Realignment Super Thread

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Bakertxst04

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I think a lot of people feel like UMass would be better served by joining an FCS conference that is more geographically aligned like the CAA. Idaho joined the Big Sky and their fans are happy to have local rivalries with similar schools again. UMass is in a slightly worse position than schools like NMST, ULM, or even TXST in that they are geographically isolated from most FBS teams. From what I understand, the reason that many of these teams choose to stay at the FBS level is because getting 1-2 of those "money" games from P-4 teams can make a huge impact on your athletic budget.
 
atxman

atxman

Active member
It's really too bad that UMass and UConn aren't a package deal for an FBS conference. The ACC, which already has Syracuse and Boston College, would make a lot of sense geographically. But UMass and UConn just don't seem to fit with any FBS conference in the era in which football is even more dominant in college sports than it was before the major realignments in recent decades. For that matter, I think we're moving quickly toward a time when there will be only a few dozen schools in what becomes the top football division anyway. So who knows what will happen for the schools between a new super division and the old FCS. Maybe regional conferences will make a comeback then.
 
LTK5H

LTK5H

M&G Gift Contributor
M&G Collective Member
Bakertxst04 said:
I can see why fans are torn on this one. Yes, they have a conference for football now, but their olympic sports are going to be travelling a lot more. Their biggest sports are basketball and ice hockey, and I'm not sure that the MAC is a good fit for those programs.
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UMass will still play hockey in Hockey East.

Not a hugedifference in footprint for the other sports. They'll lose some easy bus trips to Rhode Island and NYC, but the A10 extends farther west than the MAC does.

A10:
6457

MAC:
6458
 
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atxman

atxman

Active member
I suppose that Big Ten-SEC scenario is as realistic as any other given how radically college football has already changed. So who knows. But consider the irony of two mega-conferences organizing into smaller, regionally based divisions with a mix of elite and non-elite schools. I mean, isn’t that what FBS used to be with multiple regionally based conferences? If this the future, WTF has all this realignment really been about? Contraction. But they’d still have elite schools subsidizing non-elite schools.
 
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TXST04

TXST04

Active member
Personally feel that this round is absolutely about Contraction.
The Ragewood Party has become too large and TV executives want to kick folks out. The power brokers(espn and fox) are looking at any means possible to differentiate the have vs. the have nots- i.e. P5 / G5

(Additional thoughts to follow :geek:)
Somewhere some TV executive floated the idea to dwindle down the number of teams to make CFB similar to the NFL.
One problem is there already are too many brands.
Another of the obstacles to achieving some thing like the NFL - is that not every year will they be a "power brand" team that goes 12-0 in said super league... so if the SEC or BIG10 only play each other in some super league, die hards & casual fans will have to become comfortable with the best teams [insert any P5 name] finishing the season with a record of 9-3 or in that ball park. That's something that audiences have not been accustomed too in CFB... as they are in the NFL. So they need to acclimate viewers to that, as a result, you have to take the G5s (or have nots) out of the equation completely and provide no claim to a stated playoff.
These power players don't want an annual 12-0 Liberty type or near undefeated G5 in any playoff conversation.... so simple answer is to make them ineligible to any spot. A similar mindset is happening over in the NCAA Tourney because of the FAU run last season.

Anyone else notice that espn shows like CFB Gameday (AM) and CFB Final (PM) nearly only focus on P5 coverage and dwindled down any G5s coverage or their game highlights?

I so badly want this entire realignment episode to fail miserably and cause serious financial losses to those pushing for it.
 
JustinS09

JustinS09

Administrator
Staff member
TXST04 said:
I so badly want this entire realignment episode to fail miserably and cause serious financial losses to those pushing for it.
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Me too.

I hope that if they actually implement something like this and separate from the rest of college football, that fans of the "outsiders" boycott the new super conference games.

I know I won't be watching the super conference games if they do this.

Also, if they do this, I hope the "outsiders" are able to create a league that eventually competes with the super conference similar to the way the AFL did before the AFL and NFL merged.
 
slycat

slycat

Active member
I don't see how they take some.of that dead weight along. PAC12 only had four taken. The rest found a home and two didn't. Teams like Purdue, NW, Rutgers, South Carolina, Vandy, the Mississippi schools haven't done shit to go to a split. I highly doubt they go too.
 
slycat

slycat

Active member
JustinS09 said:
Me too.

I hope that if they actually implement something like this and separate from the rest of college football, that fans of the "outsiders" boycott the new super conference games.

I know I won't be watching the super conference games if they do this.

Also, if they do this, I hope the "outsiders" are able to create a league that eventually competes with the super conference similar to the way the AFL did before the AFL and NFL merged.
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I hope the NCAA kicks out all their oly sports too.
 
atxman

atxman

Active member
Schools like Vandy, Northwestern, Miss St, Minnesota, etc. are fooling themselves if they think they will keep their spots longterm. What fascinates me is that the networks and elite schools think millions of alums and fans of the “have nots” will suddenly decide to become fans of Alabama, Texas, Michigan, etc., or at least want to watch their games. I’m sure some will. But I think most folks (like me) are interested in the elite schools only insofar as their own school is in the same big pool. Once the elites formally separate, that won’t be the case. Seems to me allegiances in college ball are different than in pro ball. I know my interest has dropped dramatically already. But I’m a relic of an older time. Even so, it seems pretty stupid to shrink your market rather than grow it.
 
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atxman

atxman

Active member
Do y’all watch Ted Lasso? An episode in Season 3 is about an effort to create a soccer “super league” that essentially leaves behind (and kills) smaller market soccer clubs across Europe. Rebecca, Richmond’s owner, pushes back at a big meeting of the elite owners and reminds them of the love and joy fans get from pulling for their local clubs. I think college football has been like that for a lot of folks. And the TV networks and powerbrokers are destroying it. Says the bitter old man. LOL.
 
atxman

atxman

Active member
If the deal is along the lines of what I read a week or two ago, it will lock in a larger number of automatic slots for the SEC and Big Ten and leave the Big 12 and ACC at a level below. That will make the separation in resources between the two megaconferences and everybody else even larger. Edit: Looks like the playoff structure is still to be worked out, but the money distribution is awful for non-SEC and non-Big Ten teams. G5 schools get very little out of this.
https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/39732645/sources-all-fbs-conferences-expected-agree-next-cfp-contract
 
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carmanjello325

Active member
i can picture just how these “league” discussions are going. g5 leagues are going to get to cast a vote but its only going to count as 3/5ths of a vote. they are going to send us back to the dark ages before fbs was a subdivision and suppress the votes of small town usa g5
 
bigred24

bigred24

Active member
This obviously wouldnt happen. But I say let the BIG and SEC go have their super conferences and their own playoffs and tournament. Big 12, ACC, Pac and the G5s start their own super league with a legit playoff scenario.
 
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