Quote:
Originally Posted by Gamblin4ever
I can see Big 12 & rest of Pac 12 merging
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NO WAY!!! That would make a 22 team conference, which is way too many. Plus why would the Big 12 want Oregon St. and Washington St. They offer nothing of value since you would already have a school from those states. U of Cal also brings nothing, their TV viewership is way down.
It has been four days since the news broke, here is what I think will happen. Notre Dame will join the B1G along with Stanford to create an 18 team conference. Stanford is a premier school as far as academics go plus they are in the 6th largest TV market, the Bay area. Their Olympic sports are top notch and their endowment is 38 billion, the next closest is 4 billion. Notre Dame has played Stanford every year for the past 25 years minus the Covid year. It would seem Notre Dame would prefer them.
Word from the B1G is that if a school can't bring in more revenue for the conference than would be split then they won't be invited. Supposedly neither Oregon or Washington would do that according to the numbers presented.
Word also is that USC, on a condition for joining won't allow Oregon to join. The reason being they recruit heavily in the LA area. This week Utah, Colorado, and the two Arizona schools are going to meet with the Big 12 about membership. It will be a done deal, as it is much preferable to be in a super conference of 20 than a 12 team league. Oregon and Washington I believe will be turned away from the B1G and will join the Big 12 and the conference will go to 18 teams. As I said earlier the goal is 20, so taking the scraps from the Pac 12 isn't advisable.
Next, the ACC is doomed at some point. Numerous schools want out to join either the SEC or the B1G. The problem is their media deal doesn't expire to 2036 and the penalty for ditching the conference is losing their entire TV media rights, which would total hundreds of millions.
I can't envision the ACC staying together until 2036 before it falls apart. Somehow lawyers will find a way out for the schools. I see the B1G grabbing Virginia and North Carolina to get to 20 and the SEC grabbing Clemson, Florida St, NC St. and Virginia Tech so they hit 20. Then the Big 12 swoops in and grabs Miami and Pittsburgh to get to 20. Then you have your three super conferences.
It shouldn't take much longer for Notre Dame to make a decision, everything is up in the air until they do, including the B1G new TV deal which starts in 2023. I think we have their answer by the end of the week, but certainly by the end of the month. No way does this drag out for months, it is leaving way to many schools in a precarious position.
