Re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic: 12 team playoff

[Michchamp]

some rumblings that the Big Ten, Pac XII, and ACC are going to announce some sort of merger/deal today.

friend of mine said this is going to improve compliance with the rules and force the SEC to clean up its act. Not sure what it's going to do for FSU, USC, Oregon, Clemson, or OSU... who are all openly dirty like SEC teams, and do not play in the SEC, let alone improve
compliance in the SEC.

Maybe they'll create their own playoff or bowl alliance, and exclude the SEC? There will certainly be some hypocrisy there, as these conferences have tolerated sleaziness in their own ranks, and the Big Ten openly fluffed OSU last year so they could get a playoff spot.

 

[Michchamp]

Here's the release from the Big Ten:

The ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12 today announced an historic alliance that will bring 41 world-class institutions together on a collaborative approach surrounding the future evolution of college athletics and scheduling.​

We can ignore the parts of the release about student/athlete welfare, because we already know they don't prioritize that...

Sounds like this whole thing is more or less a "Notre Dame joins the ACC" kind of arrangement, where they'll schedule more games among themselves, and presumably less with schools/teams outside the three conferences. The usefulness of this as a counter to the weight of the SEC + Texas & Oklahoma goes unsaid.

The alliance includes a scheduling component for football and women?s and men?s basketball designed to create new inter-conference games, enhance opportunities for student-athletes, and optimize the college athletics experience for both student-athletes and fans across the country. The scheduling alliance will begin as soon as practical while honoring current contractual obligations.​

This is... crazy. no written agreement...? what? They know there's no honor among thieves, right?

 

[Michchamp]

The tv draw and negotiating power of the three conferences is going to be overkill against the supposed negotiating power and draw of the Bloated New SEC, even with ESPN on their side.

The SEC & Texas (Oklahoma the state is kinda "Texas Lite") always overstate their importance, but most people still live in the North/Northeast.

Of the South's population growth, much of it is from northern transplants (like... yours truly) who don't really give a fuck about "SEC BALL" or care about "Texas this" and "A&M that," so even that supposed advantage is illusory.

 

[tomdalton22]

This has nothing to do with basketball and everything to do with football. I think it's all about creating more OOC games between the three conferences and leaving the SEC out.

What they should do is create a new division for group of 6 and the power 5 conferences only play each other.