BCS leagues expanding - yeah?

I’m guessing some of the stronger G5’s (like Boise State in its heyday) had to offer to play for free just to get a P5 to play them.

 

The news about ABC paying $300m a year for the tier 1 SEC rights was on the bowl thread.
CBS Sealed Their Fate to Lose SEC Football With Over a Decade Left on the Deal

But I have to think the news put some pieces in motion for other conferences as well. (Maybe even NASCAR). Fox has their $250m a year deal with the Big 10 through 2027. NBC or CBS would be good fits for the Pac-12 or the ACC. They each own multple stations in both leagues - they both have cable sports properties. I'm sure the Pac-12 would be willing to have their third or fourth games on ESPN at the 1030 et slot - but I know they'd like more featured games during the day.

 

Traditionally if you are going to supply the body in a body bag game, you do it for the money, so I have to agree.

 

NBC and the Pac-12 would be interesting with its O&Os, NBCSN, and all the regional sports networks in one bundle — CBS doesn't one any RSNs. If NBC drops NASCAR and wants to fork over that much cash, it could be a match.

 

I remember reading about this at the time and I'll edit this with a link if I find one.

Basically, to throw together a schedule at the last minute with almost every other team contracted, UConn approached a number of schools and said, "Hey, you are playing each other in a non-conference game. Why don't you each play us instead?" So it was something like Virginia plays UConn instead of Army, and Army plays UConn instead of Virginia, and same thing with Duke and Navy.

Ole Miss was interested, but Middle Tennessee was not, unless it was able to keep the Ole Miss guarantee. Both teams play UConn but MTSU still gets the money.

Such is life in the cellar, I guess.

 

The UVA example was with Liberty. LU moved it’s game in Cville next year and picked up UConn instead.

The independence thing is interesting. Clearly doesn’t work well for a school like New Mexico State. But for Liberty, there are a ton of FBS programs nearby looking for games. I think LU would jump at joining the AAC if offered, but that might be the only league it would be interested in. They play a schedule now that is much better than what it would play if it was a Sun Belt member, for instance.

 

Joining a football conference would be a major departure for Liberty, which aspires to become the Protestant Notre Dame.

 

The AAC would be such a gigantic upgrade over the Atlantic Sun in the other sports that they would do it. Having a hoops team that won a game in last year’s tourney and is currently 14-0 is not hurting that argument. They’ll be the dominant program in the ASun as long as they’re there, and the rest of that league would not be sorry to see them go.

 

Oh?

Exclusive: Texas, Oklahoma reach out to SEC about joining conference

 

Iowa State would be a natural to the Big10. Kansas in the Big10 would certainly make it a top 2 basketball conference every year.
With Duke about to become just another ACC team, jumping all over Kansas makes good sense for the Big10.

If both Big10 and SEC expands, having only 1 non conference football game a year should be implemented.

SEC could do 4 divisions. And a 2 game championship. Semi-final SEC games would generate better ratings and games than any New Years Day non championship bowls.

 

Well, it would solve the awkward East/West issue (which right now has Missouri in the East). Plus you could split into four four-team regions.

COWBOY: Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Arkansas
COTTON: Missouri, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, LSU
CRACKER: Auburn, Alabama, Florida, Georgia
COUNTRY: South Carolina, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Kentucky

And yeah, I'm trademarking those tomorrow. I missed out on Legends and Leaders.

 

I don’t think the Kansas lege would allow KU to leave the Big XII without taking K-State with them. Same might hold for Oklahoma and Okie State.