2023 NCAA conference realignment (12/20: the PAC-2 join the WCC)

[NewYorkExpress]

Sports Illustrated is openly speculating about Stanford and Cal going Independent in football and their other sports joining the WCC.

This would be great for Stanford and Cal, but I can't see Gonzaga (or anyone else in the WCC) going for it. (Maybe Gonzaga can be convinced because it would be a better fit for them then the Zags leaving for the cross-country travel of the Big East, but I can't see anyone else in the WCC going for it).

[Greedo punched first]

Is it possible a new P5 conference might form from breakaway schools?

[Greedo punched first]

Will Notre Dame leave the ACC?

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Will Notre Dame leave the ACC?

ND isn't a full ACC member. If ND football joined the ACC, the conference may have hope of surviving.

[Greedo punched first]

Might Notre Dame football join the ACC? Might the school just go to another conference altogether?

[GeorgiaModerate]

Might Notre Dame football join the ACC? Might the school just go to another conference altogether?

Why would they?  It would be difficult to top all the advantages they have by being independent.

[Greedo punched first]

Might Notre Dame football join the ACC? Might the school just go to another conference altogether?

Why would they?  It would be difficult to top all the advantages they have by being independent.

What if the media rights deal ends up being better? Is there really going to be a mass exodus from the ACC?

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

Might Notre Dame football join the ACC? Might the school just go to another conference altogether?

Why would they?  It would be difficult to top all the advantages they have by being independent.

What if the media rights deal ends up being better? Is there really going to be a mass exodus from the ACC?

Notre Dame's expected payout as a football independent is just about double that of the ACC payout for football media rights. If they can't get that, they will join the Big Ten.

I used to think the ACC could only be broken by mass exodus, but some teams seem content on keep it together without the three or four biggest names? Seems ridiculous. They'd easily fall behind the Big Ten and effectively lose any cohesive identity when other conferences offer a better identity. Will they be that petty over the grant of rights instead of dissolving and making it better for everyone?

[NewYorkExpress]

I don't think NBC is going to offer Notre Dame a new contract when their current deal expires. Just having the rights to one school in one sport really isn't worth it for NBC.

Notre Dame, however is a lucrative brand, and assuming ESPN or Fox are interested, should be able to reach a lucrative deal with them, that might include their non-conference games in other sports (I have no idea if the ACC currently has the rights to Notre Dame's non-conference basketball games, for example, but if they can package their non-conference basketball games, for example, with their football games, they'll have a very good deal to pitch to anyone for broadcast.)

[Greedo punched first]

I don't think NBC is going to offer Notre Dame a new contract when their current deal expires. Just having the rights to one school in one sport really isn't worth it for NBC.

Notre Dame, however is a lucrative brand, and assuming ESPN or Fox are interested, should be able to reach a lucrative deal with them, that might include their non-conference games in other sports (I have no idea if the ACC currently has the rights to Notre Dame's non-conference basketball games, for example, but if they can package their non-conference basketball games, for example, with their football games, they'll have a very good deal to pitch to anyone for broadcast.)

The ACC has the rights to Notre Dame's non-conference basketball games when Notre Dame is at home (the broadcast rights of non-conference games belong to the home team's conference).

[NewYorkExpress]

I'm seriously wondering why Notre Dame hasn't moved their non-football sports back to the Big East, actually.

They're more of a cultural fit for that conference, being a private Catholic School, then they are for the ACC or Big Ten. They are also more of a fit for the current incarnation of the conference than UConn is, and being in the Big East would allow them to remain an Independent in Football as long as they want.

[Storr]

C-USA sure could use some stability after losing 3 schools to the Sun Belt in 2022, 6 schools to the American in 2023, and adding 5 schools as replacements in 2023/4 (with 3 of them moving up from FCS to FBS)!

https://twitter.com/ChrisVannini/status/1694005317326266728?s=20

[Greedo punched first]

Don't tell me Stanford and Cal end up in C-USA.

[NewYorkExpress]

Don't tell me Stanford and Cal end up in C-USA.

I can't imagine either of them would agree to that. Oregon State and Washington State might settle for that for a few years, though.

[Greedo punched first]

Don't tell me Stanford and Cal end up in C-USA.

I can't imagine either of them would agree to that. Oregon State and Washington State might settle for that for a few years, though.

I thought the Mountain West would be better. Anyone with cable or satellite can see Mountain West games at home without a subscription to an over-the-top service.

[Storr]

"On Stanford/Cal to ACC: “You can't have 2 of the great academic institutions in the world not have a place to play. We're working on (a solution). There's still consideration of the ACC as a home for those schools.”
On Pac-12 dying: “It's looking that way more & more every day, yes.”"

https://twitter.com/Brett_McMurphy/status/1694397488118071613?s=20

[Storr]

https://twitter.com/JWMediaDC/status/1695022877014216911?s=20

[Greedo punched first]

Is the G5 going to become the G6 (adding the WAC)?

[NewYorkExpress]

Oregon State and Washington State are expected to decide their futures around Labor Day.

The fate of Oregon State and Washington State in terms of their future conference alignment will extend until at least Labor Day if not longer, sources told CBS Sports.

American commissioner Mike Aresco is expected to engage with both schools by Zoom next week. An in-person meeting to both campuses is expected soon after, sources said. Mountain West commissioner Gloria Nevarez has already pitched both schools.

That somewhat clarifies what has become a competition between the two conferences for the two remaining Pac-12 schools in the Northwest, though the interest of the MWC and AAC does not preclude another conference from potentially getting involved.

Oregon State and Washington State are being advised not to make a decision until it is clear what revenue remains to be distributed from what appears to be the dissolution of the Pac-12. That windfall could be upwards of the mid-eight figures, sources told CBS Sports. It remains to be seen whether and how much of that revenue would be split with the other eight Pac-12 schools.


Meanwhile, California, Stanford and SMU continue to seek entry into the ACC with the league considering different revenue models should they be admitted. The ACC would need 12 of 15 presidents to approve such a move; an unofficial vote previously came back with only 11 of 15 presidents in favor of welcoming the teams into the league with Clemson, Florida State, North Carolina and NC State on the other side.

[Greedo punched first]

Will Clemson and/or Florida State leave the ACC?

[Storr]

Will Clemson and/or Florida State leave the ACC?

If they can get out of the ACC's grant of rights, which doesn't expire until 2036. Buying it out now would be around $500 million, which would be a very bitter pill to swallow. But that number will decrease as we get closer to 2036, as the years left on the GoR decrease.

Clemson and FSU might not be able to afford to break the GoR right now, but at the end of this decade they should be able to. If all else stays the same (no crash of the sports media industry and resulting collapse of super conferences, etc.) when they get invitations to the B1G or SEC, and the schools can afford to break the GoR, they'll leave the ACC immediately.

[Greedo punched first]

If Clemson and FSU go to the B1G or SEC, what might happen to the ACC?

[NewYorkExpress]

If Clemson and FSU go to the B1G or SEC, what might happen to the ACC?

The ACC is almost certainly going to go the way of the PAC-12. It's just really a matter of time.

[Greedo punched first]

The ACC can't even save itself?

[NewYorkExpress]

The ACC can't even save itself?

I don't think they can, no. Too many teams want to leave (it isn't just Clemson and Florida State), and ultimately the Big Ten/Twelve/SEC will gobble up the ACC.