FoxSports chose, rightly or wrongly, that instead of trying to outdo ESPN, they would simply avoid ESPN. The Sooners, who were consistently in the mix for the College Football Playoffs, were saddled with being the biggest fish in a small pond. I know that Oklahoma was frustrated with the partnership with FoxSports. This time it is the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns instead of the Miami Hurricanes and Virginia Tech Hokies but the effects are still quite the same - the death of a conference and the remaining teams quickly trying to find a lifeboat from the sinking ship they are standing on. Disney has only a few remaining owned and operated stations so this is less of a factor for them keeping the ACC together or moving on teams for the SEC.Is anyone else experiencing deja vu? I swear, we just went through this whole thing, not that long ago and once again the Mountaineers find themselves in the middle of the another imploding conference after the premiere football team(s) are departing for greener pastures. This also puts us in a good position to go to the Big Ten, the broadcast partners will want to give our inventory to the affiliates they own. CBS also owns their Atlanta affiliate.ĬBS and NBC own their Boston stations but they probably know Notre Dame does more to move the needle there than BC. However, Fox owns their stations in Charlotte and Atlanta.they will be pulling for Georgia tech in North Carolina to be involved in a big tin expansion. WSVN is not owned by Fox, but they would definitely be outnumbered in these negotiations. The CBS and NBC stations in Miami are both owned and operated by those parent companies. So when you look at the Big ten deal with NBC, Fox and CBS, those broadcast partners are going to want local affiliate revenue games. Because they know if they are able to broadcast the local NFL team you are printing money not just on ads during the game locally but all of the other shows that are around it. If "money" is the primary consideration, then I'd envision a mix of ACC and Pac 12 teams, with maybe a USF thrown in to help out UCF.Ī factor that needs to be talked about more when it comes to realignment is the ownership of local affiliates.įor instance, over the last two decades, Fox has made major purchases and or trades to get more Fox owned and operated local affiliates in NFC markets. If "football" is the primary consideration, you could pretty much build a 20-team Big 12 from the Pac 12 teams available. But forever? I wouldn't rule out getting several playoff teams from the Big 12. Is a 20-24 team Big 12 the equal of an expanded Big 10 or SEC? Maybe not today. And that might be a bit easier with Texas and Oklahoma out of the way. And, yes, for football (assuming some of those schools can reach heights they've had at least once in the past 10 years). ****, you could easily pick 8-12 teams from those last 24 and have a pretty good "third" Power 3 conference. Now, assuming they to towards a 20-team model if the SEC and Big 10 do. It has nothing to do with MY perceptions on the Big 12, I'm talking about the rest of the media world.Įven after the defections, the Big 12 will still have: But if UCF/USF end up in the Big 12 together, I don't think there is anything WE can do to prevent a "Florida Big 5". Clearly, if UCF/USF got into the SAME conference as any of the Florida Big 3, the storyline becomes stronger. Imagine the Gaytors, in a year where they "should" have 4 home games, and one of them is in Jacksonville.Īnyhow, if the Florida Big 3 becomes a 4 or a 5, it will be because the media says so, and not because we "allowed it". I'd imagine that in the years where you only have 4 home conference games, a school may be tempted to schedule all 3 OOC games as home games. So the OOC scheduling opportunities will be even harder to come by. If the Florida Big 3 end up in the Big 10 or SEC, then each conference will likely go to a 9-game conference schedule. Second, the likelihood of UM/UiF/F$U playing those schools on a regular basis is low. At some point, if there is a scramble for new members, USF may end up in that conference as well. The Big 12 is LIKELY (not certain, just likely) to remain one of the "power" conferences. Whether UM/UiF/F$U want to "dignify" UCF and/or USF, it will likely happen without our choice.įirst, UCF is already joining the Big 12.
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