College Sports: USC and UCLA to the B1G
- Thread starter burntfrijoles
- Start date
Yeah. I like the idea of top programs being schedule bound to play other top programs.
Super conferences force teams to play up instead of down. And I understand the 2 money sports of football and basketball don’t always align. Heck, Kansas is great at basketball. Maybe the long term best case would be top 12 football or top 25 basketball teams in a “pool” for championship. Thinking out loud but wouldn’t Georgia fans rather see the Dawgs play someone great like Ohio State (crazy example) than Vanderbilt? Or look at Clemson. Why should they play Citadel (FCS) every year and honestly play 7 fluff games in a season? Strength of schedule should have kept them from playing for a Natty every year.
I’ll say this and then I’ll shut up.
What I love about Big12 football in recent times is every team plays every team so every game is a count game and every game seems like a rivalry. Eventually I’d love to see the top 10 teams in every sport play the top teams. Super conferences have the potential to raise the stakes for competition, not just for money.
stxrus
Doctor of Teleocity
We’ll see *wink*
oldunc
Friend of Leo's
A pox on football and big money in sports.
Tommy Biggs
Friend of Leo's
Yeah buddy!
give me D3 or high school football any day. I get that the talent isn’t the same - but when pretty damn good players are really competing it‘s very enjoyable and entertaining.
The Rosebowl was a Pac 12-10 Tournament, not sure who owns the Rosebowl, owns the rights to the Name, and the Name of the tournament. Especially now it's a part of the CFP. The Rosebowl is UCLA home field.
slauson slim
Poster Extraordinaire
Now National TeeVee audiences will be exposed, ad nauseum, to the annoying USC song and that horse.
Big issue for the PAC 12 has been lack of National exposure from TeeVee, the games start late in the day for the East Coast.
Trojans felt it beneath them to play the Ducks, Beavers, Cougars, Huskies, Utes, Buffalos, Cardinal, Golden Bears, Wildcats and Sun Devils in football. They have been trying to get out of the Cal v SC home and home for years.
UCLA lost to Fresno State last year, and Cal lost to them twice in the recent past and Cal hasn’t played them since.
We like Mountain West Football in our house, spouse is a Fresno State alum. Boise State, Wyoming, Nevada…….Hawaii, while still searching for success, has a distinctive feel and program.
Big issue for the PAC 12 has been lack of National exposure from TeeVee, the games start late in the day for the East Coast.
Trojans felt it beneath them to play the Ducks, Beavers, Cougars, Huskies, Utes, Buffalos, Cardinal, Golden Bears, Wildcats and Sun Devils in football. They have been trying to get out of the Cal v SC home and home for years.
UCLA lost to Fresno State last year, and Cal lost to them twice in the recent past and Cal hasn’t played them since.
We like Mountain West Football in our house, spouse is a Fresno State alum. Boise State, Wyoming, Nevada…….Hawaii, while still searching for success, has a distinctive feel and program.
burntfrijoles
Poster Extraordinaire
I think the smaller conferences will still do well. They'll get TV money and their fans will still be rabid and enjoy their games and rivalries.
In terms of football, many programs that are left out of the two "super" conferences will just no longer be very relevant in terms of the National Championship.
The NCAA, already in a downward spiral, will become totally irrelevant.
On a positive note March Madness will still be March Madness and The College World Series structure will still be conducted with teams from all divisions.
Stanford Guitar
Friend of Leo's
UCLA needed a bigger audience to watch them smack USC around.
USC and UCLA going to the Big Ten is just weird. They are both West Coast Teams and should stay in the PAC whatever amo of teams. I don’t like it at all.
Being a UNC fan, and after reading stuff on their forums, it seems most of our fans would much prefer the SEC if we have to move. It is obvious Notre Dame will not join the ACC in football, and they would be the only school that would keep the conference competitive. Plus, there are no other big market schools that would potentially join the ACC in the Atlantic region or the northeast. I expect without ND joining in football, the ACC will soon be history.
No one is voluntarily leaving the SEC. UNC draws a huge number of fans in all sports, they have one of the most successful athletic programs in the country, and it is likely the SEC would extend an invitation if we were ready to make a move, and I don't think fans are interested in being part of the B1G. In that event, I expect UVA and Louisville would go to the B1G, Florida State, Clemson, and (perhaps) Miami would likely go into the SEC, and everyone else in the ACC would scramble to find a home likely in some second tier conference.
The NFL is the only pro sport I follow, and even that is less attractive to me than it once was. Money ruins everything and that includes amateur/college athletics. Money, transfer portals, the NIL, and safety issues (in football) are changing the landscape, and it will be interesting to see what college sports looks like in 10 to 20 years.
No one is voluntarily leaving the SEC. UNC draws a huge number of fans in all sports, they have one of the most successful athletic programs in the country, and it is likely the SEC would extend an invitation if we were ready to make a move, and I don't think fans are interested in being part of the B1G. In that event, I expect UVA and Louisville would go to the B1G, Florida State, Clemson, and (perhaps) Miami would likely go into the SEC, and everyone else in the ACC would scramble to find a home likely in some second tier conference.
The NFL is the only pro sport I follow, and even that is less attractive to me than it once was. Money ruins everything and that includes amateur/college athletics. Money, transfer portals, the NIL, and safety issues (in football) are changing the landscape, and it will be interesting to see what college sports looks like in 10 to 20 years.
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burntfrijoles
Poster Extraordinaire
It's just the state of college sports, ruled by big money of TV and media. By the logic expressed, Texas and OU aren't a geographic fit for the SEC. Hell, West Virginia doesn't belong in the Big12 which is a midwest/southwest conference. It's all about the Benjamins.
College Football is national just like the NFL. Midwest NFL teams fly to west coast and vice versa. It's a new day but this has been brewing for decades. Nearly 50 years ago, the "big boys" formed the CFA, comprised of the 64 major programs, to negotiate TV contracts and solidify their influence and dominance.
The truth is that many programs in the PAC12 (and the conference) didn't invest enough in their programs to keep them relevant. The Big12 conference commissioner sat on his butt while the landscape changed. The ACC was only saved by FSU until Clemson took over.
I agree with your statement.
Gonna be some long rides in big ol' electric buses.
Geography seems to mean less in conference restructuring, even though traveling expenses can really eat into a school's budget. (Who is the B1G gonna put into a western division with USC and UCLA? They'll have to add half of the PAC 12.)
The power in football changes, albeit slowly. After Bear Bryant left Alabama, they struggled for a while. Florida State had their dynasty until Bobby Bowden slipped then retired. Miami was a monster for a while under Jimmy Johnson. It remains to be seen if Clemson can maintain their consistency at the top. College football is all about coaching. And since the major revenue sport is football, football rules how conferences are structured. In this day of conference restructuring and consolidation, conferences look more at markets, revenues, and a team's ability to generate revenues in their market areas. Schools also look at the payouts for being in their conference, so there's a synergy.
You have to wonder that with the expansion of these conferences what conferences will hold onto the perennial losers. How long will the SEC hold on to Vandy and South Carolina? How long will the B1G hold onto Maryland and Northwestern? What megaconference would want Wake Forest, NC State, or even Duke?
You also have to wonder how the NIL will affect recruiting and how those rules will change in the future.
tfarny
Poster Extraordinaire
Most everything said here I agree with, even as a UCLA fan. But honestly I am stoked! I live in the northeast so now there is a good chance I’ll get to see a UCLA game in person every year, just a short road trip to Penn, Rutgers, even tOSU is kinda doable. Though we are gonna get smoked hard for the foreseeable future in this league.
burntfrijoles
Poster Extraordinaire
At the money the new TV contracts net, they can buy their own 737 jet
burntfrijoles
Poster Extraordinaire
Divisions won’t exist. Conferences will adopt a modified “round robin” system. Each team will retain 2 or 3 permanent rivals and the remsiner will be rotated through over a 4 year period. There’s no guarantee conference championship games remain.
To an extent but as Jimmy Johnson once said “it’s the Jimmy’s and Joe’s not the X’s and O’s. Saban has recruited top 2 classes for 15 years. Clemson recruited well for a while but they‘ve had the advantage of playing in a very weak ACC.
Forever. Squatter’s rights. They’re just fortunate.
No one. Duke only has hoops. This is all about football. No one wants TCU, Kansas, Colorado, etc either. They’re not “brand” football schools. I think VaTech, Clemson, FSU and Miami are the only candidates from the ACC. The Big 12 and PAC 12 are in worst shape. Washington and Oregon are the only highly viable left in the PAC (possibly Arizona, Arizona State and Utah). Oklahoma State (possibly Iowa State and Baylor) from the Big 12. Again, none of those are marquee football brands.
Notre Dame is obviously a player but they’re going to have join a conference.
In the post expansion world the Big1G and the SEC could hold a playoff between the 4 best school from each and claim a championship.
Buell
Tele-Meister
The beauty of college football was always the regional rivalries, the chance that ANYONE could win the championship after ALL of the bowls played out, and the fact that it was student athletes NOT getting paid to play the game. All of that is now dead thanks to greed.
I grew up a Nebraska fan, so I always appreciated the fact that a small dog could win against a goliath any given Saturday. Mark my words, the future of the super conferences will not last. It will become too watered down and a "good" season will be .500. It's going to take some time, but the current model is not sustainable. I hope.
I grew up a Nebraska fan, so I always appreciated the fact that a small dog could win against a goliath any given Saturday. Mark my words, the future of the super conferences will not last. It will become too watered down and a "good" season will be .500. It's going to take some time, but the current model is not sustainable. I hope.
burntfrijoles
Poster Extraordinaire
There will still be regional rivalries. LSU will still play Ole Miss. USC will still play Stanford. Hell, Pitt and Penn State don't play each other.
Well, coaches weren't making $10 million per season. The "student athlete" is a remnant of days long gone. There was a different economic dynamic going on. Plus, ALL major schools bought some of their players, it was just under the table. The kids should be always to profit off of their NIL but no one defined the terms. It was meant to be that a kid should sell his autograph or get paid for a commercial, not the "pay for play" crap that has emerged.
A multibillion dollar TV contract says you're mistaken. There's no going back.
As I posted above. College football will be like a throwback for the hundreds of programs not included in the 50 members of the super conferences. It just adds another strata to Power 5, Group of 6, Mid Majors, Division 1A, and so on.
The "big boys" are getting what they wanted, a breakaway from an outdated and inept NCAA.
Keep in mind, I'm not a proponent of the new model.
