BCS leagues expanding - yeah?

Big 12 had a $20 million exit fee. Mizzou, Texas A&M, Colorado and Nebraska all settled for somewhere around $10 million, or half the conference's asking price. No one's ever paid full price when it comes to exit fees during conference realignment. I'm sure the same would hold true with Maryland, Florida State and any other ACC team -- they won't be paying $50 million. Maybe $25 million, given recent history in other conferences.

Also, when it comes to the Terps, would the guy who runs Under Armor be able to front some money to cover the costs? I'm guessing Under Armor would help the Terps move by paying some of the exit fee, whatever it may be.

 

Maryland doesn't have $25 million or $20 million, unless Under Armour is covering. The athletic department has been running in the red for years and has some insane debt obligation.

 

I bet Under Armour is more likely to foot the attorney bill when UMD claims the exit fee is illegal.

 

That's a hell of a legal gamble to take with taxpayer money at stake. And the Big Ten is blinder than a syphillus victim if it can't see Rutgers is dead weight.

 

EDIT: Oh, SCREW you, Jake!

 

If I'm London or Edsall and Notre Dame is already plucking a bunch of recruits out of my backyard then the ACC office says "So we've got this deal on the table that will make it even easier for the Irish to recruit ACC territory and they might be able to leapfrog you in the bowl selection process, but you could get a home game against them every decade or so," it wouldn't be my favorite idea.

But how about this Circus? Dennis Dodd says the Big 10 end game might include trying to woo UNC. If the Big 10 is planning to go to 16 then maybe UVa is another AAU school on the Big 10's list. There aren't too many out there that offer any more than the Hoos.

 

I got news for some of these people who think mediocre college football programs in large metro pro team areas move the TV ratings needle in those areas. Maryland doesn't come close to touching the Redskins, Ravens, Nationals or Orioles. Rutgers is less than a drop in the New York ratings bucket. These conferences are fools if they think TV will make a difference.

 

It's not about ratings. It's about the $1/month BTN can demand from every cable subscriber in those markets from being placed on basic cable as it's now "home market." This expansion is all about more subscriber fees for BTN. NYC/DC would probably be worth a couple million a month in subscriber fees alone.