Big 10 may force Big XII to expand

[leopold]

http://espn.go.com/college-football/sto ... regulation

[Rebel10]

They'll probably add Cincinnati and Houston before it is all over with.

[smupony94]

Yep Houston took the Memphis place

[Pony Boss]

More realignment bs....lol

[Charleston Pony]

as long as we have the P5 and only 4 seats at the playoff table, there is going to be controversy. One solution is for Big XII to implode and formation of the long talked about 4 super conferences. Otherwise, the playoffs expand to 6-8 teams (top 2 teams getting 1st round bye if only 6 teams are in). Big question in any expanded playoff scenario is whether the best G5 team would have an opportunity to compete? As long as one of the P5 conferences might have their champion excluded or if "wild card" options are available to fight over, there is going to be controversy. I wouldn't mind seeing a 6 team format with all the P5 champs and the top G5 team competing, with the #1 & #2 seeds getting 1st round byes.

[ponyinNC]

I think you guys misunderstand the Big 10 position. They do not want to force the B12 to add teams. Delaney wants to make sure the B12 can't just cherry pick who gets to play in the conference championship game. Delaney wants divisions, but does not seem to care if those divisions are 5 teams each or 6 teams each.

I also think nobody wants to start another round of realignment, including most if not all of the P5. They seem pretty happy with the current arrangement, and most G5 schools (except those with a legit chance to move up) would agree.

This is all about making sure the B12 doesn't get to put their top 2 teams in the CCG without doing so through divisions. Otherwise the SEC could basically have LSU and Bama every year.

[mustangxc]

as long as we have the P5 and only 4 seats at the playoff table, there is going to be controversy. One solution is for Big XII to implode and formation of the long talked about 4 super conferences. Otherwise, the playoffs expand to 6-8 teams (top 2 teams getting 1st round bye if only 6 teams are in). Big question in any expanded playoff scenario is whether the best G5 team would have an opportunity to compete? As long as one of the P5 conferences might have their champion excluded or if "wild card" options are available to fight over, there is going to be controversy. I wouldn't mind seeing a 6 team format with all the P5 champs and the top G5 team competing, with the #1 & #2 seeds getting 1st round byes.

That is the most sensible solution.

[PerunasHoof]

Why would the Big 12 expand? They got into the playoff just fine this year. With a one loss team no less.

[Pony Boss]

4 superconferences are pure fan fiction.

[Digetydog]

I think you guys misunderstand the Big 10 position. They do not want to force the B12 to add teams. Delaney wants to make sure the B12 can't just cherry pick who gets to play in the conference championship game. Delaney wants divisions, but does not seem to care if those divisions are 5 teams each or 6 teams each.

I also think nobody wants to start another round of realignment, including most if not all of the P5. They seem pretty happy with the current arrangement, and most G5 schools (except those with a legit chance to move up) would agree.

This is all about making sure the B12 doesn't get to put their top 2 teams in the CCG without doing so through divisions. Otherwise the SEC could basically have LSU and Bama every year.

ESPN let go of a large number of workers because they lost something like 3 million subscribers as millennials cut the cord to cable. Until the cable companies and cable networks figure out what their revenue stream looks like going forward, they aren't going to be adding dollars to CFB rights fees unless someone like ND could be brought into a conference.

[gostangs]

ESPN lost 7 MILLION subscribers. The money train is about to end, for everyone. Even if others want to bid, they are going to bidding down since they know ESPN will only bid for a limited amount of product. This thing is going the other way and fast. What that does to the pressure to expand or not I don't know, but everyone is going to be fighting over lower TV dollars very soon.

[leopold]

I actually back the Big XII here. There way to decide conference champions is perfectly fine. Someone needs to tell Delaney to suck it.

And, yeah, the TV money is about to level out right after they started PROVIDING MONEY TO THE ATHLETES. Dummies. The AD's are about to start feeling more than a little pinch with ticket sales dropping and the TV money becoming less of a sure thing.

[1983 Cotton Bowl]

ESPN lost 7 MILLION subscribers. The money train is about to end, for everyone. Even if others want to bid, they are going to bidding down since they know ESPN will only bid for a limited amount of product. This thing is going the other way and fast. What that does to the pressure to expand or not I don't know, but everyone is going to be fighting over lower TV dollars very soon.

I'm not an expert on the cable TV business, but this seems right to me just on basic observations about millennial behavior. Which of course begs the question. . .if this is true, why would conferences want to expand and thereby cut a shrinking pie into even smaller pieces?

[CalallenStang]

I actually back the Big XII here. There way to decide conference champions is perfectly fine. Someone needs to tell Delaney and Swofford to suck it.

And, yeah, the TV money is about to level out right after they started PROVIDING MONEY TO THE ATHLETES. Dummies. The AD's are about to start feeling more than a little pinch with ticket sales dropping and the TV money becoming less of a sure thing.

Swofford is on the Big 12's side

[ReedFrawg]

I'm not an expert on the cable TV business, but this seems right to me just on basic observations about millennial behavior. Which of course begs the question. . .if this is true, why would conferences want to expand and thereby cut a shrinking pie into even smaller pieces?

This is a very good point. I don't see the Big12 expanding unless they are forced to.