(09-13-2023 04:41 PM)bryanw1995 Wrote:  

(09-13-2023 04:29 PM)Scoochpooch1 Wrote:  

(09-13-2023 03:43 PM)bryanw1995 Wrote:  

(09-13-2023 08:42 AM)DFW HOYA Wrote:  

(09-13-2023 08:38 AM)Usajags Wrote:  As the money continues to dry up, the “power” schools will continue to join pushing out the dead weight. The PAC and Big XII both lost their “power” schools, all signs point to the ACC being next. Then you will see the SEC and B1G will figure out how to get rid of the Vandy”s and Northwestern”s of the world.

It won't just be Vanderbilt and Northwestern. Storm clouds ahead for Missouri, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Maryland, Rutgers, and maybe even Iowa and Kentucky.

Funny how you don't see people in the Conference clamoring for these sorts of changes, but rather outsiders who know nothing about what goes on behind closed doors. I can't speak for the B1G of course, but in the SEC, nobody is forcing out any other school. Not Missouri. Not Ms St. not Vanderbilt.

NOBODY IS GETTING KICKED OUT OF THE SEC.

Yup not happening but the illusion persists on this board due to anger over better schools leaving inferior ones behind.

It's only surpassed by the whole "ND needs to do X or they'll have to join the B1G" discussions in its absurdity.

Even more than that, the one that really irks me here is, "ESPN will sign ND."

No, they won't. There's a lot of mutual resentment between the two sides, and I think that would get in the way of any deal ever getting done between them.

Within the reaches of the internet, "ND needs to join a conference" is not unique to this board. As near as I can tell, however, "ESPN will sign ND" is.

(09-14-2023 06:27 AM)tf8693 Wrote:  

(09-13-2023 04:41 PM)bryanw1995 Wrote:  

(09-13-2023 04:29 PM)Scoochpooch1 Wrote:  

(09-13-2023 03:43 PM)bryanw1995 Wrote:  

(09-13-2023 08:42 AM)DFW HOYA Wrote:  It won't just be Vanderbilt and Northwestern. Storm clouds ahead for Missouri, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Maryland, Rutgers, and maybe even Iowa and Kentucky.

Funny how you don't see people in the Conference clamoring for these sorts of changes, but rather outsiders who know nothing about what goes on behind closed doors. I can't speak for the B1G of course, but in the SEC, nobody is forcing out any other school. Not Missouri. Not Ms St. not Vanderbilt.

NOBODY IS GETTING KICKED OUT OF THE SEC.

Yup not happening but the illusion persists on this board due to anger over better schools leaving inferior ones behind.

It's only surpassed by the whole "ND needs to do X or they'll have to join the B1G" discussions in its absurdity.

Even more than that, the one that really irks me here is, "ESPN will sign ND."

No, they won't. There's a lot of mutual resentment between the two sides, and I think that would get in the way of any deal ever getting done between them.

Within the reaches of the internet, "ND needs to join a conference" is not unique to this board. As near as I can tell, however, "ESPN will sign ND" is.

I don’t know if it’s really resentment between ND and ESPN, but rather the needs don’t match: ND wants a largely fixed national time slot each week while ESPN needs flexibility to shift games between multiple networks and time slots week-to-week. It’s similar to the Big Ten negotiations last year - it wasn’t really that ESPN wasn’t willing to pay enough money to get the B1G, but they couldn’t offer the guaranteed time slots of Fox, CBS or NBC due to the old SEC/CBS package coming over. The money isn’t as much of the issue as the prioritization.

That being said, I agree with the overall conclusion: ND isn’t signing with ESPN and it’s a strange argument that’s largely relegated to this particular forum.

(09-14-2023 07:41 AM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  

(09-14-2023 06:27 AM)tf8693 Wrote:  

(09-13-2023 04:41 PM)bryanw1995 Wrote:  

(09-13-2023 04:29 PM)Scoochpooch1 Wrote:  

(09-13-2023 03:43 PM)bryanw1995 Wrote:  Funny how you don't see people in the Conference clamoring for these sorts of changes, but rather outsiders who know nothing about what goes on behind closed doors. I can't speak for the B1G of course, but in the SEC, nobody is forcing out any other school. Not Missouri. Not Ms St. not Vanderbilt.

NOBODY IS GETTING KICKED OUT OF THE SEC.

Yup not happening but the illusion persists on this board due to anger over better schools leaving inferior ones behind.

It's only surpassed by the whole "ND needs to do X or they'll have to join the B1G" discussions in its absurdity.

Even more than that, the one that really irks me here is, "ESPN will sign ND."

No, they won't. There's a lot of mutual resentment between the two sides, and I think that would get in the way of any deal ever getting done between them.

Within the reaches of the internet, "ND needs to join a conference" is not unique to this board. As near as I can tell, however, "ESPN will sign ND" is.

I don’t know if it’s really resentment between ND and ESPN, but rather the needs don’t match: ND wants a largely fixed national time slot each week while ESPN needs flexibility to shift games between multiple networks and time slots week-to-week. It’s similar to the Big Ten negotiations last year - it wasn’t really that ESPN wasn’t willing to pay enough money to get the B1G, but they couldn’t offer the guaranteed time slots of Fox, CBS or NBC due to the old SEC/CBS package coming over. The money isn’t as much of the issue as the prioritization.

That being said, I agree with the overall conclusion: ND isn’t signing with ESPN and it’s a strange argument that’s largely relegated to this particular forum.

Good point in bringing up the fact that ND's needs would not mesh with ESPN's. Another point you didn't mention is that ESPN requires Thursday and Friday night games to fill airtime. In ND's case, the overwhelming majority of ticket sales go to alumni, many of whom travel significant distances to attend a ND home game. That renders Thursday or Friday night home games impossible for ND.

As to the resentment, that may be more of an historical angle at this point than anything else. It dates back to the time when ESPN had a near-monopoly on the telecast of college football games, and ND was, at least arguably, the most notable exception to this rule. Among ND fans, there always was the perception that ESPN resented the fact that ND wasn't under its umbrella, and in turn, slanted its coverage of ND. Not outright falsehoods, but perhaps some overly negative coverage that wouldn't happen with otherwise similarly-situated schools. For example, they strongly hinted that ND's firing of Ty Willingham was racially motivated, while ignoring the fact that ND, at that time, was one of the few major programs who had hired an African-American head coach in the first place. Before the Hawaii Bowl in 2008, ESPN ran a scroll purporting to list all the FBS programs who had won a bowl game since ND's last bowl game win. I doubt they would have done that with another program mired in a lengthy bowl game losing streak. Still relevant today? Maybe not, but then again, ND fans aren't likely to forget it anytime soon.