Not a good basis of comparison given how much better suited we are to utilizing the transfer portal than they are.
Are Stanford and Cal really Power schools?
They donât even get 70% shares until year 9, and the value of those shares are probably dependent on FSU, UNC and Clemson remaining in the conference.
The only thing the ACC has over Big 12 is UNC, FSU and Clemson. If they leave, then the Big 12 is undoubtedly the better conference because while the Big 12 has no blue blood teams, it has depth which is something the ACC doesnât have.
You either read Hawthorne or you watched âThe Departedâ,
SMU can definitely get their fair share of good recruits & might even steal a couple from us too in the short term. Longterm I donât think the spending will be a sustainable thing however.
SMU will not receive any TV money for 9 years. They will only receive shares of money distributed for playoffs and bowls. In the meantime they are going to have to increase their athletic budget to around $100 million+ a year to be competitive. They are going to have to spend millions on upgrading their facilities. They are planning to upgrade that football stadium but are going to need to build an indoor facility and an operations facility for football. Upgrade that arena they use for basketball and ad a basketball training facility. They are counting on their donors for a lot of money. Oh, by the way, their donors are going to have to continue their NIL funding which based on history has to be very high.
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Yep
And if they fail to win a single championship in the ACC, are their donors going to continue willing to pay?
Itâs such a gamble this whole thing.
The fact that BYU was âdeclaredâ P5 as an independent (mainly to create a loophole for teams with P5 only scheduling restrictions) should tell you how much of an arbitrary BS label it is.
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Yes they will. Theyâve been giving since paying $2M per year to hire June Jones. Also built a nice IPF, soccer stadium, natatorium and now $100M endzone complex.
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There are supposedly, at least, seven families of alums with big F-U billionaire money (generational oil wealth) going to help. Those families have come forward to fund the program in lieu of the media deals ($120MM+ per year). Southern Millionaire University has the money, but the boosters have been afraid since the death penalty. The school hasnât tapped the well in a long time, but in the era of NIL and an opportunity to go to the ACC: funding is ready.
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This was marriage of convenienceâŠSMU was just a pawn.
Fans in seat + market share+ brand was NOT the driving factors in this particular realignment move.
It is abour survival, number of school pre raid, and squeezing out as much money as possible for the schools not named FSU, UNC or Clemson
Also, Stanford and Cal were brought with NDâs strategy to make Stanford one of itâs 5 required ACC conference games. It frees up a OOC spot for them.
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They certainly have demonstrated over the years they can buy their way into just about anything - even it resulted in a death penalty. Right now Cal and Stanford are beholden to them. To say the least about FSU and Clemson.
There just are not enough living alumni and t-shirt SMU fans to fill their stadium even at its current size.
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The only reason SMU was able to forego getting ACC media dollars for 9 years is they are a private school. They would never get away with that nonsense as a public school.
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Wow I thought horns were arrogant.
SMU is playing the long game, because they know that itâs now or never.
The next consolidation will be top ACC brands into the Big 10/SEC.
The consolidation after that will be a battle between the Big 12 and ACC for #3. Schools like Memphis, USF, San Diego St, Ore St, Wash St, Tulane etc. will not have a chance for the #3 conference. Only #4 at best. SMU now at least has some chance at #3.
The ACC had no chance of being #3. Now, with expansion, the ACC will have 9-14 members left once the Top Brands leave, enough to reconstitute. Further, the ACC now has a western wing with which to entice the 4 corners back.
A lot will depend on what ESPN wants to do. They are invested in the ACC network. They own the ACC, but share the Big 12 with FOX. They might prefer the ACC to win the race for #3. Or, they may prefer the ACC dissolves so they can get rid of the ACC network expense (see Longhorn Network).
A lot will also depend on which league has a longer GOR in place at the time of the next reshuffle. At current, ACC schools are locked up 5 years longer. This may make them harder to pry away unless the ACC dissolves.
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Everybody needs to listen to this.
The locked in Big 12 guy is saying pretty much the same thing Iâve been saying about why this is NOT such a good opportunity for SMU.
SMU doesnt really have to come up with that much more donor money. They are only going to lose out on the 7 mil or so the AAC was going to pay them. If their donors come up with that each year then it is a net zero for their operating budget. It gets sticky though if they try to operate in a P5 conference with G5 money. They can do it but they wont be very competitive. The BMD will then have to provide more. They will be just fine, just not competitive without a major change in donor money.
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