Realignment talk not going away

['stache 21825]

By then cable cutting will have taken hold and streaming will be more developed. One of the articles speculated the possibility of the P5 conferences joining together for a media deal. I can see that happening where everybody gets richer and the programs that get more airtime get a little bit more. By then, when conference network cable dumbassery is not the driving force, I can see Ohio State and Michigan being tired of making the same as Indiana and Rutgers. I don't see any program moving conferences in the next round.

[SwanderedTalent 5761]

25 minutes ago, 'stache said:

I can see Ohio State and Michigan being tired of making the same as Indiana and Rutgers.

they better be careful or people will accuse them of acting in their own self-interest and ruining the sport

[DFW Horn 6132]

2 hours ago, 'stache said:

...I can see Ohio State and Michigan being tired of making the same as Indiana Northwestern, Purdue, and Rutgers. I don't see any program moving conferences in the next round.

Indiana still carries their weight in hoops for the B1G even whilst sucking

[DFW Horn 6132]

2 hours ago, SwanderedTalent said:

they better be careful or people will accuse them of acting in their own self-interest and ruining the sport

Lamestream media "journalists" never bothered to look into how aggy and corn voted for "equal revenue distribution" while Big 12 members. But, WTF, they're mostly lazy hacks.

[notre dame joe 190]

13 hours ago, utee94 said:

Yup.  He never claimed a specific inside source, but he absolutely spoke with certainty.  He wasn't just daydreaming up various scenarios.  He said things like, "Texas' administration has reached an agreement in principle with the B1G."  That's not just speculation, that's an assertion.

UVA was "signed, sealed, and delivered" to the BUG.  He must not have known that the envelope actually contained an application for bball tickets.

[PencilPusher 454]

22 hours ago, 'stache said:

By then cable cutting will have taken hold and streaming will be more developed. One of the articles speculated the possibility of the P5 conferences joining together for a media deal. I can see that happening where everybody gets richer and the programs that get more airtime get a little bit more. By then, when conference network cable dumbassery is not the driving force, I can see Ohio State and Michigan being tired of making the same as Indiana and Rutgers. I don't see any program moving conferences in the next round.

I personally believe this is the most likely outcome, for at least football and maybe basketball. When that does happen, I can see geographical football realignment into regional "divisions" whereby the champions of those divisions make the playoff and everyone else that qualifies can go to a postseason bowl game. The conferences as currently aligned will still be there for all of the other sports plus whatever academic alliances exist within the current conference arrangements (like the CIC for the Big 10)

[Hurtlocker 2213]

On 8/12/2019 at 8:52 AM, SwanderedTalent said:

 He'd say "in the script I've seen, Obi-Wan Kenobi is a robot clone called OB1!!!!!" 

I'd watch that.

[US183 125]

UCF, USF, BYU would make this conference more laughable than it already is. Need to convince PIG and LSU to come in. Whatever it takes$$$$$. That would screw aggy. PIG was a national brand in the SWC, now they are an also ran.

[HornsofBevo 122]

11 minutes ago, US183 said:

UCF, USF, BYU would make this conference more laughable than it already is. Need to convince PIG and LSU to come in. Whatever it takes$$$$$. That would screw aggy. PIG was a national brand in the SWC, now they are an also ran.

This is the way I have always felt. The BigXII should be moving heaven and earth to get those two schools. Those two schools should want to be here. For LSU, it gives them the real chance to be an equal in a conference that would embrace them and also strengthens their Texas recruiting. For Arkansas, it gives them a chance to start recruiting east Texas again and have a relevant football team. Bribe boosters, make promises. Whatever it takes. Adding those two would created the kind of conference that would last and, as a bonus, aggy becomes arkansas for the next 50 years.

Edited August 15, 2019 by HornsofBevo

[Magus Ossis 2815]

4 minutes ago, US183 said:

UCF, USF, BYU would make this conference more laughable than it already is. Need to convince PIG and LSU to come in. Whatever it takes$$$$$. That would screw aggy. PIG was a national brand in the SWC, now they are an also ran.

We need (not necessarily lack, but need):

A path to the playoffs,
Media availability of our games,
A media deal that feeds our AD enough money to keep us in the rich club,
At least a few games a year against teams in/around Texas,
The OU game, and
At least a couple of respectable games against out-of-state opponents including one marquee match-up annually.

A weak B12 is not necessarily an insurmountable obstacle to any of these. We don't need any given conference mate to make it work. Even OU was OOC for the longest time. Pig and LSU are not coming, but it's OK. We just need to make sure that we aren't asleep at the switch when we get near the next big junction.

[Tom 2959]

LSU isn't going to leave the conference they have 100 years of history with for less money, exposure, and stability.  Plus, they have recently been a national contender in that conference and have proven they don't have to be a perennial also-ran like Arkansas or A&M.  It's an extremely small chance, but I could see a scenario where Arkansas could be convinced.  As was said, they went from a national brand to regional also-ran in the SEC.  Their fans still love to hate Texas and would enjoy the rivalry as well as playing OU and other former SWC schools.  The biggest thing they'd lose is the money, but we could close the gap with a school of Arkansas's value.  They left the SWC for the same reasons we did.  Their administration wasn't as petty as A&M's about going to the SEC. 

But the biggest hurdle I see in trying to convince any other P5 school to leave their conference for the Big 12 is the reputation of instability this conference has or that it may all come crashing down when the GOR ends.  We'd have a better chance trying to poach PAC schools who may not enjoy being last in revenue or some ACC schools who haven't been there a long time or have much history with the conference.

My "never going to happen but a guy can dream" scenario would be Nebraska, CU, and Arkansas all feeling regret about their diminished prestige and lack of historical rivals in their new homes and agreeing to come back to their Big 8/SWC roots, putting us at 13 with only one spot to fill.

['stache 21825]

1 hour ago, Tom said:

LSU isn't going to leave the conference they have 100 years of history with for less money, exposure, and stability.  Plus, they have recently been a national contender in that conference and have proven they don't have to be a perennial also-ran like Arkansas or A&M.  It's an extremely small chance, but I could see a scenario where Arkansas could be convinced.  As was said, they went from a national brand to regional also-ran in the SEC.  Their fans still love to hate Texas and would enjoy the rivalry as well as playing OU and other former SWC schools.  The biggest thing they'd lose is the money, but we could close the gap with a school of Arkansas's value.  They left the SWC for the same reasons we did.  Their administration wasn't as petty as A&M's about going to the SEC. 

But the biggest hurdle I see in trying to convince any other P5 school to leave their conference for the Big 12 is the reputation of instability this conference has or that it may all come crashing down when the GOR ends.  We'd have a better chance trying to poach PAC schools who may not enjoy being last in revenue or some ACC schools who haven't been there a long time or have much history with the conference.

My "never going to happen but a guy can dream" scenario would be Nebraska, CU, and Arkansas all feeling regret about their diminished prestige and lack of historical rivals in their new homes and agreeing to come back to their Big 8/SWC roots, putting us at 13 with only one spot to fill.

Drop Baylor, because fuck them, to get back to 12. Or more realistically, WVU goes to the ACC, where they belong geographically.

[utee94 15835]

All future B12 alignment scenarios, whether realistic or wild fantasy, should begin with-- "Dump Baylor, obviously."

[simulcast 1]

fuck Baylor

[simulcast 1]

On 8/12/2019 at 11:49 AM, SwanderedTalent said:

they better be careful or people will accuse them of acting in their own self-interest and ruining the sport

I cannot speak to Indiana, but as a Texan living in NJ, I can say NJ is a culture suck to anyone Texan.

[TeddyBearStallion 73]

 

On 8/15/2019 at 4:45 PM, US183 said:

UCF, USF, BYU would make this conference more laughable than it already is. Need to convince PIG and LSU to come in. Whatever it takes$$$$$. That would screw aggy. PIG was a national brand in the SWC, now they are an also ran.

Agree on UCF and USF, but BYU would be the 3rd biggest brand in the conference and get a boost in recruiting, making them more competitive and would boost the academic profile of the Big XII.  

On 8/15/2019 at 4:56 PM, HornsofBevo said:

This is the way I have always felt. The BigXII should be moving heaven and earth to get those two schools. Those two schools should want to be here. For LSU, it gives them the real chance to be an equal in a conference that would embrace them and also strengthens their Texas recruiting. For Arkansas, it gives them a chance to start recruiting east Texas again and have a relevant football team. Bribe boosters, make promises. Whatever it takes. Adding those two would created the kind of conference that would last and, as a bonus, aggy becomes arkansas for the next 50 years.

LSU wouldn't benefit as much re: recruiting, but Arkansas sure would, which would make them more competitive, starting an upward cycle.  

[bullet 1597]

On 8/13/2019 at 9:36 AM, PencilPusher said:

I personally believe this is the most likely outcome, for at least football and maybe basketball. When that does happen, I can see geographical football realignment into regional "divisions" whereby the champions of those divisions make the playoff and everyone else that qualifies can go to a postseason bowl game. The conferences as currently aligned will still be there for all of the other sports plus whatever academic alliances exist within the current conference arrangements (like the CIC for the Big 10)

No.  B1G is making too much money and despite all their posturing, they are the greediest, most willing to throw everyone else under the bus.

They aren't going to give up that advantage.  I could see Pac/Big 12/ACC doing some kind of alliance.  I could also see conference "pairs."  Big 10 and SEC splitting up the ACC so there would be a B1G 10 and B1G Atlantic, an SEC and a SE Atlantic, leaving the Big 12 and Pac 12 to do an alliance in the west.

More likely in the mid 2030s is a version of Prestige Worldwide with 12-14 major football schools forming their own conference.  Only have 6 conference games so you can beat up on the "lesser" schools and bump up your record.  There would be a Prestige Tier, a Power Tier then the Gang Tier.  And maybe there would be two Pestige Conferences, West-USC, UCLA, UW, Colorado, Texas, OU, Texas A&M, Nebraska, LSU, Wisconsin  and an East-Michigan, Ohio St., Penn St., Notre Dame, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Florida St., Clemson.  (didn't forget Auburn, but not enough room in east)

Edited August 17, 2019 by bullet

[torre 1286]

On 8/12/2019 at 10:22 AM, 'stache said:

By then cable cutting will have taken hold and streaming will be more developed. 

Stephen Ross,  savvy media writer at BC, opines.

 

Charter Communications and Disney have put together a distribution deal that gives the ACC Network a nice cushion to start with — and could cause ripples of change when realignment come back around mid-decade.

The Deal means that when the ACC net signs on next week it will be on Charter ( Spectrum), DirecTV, Verizon Fios, Google Fiber, TVision, Optimum and Suddenlink. Over 40% of Charter’s footprint overlaps with ACC markets. That leaves Comcast and AT&T U-verse as the biggest cable hold outs.

Just as important -- if not moreso -- the network will also be available on such streaming services as YouTube TV, Hulu Live TV and PlayStation Vue,

The deal also calls for the distribution of Disney-owned streaming outlets Disney+, ESPN+ and HULU.

That means the potential of offering the streaming of live sports event or sports networks through your cable box. Disney is looking to have 90 million Disney+ subscribers by 2024 - or just about the time of the next round of realignment.

To get to that number Disney is going to have to build more distribution partnerships in the near future.

As for how it effects the next round of media negotiations — if you think the ACC is not a viable option for Texas in the future think again. If nothing else they are excellent leverage for the administration in upcoming talks.

 

https://www.barkingcarnival.com/2019/8/14/20806118/disney-gets-acc-network-on-spectrum

[DFW Horn 6132]

Quote

As for how it effects the next round of media negotiations — if you think the ACC is not a viable option for Texas in the future think again. If nothing else they are excellent leverage for the administration in upcoming talks.

I'd prefer the Big 12 remains viable, but the ACC is the most attractive option to me if we had to make a move elsewhere. But, we're Texas by God. We don't have to do shit.

[mdleast 8297]

The prospect of going to the ACC:

[TeddyBearStallion 73]

On 8/17/2019 at 9:35 AM, bullet said:

No.  B1G is making too much money and despite all their posturing, they are the greediest, most willing to throw everyone else under the bus.

They aren't going to give up that advantage.  I could see Pac/Big 12/ACC doing some kind of alliance.  I could also see conference "pairs."  Big 10 and SEC splitting up the ACC so there would be a B1G 10 and B1G Atlantic, an SEC and a SE Atlantic, leaving the Big 12 and Pac 12 to do an alliance in the west.

More likely in the mid 2030s is a version of Prestige Worldwide with 12-14 major football schools forming their own conference.  Only have 6 conference games so you can beat up on the "lesser" schools and bump up your record.  There would be a Prestige Tier, a Power Tier then the Gang Tier.  And maybe there would be two Pestige Conferences, West-USC, UCLA, UW, Colorado, Texas, OU, Texas A&M, Nebraska, LSU, Wisconsin  and an East-Michigan, Ohio St., Penn St., Notre Dame, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Florida St., Clemson.  (didn't forget Auburn, but not enough room in east)

And how exactly would that improve CFB or make it any more interesting after the novelty of that arrangement wears off?

[camel at sea 589]

On 8/16/2019 at 8:11 AM, Tom said:

My "never going to happen but a guy can dream" scenario would be Nebraska, CU, and Arkansas all feeling regret about their diminished prestige and lack of historical rivals in their new homes and agreeing to come back to their Big 8/SWC roots, putting us at 13 with only one spot to fill.

North:  OU, OSU, KU, KSU, NU, CU, ISU

South: UT, TTU, BU, UH, Arky, TCU, WVU

At that point, #14 as UH fits if you're creating two divisions that look like the Big 8 and SWC.  That split might make sense from a branding and fan-interest standpoint.  Fan interest/content will matter more in the streaming era.  WVU is still an outlier but it's been less of a problem than anyone anticipated.    

 

Realistic?  I agree that it's probably not.  You'd need to get NU sold on the idea first, I think.  But would their fans/donors be happy to essentially get the Big 8 back?  No doubt.  So you can't completely rule it out.  Get NU on board, then CU is an easier sell when the PAC deal expires.  The Big 12 + Nebraska would presumably have a money advantage on the floundering PAC.  The return of NU and CU would also fulfill the Purple Wizard's "two schools want to come back" prophecy.  https://www.heartlandcollegesports.com/2016/07/19/big-12-bill-snyder-two-teams-want-back-in/

And from there, Arkansas.  

[DFW Horn 6132]

On 8/17/2019 at 8:46 PM, mdleast said:

The prospect of going to the ACC:

So is the prospect of going to the Pac. Who blows your skirt up besides USC? UW and maybe Stanford?

B1G has only 3 I'd wanna play - tOSU, Michigan, & PSU

We can schedule the other leagues' bluebloods OOC. Bottom line is UT administration values "control" and being the lead dog more than any potential realignment move. As we should.

[mdleast 8297]

Between the two, I find the idea of going to the Pac 12 at least more interesting than the ACC which is in line with my general interest in watching games from either conference.

Outside of Clemson’s ascendance, what are/have been the interesting ACC teams to watch or follow? Miami and Florida State sometimes? I mean, I’m a CFB nerd so I’ll still watch a lot anyways but most ACC games are at the bottom of my priority list when other games are on.

I find the Pac 12 teams as a whole more interesting to watch and also find their style of games to be closer aligned with Big 12 style games. From a hypothetical being in a Pac/Big 12 realigned conference perspective, I would be happy with the prospect of playing not only USC, Washington and Stanford but also Oregon and UCLA (hey, at least when we’re the visiting team and even if they’re terrible, we would be playing at the Rose Bowl). Heck, if I’m just looking at it from a stadium/visiting perspective, even having Cal as a whipping boy would be fun.

I’m not saying any of this is likely to occur and can certainly appreciate differing opinions on how attractive the Pac 12 may be to others but it’s certainly more interesting than the ACC.

[clapclapclap 9000]

^^^Yes, what she said.  Gimme Pac, though I get the logistic advantages of the ACC.

[DFW Horn 6132]

9 minutes ago, clapclapclap said:

^^^Yes, what she said.  Gimme Pac, though I get the logistic advantages of the ACC.

Yeah, I guess the match-ups are better with the Pac12 - USC, OR, WA, Stanford, UCLA, CO, & Utah

We've gotta count Notre Dame as an ACC member to even come close, although Clemson, FSU, UNC, Miami, and GaTech would be interesting games.

[notre dame joe 190]

11 hours ago, DFW Horn said:

Yeah, I guess the match-ups are better with the Pac12 - USC, OR, WA, Stanford, UCLA, CO, & Utah

We've gotta count Notre Dame as an ACC member to even come close, although Clemson, FSU, UNC, Miami, and GaTech would be interesting games.

The justification is that playing semi-regular games in Georgia, Florida and Virginia would make it easier to recruit those states.  Well actually I just inferred that from reading it here so many times. The real reason was the $$ and less grunt work for the AD to fill schedules.  But maybe recruiting is a by-product.  Granted UT already has their recruiting grounds w/o CR.

 

ON CR dreams Colorado is the only plausible return.  Every other departing school got a pay raise, eventually.  UC left for a pay cut and basically perpetual football irrelevance. 

[Al_4_ISU 12473]

I just read the Land Thieves (Dirt Burglars) realignment thread for the first time in years.  Jesus, that's a pile of fan fiction if I've ever seen one.

[Doc Sam Beckett 5797]

Lulz at anyone preferring Pac over the ACC. The Pac is twisting in the wind, and the ACC is steadily climbing in the three major sports. 

More importantly, if y'all want to kick out WVU, then go ahead, nobody will blame you. But stop trying to send them to the ACC. They are toxic and nobody wants them. It's the reason the Dude was born. 

[utee94 15835]

22 minutes ago, Doc Sam Beckett said:

Lulz at anyone preferring Pac over the ACC. The Pac is twisting in the wind, and the ACC is steadily climbing in the three major sports. 

More importantly, if y'all want to kick out WVU, then go ahead, nobody will blame you. But stop trying to send them to the ACC. They are toxic and nobody wants them. It's the reason the Dude was born. 

Both are inferior to the B12 both in revenue, and quality of football.  Which is why I'm not sure anyone's still talking about Texas moving to either one.  They're both highly undesirable from a travel/scheduling perspective.  The only reason for Texas to make a move, would be to increase revenue or exposure or both.  And neither of those things would happen with a move to the PAC or ACC.  The only moves that would increase revenue or exposure, would be to the SEC or B1G.

The B12 is no longer teetering on the brink.  It's beating out the ACC and the PAC.  Texas has no motivation to move to either of those conferences.  Texas has always preferred to stand pat in the B12 for various reasons most of which are entirely practical.  

Realignment Talk is dead.

Long live Realignment Talk

Edited August 20, 2019 by utee94

[Doc Sam Beckett 5797]

3 minutes ago, utee94 said:

Both are inferior to the B12 both in revenue, and quality of football.  Which is why I'm not sure anyone's still talking about Texas moving to either one.  They're both highly undesirable from a travel/scheduling perspective.  The only reason for Texas to make a move, would be to increase revenue, prestige, exposure, or all three.  And none of those three would happen with a move to the PAC or ACC.  The only moves that would increase revenue or prestige or exposure, would be to the SEC or B1G.

The B12 is no longer teetering on the brink.  It's beating out the ACC and the PAC.  Texas has no motivation to move to either of those conferences.  Texas has always preferred to stand pat in the B12 for various reasons most of which are entirely practical.  

Realignment Talk is dead.

Long live Realignment Talk

Yeah all that's fine, just saying if there had to be a move, I can't imagine anyone looking at the Pac and thinking yep, that's the place I want to be... 

[utee94 15835]

1 minute ago, Doc Sam Beckett said:

Yeah all that's fine, just saying if there had to be a move, I can't imagine anyone looking at the Pac and thinking yep, that's the place I want to be... 

But the same is true of the ACC.  Clemson is good, for now, but that's it.  There's nothing else in that conference that's even remotely exciting.  

[Doc Sam Beckett 5797]

Just now, utee94 said:

But the same is true of the ACC.  Clemson is good, for now, but that's it.  There's nothing else in that conference that's even remotely exciting.  

I disagree. FSU and Miami will not be down forever, and they have a solid group of teams who can put it together every few years. Hell, when Clemson won the title in 2016, the ACC was the best conference and it wasn't even close. The ACC is also the best basketball conference every year and usually top two in baseball. When was the last time the Pac was the best at anything? The Pac is the only P5 conference that is regressing. I agree that the Big 12 shouldn't split up and Texas shouldn't move, but one P5 conference is not like the others... 

[LTbear 4171]

44 minutes ago, Al_4_ISU said:

I just read the Land Thieves (Dirt Burglars) realignment thread for the first time in years.  Jesus, that's a pile of fan fiction if I've ever seen one.

It's incredible. That thread has actually been visited by paid B1G propaganda machines, and a couple posters over there are suspected as being the same.

[utee94 15835]

2 minutes ago, Doc Sam Beckett said:

I disagree. FSU and Miami will not be down forever, and they have a solid group of teams who can put it together every few years. Hell, when Clemson won the title in 2016, the ACC was the best conference and it wasn't even close. The ACC is also the best basketball conference every year and usually top two in baseball. When was the last time the Pac was the best at anything? The Pac is the only P5 conference that is regressing. I agree that the Big 12 shouldn't split up and Texas shouldn't move, but one P5 conference is not like the others... 

You can disagree, that's fine.  This is entirely opinion.  The ACC doesn't do it for me any more than the PAC.  But at least the PAC actually has a traditional power, a "helmet team."  While the ACC has none.  FSU and Miami together don't have the cachet that USC has by itself-- and USC won't be down forever, either.

But I'm not arguing in favor of the PAC, just saying it's no less desirable than the ACC,  and both are at the bottom of the heap, well below simply staying in the B12.

[Al_4_ISU 12473]

22 minutes ago, LTbear said:

It's incredible. That thread has actually been visited by paid B1G propaganda machines, and a couple posters over there are suspected as being the same.

They have to be.  OU has as much incentive as Texas to leave.

The shit about the Big 10 going to 20 with a bunch of Pac 12 schools was the best.

[LTbear 4171]

29 minutes ago, Al_4_ISU said:

They have to be.  OU has as much incentive as Texas to leave.

The shit about the Big 10 going to 20 with a bunch of Pac 12 schools was the best.

There's also parts where they talk about population projections, economic growth, California state laws, guaranteed research money, and oil prices.

[DFW Horn 6132]

7 hours ago, notre dame joe said:

ON CR dreams Colorado is the only plausible return.  Every other departing school got a pay raise, eventually.  UC left for a pay cut and basically perpetual football irrelevance. 

If it's only about money, sure, CO is the only school that should return to the Big 12.

Arky, NE, and MO would all benefit by coming back from a recruiting and competitive standpoint. They need TX recruits to build up their programs.

Edited August 20, 2019 by DFW Horn

[clapclapclap 9000]

1 hour ago, Doc Sam Beckett said:

I can't imagine anyone looking at the Pac and thinking yep, that's the place I want to be... 

[S11 16]

If it's only about money, sure, CO is the only school that should return to the Big 12.
Arky, NE, and MO would all benefit by coming back from a recruiting and competitive standpoint. They need TX recruits to build up their programs.

Arkansas most of those since not moving keeps them perpetually chasing Bama, Auburn, LSU, and to a lesser extent aggy with less recruiting ammo to keep up.

Nebraska wasn’t really a TX dependent program even in the Big 12. Mizzou clearly benefited from it in their resurgence under Pinkel.

[camel at sea 589]

6 hours ago, Al_4_ISU said:

I just read the Land Thieves (Dirt Burglars) realignment thread for the first time in years.  Jesus, that's a pile of fan fiction if I've ever seen one.

There's an "OU to B1G" political action committee (or a group that operates like one) overrunning that thread.  

[camel at sea 589]

1 hour ago, S11 said:

 

Arkansas most of those since not moving keeps them perpetually chasing Bama, Auburn, LSU, and to a lesser extent aggy with less recruiting ammo to keep up.

Nebraska wasn’t really a TX dependent program even in the Big 12. Mizzou clearly benefited from it in their resurgence under Pinkel.

 

Yeah.  Arkansas more than anyone else would benefit from being in the Big 12.  They don't actually benefit from being in the SEC on the recruiting trail.  So they're unique in that respect.  And the money difference isn't exactly wide.  The Big 12 just distributed $38.8M per school before Tier 3.  The SEC's distribution isn't a lot higher than that if it's higher at all (who knows how Arky would do with their own Tier 3 deal.)  Winning consistently would more than make up for that TV revenue difference either way.  

Nebraska wasn't ever Texas dependent and didn't put a ton of effort there until Bo was HC.  He went hard in Texas and Louisiana but had to redo his recruiting strategy a couple of years into his tenure after the move to the B1G.  So I'm not sure what the Huskers could do if they actually tried to recruit TX over a long period of time.  But I'd guess recruiting Texas, while playing games there, is probably easier than recruiting Texas with no presence there.  And Frost is trying to build pipelines in FL, GA, TX, and CA... with games in and around the Great Lakes.  IMO, Missouri is proof that Nebraska could have recruited Texas well if they'd had a post-Osborne coach as smart as Pinkel.

The money difference is a bigger deal at NU.  But relevance, a rivalry game that moves the needle, and a place with deep recruiting turf are hard to quantify.  And NU coming back would close the money gap with the B1G, too, so there's that.  

[notre dame joe 190]

On 8/20/2019 at 12:50 PM, camel at sea said:

There's an "OU to B1G" political action committee (or a group that operates like one) overrunning that thread.  

I scroll past the drama.  Do people really think someone is drawing a paycheck to post there?  or otherwise an interested party??

[camel at sea 589]

4 hours ago, notre dame joe said:

I scroll past the drama.  Do people really think someone is drawing a paycheck to post there?  or otherwise an interested party??

Yes.  The board owner over there punted a paid poster months ago.  He said with quite a bit of certainty that it was a paid poster so that's not coming from me as an opinion.  She/he was operating primarily under the handle "SoonerPride" and pretending to be an OU fan, but she/he had set up multiple fake accounts on that board,  for use in that thread, pretending to be from multiple different fanbases, all of which were made to echo an OU to B1G  pov.  One of the guys who still posts on that thread multiple times daily tried to pass off the paid poster as an OU fan multiple times.  I found the twitter account of the guy who still posts there daily and "coincidentally" one of his only followers on twitter is that same OU-to-B1G paid poster.  There are a few other regular posters in that thread who operate pretty much the same way.  I have some theories about how the whole thing works but you start sounding like Joe McCarthy at some point expounding on it.  

The funny thing to me is that people have such a hard time believing that a university/conference/TV Network wouldn't devote a few thousand dollars per month to steer the conversation on twitter and in online forums around the country.  Nobody has a hard time believing that this happens in politics.  Or with products and services.  When you're talking about multi-billion dollar TV contracts, where fan opinion matters, it just makes sense that entities with deep pockets would do that.

 

 

[Thiefery 5015]

Big 12 will eventually get back to 12 teams, and the additions won't be UCF, USF, BYU.  The move to ESPN plus for some of the tier 3 rights was smart.  They are already filming  a show around Les Miles and Kansas football.  The more the conference gets into bed with ESPN/ABC, they will always get top dollar.  I'm 39 and I really hope that someone smart can pull together all the conferences and get them under one umbrella and make geographically friendly divisions.

[LTbear 4171]

19 hours ago, camel at sea said:

Yes.  The board owner over there punted a paid poster months ago.  He said with quite a bit of certainty that it was a paid poster so that's not coming from me as an opinion.  She/he was operating primarily under the handle "SoonerPride" and pretending to be an OU fan, but she/he had set up multiple fake accounts on that board,  for use in that thread, pretending to be from multiple different fanbases, all of which were made to echo an OU to B1G  pov.  One of the guys who still posts on that thread multiple times daily tried to pass off the paid poster as an OU fan multiple times.  I found the twitter account of the guy who still posts there daily and "coincidentally" one of his only followers on twitter is that same OU-to-B1G paid poster.  There are a few other regular posters in that thread who operate pretty much the same way.  I have some theories about how the whole thing works but you start sounding like Joe McCarthy at some point expounding on it.  

The funny thing to me is that people have such a hard time believing that a university/conference/TV Network wouldn't devote a few thousand dollars per month to steer the conversation on twitter and in online forums around the country.  Nobody has a hard time believing that this happens in politics.  Or with products and services.  When you're talking about multi-billion dollar TV contracts, where fan opinion matters, it just makes sense that entities with deep pockets would do that.

 

 

I forgot about SoonerPride. Was she/ he also NebWeenie, or was Nebby just a real-life idiot?

[camel at sea 589]

38 minutes ago, LTbear said:

I forgot about SoonerPride. Was she/ he also NebWeenie, or was Nebby just a real-life idiot?

One and the same.  I can't speak to whether she is a real life idiot, or just pretending to be one.  I lean more toward the latter.  

[Ace000087 18]

On 8/20/2019 at 7:55 AM, Al_4_ISU said:

I just read the Land Thieves (Dirt Burglars) realignment thread for the first time in years.  Jesus, that's a pile of fan fiction if I've ever seen one.

I post over there... OU48A is convinced that OU goes to the B1G.  It's all about thier "business acumen" 

[LTbear 4171]

3 hours ago, Ace000087 said:

I post over there... OU48A is convinced that OU goes to the B1G.  It's all about thier "business acumen" 

OU48 is far and away the most annoying poster over there. Agenda so obvious its nauseating. 

[SnowAggy 154]

On 8/20/2019 at 8:41 AM, LTbear said:

It's incredible. That thread has actually been visited by paid B1G propaganda machines, and a couple posters over there are suspected as being the same.

It's just fucking weird anyway.  You'd think OU fans were all schizophrenic bipolar basket cases by reading it.  "We are the greatest, most oppressed, most decorated, least respected, most independent, most hamstrung by a conference, richest, poorest program in America!"