Whatâs left of the Big 12 at this point? TT, Houston, UC, Kansas, KState, Iowa St. WVU⊠who am I missing?
Feel like that conference has already been stripped for parts at this point and they donât have a TV deal maybe thatâs the ACCâs way out absorb some of them?
We havenât seen the dust settle yet, Iâm assuming theyâre able to poach some PAC 12 members. I think we eventually see 3 major conferences.
Maybe only two when all is said and done.
The end goal here is 2 conferences or maybe 1 super conference. That is dependent on if ESPN and Fox can align on on assets. CBS SEC contract has them basically going to 1 game the B game each week with the SEC moving to ESPN, who already has ACC and all the minor conference. Fox is holding steady with a suddenly resurgent B16 and ties into the PAC12.
I remain unconvinced that you can actually say that. While their enrollment (and, thus, alumni base) is roughly the same as Wake Forest, you have to also consider to what extent all Navy servicemen, both active and former, identify with Naval Academy sports. You also have to consider how many would identify with Navy sports if those sports were played on a more prominent platform as would be provided by the ACC. And, I am old enough to remember when they were a lacrosse power. I suspect that they could be again in that and other sports, too. Lastly, you have to consider what sort of resources the Navy would bring to the table. The Department of the Navy is dominated by Annapolis graduates. I think there is a lot there to be evaluated.
I disagree
IMO Navy isnât a bad program per se, but there is a reason they are in the AAC. Meh.
I think the ACC should be in talks with the Pac 12 and Big 12 right now about a nationwide super conference. It really might be the only play left for the ACC since those two might merge themselves and leave us debating about Navy.
Behind a paywall, but Andy Staples takes a shot of filling out the SEC and BIG.
âI wanted to include Georgia Tech and Virginia in the Big Ten but ran out of room.â
Basically Clemson, FSU, Miami and UNC to the SEC. ND to the BIG.
Thatâs really what it is. Could Navy be a needle mover? Sure if they put all their effort and everyone jumped on etc. Do we have any evidence of this happening outside of the Army Navy football game or David Robinson enrolling? No. You canât find a person not associated with the academies who knows when Navy Air Force play, and even less probably remember the score of the last Army Navy basketball game.
Bringing in Navy to save a conference is akin to signing a Mid-Major level basketball program. You can bring in Gonzaga and it will be fun, but they arenât saving the sinking ship.
I think the best chance is to eat the big East or hope to snag Kansas and make the ACC the basketball Mecca. Already have UL, Cuse, Pitt + older former big East members, so rivalries are there. Throw in Villanova, Cincy, Xavier, UConn and thatâs some tough basketball
God this is dark
Honestly Iâd be fine with the ACC going all in on basketball. Iâm also itching for the Hoos to get their revenge on XU. So yes make this happen.
For me this takes college football and basketball one step closer to not being college. Where big revenue sportsâ teams players get degrees for being on the team etc
And it is happening fast
Also from Staplesâ articleâŠbasketball has value, a lot of it.
âThis isnât as simple as picking the best football brands, though. The NCAA still stages a basketball tournament worth almost $1 billion in annual media rights. Whether the NCAA would continue to stage said tournament is another question, but such a tournament would continue to exist and winning it still would bring significant prestige to a league.â
Basketball doesnât really move the needle money wise though, at least not even close to football. If we went basketball forward, Clemson, Miami, FSU, and others are going to immediately bail. Even UNC probably wouldnât put up with it - they want those hundreds of millions in annual payouts.
Now if UVA gets left out in the cold though, going to a basketball forward league like the big east could be our option of last resort. And our football could play in some new half-ass league created by everyone else left out of the super conferences. I could honestly deal with that as long as our basketball stayed relevant.
So true⊠IMO, ACC isnât going to improve with whatâs out there, unless ND makes a mistake and joins as a full time member. At this point, UVA needs to have an every school for themselves attitude because nobody is going to do us any favors.
Basketball as a whole has value. The tournament has value. But individual schoolsâ basketball programs are worth less to conferences than football programs.
People will watch March Madness no matter what combination of 68 D1 teams are in it. Thatâs not to say programs arenât important - hopefully our basketball success and overall profile would make us attractive to the BIG - but itâs just slightly different than football.
I think your right. I see UVaâs best options as grabbing hold of UNC and maybe Duke and selling themselves as a Kyrie/KD style package. Or whatâs left of the ACC raids the Big East and Big 12 and goes all in on basketball.
The horse is out of the barn on salvaging football, itâs only a formality before FSU, Miami Clemson bolt.
A basketball superconference of UVA, Louisville, Kansas, Villanova, Duke, Gonzaga, UNC (if no SEC), WVU, X, Memphis, Syracuse, and Iâm probably leaving some out, may be the most attractive option. Other sports fall out where they may.