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This announcement and the timing of it has ESPN written all over it. Perhaps a last act trying to screw the BE because they wouldn't accept ESPN's previous low ball offer.

redpony wrote:This announcement and the timing of it has ESPN written all over it. Perhaps a last act trying to screw the BE because they wouldn't accept ESPN's previous low ball offer.

Possible but I don't think ESPN has any influence over ND since they're with NothingButCrap

I see your point. My thinking was that if espn 'encouraged' the ACC to move now and get a positive decision it would a) enhance the value of the ACC - an espn client and b) lower the value of the BE brand in the eyes of NBC which might make the espn negotiations a bit easier.

I think all that happens soon is ACC taking Marquette (near ND) or one of the eastern Catholic Bball schools (Georgetown, Villanova, etc.) or all three. Ouch, I tell you we can't get a break! Very upset here. ESPN is ruining the college game I love. It's a shame.

Yeah it's possible that ESPN did it to lower the bidding price but NBC probably already has a price in mind and it won't change (within relative range) but this is a blow to the big east and one thing is clear nobody is loyal to the BE.. The tv deal even if it's the original offer should be accepted to just give any confidence to the rest of the conference. Once you build up like 8 years from now on, then hopefully renegotiated but we they should be treating this as a brand new conference

They don't call it The Big Least for nuthin'.

CalallenStang wrote:1) Schools leaving the Big 12 can buy their rights back. It just raises the exit fee a bit. A big deal for small programs, but not so much for Texas and OU

Not only is that incorrect, it doesn't even make sense. The stability of the Big 12 was never threatened by the potential loss of a Kansas or Iowa State. It was the potential of losing a UT or OU that threatened the conference.

Now the conference has been stabilized by a grant of media rights that you claim cements only the lesser programs but leaves the bohemoths free to leave virtually at will? How does that work, exactly?



In fact, the Big 12 grant of media rights has no buy-out. The conference can return a school's media rights if it chooses. But no single school -- not Texas and not OU -- can buy back its media rights at will.

Deep Purple wrote:

CalallenStang wrote:1) Schools leaving the Big 12 can buy their rights back. It just raises the exit fee a bit. A big deal for small programs, but not so much for Texas and OU

Not only is that incorrect, it doesn't even make sense. The stability of the Big 12 was never threatened by the potential loss of a Kansas or Iowa State. It was the potential of losing a UT or OU that threatened the conference.

Now the conference has been stabilized by a grant of media rights that you claim cements only the lesser programs but leaves the bohemoths free to leave virtually at will? How does that work, exactly?



In fact, the Big 12 grant of media rights has no buy-out. The conference can return a school's media rights if it chooses. But no single school -- not Texas and not OU -- can buy back its media rights at will.

It's all a negotiation. The Big East contract had no early exit clause, but WVU, Pitt, and Syracuse were able to negotiate early exits for an extra fee. And you had better believe that Texas and OU have enough money in their budgets to go to the amount that the B12 will demand from them, whereas the KSUs and ISUs of the world simply don't have that sort of extra money laying around to do the same.

They can say whatever they want. Texas will do what is best for Texas. If that means leaving the rest of the Big 12 in the lurch they will.

StallionsModelT wrote:They can say whatever they want. Texas will do what is best for Texas. If that means leaving the rest of the Big 12 in the lurch they will.

Texas will always be the 800-lb gorilla and they will do whatever they want whenever they want to. Everyone else, with the exception of OU, is just sheep. Granted things are ok being the sheep with the contract they have in place now but no one provides anything to this conference compared to what UT (and OU) bring to the table.

ND was never going to join the B12 for 2 reasons: 1) they don't want to share the table with another 800-lb gorilla and 2) they don't want to dilute their academic brand by joining a conference with sub-par academic schools.

Deep Purple wrote:

CalallenStang wrote:Texas could begin looking around again, but that would mean probably giving up LHN.
[...]
4) Alternatively, Texas may start looking around, and if they leave, BE may be in a position to scoop up some of the leftovers.
[...]
Ramifications for all Texas schools:
1) each conference's expansion with list just got all ACC teams wiped off. Texas to B10 instead of MD? TCU to SEC instead of VT?

You're overlooking a few factors:

• The Big 12 schools have signed a 13-year grant of media rights to the conference. Any school that leaves during that period does not take its media rights with it. They stay with the conference. Bottom line is, no school is leaving the Big 12, because without media rights, no other conference is taking a Big 12 team.
  
  
• ND remaining indy in football means the ACC is still a basketball-first league, which isn't likely to cement the loyalty of football-first schools like Florida State. It may not be the Big 12 that lures the first football school away. May come from the SEC. If it does, Big 12 is the most likely secondary geneficiary from the fallout.

contracts are great until they are broken and the attorneys negotiate something different.

Just another reason to hate Notre Damned.

and Rudy

A good deal is possible without ND.

http://espn.go.com/blog/playbook/dollar ... without-nd

ouich

and who cares


we do what we need to