Happy Monday Saints!
With alot going on in sports i.e world cup, NBA Finals, etc are you having fun with the craziest offseason in college football history? USC is certainly thankful for the drama and coverage otherwise the talk would be all Reggie Bush all the time, but for conferences like the Big 12 and the WAC and for schools like Kansas and Missouri, these are nervous times as they try to figure out ways to stay relevant and viable.
Nebraska already jumped to the Big 12, Colorado signed on with the Pac 10, and Boise State took off for the Mountain West, but those were ripples compared to the tsunami about to come once Texas decides what it wants to do. From all indications, everything will be sorted out this week, so before the world becomes even more insane, here’s where everyone appears to stand, what might happen over the next several days, what CFN’s suggestion would be to go forward, and how the conference alignments are about to shake out.
A few things to keep in mind through this whole process. First, this is about business at the highest level; this isn’t necessarily a sports story. While it’ll be cool when Nebraska goes to Columbus and it’ll be interesting when Colorado and UCLA go at it, this is about TV contracts, bowl ties, academic reputation, and egos, egos, egos. While you might not necessarily get all gooey over the idea of Rutgers playing Illinois, the Big Ten Network types certainly do when they think about selling ad time and sponsorships with the New York market as a big part of the equation.
Remember, just because a tie-in might seem to make sense football-wise, it might not help the bottom line. The Big Ten doesn’t want Pitt because it already has Penn State and owns Pennsylvania. That’s why Maryland is being thrown around as an idea to expand the reach into new markets like Baltimore and Washington D.C.
Second, remember that the major players involved don’t quite know what’s happening here. Everyone’s spouting whatever needs to be said to keep the process moving, and the behind the scenes wheeling and dealing is changing the dynamic by the tweet. Remember, just a few days ago Nebraska head honchos were publicly saying how viable the Big 12 was and how it was a nice place to set up shop. 27 seconds after signing on with the Big Ten, it turns out the Huskers couldn’t get out fast enough and HATED being second-fiddle both economically and prestige-wise to the powers in the Big 12 South.
Sit back, relax, and enjoy your week.
I will keep you the football fans up to speed. THE ACC is next
