http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/florida-gators/

This column is meant more as a warning for Florida State and its fellow ACC members. Beware of the Gators and their filthy rich Southeastern Conference brethren, who — with all of their SEC Network money — could be on the verge of spending you into irrelevance.

Granted, at this point in time, the ACC has never looked better with national championships in both football (Clemson beat SEC goliath Alabama) and basketball (North Carolina beat Gonzaga), but don’t kid yourself: The SEC is earning money and spending it at an alarming rate.





All you have to do is look at UF as an example. The Gators likely will announce soon they are getting ready to build a new baseball stadium and a new softball complex. This comes on the heels of totally refurbishing their basketball arena to the tune of $64.5 million and building a new football indoor-practice facility for close to $20 million.

And coming soon: Another $60 million for a stand-alone football Taj Mahal that surely will be filled with smoothie bars, waterfalls, laser-tag studios and all sorts of amenities to entice the recruits who don’t go to Alabama.

“I think the SEC Network and the money and exposure it has provided has been a huge factor,” says UF basketball coach Mike White, who took his team to within one victory of the Final Four in his second season. “The network is providing an incredible amount of money for our institutions to spend on facilities. When you look around the league, there are renovations everywhere.”

According to the most recent numbers, ACC revenues dropped during the 2015-16 fiscal year and the conference offered the lowest annual payout per school ($23.8 million) of any of the Power 5 conferences. Compare that to the SEC’s bowl and TV payout of $40.42 million and then do the math. If this massive discrepancy were to continue over a 10-year period, the Gators would make $160 million more than the Seminoles. That’s a lot of plush facilities to entice wide-eyed recruits.

And we’re just talking about bowl and TV revenue. In total earnings, the SEC averages $30 million per school more than the ACC. You simply cannot continue operating at such a financial deficit and expect to consistently compete.

If you really want to put it in perspective, think about it this way: The discrepancy between the SEC and ACC payouts is almost as large as the discrepancy between the ACC and the American Athletic Conference payouts. In other words, when it comes to financial comparisons, the Gators are to FSU what FSU is to UCF.

The hope, of course, is that when ESPN launches the ACC Network in 2019 that FSU and its league partners can begin to close the gap. But in this era of cord-cutting among viewers and budget-cutting at ESPN, the question is: How profitable will the ACC Network be?

Obviously, it’s not going to be as successful as the SEC Network, which, according to AL.com, has been valued at nearly $5 billion — four times more than even the highly successful Big Ten Network.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like the ACC is hurting for cash; it’s just that the SEC has it to burn.

The bottom line is the bottom line.

In sports as in politics, those contestants and candidates with the most money usually win.

I expect the SEC will make great strides in winning more championships in basketball and the Olympic sports. Most of the football upgrades that matter have already been made (for now). Long term, I do agree it's important to stay "close enough" - whatever that is.

The real issue is going to be the gap between football. It will provide a lot of spending money there and the SEC usually spends it. I hate it for FSU, Clemson and VT. Those are schools that are going to find it hard to keep up without hurting the other sports.

(06-29-2017 11:09 AM)Ewglenn Wrote:  The real issue is going to be the gap between football. It will provide a lot of spending money there and the SEC usually spends it. I hate it for FSU, Clemson and VT. Those are schools that are going to find it hard to keep up without hurting the other sports.

This is EXACTLY what those schools will have to do: become essentially one-sport schools (Clemson is nearly there now).

(06-29-2017 09:56 AM)nole Wrote:  And coming soon: Another $60 million for a stand-alone football Taj Mahal that surely will be filled with smoothie bars, waterfalls, laser-tag studios and all sorts of amenities to entice the recruits who don’t go to Alabama.

The correct response to this insanity isn't to race to the bottom with Alabama and Florida. It is to institute facility caps for schools and salary caps for coaches.

Money is nice, and it is important, but ..... at some point, it's utility has a diminishing return. There are only so many facility face lifts you can do, before other factors are considered by the athletes, who will have to do the work of winning.

Playing time -- is there any? How quick til I get on the field/court?.
Relationship to coach -- is this guy an a$$hole? will he get the best out of me?
Style of play -- does this style of play excite me? do I want to be part of that? will it showcase my ability the most?
School/Classwork -- does this school support me academically? does this have the area of study I want to pursue?
Prepare for next level -- is there a track record of getting players to the professional level here?

All these things are AS important if not MORESO than the facilities on campus.

Let's face it ... if whoever had the most money won all the time, we'd be saying "Madame President" right now, and pajama boy would have won the Georgia 6th District special election a couple of weeks ago. But, just like with athletics and facility upgrades, money can only buy you so many TV spots or yard signs. At some point, you gotta have a message that resonates with the public.

Dude, your reference is written by a UF graduate, of course he is going to brag about the amount of money coming into the SEC. However, please show me where that has translated into National Championships and domination of all sports by big dollar revenue streams. By your logic Northwestern, Vandy, Iowa, Mississippi State, Indiana, etc should be lapping all ACC teams because they are the benefactor of increased revenue. Additionally, where are the results? It isn't like there haven't been a gap between the ACC and the SEC/BIG. Just don't see the results on the field. Hell, Texas made money money than many for decades and yet, where are their championships; Vince Young led football team, volleyball and maybe women's basketball. Hell, UF just won a baseball title and that is suppose to be evidence?

My thoughts:

Of course money matters. Is it the only factor? No, but it's a big one.

And although media money isn't the only source of money, it's a very big and important one.

But nobody in the forum has any appreciable impact on any conference's media deal. Fretting about it won't do anything but raise your blood pressure. Celebrating media deals doesn't have an appreciable impact on any media deals, either, but it also doesn't hurt, and it probably lowers blood pressure.

My theory is that double bacon cheeseburgers don't need any help.

(06-29-2017 01:41 PM)nzmorange Wrote:  My theory is that double bacon cheeseburgers don't need any help.

FALSE.

You are forgetting about fries, BBQ sauce, and your beverage of choice!

(06-29-2017 01:46 PM)Hokie Mark Wrote:  

(06-29-2017 01:41 PM)nzmorange Wrote:  My theory is that double bacon cheeseburgers don't need any help.

FALSE.

You are forgetting about fries, BBQ sauce, and your beverage of choice!

Get your Heinz off the table and put some French's or Hunts on instead.

The fries aren't seasoned.

Why the hell is a garden on my slab of meat?

Why is there BBQ sauce when BBQ is clearly not being served?

(06-29-2017 02:19 PM)georgia_tech_swagger Wrote:  

(06-29-2017 01:46 PM)Hokie Mark Wrote:  

(06-29-2017 01:41 PM)nzmorange Wrote:  My theory is that double bacon cheeseburgers don't need any help.

FALSE.

You are forgetting about fries, BBQ sauce, and your beverage of choice!

Get your Heinz off the table and put some French's or Hunts on instead.

The fries aren't seasoned.

Why the hell is a garden on my slab of meat?

Why is there BBQ sauce when BBQ is clearly not being served?

Ahhhh... but what kind of seasoning on the fries? Have to say that the Wingstop has a fry seasoning that works extremely well with their fresh cut fries.
Yeah, have to question BBQ sauce when there isn't any Q. Even is the burger is off the grill.
Also, two slices of bacon isn't enough for a bacon cheeseburger.

(06-29-2017 02:19 PM)georgia_tech_swagger Wrote:  

(06-29-2017 01:46 PM)Hokie Mark Wrote:  

(06-29-2017 01:41 PM)nzmorange Wrote:  My theory is that double bacon cheeseburgers don't need any help.

FALSE.

You are forgetting about fries, BBQ sauce, and your beverage of choice!

Get your Heinz off the table and put some French's or Hunts on instead.

The fries aren't seasoned.

Why the hell is a garden on my slab of meat?

Why is there BBQ sauce when BBQ is clearly not being served?

Hunts isn't fit for human consumption. It's the stuff that they give terrorists to make them talk.

Good call.

To technically make it a salad. #Healthy

I assume that the BBQ was cropped out, just to the right.

(06-29-2017 09:56 AM)nole Wrote:  http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/florida-gators/

This column is meant more as a warning for Florida State and its fellow ACC members. Beware of the Gators and their filthy rich Southeastern Conference brethren, who — with all of their SEC Network money — could be on the verge of spending you into irrelevance.

Granted, at this point in time, the ACC has never looked better with national championships in both football (Clemson beat SEC goliath Alabama) and basketball (North Carolina beat Gonzaga), but don’t kid yourself: The SEC is earning money and spending it at an alarming rate.





All you have to do is look at UF as an example. The Gators likely will announce soon they are getting ready to build a new baseball stadium and a new softball complex. This comes on the heels of totally refurbishing their basketball arena to the tune of $64.5 million and building a new football indoor-practice facility for close to $20 million.

And coming soon: Another $60 million for a stand-alone football Taj Mahal that surely will be filled with smoothie bars, waterfalls, laser-tag studios and all sorts of amenities to entice the recruits who don’t go to Alabama.

“I think the SEC Network and the money and exposure it has provided has been a huge factor,” says UF basketball coach Mike White, who took his team to within one victory of the Final Four in his second season. “The network is providing an incredible amount of money for our institutions to spend on facilities. When you look around the league, there are renovations everywhere.”

According to the most recent numbers, ACC revenues dropped during the 2015-16 fiscal year and the conference offered the lowest annual payout per school ($23.8 million) of any of the Power 5 conferences. Compare that to the SEC’s bowl and TV payout of $40.42 million and then do the math. If this massive discrepancy were to continue over a 10-year period, the Gators would make $160 million more than the Seminoles. That’s a lot of plush facilities to entice wide-eyed recruits.

And we’re just talking about bowl and TV revenue. In total earnings, the SEC averages $30 million per school more than the ACC. You simply cannot continue operating at such a financial deficit and expect to consistently compete.

If you really want to put it in perspective, think about it this way: The discrepancy between the SEC and ACC payouts is almost as large as the discrepancy between the ACC and the American Athletic Conference payouts. In other words, when it comes to financial comparisons, the Gators are to FSU what FSU is to UCF.

The hope, of course, is that when ESPN launches the ACC Network in 2019 that FSU and its league partners can begin to close the gap. But in this era of cord-cutting among viewers and budget-cutting at ESPN, the question is: How profitable will the ACC Network be?

Obviously, it’s not going to be as successful as the SEC Network, which, according to AL.com, has been valued at nearly $5 billion — four times more than even the highly successful Big Ten Network.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like the ACC is hurting for cash; it’s just that the SEC has it to burn.

The bottom line is the bottom line.

In sports as in politics, those contestants and candidates with the most money usually win.

Luck still plays a big part on sports. Texas and Florida are the two biggest spenders on football but they performed terribly as well as Michigan, another big spender, in the last decade.

I am never one to act like money doesn't matter. It most certainly matters. This is an issue for FSU, as well as Miami and Clemson and anyone else that fancies themselves as competing with SEC or Big 10 schools. Not just an issue, it's a problem.

But here's the thing...these articles make it sound like this is some new development. When did FSU ever have revenue equal or more than UF? In 1982, UF had a 72k stadium and FSU had a 50k stadium. There is no point you can pick out on the map when FSU had more alumni, richer alumni, or a great population around it's stadium than UF.

UF has millions of people within 2.5 hours of campus, as opposed to 100k for FSU. UF has 50+ years head start. FSU didn't start a medical school until 2000 and doesn't have a legitimate engineering school.

Conference funds are only a small part of revenue. There is no scenario, short of UF joining the Mountain West, that means that FSU can spend on an equal basis as UF as far as spending money. Never has been able to, and never will be able to.

These articles are basically saying "Oh no, what's going when it's the status quo that it's been for six decades?"

(06-29-2017 02:46 PM)nzmorange Wrote:  

(06-29-2017 02:19 PM)georgia_tech_swagger Wrote:  

(06-29-2017 01:46 PM)Hokie Mark Wrote:  

(06-29-2017 01:41 PM)nzmorange Wrote:  My theory is that double bacon cheeseburgers don't need any help.

FALSE.

You are forgetting about fries, BBQ sauce, and your beverage of choice!

Get your Heinz off the table and put some French's or Hunts on instead.

The fries aren't seasoned.

Why the hell is a garden on my slab of meat?

Why is there BBQ sauce when BBQ is clearly not being served?

Hunts isn't fit for human consumption. It's the stuff that they give terrorists to make them talk.

Good call.

To technically make it a salad. #Healthy

I assume that the BBQ was cropped out, just to the right.

Keep your ketchup, put that BBQ sauce on there. (Mustard base here of course)

(06-29-2017 02:19 PM)georgia_tech_swagger Wrote:  

(06-29-2017 01:46 PM)Hokie Mark Wrote:  

(06-29-2017 01:41 PM)nzmorange Wrote:  My theory is that double bacon cheeseburgers don't need any help.

FALSE.

You are forgetting about fries, BBQ sauce, and your beverage of choice!

Get your Heinz off the table and put some French's or Hunts on instead.

The fries aren't seasoned.

Why the hell is a garden on my slab of meat?

Why is there BBQ sauce when BBQ is clearly not being served?

The garden is flying cover, this way when this burger is properly eaten, the eater can honestly claim without any retribution that said eater is eating healthy (whether the garden is actually consumed or not!).

(06-29-2017 08:02 PM)Lenvillecards Wrote:  

(06-29-2017 02:46 PM)nzmorange Wrote:  

(06-29-2017 02:19 PM)georgia_tech_swagger Wrote:  

(06-29-2017 01:46 PM)Hokie Mark Wrote:  

(06-29-2017 01:41 PM)nzmorange Wrote:  My theory is that double bacon cheeseburgers don't need any help.

FALSE.

You are forgetting about fries, BBQ sauce, and your beverage of choice!

Get your Heinz off the table and put some French's or Hunts on instead.

The fries aren't seasoned.

Why the hell is a garden on my slab of meat?

Why is there BBQ sauce when BBQ is clearly not being served?

Hunts isn't fit for human consumption. It's the stuff that they give terrorists to make them talk.

Good call.

To technically make it a salad. #Healthy

I assume that the BBQ was cropped out, just to the right.

Keep your ketchup, put that BBQ sauce on there. (Mustard base here of course)

Dump the barbecue sauce and the ketchup. The only thing you need is some Tabasco sauce. Tabasco is what makes the world go round.

(06-29-2017 09:02 PM)texasorange Wrote:  

(06-29-2017 08:02 PM)Lenvillecards Wrote:  

(06-29-2017 02:46 PM)nzmorange Wrote:  

(06-29-2017 02:19 PM)georgia_tech_swagger Wrote:  

(06-29-2017 01:46 PM)Hokie Mark Wrote:  FALSE.

You are forgetting about fries, BBQ sauce, and your beverage of choice!

Get your Heinz off the table and put some French's or Hunts on instead.

The fries aren't seasoned.

Why the hell is a garden on my slab of meat?

Why is there BBQ sauce when BBQ is clearly not being served?

Hunts isn't fit for human consumption. It's the stuff that they give terrorists to make them talk.

Good call.

To technically make it a salad. #Healthy

I assume that the BBQ was cropped out, just to the right.

Keep your ketchup, put that BBQ sauce on there. (Mustard base here of course)

Dump the barbecue sauce and the ketchup. The only thing you need is some Tabasco sauce. Tabasco is what makes the world go round.

Hold the barf lava and go heavy on Franks. It's like Tabasco, only it doesn't taste terrible. It's actually quite good.

(06-29-2017 01:46 PM)Hokie Mark Wrote:  

(06-29-2017 01:41 PM)nzmorange Wrote:  My theory is that double bacon cheeseburgers don't need any help.

FALSE.

You are forgetting about fries, BBQ sauce, and your beverage of choice!

Where is the barbecue sauce in that picture? I see a little bowl or ramekin of ketchup on the bottom left of the plate and a bottle of ketchup above the plate to the right. None of that belongs anywhere near barbecue, but I'm sure it's fine on grilled hamburgers, hot dogs and french fries.

As to hot sauce, you can't beat Franks on chicken wings and Tabasco is useful for all kinds of things too but if you're putting anything but Texas Pete or a homemade vinegar and pepper dip on real barbecue, you're getting it very very wrong.

(06-29-2017 11:13 AM)Hokie Mark Wrote:  

(06-29-2017 11:09 AM)Ewglenn Wrote:  The real issue is going to be the gap between football. It will provide a lot of spending money there and the SEC usually spends it. I hate it for FSU, Clemson and VT. Those are schools that are going to find it hard to keep up without hurting the other sports.

This is EXACTLY what those schools will have to do: become essentially one-sport schools (Clemson is nearly there now).

How is Clemson a one-sport school?