Realignment talk not going away

[SimonBolivar 11032]

1 minute ago, gatormarc said:

Are trucks even allowed at Bucees? I'm pretty sure the two in Florida have no semi signs at the turn ins.

They are not

[CustersDoctor 585]

1 hour ago, Evil Bill Obrien said:

Can someone explain it like I'm 5 why my Tech tard friend is so convinced that ESPN/FOX are going to bend over and pay top dollar for whoever the Big 12 is adding (and have already paid top dollar for the AAC replacements + BYU) but SEC is having trouble getting the extra money to make going to 9 conference games worth it to their existing schools + UT and OU? Just doesn't seem to add up to me but I'm guessing I missed something...

Lets say ESPN's portion on the contract with the Big12 is 20mill a year. The deal ESPN signed is, IF the BIG12 adds any P5 schools, then ESPN will throw another 20mill a year into the pot for each P5 addition. This gives ESPN access to the extra content. As we all know the networks and cable companies already have ample content so they all have pretty much dropped out of the PACX sweepstakes. The PACX owns the late night time slot. The PACX has SIX schools that get good ratings. It is better for ESPN to let the PACX fall apart and the BIG12 scoop up the six good schools. That way ESPN gets the good content and ESPN can own the late night slot without having to sign a conference deal that obliges them to carry two or three games a season with the schools with bad ratings.

Last fall the networks media rating scale was published. Here's how they rated the PACX football teams: OU 5.54MILL, UW 2.46MIL, ASU 1.95MIL, CAL 1.14MIL, UU 1.09MIL, UA 1.04MIL, CU 95K, STANFORD 85K, WSU 85K, OSU 79K. The networks will always want to give their best time slots to the games that have the highest ratings potential. If ESPN can coax the top 6 schools into the BIG12 they won't have to ever air the west coast ratings killers like Stanford, WSU & OSU. And though CAL's ratings are ahead of CU's, the conventional wisdom is this: CAL's trajectory is downward because the elitist snobs there don't really care for pugilistic blood sports. CU's is at least making an effort to dig their way out of the cellar.

It is not absurd that as many as six schools would defect from the PACX when Klownkov gives them the final details of the new media rights deal.

[billfromlaketravis 11784]

13 minutes ago, 'stache said:

UH brings to the new Big 12 what Rutgers brought to the Big 10, a large media market, and another presence in talent-rich Texas. They actually bring a little big more than Rutgers because they have a track record of some football success and are currently really good in basketball. I don't think attendance will be a problem. Houston attracts a ton of Big 12 graduates at entry level jobs, so even if UH's own fans don't increase (I think they will), they will sell tickets regularly to other Big 12 alum and fans. I think the stadium holds like 40K, I don't think attendance will be an issue. I think they'll be in the rotation of teams that pop up and win the conference from time to time, too much talent in the area and the new conference isn't top heavy, so they'll do fine. 

Fair enough. A lot of Tech grads in Houston. A fair number of Baylor folks. If UofH holds those games hostage, and prices their season tickets well, I'd imagine they'll sell a good number of season tickets to Red Raiders and Bears. 

I do think UofH has a publicity problem. I work at a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Houston, and with the exception of a few accountants wearing Coug shirts on College Jersey Day, you wouldn't know they existed. To my knowledge, they have no relationship with my company. No sponsorships, no tickets, no internship program. 

Rinse and repeat at the Rodeo. I know there's a Tech night at the Rodeo, but I couldn't tell you if there's a UofH night. Not a great look. 

['stache 22117]

7 minutes ago, billfromlaketravis said:

Fair enough. A lot of Tech grads in Houston. A fair number of Baylor folks. If UofH holds those games hostage, and prices their season tickets well, I'd imagine they'll sell a good number of season tickets to Red Raiders and Bears. 

I do think UofH has a publicity problem. I work at a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Houston, and with the exception of a few accountants wearing Coug shirts on College Jersey Day, you wouldn't know they existed. To my knowledge, they have no relationship with my company. No sponsorships, no tickets, no internship program. 

Rinse and repeat at the Rodeo. I know there's a Tech night at the Rodeo, but I couldn't tell you if there's a UofH night. Not a great look. 

Considering what a complete mess the Texans have been (along with a stupid name) I'm surprised UH hasn't gained more attention. Maybe a new conference will help. Nobody here thinks UH will ever get anywhere close to the support of UT or aggy, but they can surely strive for TCU or Baylor type attention.

[billfromlaketravis 11784]

Just now, 'stache said:

Considering what a complete mess the Texans have been (along with a stupid name) I'm surprised UH hasn't gained more attention. Maybe a new conference will help. Nobody here thinks UH will ever get anywhere close to the support of UT or aggy, but they can surely strive for TCU or Baylor type attention.

I think it's a few factors. Namely the popularity of the NFL in a large Texas city. The Texans only competition in town is themselves. 

Bob McNair wisely got into bed with the Rodeo (aggys) and partnered with them on the construction of NRG Stadium. I know plenty of people that have Texans season tickets to get preferred seating/parking at the Rodeo. Basically a built in season ticket base tens of thousands strong. I believe they sold out every home game from 2002 - 2020. 

The Texans also have 610AM which talks about them for 12 hours a day. All 4 of the big local news stations have at least 1 Texans segment during Sports. If they're out there practicing on Kirby there are film crews. The Houston Chronicle almost always leads with a Texans story on the sports page. 

[TKthunder2 5058]

1 hour ago, billfromlaketravis said:

I do think UofH has a publicity problem. I work at a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Houston, and with the exception of a few accountants wearing Coug shirts on College Jersey Day, you wouldn't know they existed. To my knowledge, they have no relationship with my company. No sponsorships, no tickets, no internship program.

User name does not check out

[Al_4_ISU 12612]

2 hours ago, Park Gothic said:

The few truckers I've known in my life are all die-hard Kwik Trip fans. Not really sure what the appeal is compared to Flying J / Loves / whatever, but the consensus from my limited sample size was clear. 

Kwik Trip/Star (if you’re in a QT state) is excellent.  Clean stores, fully staffed with competent employees, really good food (except their pizza), and plenty of fresh fruit/veggies/meat available 24/7.

Loves and Flying J have lesser prepared food and fresh groceries.

[Josef Pwag 1886]

1 hour ago, 'stache said:

Considering what a complete mess the Texans have been (along with a stupid name) I'm surprised UH hasn't gained more attention. Maybe a new conference will help.  

It won't help. Winning a national title in football would help. That is about it.

UofH doesn't meaningfully deliver the Houston TV market. If they did, they would have been added to a major conference a long time ago. 

[bullet 1628]

17 hours ago, gatormarc said:

Stadium built on an ancient burial mound?

I think they used to practice golf on a former landfill.  They haven't added to their 16 NCAA golf titles.

They did manage 4 SWC football titles and 5 NCAA final 4s.

 

[bullet 1628]

17 hours ago, billfromlaketravis said:

Has the Big 12 indicated how they’ll schedule in 2024? 
 

 

 

Well SEC is finally supposed to announce mid-June.  Think the date was June 14th.

[bullet 1628]

5 hours ago, Evil Bill Obrien said:

Can someone explain it like I'm 5 why my Tech tard friend is so convinced that ESPN/FOX are going to bend over and pay top dollar for whoever the Big 12 is adding (and have already paid top dollar for the AAC replacements + BYU) but SEC is having trouble getting the extra money to make going to 9 conference games worth it to their existing schools + UT and OU? Just doesn't seem to add up to me but I'm guessing I missed something...

They're already paying $50-$60 million per SEC school, not $31.7 million.  They don't get anymore inventory from the SEC going from 8 to 9 games.   Actually get less inventory, just better quality.  They may be playing had to get.  Or they may be satisfied with Alabama-Presbyterian on the SEC Network.

[bullet 1628]

UH does have 17 national titles, 16 in golf.  That ranks them 38th in the NCAA, 33rd among P5 schools, 3rd in Texas.  They are behind UT (4th overall) and UTEP and ahead of aggy, sand aggie TCU and baylor.

['stache 22117]

41 minutes ago, Josef Pwag said:

It won't help. Winning a national title in football would help. That is about it.

UofH doesn't meaningfully deliver the Houston TV market. If they did, they would have been added to a major conference a long time ago. 

It's not about "meaningfully delivering" the Houston TV market, their ratings will be on par with the rest of the Big XII. The bigger draw is having a program in the Houston area for recruiting and exposure. OSU recruits heavily out of Houston, and it helps to tell parents that the kids will be playing in Houston a few times during a four year career. 

[closetojumping 65246]

2 hours ago, billfromlaketravis said:

Fair enough. A lot of Tech grads in Houston. A fair number of Baylor folks. If UofH holds those games hostage, and prices their season tickets well, I'd imagine they'll sell a good number of season tickets to Red Raiders and Bears. 

I do think UofH has a publicity problem. I work at a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Houston, and with the exception of a few accountants wearing Coug shirts on College Jersey Day, you wouldn't know they existed. To my knowledge, they have no relationship with my company. No sponsorships, no tickets, no internship program. 

Rinse and repeat at the Rodeo. I know there's a Tech night at the Rodeo, but I couldn't tell you if there's a UofH night. Not a great look. 

 

2 hours ago, 'stache said:

Considering what a complete mess the Texans have been (along with a stupid name) I'm surprised UH hasn't gained more attention. Maybe a new conference will help. Nobody here thinks UH will ever get anywhere close to the support of UT or aggy, but they can surely strive for TCU or Baylor type attention.

To be clear, bill is speaking in platitudes based off of personal experience. When UH is good at anything, they get an annoying amount of local coverage in every medium and they have t-shirt fans and fair weather that come out in droves. The trick is, they have to be good, which has been absurdly rare, given their resources and advantages.

The commuter school nature of UH breeds an odd type of fan and pride. They don't put their school pride out in front when you're around them, but when UH is actually respectable, there they are. 

In my experience of working with, hiring and managing countless alums from all of the regional schools and many of the nationally powerful academic programs, it's odd, but UH grads are, on average, easily the best employees. They should have more pride in where they graduated from than they do. 

[billfromlaketravis 11784]

5 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

 

To be clear, bill is speaking in platitudes based off of personal experience. When UH is good at anything, they get an annoying amount of local coverage in every medium and they have t-shirt fans and fair weather that come out in droves. The trick is, they have to be good, which has been absurdly rare, given their resources and advantages.

The commuter school nature of UH breeds an odd type of fan and pride. They don't put their school pride out in front when you're around them, but when UH is actually respectable, there they are. 

In my experience of working with, hiring and managing countless alums from all of the regional schools and many of the nationally powerful academic programs, it's odd, but UH grads are, on average, easily the best employees. They should have more pride in where they graduated from than they do. 

Excellent school. They just need to a better job of advertising it. 

[CustersDoctor 585]

IIRC the twelfth choice for the BIG12 back in the 90's came down to Baylor or Houston. UH did better on TV than BU. BU had slightly better attendance. But I always heard that BU had more influence in the legislature than UH. And that A&M and UT correctly believed they owned the Houston TV market. A&M and UT also believed that they'd have better luck recruiting in the greater Houston area if UH were relegated to second tier status. And that turned out to be true.

[FartingDreamer 138]

1 hour ago, bullet said:

UH does have 17 national titles, 16 in golf.  That ranks them 38th in the NCAA, 33rd among P5 schools, 3rd in Texas.  They are behind UT (4th overall) and UTEP and ahead of aggy, sand aggie TCU and baylor.

Are you saying they have less open space in their trophy case then Aggy?  Surprise there isn't a meltdown in CS.   

[Hurtlocker 2219]

I miss the flight tracking days:

[Al_4_ISU 12612]

There have been like 50 of those meetings.  However, the CU people flying to Dallas is a wrinkle.

[gatormarc 937]

Are people printing these tweets off low in blue toner and then rescanning or something?

[Hurtlocker 2219]

2 hours ago, gatormarc said:

Are people printing these tweets off low in blue toner and then rescanning or something?

Hahaha, not sure why it copied in like that

[CustersDoctor 585]

2 hours ago, gatormarc said:

Are people printing these tweets off low in blue toner and then rescanning or something?

The redacted version

[bullet 1628]

8 hours ago, billfromlaketravis said:

Excellent school. They just need to a better job of advertising it. 

Well they have become a good school, but have a Cougar high administration (other than their president Khator).

[bullet 1628]

7 hours ago, CustersDoctor said:

IIRC the twelfth choice for the BIG12 back in the 90's came down to Baylor or Houston. UH did better on TV than BU. BU had slightly better attendance. But I always heard that BU had more influence in the legislature than UH. And that A&M and UT correctly believed they owned the Houston TV market. A&M and UT also believed that they'd have better luck recruiting in the greater Houston area if UH were relegated to second tier status. And that turned out to be true.

The UT president at the time said TCU was first out.

UH had just gotten on probation and was on a down streak.  And their president did NOT have a good relationship with the UT president.

But if it had all happened in 1990, UH might have been in somewhere.  If it had happened in 1990, KSU would probably now be in the MAC.

[notre dame joe 202]

11 hours ago, CustersDoctor said:

IIRC the twelfth choice for the BIG12 back in the 90's came down to Baylor or Houston. UH did better on TV than BU. BU had slightly better attendance. But I always heard that BU had more influence in the legislature than UH. And that A&M and UT correctly believed they owned the Houston TV market. A&M and UT also believed that they'd have better luck recruiting in the greater Houston area if UH were relegated to second tier status. And that turned out to be true.

At the time Baylor would never threaten UT?

[DFW Horn 6637]

 

[Sandman 3427]

1 hour ago, DFW Horn said:

 

No offense but the source for that story is Greg Swaim. I'd sooner believe my mom came back from the dead and broke this news.

[Deej 77671]

If true, Deion needs to stay at least 5 yards away from any refs or they may bump him and toss him from the game. 

[DFW Horn 6637]

28 minutes ago, Sandman said:

No offense but the source for that story is Greg Swaim. I'd sooner believe my mom came back from the dead and broke this news.

Lol...Yeah, I know.

I was surprised Clay Travis cited him. But, then, maybe I shouldn't be. Travis is the guy who was crowing about how much more money aggy was gonna make in the SEC compared to UT. Derp

[Uncle Nate 2097]

24 minutes ago, Sandman said:

No offense but the source for that story is Greg Swaim. I'd sooner believe my mom came back from the dead and broke this news.

Yeah, that's on par with that WVU twitter fan m'ver (or whatever his name is).

[Al_4_ISU 12612]

Swaim is actually less reliable of a source than the WVU guys.

He's literally never been right.

[Hurtlocker 2219]

37 minutes ago, DFW Horn said:

Lol...Yeah, I know.

I was surprised Clay Travis cited him. But, then, maybe I shouldn't be. Travis is the guy who was crowing about how much more money aggy was gonna make in the SEC compared to UT. Derp

Yeah Travis and Swaim are both sperm burping gutter sluts.

[Sandman 3427]

48 minutes ago, DFW Horn said:

I was surprised Clay Travis cited him

LOL Travis doesn't do much for that site since they got bought out. He's too busy trying to be the next Rush. 

[Hank Chinaski 6345]

3 hours ago, DFW Horn said:

 

Wasn’t the “beginning of the end” signaled a year ago when USC and UCLA announced they were leaving? Isn’t this more like the next phase of the conference’s deterioration process?

I guess that’s not as interesting a tagline. 

[Hurtlocker 2219]

24 minutes ago, Hank Chinaski said:

Wasn’t the “beginning of the end” signaled a year ago when USC and UCLA announced they were leaving? Isn’t this more like the next phase of the conference’s deterioration process?

I guess that’s not as interesting a tagline. 

Or when they didn't find a media partner and instead created seven networks that hemorrhaged money for a decade with no carriage nor viewership

['stache 22117]

3 hours ago, DFW Horn said:

 

Sorry, I had to neg you for posting a story sourced from Greg Swaim. It's a key part of my religious beliefs. It's an ethos. That mother fucker is worthless.

['stache 22117]

I saw on facebook something from a WV source that they are in talks with the SEC. Whoever wrote that article is on par with Greg Swaim. Completely laughably stupid and I'm sure got plenty of clicks.

[Hurtlocker 2219]

5 minutes ago, 'stache said:

I saw on facebook something from a WV source that they are in talks with the SEC. Whoever wrote that article is on par with Greg Swaim. Completely laughably stupid and I'm sure got plenty of clicks.

That comes from a media guy in DC who put out who the Big Ten and SEC have vetted, with the caveat that it doesn't mean anything more than they peaked under the hood.  But WVU and VTech were on the list for their rivalry and distance to Kentucky and Tennessee

[Hurtlocker 2219]

Can't find the source for this, anyone?

 

 

[Hurtlocker 2219]

Found it:

 

 

Quote

Jim Williams

@JWMediaDC

Yesterday I gave you the list of the vetted teams from the @bigten. So, in the interest of fairness I spoke to a recently retired member of the @sec vetting committee about their list and here is what he said." We just added two of the biggest brands in college sports in OU &UT SO WE ARE FINE. We would only expend if it would bring us more money in our next TV deal. We are also committed to staying within our footprint. So, we have looked at FSU, Clemson, North Carolina, Miami, second tier is Duke, Virginia, VA.TECH and West Virginia - that list shouldn't stun or surprise anyone - but we have no time table and they are all @theACC so clearly we are in no hurry and before you ask I can't imagine adding more than two."

Probably should point out that WVU is not in the ACC

 

 

[DFW Horn 6637]

1 hour ago, 'stache said:

Sorry, I had to neg you for posting a story sourced from Greg Swaim. It's a key part of my religious beliefs. It's an ethos. That mother fucker is worthless.

Yeah, I deserve it for not commenting on the sources. Swaim is an assclown.

[USC Traveler 488]

2 hours ago, Hurtlocker said:

Or when they didn't find a media partner and instead created seven networks that hemorrhaged money for a decade with no carriage nor viewership

Even worse- they rejected partnering with both ESPN and Fox because Commissar Scott wanted to be the CEO of PACNet.

He sold the PAC Presidents on the idea that they would be better off owning the network themselves and didn't need a partner for distribution.

He then used the fact that he was running a "media company" to justify getting paid 2-3 times more than Delaney and Slive.

 

When the PAC eventually dissolves/becomes a glorified G5, there will be a great 30 for 30 about Scott and the events that led to the demise:

#1 Hiring Scott and not partnering with ESPN/Fox on the PACNet.

#2 Forcing equal rev sharing on USC and UCLA, then passing on adding UT, OU, Tech, etc because of LHN/equal rev sharing.

#3 Passing on adding OU and OSU because of academic snobbery/coastal elitism.

#4 Ignoring USC's AD saying twice publicly that "All options are on the table" for conference affiliation.

 

It's an incredible series of unforced errors.  Good riddance to bad rubbish.  The WACPAC won't be missed.

[Hurtlocker 2219]

30 minutes ago, USC Traveler said:

Even worse- they rejected partnering with both ESPN and Fox because Commissar Scott wanted to be the CEO of PACNet.

He sold the PAC Presidents on the idea that they would be better off owning the network themselves and didn't need a partner for distribution.

He then used the fact that he was running a "media company" to justify getting paid 2-3 times more than Delaney and Slive.

 

When the PAC eventually dissolves/becomes a glorified G5, there will be a great 30 for 30 about Scott and the events that led to the demise:

#1 Hiring Scott and not partnering with ESPN/Fox on the PACNet.

#2 Forcing equal rev sharing on USC and UCLA, then passing on adding UT, OU, Tech, etc because of LHN/equal rev sharing.

#3 Passing on adding OU and OSU because of academic snobbery/coastal elitism.

#4 Ignoring USC's AD saying twice publicly that "All options are on the table" for conference affiliation.

 

It's an incredible series of unforced errors.  Good riddance to bad rubbish.  The WACPAC won't be missed.

[Hurtlocker 2219]

Inside the Big 12's pursuit of Gonzaga, UConn as Brett Yormark aims to increase league's basketball dominance

Whether Yormark has the support from the rest of the Big 12 remains to be seen

Quote

Any doubt about Gonzaga being a basketball blue blood may have been dispelled the moment Jeff Nelson opened his laptop last week to reveal proprietary information regarding the latest round of realignment.

Nelson is the president of Navigate, a respected Chicago-based consulting firm used by several conferences to aid in their realignment efforts over the years. Navigate is presently working with Gonzaga on a possible move to the Big 12 or Pac-12.

Navigate evaluated how the nation's top basketball programs ranked against power-conference opponents in regular-season play over the last three years with a metrical called "TV Power."

Gonzaga is a surprising fifth on that list. It sits behind Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina and Kansas but ahead of Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Arkansas and Tennessee, which rounded out the top 10.

Blue blood? Gonzaga? Small sample size? All of it is still up for debate, but the Zags' worth is reflected in the Big 12's shift of priorities. While the league's interest in recruiting Pac-12 teams remains, adding Gonzaga (basketball only) and UConn (full membership) is dominating league conversations.

The Big 12 continues to wait for the Pac-12 to reveal a new media rights figure to its members before taking the next step in that pursuit. Meanwhile, the league has been more aggressive lately in pursuing their basketball interests, especially after last week's Big 12 spring meetings.

Commissioner Brett Yormark reiterated that expansion had been discussed. The situation was further described to CBS Sports this way: There has been "mutual admiration" at the presidential level between Gonzaga and the Big 12; however, there is stronger "momentum" for UConn to join the league than Gonzaga at the moment.

"We're going to consider all options," Yormark said. "We do see the upside in basketball for all the right reasons. We think it is undervalued and there is a chance for us to double down as the No. 1 basketball conference in America, but football is the driver. We all know that."

It's no secret Yormark has a distinct, long-term basketball vision, one that ultimately includes separate media rights contracts for basketball and football. That's never been done, at least in the modern era of the Power Five. Basketball has always lagged behind in valuation with the football being the primary revenue generator.

Yormark believes, with the interest of streaming properties on the rise, college basketball will be worth more to more suitors in the future. There are those in the industry who disagree. One key issue: Any movement in separating media rights would have to wait at least seven years until the Big 12's new media rights deal expires in 2031.

That wouldn't preclude the Big 12 from adding two national hoops powerhouses to what is already the No. 1 college basketball league. Either addition would play into Yormark's stated intent of making the Big 12 "younger, hipper and cooler."

Gonzaga has received a $15 million annual valuation, per one industry source, should it join a Power Five conference for basketball. That's less than half of what full-ride Big 12 members will receive ($31.7 million) beginning in 2025. The figure attached to UConn is less clear in that basketball would be central to any deal accompanied by a lowly regarded football independent.

It's safe to say the addition of such a unique pair of national basketball programs as expansion candidates has seldom -- if ever -- been attempted in the Power Five era.

The feeling locally regarding a UConn move has been described as mixed.

On one hand, migration to the Big 12 would cause the school to lose its identity; it would be losing at least some ties to the Northeast and Big East rivals to play in such far-flung outposts as Stillwater, Oklahoma, and Ames, Iowa.

UConn, entering Year 4 in its return to the Big East, would reportedly owe the conference at least $30 million in exit fees if it departed before its seventh year as a member. That's for an athletic department reportedly $53 million in the red already.

The Huskies are a snapshot themselves of realignment. Prior to this year, their last national championship was achieved in 2014 as a member of the American where they played with two of the Big 12's four most recent expansion teams: Houston and UCF.

The Big East has regained a lot of its old swagger and respect because UConn is a member. With Georgetown (Ed Cooley) and St. John's (Rick Pitino) adding significant coaches this offseason, the league has gotten even stronger. One veteran Big East source even suggested a move to the Big 12 would not only enable suitors to come after UConn coach Danny Hurley, the coach might even begin looking elsewhere himself.

On the other hand, well, there's that Big 12 money. Per a 12-year deal signed with Fox in 2012, the 11-team Big East averages $42 million annually or $3.8 million per school. (UConn left the Big East for the American in 2013 and returned to the Big East in 2020.) The Big 12 just distributed $440 million in total revenue to its 10 members for 2022-23 fiscal year, an average of $44 million per school. Though again, that is powered by football rights.

UConn wouldn't get that anytime soon, but think of any new additions to the Big 12 as a growth stock if handled the right way. With the SEC and Big Ten dominating college athletics, the idea may be to round up as many brands as possible to become a solid No. 3 conference in the pecking order. That matters in terms of security, finances and access to both the NCAA Tournament and College Football Playoff.

In the end, the Big 12 may appeal to UConn's sensibilities. In the realignment merry-go-round, the school has seldom been courted like this. Yormark is a Northeast guy with big ideas and extensive ties to New York.

His league is already considering a series of exhibition basketball games in New York's famed Rucker Park next summer. Think of Kansas, Baylor, UConn and Gonzaga taking part. That's the last three national champions plus a Zags team that has twice played for the national title since 2017 and been to eight consecutive Sweet 16s.

A developing mystery becomes who would pay for Gonzaga and UConn. It's highly unlikely Fox or ESPN would want to reopen a Big 12 deal that has yet to begin, especially with the Zags as a basketball-only member. Financially, UConn's football would almost be an afterthought in the Big 12, which indicates how much Yormark values basketball to make the move.

Sources tell CBS Sports that the money, at least for Gonzaga, would more than likely come from within the league. Schools might sacrifice some of their existing share to entice the Zags and/or Huskies. Plus, the Big 12 continues to sit on the $100 million combined buyout it got from Texas and Oklahoma.

That's where Navigate gets involved determining Gonzaga's valuation to a new league. There are qualifiers. UConn -- with its five national championships -- is No. 38 in that TV Power metric. And for all its national appeal, Gonzaga has played less than 20 regular-season games against power conference competition over the past three season. (Michigan State, No. 8 in TV Power, has played 71.)

That plays into Gonzaga's interest in moving up in class. It considers itself equals on the court with those traditional blue bloods. It's no secret the Pac-12 -- a much better geographic fit for the Zags -- is making a considerable pitch despite its current state.

Typically, basketball is worth 15% to 20% of a Power Five media rights deal. In the Big 12, that would amount to around $5 million or $6 million. The question: Could Gonzaga command more than that share as a standalone national power to the Big 12 or Pac-12?

If Gonzaga was to negotiate based on that $15 million annual valuation, the Big 12 would be seeking $1.25 million from each of its members. (BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF are joining on a graded scale and won't have immediate full shares.)

Since 2019 when the Mountain West courted Gonzaga, the Zags have earned a weighted share of WCC revenue. And for good reason. They have accounted for more than 70% of the "units" accrued by the WCC since 1999. Teams in the NCAA Tournament earn those units for each win.

The WCC earned six units from the 2023 tournament totaling $12 million, according to Sportico. The Big 12 was second nationally behind the SEC with 16 units worth $32 million. The Big East was third with 15 units and $30 million.

Those units represent the large majority of the WCC's revenue. It has TV deals with ESPN and CBS Sports Network. Four years ago, when the MWC showed interest, Gonzaga had leverage having forged something close to that blue blood status. It has made the tournament 24 straight seasons not counting the 2020 COVID-19 year.

"It wasn't easy by any stretch," former Gonzaga athletic director Mike Roth said of the weighted revenue split. "It was different. There were some within the conference who said, 'Nobody else does it this way.' From the Gonzaga side of the conference, my comment was, 'Yeah but nobody has somebody in a conference doing what Gonzaga has done.'"

"All of the sudden, the West Coast Conference, we were kind of out in front of what others are talking about doing. I know the Pac-12 is having the same discussions [regarding weighted shares]. It's worked extremely well for the conference."

In going to the Big 12, Gonzaga and UConn would have to leave behind those units earned in their old leagues. Obviously, there are bigger considerations. The Power Five conferences each earned $80 million in College Football Playoff funds alone, basically just for being Power Five conferences.

Gonzaga skews younger, according to Navigate's research, attracting an audience outside of its natural footprint. UConn's fan base is more localized. Navigate's metrics show that Gonzaga's ratings against power opponents are 2.5 times higher than an average Big 12 game. Since 2017, Gonzaga has the highest win percentage against power teams at 78%.

There are travel partners to go with both possibilities. If the Big 12 is able to land Colorado, that would give it three members in the Mountain Time Zone, along with Gonzaga and BYU. (Gonzaga does not sponsor football. Its minor sports would also be in the Big 12.)

Would UConn be persuaded with more Big 12 money and "nearby" teams in Cincinnati, West Virginia and UCF?

All of it might depend on your definition of younger, hipper, cooler.

 

[Uncle Nate 2097]

 

 

[S11 16]

On 6/5/2023 at 9:11 AM, Al_4_ISU said:

Until the playoff committee/CFB media start penalizing the SEC for playing 8 games, I think most schools value the extra W over the extra $ that would come with the 9th game.

I remember in the early 2010's it was almost comical that MSU would schedule 4 easy games just to get bowl eligible.

[camel at sea 589]

34 minutes ago, Hurtlocker said:

Inside the Big 12's pursuit of Gonzaga, UConn as Brett Yormark aims to increase league's basketball dominance

Whether Yormark has the support from the rest of the Big 12 remains to be seen

 

Confirms that the UConn talk is full membership talk.  I guess if KU is going to start playing competent football, the league needs a basketball-first punching bag.

[Hurtlocker 2219]

Twitter be Twittering:

 

 

 

The crop sucks:

Quote

Spoke to a couple of @theACC AD's and they remain in conversation with the @pac12 about a partnership. Here's on AD's take. "We along with the Pac watching the @bigten @Big12Conference @sec have our members on some sort of wish list. Well I can tell you that we are going to be aggressive in staying together and we think the Pac 12 could be a good partner in years to come."

Washington State talking to Boston College?

 

[closetojumping 65246]

1 hour ago, Uncle Nate said:

 

 

I don't know what I was expecting, not much probably, but this one made me laugh out loud. Awesome.

[Vertigo 20461]

29 minutes ago, Hurtlocker said:

Twitter be Twittering:

 

 

 

The crop sucks:

Washington State talking to Boston College?

 

Cross country rivalries of convenience.