Saw someone mention on another board the idea that perhaps what Mike Slive was alluding to when he said things would change in nature and substance was that the leagues would unite under one contract and negotiate as one entity. The leagues would stay independent of each other, but would approach the networks with a unified front.

I thought this was interesting including some of the ancillary suggestions...

1) Conferences might alter their scheduling to ensure a more even distribution of marquee match-ups throughout the season. This would include the time slot scheduling as well as the weekend in which a game was played. Theoretically, this could maximize viewership and revenue.

2) It would allow the conferences to split their content up among several prime networks rather than allowing individual networks to come down with the bulk of this league or that league. Pro leagues can do this because they operate as single entities.

Additionally, it would make sense that perhaps the conferences would cooperate with each other to a greater degree in order to split up the Big 12. If we are indeed heading for "very, very large conferences" then the only way we're getting there without wholesale destruction of multiple leagues would be negotiated dissolution of at least the Big 12.

We could also assume that the networks will want more games that involve multiple regions of the country so as to maximize interest. Does that mean more crossover games? It probably means that. It might also mean a raiding of the PAC as we've theorized a little on other threads.

The SEC and B1G seem very stable no matter the circumstances. The ACC is on good footing with the arrival of their network. The Big 12 is done and the PAC might be in trouble in the long term.

What do you think?