PHXCATS wrote: ↑Wed Aug 17, 2022 10:50 am
Bro you gotta get it in your head and your fingers
No remaining PAC-12 team and no current Big 12 team makes any sense at all for the SEC
Only a few ACC teams would make sense
If also Oregon was as desired as people think they would be gone by now
If ESPN doesn't want to get shut out of the west coast time slot, their options are keep the PAC alive, have the best PAC schools go to the BIG 12, or if all else fails, create an SEC Pacific Division. I don't think ESPN cares what conference flag the top remaining PAC schools are flying, but Oregon and UW have been adamant about not joining the BIG 12. Colorado and Utah too. So that leaves the PAC remaining, or the SEC.
There are also no BIG 12 schools remaining that make sense to the B1G. None, expect for possibly Kansas? Oregon, UW, and Stanford make sense not in terms of adding monetary value, but because the LA schools are looking at minimum three-hour flights for all conference travel in their B1G future. Won't matter too much in football, but the rest of the sports can't be too happy about that.
This is where ESPN comes in. They are out of the B1G broadcasting game. Really think ESPN wants to see Oregon, UW, and Stanford all go B1G, which would leave ESPN zero top west coast games to broadcast in the late night time slot? The ACC is also looking to make more money, since their GoR contract seems unbreakable. An alliance between the ACC and the PAC will allow, short term, for the PAC to remain on ESPN and placate ACC teams. It will likely also mean the PAC will make at minimum, the same as the BIG 12, and likely more.
Long term, the ACC/PAC alliance has potential to turn into the third super conference, as Clemson, FSU, Miami, UNC, Oregon, Stanford, and UW are a good base to start from. ESPN would be happy if this happens, and ESPN has broadcast rights over the SEC and the PAC/ACC/BIG 12 conference that eventually forms. Wouldn't surprise me if this is EPSN Plan A right now, because the SEC doesn't want to expand beyond contiguous states. But again, if this is the only way ESPN retains the top remaining PAC schools, ESPN will make a push for it to happen, and make it monetarily advantageous for the SEC to expand far west.
Last, if the BIG 12 is stable minus OU and TX, it's because it's closer to a G5 conference than a P5 conference. Heck, to survive, they promoted 4 G5 teams last year. Relegating ourselves to the BIG 12 for the same or less money doesn't make sense short term, and could handcuff us long term. If things crumble and there aren't any options left, the BIG 12 will still be there.