Rumor Mill...

[Left Seater]

FSU and ND to Big 12. Not sure I am ready to believe this yet, but it is making the rounds on radio here.

Much of this comes from the comments of an FSU regent's comments. He is upset at the new ACC TV deal and thinks the conf left money on the table and is also concerned that much of the contract is back loaded.

We now return you to your regular Big East bashing.

[Terry in Crapchester]

I have heard FSU, not ND. And I'm pretty sure that would be making the rounds on the ND homer boards if there was anything to it.

I've heard Clemson, Miami and Louisville mentioned as the schools most likely to make the move with FSU. Pretty much in that order of likelihood, although perhaps you could swap Clemson and Miami.

If that were to come to fruition, the Big XII probably leapfrogs the ACC on the conference totem pole. The ACC could be in some trouble if it loses its marquee football program.

[Left Seater]

I have also heard the Clemson and Miami talk. Miami makes sense from the standpoint of preserving FSU's rivalries.

[SoCalTrjn]

I had heard ND to the ACC, but that was just some talking heads on espn

[Terry in Crapchester]

There's been speculation for quite some time that ND might head to the ACC. There were serious talks between ND and the ACC back in '03, after the ACC added Va Tech and Miami but before they added BC. But anything since then has been speculation. If the ACC loses Florida State, I doubt ND would head there under any circumstances, but I suppose stranger things have happened.

Agree with Lefty that Miami would make more sense than Clemson as a travel partner for Florida State. Further, Clemson is a charter member of the ACC and six ACC members are within 300 road miles of Clemson. It might be pretty hard for them to leave the ACC under those circumstances. Of course, from West Virginia's perspective, Clemson would probably be a better add, in that they'd be 400 miles closer to Morgantown than the next closest Big XII member.

[Van]

If that were to come to fruition, the Big XII probably leapfrogs the ACC on the conference totem pole.

:?

"Probably"?

At least in terms of football the Big XII was already well above the ACC on the conference totem pole, and that was before the additions of WVU and TCU. Subtract Florida St from the ACC and they're practically the Big East, never mind tossing the 'Noles and Irish into the Big XII.

"Probably."

[H4ever]

I laughed. Who in their right mind believes ND will not only join, but stand by and allow Texass to play "We own this bitch....you all get the scraps" ?

Unless Texass agreed to equal revenue sharing in advance.....I laughed again.

[Terry in Crapchester]

If that were to come to fruition, the Big XII probably leapfrogs the ACC on the conference totem pole.

:?

"Probably"?

At least in terms of football the Big XII was already well above the ACC on the conference totem pole, and that was before the additions of WVU and TCU. Subtract Florida St from the ACC and they're practically the Big East, never mind tossing the 'Noles and Irish into the Big XII.

"Probably."

What I was getting at was the public perception that the ACC, off the field, is much healthier than the Big XII. Remember all the talk about 4 x 16? It was expected that under that model, the ACC would survive whereas the Big XII would not. I don't think you can make that assumption anymore if Florida State joins the Big XII. There's also the matter that the Big XII has been raided by other conferences, whereas the ACC, as of yet, has not. Also recall that the ACC passed on West Virginia before the Big XII offered them.

On the field is an entirely different matter altogether. No doubt the Big XII is a much stronger conference than the ACC, even with Florida State in the ACC.

And try and follow along here, but Florida State joining the Big XII is far worse for the ACC than Florida State joining the SEC would be. On the field, of course, the net result is the same for the ACC. The difference comes off the field. No one would be surprised by the SEC successfully raiding the ACC, if it were so inclined. The Big XII is a different matter, though, for reasons set forth in the first paragraph.

And since you brought it up, I think Florida State joining the Big XII would open the door for the Big East, if it were so inclined, to open up negotiations with Pitt and Syracuse about remaining onboard rather than jumping to the ACC. If the Big East were to do that and succeed, the Big East, I think, jumps above the ACC on the conference totem pole. Of course, that would require much bolder action from the Big East than what we've seen so far, but we're talking about a high reward proposition with relatively little risk, so who knows? But again, comparing to a hypothetical scenario involving Florida State jumping to the SEC, I don't think that door necessarily gets opened in that event.

[Terry in Crapchester]

I laughed. Who in their right mind believes ND will not only join, but stand by and allow Texass to play "We own this bitch....you all get the scraps" ?

Unless Texass agreed to equal revenue sharing in advance.....I laughed again.

I don't think ND would insist on equal revenue sharing, so long as they felt they were being paid commensurate to their worth. And fwiw, I think most ND fans feel ND would receive a fairer shake from Texas than it would from tOSU and Michigan, but that's a topic for a different day and thread.

If Florida State jumps to the Big XII, then I think the Big XII becomes the clear-cut leader in the "If ND ever joins a conference . . ." sweepstakes. But of course, that and $5 will get you a cup of coffee at Starbuck's.

And since you kinda touched on TV revenue, ND certainly would need special consideration from any conference, unless the conference were willing to wait until ND's NBC deal expires. At a minimum, ND would want to be able to finish out any existing deal with NBC so they're not on the hook for breach of contract. It's also worth noting that the Big XII shows an apparent willingness to allow its members to retain their Tier 3 TV rights, so that might appeal to ND.

The bigger issue, though, is ND's independence. ND won't give that up lightly, and for my money, won't give it up, period, unless the conferences become the sole gatekeepers to the national championship.

Like I said earlier, at this point any talk about ND joining the Big XII is little more than wishful thinking on someone's part. If there were anything to that rumor, it would be all over the ND homer boards by now, and it isn't.

[Left Seater]

I laughed. Who in their right mind believes ND will not only join, but stand by and allow Texass to play "We own this bitch....you all get the scraps" ?

Unless Texass agreed to equal revenue sharing in advance.....I laughed again.

Uhhh, ND created that game. Sounds like they would be perfect partners.



Funny how NU fan will chime in on things being unequal now, but had no problem when things were unequal in their favor back in the day. You are in a good spot now, why is Texas still living in your dome?

prediction, Aggie fan will run this same line for years. They will be 6-5 but running smack that an SEC team won the title.

[Shoalzie]

If the BCS is going away, why is this still going on?

[Left Seater]

If the BCS is going away, why is this still going on?

Because some TV contracts are better than others.

[SoCalTrjn]

There is nothing wrong with things not being even in terms of TV contracts. The teams that have all the interest in them and drive the contracts should get the lions share of the TV contract revenues. I have no idea why Haden would sign off on a deal that would give organ or washington state the same percentage of the conferences TV money that USC receive. Out of every 100 people who would tune in to watch a Pac 12 game on TV that was just listed as a "Pac 12 football" game, 85 of them will turn the channel when they realize that USC is not playing in the game, that's a fact. So why should USC share equally?

[SunCoastSooner]

I have heard FSU, not ND. And I'm pretty sure that would be making the rounds on the ND homer boards if there was anything to it.

I've heard Clemson, Miami and Louisville mentioned as the schools most likely to make the move with FSU. Pretty much in that order of likelihood, although perhaps you could swap Clemson and Miami.

If that were to come to fruition, the Big XII probably leapfrogs the ACC on the conference totem pole. The ACC could be in some trouble if it loses its marquee football program.

The Big 12 is already above the ACC on the conference totem poll. $20m a year per team is a considerable amount more than $16.7 a year per team last time I checked

I laughed. Who in their right mind believes ND will not only join, but stand by and allow Texass to play "We own this bitch....you all get the scraps" ?

Unless Texass agreed to equal revenue sharing in advance.....I laughed again.

I wonder when Husker fan is going to realize or come to grips with the fact that Oklahoma has made more money from the conference deal than Texass has three of the last four years and eight of the last ten . . . probably never because in their delusional minds they're still living in a period of 125 scholarship players and surviving off of prop 48.

Funny how NU fan will chime in on things being unequal now, but had no problem when things were unequal in their favor back in the day. You are in a good spot now, why is Texas still living in your dome?

prediction, Aggie fan will run this same line for years. They will be 6-5 but running smack that an SEC team won the title.

No shit! Structured revenue sharing was a concession that Texas, aTm, and Oklahoma made to Nebraska when the conference formed. Nebraska fought against equal revenue sharing at conference meetings in 1996, 1998, and 2000. Structured revenue sharing was not an issue to Nebraska until they weren't one of the big three receivers of the revenue in the conference.

[Mr T]

[MuchoBulls]

Nice

[BSmack]

I don't think ND would insist on equal revenue sharing, so long as they felt they were being paid commensurate to their worth.

Right now they have their own network. Can't see how any conference revenue sharing plan could satisfy that level of "worth."

[OUMO]

I do not know Lefty I have heard that talk to and even Miami in the mix.

[Terry in Crapchester]

I'm now hearing that ESPN is reporting that ND will join the ACC. I've seen no corroboration of that, however, so I'm taking it with a grain, or several, of salt, at least for the time being.