The ACC did try merger talks with the 4 corners, Oregon, UW and Cal and furd. But they could not get a deal together before the big took Oregon and Washington, and so the 4 corners bolted. I do think that the 4 corners, or at least ASU and Utah, would like to be in the ACC as opposed to the Big 12. So that could happen in 5 years or so.calumnus said:dimitrig said:BarcaBear said:First, this guy does not know the math. Maryland jumping does NOT give FSU and Clemson the framework for leaving. Maryland left at the tail end of an expiring contract. The GoR penalty for leaving the ACC is average annual revenue multiplied by remaining years left in the contract. If they leave by 2026, then they owe $400 million. If they jump, then they don't break even until 2031. The B1G contract expires in 2030, so that points to them leaving just in time to join the new B1G contract, not before.golden sloth said:sycasey said:
Returning to unsubstantiated Twitter rumors, but this guy has an interesting scenario for FSU and Clemson leaving earlier. No idea if the money actually makes sense.What is coming next in conference realignment?
— Big Ten information. College football fan (@Genetics56) September 1, 2023
A lot of people can come up with reasons for why the ACC adding SMU, Stanford and California doesn't make sense and arguments around travel, etc. However, when it came down to survival of a conference to even reach the year 2036,…
I know it is speculation, but I would be very irritated if the ACC adds Big-XII schools at a full share while Cal is still only receiving a partial share.
Second, something to keep in mind about the ability of the ACC to survive...the ACC agreement gives SMU a full vote by July 1, 2024, and Cal and Stanford each have voting power starting August 2, 2024.
If FSU and Clemson and UNC leave, then the ACC may create a West Coast pod and pick up OSU and Washington St. to replace them. And if Utah and the Arizona schools really don't want to be in the Big XII, then they could potentially be brought in.
But...the problem is the ACC ESPN contract goes all the way through 2036. Does anybody see ESPN agreeing to renegotiate a contract? Maybe if ESPN's parent company gets Apple to agree to become a partner and take over ESPN.
sidenote: is anyone thinking about a Big XII merger with ACC? it would create a lot of negotiating power.
Pac-12 should have merged with the ACC but apparently USC would not be happy in the same way Clemson and FSU are not happy.
Could the remaining Pac-10 members have done so? Maybe but with Oregon and Washington in the Big10 it seems they also would have been unhappy in the ACC.
All of which is to say that the former Pac-12 didn't have the juice so why would the dregs of the Pac-12 and Big-12 have any negotiating power?
After USC and UCLA bolted, a PAC-10 merger with the B1G or ACC was the way to go but was not in Kliavkoff's self-interest so he did not push for it and most of the presidents were too clueless to notice.
This is a great outcome considering we put ourselves in. Horrible position.