BCS leagues expanding - yeah?

Might as well grab UCF, Houston and Vandy. Take away one of the weak sisters of the conference and a good chunk of the SEC won't be bowl eligible.

 

I keep seeing Vanderbilt suggested as a candidate to leave the SEC. Why on Earth would they do that? Yeah, they get their head kicked in in football but that's been the case for 80 years. They're competitive enough in a lot of other sports.
Vanderbilt being a legacy member of the SEC is on par with the sweet deal that the owners of the Spirits of St. Louis got when the ABA folded.

 

I had my son talked into moving to Portland. Then I would retire there. But his partner balked. Damn, I wish I was in Oregon.

That's all.

 

Certainly. They most important reason they would change conferences is that the salary scales of the new conference would be higher. The AD and the coaches would ask for raises so salaries would be competitive in te new conference. The requests for facilities upgrades and additional staff would be next to be competitive would follow shortly. Chances are pretty good that the additional revenues would be eaten up by the increased expenses.

 

I am enjoying watching this unravel. Not sure why, but the syntax of this thread title makes me chuckle every time I see it.

 

Three to five or 3+5 … whichever floats your boat.



This is exactly what the AAC should be doing, and if the Big 12 is smart they’ll go along with it.

 

Scorched Earth policy. Three yards and a mushroom cloud of dust.

 

I lived in Eugene for ten years. Liked it very much.

I lived in Portland for one year. HATED it. Fun city to visit, though.

 

I lived in Central Oregon for one year, loved it, and have serious unfinished business with that region. If I ever win one of the big lotteries, horse property in that area would be an option I might explore.

Hated PDX, though.

 

Portland really depends on WHERE you live in the city. There are many different Portlands. I lived in Southwest for a few years and it was great. Not really bike or walk friendly, but a lot of tall trees - felt like living in the woods.

Off-topic, actually, not really - more of a TJ of a TJ - someone really needs to develop a TV drama (preferably where there could be cussing) that doesn't include a minute of game action, but is all about deals, backstabbing, relocation plays, real estate, etc. Center it on a team whose owner dies in the middle of relocation discussions and an uncertain line of succession. Ballers did this to a degree - and quite well, but as more of a comedy. That ESPN is hip deep in this - at Fox's expense no less is some Succession/Billions level greatness.

 

From the other Dennis Dodd article, attached to the bottom of the one that the tweet above links to.


"Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby alleges conference media rights partner ESPN conspired to damage the league by luring Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC as detailed in a cease and desist letter sent to the network on Wednesday. Bowlsby also tells CBS Sports that ESPN has actively engaged the American Athletic Conference (AAC) to pursue "3-5" Big 12 members join the league, suggesting it would be rewarded with "future television proceeds".

The letter alleges ESPN "has taken certain actions that are intended to not only harm the Big 12 Conference but to result in financial benefits for ESPN." The network currently shares Big 12 rights with Fox.

Bowlsby told CBS Sports that ESPN's actions are equal to "tortious interference".

"[There are] two documents that govern our members," Bowlsby told CBS Sports. "One is the bylaws, and the other is the grant of rights. The bylaws go for 99 years; the grant of rights go until 2024-25. ESPN has been behind these moves every step of the way."

He added: "I have every expectation that Oklahoma and Texas will do whatever they can to not meet their [contractual] obligations. That's what they've done so far. ... One of the ways the two schools and ESPN will seek to absolve themselves of the obligation is to destabilize the league and cause an implosion of the other eight members.

"I am absolutely certain ESPN employees have discussed and provided incentives for at least one conference to raid 3-5 members from the Big 12. In doing so, they are prepared to reward them with future television proceeds. If the conference goes away as an entity, Oklahoma and Texas could be relieved from their exit obligations. Those obligations at this time would include the payment of $70M to $80M -- two years full revenue -- per school and leaving their media rights with the Big 12.

"We're just not going to sit still and let somebody who is supposed to be our partner collaborate and disrupt our business. I know with certainty they are doing it relative to one conference. I suspect they have done the same thing in moving Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC."

----------------------------

Re the B12 bylaws in the other Dodd article:


"In fact, the Big 12's bylaws are written in such a way that -- if there is even one member remaining -- a program can individually sue any of the entities in this discussion -- the SEC, the AAC or even ESPN.

Leaning on the "disinterested directors" clause in its bylaws, the Big 12 intends to make the migration of Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC as difficult as possible.

After losing four teams in the last round of conference realignment a decade ago, those bylaws were drafted in 2012 to stand for a period of 99 years. Texas and Oklahoma were part of the group who, according to one source, wanted the longest agreement possible.


That last round of realignment led to the Big 12 registering itself as a corporation in the state of Delaware. That helps prevent it from serving as a defendant in Texas where the University of Texas might have a legal advantage.

"Oklahoma and Texas are going to do everything they can to get out of the grant of rights and get out of the bylaw stipulations. It's going to be a long process," Bowlsby told CBS Sports."