Conference Realignment

[DooleyBull06]

With the news that Oklahoma and Texas are potentially headed to the SEC, what trickle down effect could this have on UB? If any? Obviously this is football driven. But where football goes the rest of athletics follows. And conference cannibalism is about to take place. Thoughts??? 

[UBinMD]

3 hours ago, DooleyBull06 said:

With the news that Oklahoma and Texas are potentially headed to the SEC, what trickle down effect could this have on UB? If any? Obviously this is football driven. But where football goes the rest of athletics follows. And conference cannibalism is about to take place. Thoughts??? 

Someone told me that there was discussion of Kansas and Iowa St. joining the Big10. That wouldn't be good for Buffalo's chances unless a second tier conference like Conference USA or something like that came calling. The Big 12 would be a terrible fit for travel purposes, plus not sure what skeleton crew would be left. There is going to be cannibalism for sure and maybe the loss of a conference altogether.

Since the SEC is considered the premier league, maybe we just make all college football teams join the SEC then we are all fair and can tell recruits we are in the SEC.

[DooleyBull06]

You’re gonna see super leagues. The Big Ten wants to expand. As does the ACC and PAC 12. There’s already rumors of the Big Ten going after Pitt and Syracuse. Trying to get Notre Dame. And as @UBinMDsaid, Kansas and Iowa State. The PAC 12 has wanted Oklahoma State for the longest. I’m sure the Big 12 will want to stay relevant as a conference. 

Could this be the time to jump to C-USA or the American? Would those be worth it? 

[UBinMD]

25 minutes ago, DooleyBull06 said:

You’re gonna see super leagues. The Big Ten wants to expand. As does the ACC and PAC 12. There’s already rumors of the Big Ten going after Pitt and Syracuse. Trying to get Notre Dame. And as @UBinMDsaid, Kansas and Iowa State. The PAC 12 has wanted Oklahoma State for the longest. I’m sure the Big 12 will want to stay relevant as a conference. 

Could this be the time to jump to C-USA or the American? Would those be worth it? 

I think C-USA could be a nice fit and an upgrade for basketball too by getting out of a 1 bid conference. All other MAC teams seem satisfied to be good for a couple years, then rebuild or just stay middle of the pack consistently. We need to get in a conference that has higher expectations than that.

[MKBullsfan]

27 minutes ago, DooleyBull06 said:

You’re gonna see super leagues. The Big Ten wants to expand. As does the ACC and PAC 12. There’s already rumors of the Big Ten going after Pitt and Syracuse. Trying to get Notre Dame. And as @UBinMDsaid, Kansas and Iowa State. The PAC 12 has wanted Oklahoma State for the longest. I’m sure the Big 12 will want to stay relevant as a conference. 

Could this be the time to jump to C-USA or the American? Would those be worth it? 

I think UB's stock is probably at it's highest level ever and we should be very attractive to C-USA or the American. Heck I think right now we are probably in the top half of the schools in each conference as far as success of our Football and Basketball programs. The key will be what's in it for UB and what kind of financial commitment along with return will the school get in the long term by making this jump? Shared revenues, bigger payouts for games and ultimately will our athletic budget be supported by the administration and alumni? Lot's to consider but the bottom line is if we were ever in a position to make that move now might be it based off all of our success in Football and Basketball that looks to not be slowing down anytime soon.

[BrooklynBull]

42 minutes ago, DooleyBull06 said:

You’re gonna see super leagues. The Big Ten wants to expand. As does the ACC and PAC 12. There’s already rumors of the Big Ten going after Pitt and Syracuse. Trying to get Notre Dame. And as @UBinMDsaid, Kansas and Iowa State. The PAC 12 has wanted Oklahoma State for the longest. I’m sure the Big 12 will want to stay relevant as a conference. 

Could this be the time to jump to C-USA or the American? Would those be worth it? 

Iowa State to the Big 10 is unlikely.  They are not an AAU school. (Nebraska was tossed after being admitted to the Big 10.) Neither is Notre Dame.  Also would Notre Dame be willing to give up its NBC money?

[Tee4three]

Its going to be interesting to see how conferences shake out

These coming years are prime years to make a move with Ub, wonder if a conference would take a chance on the largest public university in new York 

[mikescherrer8]

All I know is, we need to get the f*** out of the MAC. It’s time to expand and upgrade. And the university should be pushing for it.

[UBlearns]

While there will obviously be indirect fallout from conference realignment (in terms of a total shakeup of the college sports landscape, potential collapse of the Big 12 as we know it, beginning of formation of superconferences), I'd be pretty surprised if UB was a major player in any move.

A jump to the AAC - as the AAC is currently constructed - would absolutely be a step-up for UB, and something the administrators should consider if given the opportunity.  That said, I wonder what the AAC will look like after this shakes out.  The real athletic "meat" of the conference - teams like Houston, Cincinnati, Memphis, UCF, SMU - are all prime candidates for Big 12 expansion if the Big 12 tries to survive.  The AAC minus those schools in some combination looks vastly different.  No offense to schools like East Carolina, Tulane, Tulsa - but that's a much different conference than the AAC as we know it.

While I can see some logic in the C-USA - honestly, I'm not convinced it's better than the MAC.  Ever since it was raided by the American, it's not the same conference.  It's a 1-bid basketball conference that's on par with the MAC.  C-USA football is better, but not by much, and that's only because the MAC is the worst FBS conference.  The MAC is 10th in terms of FBS conferences, but right now C-USA is 9th.  I don't really think C-USA is an upgrade at this point.  It was back in the day when Marshall jumped, but I'm not sure it is at this point.

[Slim]

1 hour ago, UBlearns said:

While there will obviously be indirect fallout from conference realignment (in terms of a total shakeup of the college sports landscape, potential collapse of the Big 12 as we know it, beginning of formation of superconferences), I'd be pretty surprised if UB was a major player in any move.

A jump to the AAC - as the AAC is currently constructed - would absolutely be a step-up for UB, and something the administrators should consider if given the opportunity.  That said, I wonder what the AAC will look like after this shakes out.  The real athletic "meat" of the conference - teams like Houston, Cincinnati, Memphis, UCF, SMU - are all prime candidates for Big 12 expansion if the Big 12 tries to survive.  The AAC minus those schools in some combination looks vastly different.  No offense to schools like East Carolina, Tulane, Tulsa - but that's a much different conference than the AAC as we know it.

While I can see some logic in the C-USA - honestly, I'm not convinced it's better than the MAC.  Ever since it was raided by the American, it's not the same conference.  It's a 1-bid basketball conference that's on par with the MAC.  C-USA football is better, but not by much, and that's only because the MAC is the worst FBS conference.  The MAC is 10th in terms of FBS conferences, but right now C-USA is 9th.  I don't really think C-USA is an upgrade at this point.  It was back in the day when Marshall jumped, but I'm not sure it is at this point.

Let's look at this from another angle: ... The MAC is probably the most solid mid-major conference in the country, fb/bb. Instead of looking to exit, I would be looking at teams like Iowa State and Cincinnati (a charter member of the MAC)to find a way to bring them into the league. Surely that would mean re-doing the ESPN TV deal (which is still one of the best on the books) and perhaps changing conference championship payouts from equal shares to % based on reg season titles/NCAA Appearances and so forth. Yes, that's probably a tougher negotiation overall - but for a team like Cincinnati, which missed out on the FB Playoffs last season - it (and Iowa State) might find easier and more consistent FB Playoff entree by winning the MAC. ...

The other longterm benefit - much like when Marshall joined the league - is it will force the rest of the MAC to step up or get left behind. Buffalo is already making that move. Toledo is trying. After that most MAC teams seem to focus on one main $$$ sport (NIU-FB, Akron-BB). That could change. Finally Cincy would give the MAC a 7th Ohio team which may not sit well with some and Iowa State may be step outside of the MAC's traditional footprint which may not sit well with some (but should be a plus in my mind).

But overall, I believe trying to expand 'up' is better for the MAC as a whole, and for individual teams looking for greener pastures elsewhere, over expanding out (WKY, Marshall and others), or individually leaving for another league.

[DocCas86]

1 hour ago, Slim said:

Let's look at this from another angle: ... The MAC is probably the most solid mid-major conference in the country, fb/bb. Instead of looking to exit, I would be looking at teams like Iowa State and Cincinnati (a charter member of the MAC)to find a way to bring them into the league. Surely that would mean re-doing the ESPN TV deal (which is still one of the best on the books) and perhaps changing conference championship payouts from equal shares to % based on reg season titles/NCAA Appearances and so forth. Yes, that's probably a tougher negotiation overall - but for a team like Cincinnati, which missed out on the FB Playoffs last season - it (and Iowa State) might find easier and more consistent FB Playoff entree by winning the MAC. ...

The other longterm benefit - much like when Marshall joined the league - is it will force the rest of the MAC to step up or get left behind. Buffalo is already making that move. Toledo is trying. After that most MAC teams seem to focus on one main $$$ sport (NIU-FB, Akron-BB). That could change. Finally Cincy would give the MAC a 7th Ohio team which may not sit well with some and Iowa State may be step outside of the MAC's traditional footprint which may not sit well with some (but should be a plus in my mind).

But overall, I believe trying to expand 'up' is better for the MAC as a whole, and for individual teams looking for greener pastures elsewhere, over expanding out (WKY, Marshall and others), or individually leaving for another league.

Slim certainly presents an interesting possibility.

I took a different approach.  I looked at CUSA and see a conference with a large geographic footprint.  I split CUSA to merge teams more geographically aligned with MAC for potential partial merger with the MAC.  What I initially came up with from a football perspective was about on par with MAC, so I came up with two Sun Belt teams that would strengthen football and are not too far flung geographically.  Here is what I came up with

I am sure there are a million reasons why this wouldn't work.  For starters, it breaks up CUSA (separating the teams in the south (GA, FL, TX).  I need  a couple more  teams (other MAC east teams, Cincy?).   However, this would be a fairly competitive league, especially looking at the last season.  Try to be gentle with my dreamer mentality.

Edited July 25, 2021 by DocCas86

[DooleyBull06]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.buckys5thquarter.com/platform/amp/2021/7/24/22590755/conference-realignment-2021-college-football-big-ten-sec-big-12-texas-oklahoma-kansas-iowa-state

Fun read at all the possibilities 

[DocCas86]

https://sports.yahoo.com/latest-conference-realignment-rumor-states-123925223.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAAuEZIgDtDFw7l8Q7edo9F9zQy2cSJtHCilv27dRFyYLVKBsFixU-QXvBZr6WZye3QUhc43UabR1uGScQBprs2iRqDDUyTHLZcBGAkNovTM6EkGExJoWFuP8b3neT9NdGz66nkxQzBV8vjJaix0OG5Ajo3Gi0wr1ErTz1SXOR9JZ

Michigan, Ohio State, Clemson and Florida State rumored to be going to SEC as well!

[squire17]

The huge super-conferences are already unwieldy when it comes to equitable scheduling within said conferences. This could be offset by the NCAA acknowledging that much of college sports is a financially lucrative business. It could allow more games per week…which would increase revenues, pay for the expanded financial benefits of the student athletes, and mitigate the uneven scheduling that arises from super conferences. The Supreme Court has weighed in. Now is the time to further the nation’s addiction to bread and circus.

[Slim]

4 minutes ago, squire17 said:

The huge super-conferences are already unwieldy when it comes to equitable scheduling within said conferences. This could be offset by the NCAA acknowledging that much of college sports is a financially lucrative business. It could allow more games per week…which would increase revenues, pay for the expanded financial benefits of the student athletes, and mitigate the uneven scheduling that arises from super conferences. The Supreme Court has weighed in. Now is the time to further the nation’s addiction to bread and circus.

I think the NCAA - gutless as the organization/Emmert is - should mandate (for basketball) no more than 20 conference games and a max of 30 regular season games (not counting NCAA/Conference Tournaments). It should also mandate for any team to get an at-large bid to the tournament it must be 2-games above .500 in league play and/or have 2 or more Top 35 RPI non-conference wins. This Syracuse NCAA formula (.500 ACC 8-2 non-con) has got to stop.

[Tee4three]

I wonder if the future is football being separated from conference affiliations or having their own affiliations that are different from other sports

 

[RecoveringHillbilly]

There is a lot being thrown out there with little clarity, lots of click bait, some logical and some wishful. And tons of 'truthiness": One tweet says Kansas has a call with Big10 set up, another sports writer says no there isn't, someone retorts it is calls to schools not the Big10 offices. Someone reports A&M was kept in the dark for months by the SEC, then reporters push back and say they have heard that is false.

People will clamor the other conferences have to react but it is not so easy, there are many issues with GoR, long TV deals and core rivalries. It is only the Big12 who have to clamor, just like the Big East before them. Both were always unstable leagues for various reasons. Texas didn't like that the recent Big12 tv contract look-in did not look so hot. And Oklahoma got sick of being pushed into way too many 11am kickoffs to satisfy tv demands. It makes sense for them to look elsewhere

The PAC12 have said they are in no rush but will listen, which is wise. The Big10 can sit and wait as they print money just as well as the SEC. Sure they could take Kansas and Iowa St easily (both are AAU), but they will likely wait and see. The ACC can wait forever for Notre Dame (contractually the Domers can only join the ACC). I am a WVU fan and I'd be shocked if they invited the 'eers, as much as WVU fans are pushing hard once again for an ACC invite. So I think the Big 12 stays together and adds 2-4 teams.

Edited July 26, 2021 by RecoveringHillbilly

[Slim]

18 minutes ago, Tee4three said:

I wonder if the future is football being separated from conference affiliations or having their own affiliations that are different from other sports

 

This makes sense, particularly considering there are (a) roughly just a third of the D1 membership that plays D1 football and (b) only roughly a fourth (if that) from those schools are truly power football teams.

Strong as the SEC is, realistically only half or less can truly be considered a 'power' team. For the sake of argument, let's say Ohio State is the Jerry Quarry of power conference teams. How many SEC-B12-PAC12-B10-ACC teams in a given year can measure up to them? 5-10 at most.

I say let FB go its own way. The NCAA should police and govern the rest of the sports harshly but fairly to clean this stuff up. Let the cheaters cheat among themselves in FB.

 

[BrooklynBull]

Here is a thought, assuming BC finally stops its grudge match with UConn.  UB and UConn to the ACC.  I know UConn just went back into the Big East, but it cannot survive as a FBS Independent.  The ACC would like its basketball.  It would renew its Big East rivalry with Syracuse and Pitt.  It gives the ACC additional TV markets, most notably the biggest in New York City (although New York City could careless about college athletics in general).   Having that market for UConn would allow an increase in coverage fees for the ACC Network in an area that probably has over 1,000,000 cable homes, $0.50 a month it would increase revenue by $6,000,00.00 per year.

UB creates good travel partners for basketball teaming up with Pitt or Syracuse.  UConn would team up with BC.

[BrooklynBull]

52 minutes ago, BrooklynBull said:

Here is a thought, assuming BC finally stops its grudge match with UConn.  UB and UConn to the ACC.  I know UConn just went back into the Big East, but it cannot survive as a FBS Independent.  The ACC would like its basketball.  It would renew its Big East rivalry with Syracuse and Pitt.  It gives the ACC additional TV markets, most notably the biggest in New York City (although New York City could careless about college athletics in general).   Having that market for UConn would allow an increase in coverage fees for the ACC Network in an area that probably has over 1,000,000 cable homes, $0.50 a month it would increase revenue by $6,000,00.00 per year.

UB creates good travel partners for basketball teaming up with Pitt or Syracuse.  UConn would team up with BC.

The Athletic reports that West Virginia would prefer to move to the ACC if the Big 12 falls apart.  That would work well for them to take to UB as well to have balanced divisions for football.  West Virginia and Pitt would be travel partners, as would UB and Syracuse.

[UBinMD]

1 hour ago, BrooklynBull said:

The Athletic reports that West Virginia would prefer to move to the ACC if the Big 12 falls apart.  That would work well for them to take to UB as well to have balanced divisions for football.  West Virginia and Pitt would be travel partners, as would UB and Syracuse.

I would be very interested in that league!

[Gxtrex]

19 minutes ago, UBinMD said:

I would be very interested in that league!

That would be a huge step up from the MAC obviously.  Id be pumped, but I would also be worried we would be stuck in the cellar there like Boston College is basketball wise.  Maybe the American first assuming it does not get dismantled by all of this?

[UB05]

1 hour ago, Gxtrex said:

That would be a huge step up from the MAC obviously.  Id be pumped, but I would also be worried we would be stuck in the cellar there like Boston College is basketball wise.  Maybe the American first assuming it does not get dismantled by all of this?

I think we’d rather go as high as we can as quickly as we can, because there’s no guarantee you can just move again to a different, better conference a decade later. I honestly don’t know if UB is capable of moving up, just on donor base alone. 

[Gxtrex]

3 hours ago, UB05 said:

I think we’d rather go as high as we can as quickly as we can, because there’s no guarantee you can just move again to a different, better conference a decade later. I honestly don’t know if UB is capable of moving up, just on donor base alone. 

Of course if the B10 or ACC calls we move.  We have the student population and academics but lack the facilities.  We would get a large increase in revenue sharing but we lack the facilities compared to those schools. Would we be able to get passed that at the beginning and get an invite?

[Buffalobonnie]

UB to the ACC? Big 10?  Didn't you guys just get rid of soccer and baseball because they were too expensive? Did you get a new football stadium?    Don't forget us when you go to the ACC.