(06-14-2018 09:11 PM)OdinFrigg Wrote:  

(06-14-2018 01:39 AM)JRsec Wrote:  

(06-13-2018 11:56 PM)AllTideUp Wrote:  

(06-13-2018 02:55 AM)JRsec Wrote:  

(06-13-2018 12:05 AM)AllTideUp Wrote:  Another advantage that the SEC has is that we don't tend to sponsor as many sports. This alone reduces travel costs. This fits pretty closely with the Big 12 model so there's less incongruence when you match the two of them up.

On the topic of numbers, I actually think 20 becomes an optimal number as we move more into the Midwest and Southwest. Travel is one of the reasons why.

Having made the trip from the heart of SEC country to College Station, I can tell you that it's a haul. If we're expanding into that region and we already have then it makes sense to create divisions that allow those schools to have reasonably close travel partners.

Most of the SEC schools are actually pretty close to one another and within easy driving distance. Some of the more recent additions are further from the core of the conference so it can create issues for travel. The best way to mitigate travel is to make sure long trips aren't required more than necessary. Make them a little more sparing and a multi-regional league can work just fine.

Even then, I'm not super high on Texas Tech. Lubbock is not a short trip for anyone so I'd prefer TCU if for no more reason than it's a heck of a lot easier to get to.

If we looked at 20 then we could do this...

Texas, TCU, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Kansas, and West Virginia

That breaks down into 4 pretty concise divisions.

West: Texas, TCU, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Kansas
Central: Texas A&M, Arkansas, Missouri, LSU, Ole Miss
South: Mississippi State, Alabama, Auburn, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
East: Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Kentucky, West Virginia

You also have the added benefit of ensuring an even distribution of home and away games within each division in the event we go to 9 conference games.

I like that arrangement at 20. If we were thoroughly convinced that the ACC would remain and not be poached that would be a pretty nice way to finish things out.

I think the plan is to move to 16 with two more from the Big 12. Texas and Oklahoma are the preferred pairing. But whether we did that with Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, or Texas and Texas Tech, I think our preference would be to wait and see what happens to the East before committing more slots.

That's why the only thing that could make us take more would be the acceptance of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State only to have Texas say they were ready to join too. At 18 I think we hold 1 slot each for a school from North Carolina and Virginia.

But if we were assured the ACC would be a gestalt, then finishing out with Kansas and another, West Virginia makes sense, could very well prove to be a decisive move that from that point on hamstrings our competition to match our branding and markets.

I noticed that the FSU President publicly stated that he expected anywhere from a 10-15 million dollar boost for the ACC Network when it comes online.

I'm not sure I buy that. It's entirely possible he's just saying that to give the donors what they want to hear. In the event it doesn't pan out then no harm, no foul as a school like FSU will have a home elsewhere if they want one. It's not like anyone would blame the Presidents for the failure of the network anyway should things turn out poorly.

On the other hand, it's entirely possible things work out pretty well. If the SEC and ACC Networks are bundled together then that's a pretty strong footprint with a lot of content. Maybe they make pretty good money on it.

The long term issue is the survival of the cable model itself. The content is valuable, but eventually a system that rewards multiple feeds will lose popularity.

I think the ACCN will payout around 7 million by the 3rd or 4th years. All of their schools will be recouping fronted overhead for at least the first two years if not 3. After that they should see around 7 million. Remember their rate won't be as high as ours initially. If they really drive their alums to subscribe they could catch up a bit more and wind up NETTING around 10 million a year which puts them in the 36 to 37 million range with contract escalation they could hit 40 million.

But you hit on a good point with regards to the FSU president. If they wind up with a windfall great. If they don't he's set up a future move by touting it. So he's placed it where it can be played either way regardless of outcome.

But as to multiple feeds, I think if Comcast wins somebody buys out ESPN and finances the moves anyway. If Disney wins they do it. But no matter what it will still be a battle for the rights and the 4 remaining conferences will be utilized to try to land the key properties.

AllTideUp, you made a good point about the SEC schools being in decent proximity to one another in the context of conference geography. With a few exceptions, most are within driving distances to most others. Places such as Kentucky, South Carolina, Florida, Mizzou, and Texas A&M, are not centralized, so travel may be a bit extended depending on whom they are playing.

Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and Kentucky have in-state rivalries with OOC P5 schools, all from the ACC.
I keep wondering if it would be advantageous if schools such as Tennessee, Alabama, Auburn, Arkansas, and LSU each had a permanent, yearly P5 rivalry from another conference? That could be a nice attraction for TV + streaming, conference rivalries, etc. Such could look something like this:

Kentucky - Louisville (ongoing)
South Carolina - Clemson (ongoing)
Georgia - Georgia Tech (ongoing)
Florida - Florida State (ongoing)
Vanderbilt - Wake Forest (often play) option- Duke
Tennessee - North Carolina or Va. Tech
Texas A&M - Oklahoma State
Arkansas - Texas
Missouri - Kansas or Illinois
Auburn - Miami, FL (like that JR? went to one of those
games years back).
Alabama - Oklahoma? Ohio State? TCU? Penn St. (tough
one)
Mississippi State - Kansas State? Texas Tech? NC State?
Ole Miss - Indiana? WVU?
LSU - Nebraska? Wisconsin?

Everyone has 9 power game assured. Some are not particularly realistic, but you get the idea.