large exit fees. ESPN can lock them all up through 2036 at the current rate?
And as we have told you before, the ACC won’t have P4 worthy brands to rebuild with, as the Big 12 did.
They’ll have only AAC 2.0 brands to rebuild with, which will NOT make them more money.
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In a deal that’s split between ESPN and FOX.
The ACC’s only media partner is ESPN, who’s most likely not going to pay 40 Million for schools like Wake Forest and Boston College.
Miami doesn’t even justify paying schools $40 Million.
But guess what… Miami could easily get $40 Mil by joining the Big 12.
And those are more valuable losses than FSU and Clemson.
ESPN could very well indeed lock the ACC at the current deal terms. So why haven’t they?
Why not lock 4 top tier brands each for less than the price of UCF? What’s holding them back from doing that?
I dunno.
FSU and Clemson are so much bigger football brands than the rest of the ACC that it’ll be tough to make up for those losses.
Add in UNC and one other school….and the ACC could quickly spiral down into AAC 2.0.
Three years left on the deal so why rush?
Three years left on the CURRENT deal, yes, but they have until February 2025 to take the extension option for the 2027-2036 period at the current structure. Otherwise, that deal is toast.
If ESPN doesn’t take the option, then the GOR is technically inactive for the 2027-36 years because how is the ACC going to pay its own teams with a media deal?
Could come sooner.
Remember, ESPN can renegotiate its contract if the ACC loses more than three schools….and four have been rumored to leave.