BCS leagues expanding - yeah?

I don't think Arkansas' gains in terms of wins and losses would offset the other negatives of a jump from the SEC to the Big XII. If Arkansas moved to the Big XII North, they may be more successful in football, but fans are left a home slate of teams they couldn't give a flying fuck about. If Arkansas is in the Big XII south, they're still the clear cut 3rd strongest football program at best. In the SEC West, they're pretty close to Auburn as the 3rd best program in the division (Auburn is 9-8-1 versus Arkansas since Arkansas has joined the conference, both schools have three championship game appearances).

Additionally, from what I understand, the SEC shares revenue equally among the twelve schools. In the Big XII, things are much less even, with OU, UT, Nebraska, and A&M dominating the conferences finances. Also, the Big XII's TV deal is lolbad compared to the SEC's.

 

The revenue sharing deal is one of the reasons they bolted the SWC in the first place (and it's one of the reasons Mizzou is looking to bolt the Big 12). I can't imagine the Pig People would be interested in jumping back into a revenue sharing system they didn't like 20 years ago.

 

If the Big Ten really lures three teams and goes to 14, the SEC won't be far behind it. I think the SEC would be most interested in Georgia Tech, the most well-balanced of the southeastern schools in the three sports SEC fans care about: football, baseball and basketball. Targets two and three would probably be Florida State and Clemson, unless someone in the Big XII gives the SEC a chance to go farther west (though I can't see it being interested in anyone but Texas).

If the SEC adds two teams, let's say Georgia Tech and either FSU or Clemson, it realigns the divisions to something like this:

East: Georgia, Georgia Tech, Florida, FSU/Clemson, South Carolina, Tennessee
West: Add Kentucky and Vanderbilt to current alignment.

 

This expansion for the Big Ten isn't about eyeballs. It's about getting Big Ten Network (and the $1.10 monthly subscriber fee) on basic cable in those states. BTN demands that it be on basic cable in the conference footprint, and so far in the Midwest, everybody has caved to that demand. It's a money grab, plain and simple. There's no other reason for a Midwestern conference to be adding schools in New England.

 

Ga. Tech, Clemson and Florida State make sense in the SEC in some ways, but the don't add any new media markets, which would really be the only reason to expand to 14.

That is unless the goal really is just to harm the ACC.

 

If you're the SEC, where do you go to add TV markets, though? Louisville doesn't add a TV market, Kentucky has it covered. West Virginia's market would be negligible -- again, the Huntington-area market is covered by Kentucky, and the Charleston market is smallish.

Do you go to Texas? Obviously, A&M and UT is a package deal. But will those schools leave Oklahoma and the rest of the former SWC behind?

 

What is the deal with the "market?"

What do you think is greater? The TV sets in West By God watching the Eers or the TV sets watching college football in NYC?

 

I'd have less of a problem with conferences expanding and adding a championship game if they dumped at least one of their non-conference football games for another conference opponent. I realize the home gate rules the SEC, but imagine if LSU played Tennessee or Florida every year; same with Alabama and Georgia.
I wouldn't have a problem with the ACC and Big East merging - but I really can't get past the blatant hypocrisy of preserving the bowls for traditions sake or the strain on the student-athletes and liking the idea of blowing up conference rivalries for an extra check. Ask NASCAR how chasing the money has gone.

 

The SEC and Pac 10 don't need to do anything.

And Texas isn't leaving the Big 12. The revenue sharing works too much to their advantage. They'll never get that deal in another league.

 

The SEC will never take any of the Big 12 schools. If the SEC expands, it will be limited to Miami, FSU, Louisville, Clemson and Georgia Tech as teams to consider.

 

Conferences are no different than schools, indoor practice facility for football, basketball practice facility, supersized weight room, now it's championship games and a cable network.
The Pac 10 survived for years without a conference tourney, now the new guy is making rumblings about expansion and a cable network, you know to give some of the "other" sports exposure, in addition to airing the worst conference football game of the week.

 

Before the idea of the Big XII came to fruition, IIRC, there were fairly serious conversations between the SEC and Texas A&M.