Topic: Big 12: ESPN and AAC conspired to kill off league

[MUsince96]

https://twitter.com/dennisdoddcbs/status/1420512136208568324?s=21

https://twitter.com/brett_mcmurphy/status/1420510030722486275?s=21

[herd2win]

This whole mess was started by ESPN and they continue to kill college sports.

[MUther]

Put those on the CUSA board too please

NVM I linked this thread

[MUther]

I kept saying that ESPN was calling all the shots and people had to do what they were told.  They want that league dead.  But they're going to screw the AAC to once they make their super league of the remaining 4 power conferences. 

[MUsince96]

I don?t know the legality of all this. I wonder if they?ll continue with the plan or is this corporate tampering? Can AAC be charged with collusion? I legit don?t know. But it?s definitely not a good look.

[Johns1124]

Killing off Big 12 makes no dam sense. All you are doing is making some conferences bigger and flying
teams from one end of the US to the other. You will have the same problem many Too Large football
conferences have, teams that don't play each other every year. Instead, see each other once every 3-4 years.
How many times have we been to UTSA in the last decade, twice?

All this would do is make the AAC possibly a P6 conference by default. Everything else remains the same and certain
teams will be racking up some fairly good frequent flyer miles.

[elginherd]

There is a good article on Awful Announcing about this.

In a nutshell it posits that while about 80% of FBS games are on an ESPN property, only 3 of the last 10 most watched games were on those properties. Essentially, the article says that OU, the Steers & Queers, SEC's & ESPN's best financial interests are better served by denutting FOX in light of the impending ESPN rights to the SEC.

Causing the fracturing of the current Big 12 basically leaves FOX out of eastern time zone P5 CFB. If renegotionating the AAC's money upward makes that happen by adding Big 12 refuges, then the added AAC dollars will be profitable.

[coalherd]

Increasingly, it seems, the Big 12 perceives that its only recourse to survival is to ferret out the "bogeymen" behind its pending demise, hit em where it hurts the most, in the pocketbooks, by threatening potential lawsuits, litigation, etc., which could drag out for a protracted period.  Leaving, as often is usual, no real winners or losers, except of course, the guys with the briefcases, the LAWYERS!!!

[MUther]

Killing off Big 12 makes no dam sense. All you are doing is making some conferences bigger and flying
teams from one end of the US to the other. You will have the same problem many Too Large football
conferences have, teams that don't play each other every year. Instead, see each other once every 3-4 years.
How many times have we been to UTSA in the last decade, twice?

All this would do is make the AAC possibly a P6 conference by default. Everything else remains the same and certain
teams will be racking up some fairly good frequent flyer miles.

With 16 team leagues, you play your division and you play half the other division home/away and then the other half home/away.  You can even alternate halves so you play everyone every 2 years.  You have room for one OOC game and the rest of the interconference play comes from the playoffs if you make it.  Then there's no need for playing G5 teams or FCS.  Remember just because CUSA mucks it all up doesn't mean the ESPN Super Leagues will.  It's a perfect set up and the worst league will still be geographically closer together than the abomination that we're in right now. And each team in it will be making 50 times what our whole league does per year.

[Toro Toro Taxi]

Makes sense to me . As much money/viewers as ESPN has been hemorrhaging the last few years , they gotta do something .

[Johns1124]

There is a good article on Awful Announcing about this.

In a nutshell it posits that while about 80% of FBS games are on an ESPN property, only 3 of the last 10 most watched games were on those properties. Essentially, the article says that OU, the Steers & Queers, SEC's & ESPN's best financial interests are better served by denutting FOX in light of the impending ESPN rights to the SEC.

Causing the fracturing of the current Big 12 basically leaves FOX out of eastern time zone P5 CFB. If renegotionating the AAC's money upward makes that happen by adding Big 12 refuges, then the added AAC dollars will be profitable.

Have a link on that? I would love to read how ESPN is trying to put the squeeze on Fox.

[herdorbust]

College football has been a cluster for a long time. It?s just really showing it?s ugly head now. The greed in college football means way more than the game. The G5 should have had the balls a long time ago to break off and form their own playoff. But they kept chasing the 1-2 crumbs sprinkled for them to nibble on.

[svherd]

The AAC is slimy. Their commish is a PT Barnum. What a mess. The B12 should sue ESPN and the AAC

[Huffnagel]

So it looks like ESPN will slide Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC, most likely place WVU in the ACC and possibly place the remaining 7 teams in the AAC to make an 18 team conference? Or do you guys see a couple more of the Big 12 teams going elsewhere, either to the PAC 12 or Big Ten?

[elginherd]

Have a link on that? I would love to read how ESPN is trying to put the squeeze on Fox.

I'll post in the morning...

[chris88]

If true, who would really be surprised?  ESPN has been conspiring with the top schools to hijack the sport for a long time.  ESPN shouldn't worry about being sued by B12, they should be worried about being sued by Fox Sports and whatever entity currently owns them + federal antitrust lawyers.  When are we going to see the "Outside the Lines" or "30-for30" episode about how ESPN/Disney has been silently destroying the competitive nature of the sport behind the scenes to increase profits for themselves and a few schools? The hypocrisy of the "woke" network is glaringly obvious. And don't believe for a second that a secondary outcome goal wouldn't be for Notre Dame to have to join one of the conferences. Kill the B12/Fox, kill Notre Dame/NBC arrangement.

The AD's/Presidents of the other 100+ institutions have played their role as blind sheep well.  Yes, ESPN. Yes OSU, Michigan, Penn St, Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Florida, Georgia, Tenn, Clemson, Texas, Oklahoma, USC. Just keep us in the money loop (P5s not named here) and give us an access point to playoff and some tv exposure (G5 schools).  Just promise us we'll be included. Like a groveling spouse who is willing to do anything for the other to stay, while knowing they'll be leaving as soon as it is convenient. No foresight at all.

Too bad Dan Shoemaker is not around to give us his take.

[MUther]

So maybe Marshall and UAB go to the Big 12 now that they're pissed off at the AAC.  I'm sure WVU will help us get in.  lol  Wouldn't that be great if the AAC teams just screwed themselves out of that opportunity.  And never being able to schedule one of those teams again.......ever.  That would really screw over Houston and SMU and probably Tulane.  So many implications to this mess.

[elginherd]

Have a link on that? I would love to read how ESPN is trying to put the squeeze on Fox.

https://awfulannouncing.com/oklahoma-texas-sec-espn.htmlespn/biggest-winner-

Another piece has since been posted there regarding a cease & desist order against ESPN.

[MUther]

The AAC fans think they were going to be the fifth power conference.  They don't realize they are about to be sued for conspiring to break up a 3rd party contract worth a billion dollars.  They could actually be disbanded in bankruptcy and ESPN will be just fine.  That is probably why ESPN used the AAC.  They're expendable and greedy.  They're actually making up pods that include Big12 members on their board.  It's the best comedy in a long time how delusional they really are.

https://csnbbs.com/thread-926024.html

[puma]

This stuff keeps getting crazier by the day. I had no idea that the AAC would collude to loot the Big 12. I figured there was enough money in the TV contracts that it would be worth it for a core group of Big 12 schools to stick around and collect the exit fees and then just in-fill with the top 3 or 4 AAC teams plus BYU. The whole ESPN/AAC thing is basically predicated on killing the Big 12 in its entirety.

There's some serious lawsuit potential here. It's billion dollar industry. It's probably just a matter of time before state AGs start getting involved.

[bbcard1]

The AAC is slimy. Their commish is a PT Barnum. What a mess. The B12 should sue ESPN and the AAC

I both completely agree and wish Conference USA had had a commissioner like that a long time ago.

[svherd]

I both completely agree and wish Conference USA had had a commissioner like that a long time ago.

Yep. I'll give Aresco credit, the man knows how to pimp his league and keep it in the headlines. He doesn't take a back seat in that regard.

[The E-Man]

So maybe Marshall and UAB go to the Big 12 now that they're pissed off at the AAC.  I'm sure WVU will help us get in.  lol  Wouldn't that be great if the AAC teams just screwed themselves out of that opportunity.  And never being able to schedule one of those teams again.......ever.  That would really screw over Houston and SMU and probably Tulane.  So many implications to this mess.

Had we been winning CUSA and dominating this conference, we would be in serious discussions about being invited to another conference. So for all the Herd fans that loved Doc Holliday and defended Hamrick for keeping him, we're not going to get a sniff from this new alignment unless it's the Sun Belt Conference.

[herd2win]

Had we been winning CUSA and dominating this conference, we would be in serious discussions about being invited to another conference. So for all the Herd fans that loved Doc Holliday and defended Hamrick for keeping him, we're not going to get a sniff from this new alignment unless it's the Sun Belt Conference.

Name 1 team that has dominates CUSA?UAB will get the invite because money?Docs record is better than Dannys and you seem not to mention him?we have not dominated basketball either.

UAB has a nice new stadium and has money from the Alabama system.

[herdorbust]

Name 1 team that has dominates CUSA?UAB will get the invite because money?Docs record is better than Dannys and you seem not to mention him?we have not dominated basketball either.

UAB has a nice new stadium and has money from the Alabama system.

But you say football drives the train. I guess that is why Doc was such a crucial mistake keeping him so long. The money train went off the tracks too many times.