(09-07-2014 07:41 PM)XLance Wrote:  

(09-07-2014 05:59 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(09-07-2014 05:27 PM)XLance Wrote:  What is ESPN's goal?
How do you control the entirety of college football without complete control of the B1G and all of those mid-western TV sets?
1) you take care of your premier football product (TV, money, what ever it takes)

How does ESPN capture the eastern US without a legitimate conference in the area?
2) you merge enough eastern teams into a mid-atlantic conference where most of the schools can look either north or south with equal ease. This allows ESPN to secure access to the entire eastern part of the country to go along with complete dominance of the southeast.

The last piece of ESPN's puzzle is to gain access and control the west coast
3) you move your prized individually owned holding (texas) into the west for a share of the west coast action. This is what is being worked out now. Texas and what? will be acceptable to the PAC for a share. This is so big and have such long term ramifications it might stretch all the way to the end of the GOR's. AT the same time what schools will ESPN try to keep away from the B1G. Will they attempt to add Kansas or Oklahoma to the Texas package? Iowa State? That would leave the B1G with nowhere to go and hemmed in. Carolina and Virginia? Neither school wants to play in the SEC OR the B1G. Win-win plan for everyone.

End game......ESPN has one.

That's nice, but it really isn't that simple. I agree that ESPN wants a share of the PACN. I agree that Texas would be the ideal bait with which to obtain it. But I don't think the resulting division of properties could work unless, it is not a win-win plan for everyone. Now that said, if the secondary objective is to hem in a recalcitrant (where ESPN is concerned) Big 10 then it is doable. But even then acceptable variations are tricky.

That's when Oklahoma and Baylor become acceptable to the SEC, or Oklahoma State and Kansas might become acceptable to the SEC.
Texas, Oklahoma, Iowa State and Kansas State might be a package the PAC would accept but then you leave out TTU.
I just assume WVU would head to the ACC.

The ACC doesn't want West Virginia, but ESPN wants WVU in the ACC to help shore up the old Eastern Independent/Big East connection. In the east, Penn State is the 600 LB gorilla and the combo of Penn State, Maryland and Rutgers is a formidable challenge. ESPN feels that Syracuse, Boston College and Pitt could use some help.

I can see how that would be a tighter grouping and the traditional rivalry would lend to a tenor of security for that border of the ACC. On that level it makes sense. From a purist's point of view such an addition could be viewed as a diminishing of academic values.

If a move to a P4 occurs I'd settle for Oklahoma and Baylor to the West.

Arkansas, Baylor, Louisiana State, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas A&M

Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vanderbilt

That solves a ton of rivalry issues and balances out fairly nicely. It leaves Arky some room to breathe and gives L.S.U. and Oklahoma a natural rivalry three way with A&M. Of course there is still more value to be had to the East.