statsman

How would the PE investors get repaid for their investment ? At the returns they expect? Is it telling that Yormark is pursuing this, and selling naming rights, and not a Big12 network? Or, does ESPN already own all the tier 3 rights?

Why not Allstate16? Just saying…

What if this move by the B12 spurs the B1G and SEC to break away into their own league? For the good of the sport?

He stayed on scholarship, ate with the team, practiced with the team, stood on the sidelines. He was even mentored by Borden, while Molitor had to flee campus.

So interesting. The problem that the B12 and ACC (Mid2) have is that they get $30-50M less per year than the P2 conferences. That money goes into football operations and the P2 conferences hire large support staffs for scouting of recruits and opponents. The M2 schools want to compete with the P2 schools, so they have to do the same tasks, but with fewer people. The job of an asst at a M2 school is much tougher than at a P2 school (and may pay less). And now, there is the NCAA allowing the schools to pay players directly. I assumed the G5 and M2 schools would just go to university revenue for that money, but that’s a bad look. This PE money could help there. I share others’ skepticism about long term effects. As an employee that has gone through a couple of LBOs, I learned that when the new owners say “invest”, they mean “bleed”. Fortunately, the guys advising Texas actuall are PE, so I expect UT to get the best advice.

The programs that “travel” best are the ones that really don’t need their fans to travel. Texas, for example, has more fans in Houston than UH, more fans in FW than TCU (sorry, Mac Engel), and more fans in west Texas than TT. In the new B12, BYU will be the “best traveling” fanbase, for similar reasons.

Given all the saber rattling and threats in the months leading up to the invasion, and they were over there chasing max paydays, is it any wonder the stars of the WNBA have so endeared themselves as America’s sweethearts?

Oh, how I hope Clark has enough sway to flex in four years and tell them who she wants with her on the team and who she doesn’t

…and that’s how we think about the WNBA stars, just a bunch of basketball junkies diligently working their craft and giving no thought to acclaim or recognition

I see that after Bama poached SMU’s QB commit, Russell (who Texas was kicking the tires on), SMU pursued TCU’s QB commit, Ty Hawkins. That will be a fun rivalry to watch, now that we’re in a different arena. Two small Mid2 conference schools, in a talent rich area, with little popular local support (which they really don’t care about), willing to spend buy players. They are traditional rivals and natural rivals, but will stop playing each other after this year.

nm

I get it. I see what the WNBA players are doing, and why. They work hard and this rookie is getting all this undeserved attention, endorsements and acclaim, without earning it yet. Those girls need to do what Isaiah Thomas organized the East team to do in the 1985 all star game and put that rookie in her place, by freezing her out. 😂

Vince was the first of a kind. Until then, NFL offenses had gotten so complex, and completely dependent on a QB with a complete mastery of the scheme and the ability to go three reads deep on every play (which meant that there were never more than single digit teams with a chance of doing anything). Now, the NFL absolutely knows what to do with a VY- give him an offense he can run, play him early, and use the salary surplus that comes from having an effective QB on a rookie deal to make hay. If he develops further, great! If not, there are worse things than rolling a few years with a better Cam Newton. Kubiak and Fisher weren’t having it, though. The new offenses were a good idea, but they were also a new idea, so they feared them. Oh, well, we’ll always have that two minute drill vs. the Cardinals in 2009, to show what could have been.

The Aggies are going to be incredibly hyped up. The players will be raging, the fans will be frothing, their cadets will be shoveling shit into the Longhorn band, the Ags will have been crying for two weeks about the 12 kids that died when their bonfire collapsed, making sure that everyone knows they believe they deserve a win. And Texas will win by two scores.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5523985/2024/06/03/dillon-gabriel-oregon-football/

Who has ever posted that? I know Al, the ISU guy, demeaned Stanford for wanting a place at the big table despite not being enthusiastic enough for his tastes, but I don’t think he said they should quit football.

Attendance is one metric of program popularity, but it is imperfect. A better metric is “gate”- the dollars paid by fans to attend the game. TCU’s stadium holds 45k and Texas’ holds 105k (from memory). They both sell out against TT, but TCU doesn’t have half the popularity of Texas. The TCU tix against Tech cost half what Texas-TT tix cost, and that doesn’t even count the disparity in donations required to buy premium seats and suites. It’s simple economics and pricing elasticity. If Texas had a 150k stadium, it could price tickets to sell it out. There are games where TCU struggles to give tix away. Broadcast viewership is a better metric of program popularity, since the price to view is so low- the main cost is the surrendering of time to watch. Thats where you see the real differences. I really don’t know how the media marketers measure the financial standing of different programs’ viewers/fans. I suspect this factor explains why the B1G media payout is better than the SEC’s.

No, just an asshole

This is the thread where we mock the left behind. It always has been. Nobody forces you to click. I’m sorry if you’re feelings are hurt. (I wonder why you decided the internationally renowned campus with a real football history was what you decided to mock for wanting to be in the big leagues despite a current lack of campus support, when there is another campus in Dallas, competing for recruits with you, claiming a big league spot and exulting in their lack of fan support. Is it just more fun to claim superiority over Stanford than over SMU?).

That is quite a strawman. Kudos Here is my real point- you Big 12 left behinders don’t understand how much you have been free riding, and I will laugh and laugh as it becomes clear. I intend to post rating for your games (that aren’t on streaming) as they become available. I will follow Big XII football so as to see who is being developed in our minor league, for portal transfer.

Do you think that if you keep repeating 5,000 in attendance for Stanford football, people will believe it?

In a very old movie, called “Say Anything”, John Cusack’s character is getting advice from his loser friends about how to manage his relationship with Ione Skye. He asks them, “If you guys know so much about girls, why are you hanging out on Friday night at a 7-11 parking lot?” “Choice!”, they all answer. That’s what seeing Okie State, Baylor and ISU fans Stan for the Big XII reminds me of.

In four months, we’ll start to get an idea. Games will be played, and ratings will come in.

“And no one cares.” But, people do care. And that bothers you. Stanford is the traditional power in a high population density, wealthy area of the country. Iowa State is a traditional doormat in a town of less than 100,000, in the middle of Iowa. Stanford has gone 9-27 over the last three years, while ISU has gone 18-20. ISU’s greatest season, ever, was in 2020, when it was Big XII runner up and beat Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl, in front of empty stands, a game nobody outside Iowa remembers. If you asked the typical fan of any team, “Who would you rather be in a conference with, Stanford or Iowa State?”, would anyone answer Iowa State?

I don’t know about a halo effect, but I know collegiate sports started before 2010, and Stanford and Cal have a long history of modest national success- national championships, even. Rose Bowls, Heismans, etc. That speaks to a program’s potential. When Stanford and Cal try to be good at football, they can be very, very good. When ISU tries to be good at football, it can go 8-4 and go to whatever bowl ISU goes to. Hell, in my memory, a SuperBowl was played in Stanford’s old stadium. They ever think of doing that in Jack Trice? Pick any other P2 or Mid2 team- what’s the best bet for scheduling a game that will be on ABC, NBC, Fox or ESPN proper- Stanford or ISU?