Smoke your cigars and enjoy the band while you can....

[steve dave]

Dodds doesn't know crap about crap

[mcmwcat]

i think he means the $ per team won't go down even if we add crap teams.  however , it might go up.

DD and KK talk about this at the 7:30 mark of this podcast: http://www.stationcaster.com/player_skinned.php?s=26&c=375&f=544181 

[steve dave]

i think he means the $ per team won't go down even if we add crap teams.  however , it might go up.

DD and KK talk about this at the 7:30 mark of this podcast: http://www.stationcaster.com/player_skinned.php?s=26&c=375&f=544181

good call mcmw

[Dr Rick Daris]

i think he means the $ per team won't go down even if we add crap teams.  however , it might go up.

DD and KK talk about this at the 7:30 mark of this podcast: http://www.stationcaster.com/player_skinned.php?s=26&c=375&f=544181

good call mcmw

that's how i took it too. also, could espn be any more in love with the big12? i don't think they could.

[steve dave]

Chip Brown
Orangebloods.com Columnist

Talk about it in Inside the 40 Acres
What the Big 12 is saying publicly and privately about possible expansion are two different things, it seems.

While the Big 12 athletic directors came out publicly Wednesday saying the league is happy and strong at 10 schools, one source in the Big 12 told Orangebloods.com Thursday, there would be interest right now in adding Notre Dame, even if the Irish remained independent in football.

"There isn't interest in expansion outside of Notre Dame," the source said.

Under proposals discussed between the Big 12 and Notre Dame, the Irish could bring their non-football sports to the Big 12 and play up to six football games against the Big 12 while remaining independent in football.

That would allow the Irish to keep its NBC contract for football, which runs through the 2015 season.

Even interim commissioner Chuck Neinas said publicly Wednesday when asked if Notre Dame was to pick up the phone and call the Big 12, "We'd accept that call."

Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick, a close colleague of Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds, said at Big East meetings earlier this month the Irish are content right where they are.

Orangebloods.com reported earlier this month there had been informal efforts made on behalf of Atlantic Coast Conference schools Florida State, Clemson, Virginia Tech, Miami and Georgia Tech to guage the interest in expansion by the Big 12.

Another source in the Big 12 said athletic directors in the league are making no contingency plans on expansion based on if certain schools express interest or if a proposed four-team playoff takes a certain format.

"There's just no urgency right now for the Big 12 to be proactive," the source said.

But another key Big 12 source told Orangebloods.com Thursday of potential realignment, "There could be a flurry of activity on all fronts once the new BCS playoff format is announced."

The Big 12 athletic directors on Wednesday made clear their desires about several things, including:

****A format for a potential four-team playoff in college football (have a selection committee pick the best four teams at-large because the current system doesn't give strength of schedule enough weight)

"There needs to be a human element to kind of handle the unknowns. You can't always say computers get it right or opinion polls will get it perfect,'' Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione said. "You still need someone with good, rational thinking to deal with unforseen circumstances that may come up. Who knows what form that takes but some form of human element that gets college football to the point of determining the best teams.''

****Where the semifinal games should be played (within the current bowl structure)

****Where the championship game should be played (bid it out to a city like the Final Four and Super Bowl do).

****And the Big 12 athletic directors publicly expressed their desire to remain a 10-team league - for now.

"We think we're positioned extremely well," said Iowa State's Jamie Pollard, chairman of the Big 12 athletic directors. "I don't think there is anything that has transpired that would (make) us talk about that anytime in the near future. At the same time I think it's important to say our heads aren't buried in the sand."

Added interim commissioner Chuck Neinas:

"The future is very bright for the Big 12 Conference," he said. "There is no hurry to consider expansion. You have to remember where we were and where we are. We have to build family unity. We have the opportunity for two new members to come into the Conference. We have a very cooperative spirit and something to build on. When you build a house, you build the foundation first.

"Are we happy and satisfied at 10? Yes. We have not reached out to Florida State nor have we been contacted by Florida State."

Interestingly, incoming commissioner Bob Bowlsby didn't arrive for the Big 12 meetings until late on Wednesday, after the athletic directors had met and discussed the pros and cons of expansion as well as the Big 12's position on a college playoff format.

Bowlsby will be present at meetings on Thursday, when Pollard will report the athletic directors' findings to the league's presidents and chancellors, as well as on Friday, when league revenue distributions are announced.

For the most part, Neinas and Pollard, speaking on behalf of the league athletic directors, said all the right things about the positives of being a 10-team league for now.

The ADs love having round-robin scheduling for league games in football and the double round-robin in basketball. The TV money will be there once the Tier 1 deal with ABC/ESPN is finalized (roughly $20 million per school); along with a 13-year granting of Tier 1 and 2 TV rights by schools back to the conference to cement their commitment to each other.

And Pollard reminded everyone of one of the big pitfalls of once again becoming a 12-team league, thus resuming a conference title game and all the complications of scheduling because the round-robin play is eliminated.

"We appreciate the position we're in by not having a championship game," Pollard said. "Our champion can get there with one less game. It's a good position to be in."

"The first time somebody's best team gets knocked out of a four-team playoff because they lost their championship game to a 7-5 team or 8-4 team, we'll see how long they want to keep a championship game," Pollard added.

But when Pollard said, "I don't think there is anything that has transpired that would (make) us talk about (expansion) anytime in the near future," the door was left open for how the new college playoff format could affect the college landscape.

The conference commissioners are meeting in Chicago on June 13 to begin hammering out their difference of opinions on how the playoff should function. The Big 12 and SEC favor selecting the four best teams. The Big Ten and Pac-12 favor some component or hybrid that requires a majority of the teams selected are conference champions.

Some at the Big 12 meetings snickered privately at the conference champions model because it seemed to try to ensure the Big Ten and Pac-12 would always have a representative in the playoff. Only one Big Ten school has ever played for a BCS national title (Ohio State). The Pac-12 has had two (USC and Oregon).

But Neinas used the fact that Stanford was ranked ahead of Oregon at the end of last year as an example of how the current formula (coaches poll, Harris poll and computer rankings) fail to factor in strength of schedule.

Neinas noted that Oregon won at Stanford; won the Pac-12 title; and played LSU on the road and still finished behind Stanford in the final BCS rankings and would have been left out of a four-team playoff last year, while Stanford would have been in.

So the 11 conference commissioners and Notre Dame will get together in Chicago on June 13 to hammer out a final format. Then, on June 20, a proposal will be considered by the oversight committee made up of presidents and chancellors. Once that proposal is finalized is when some in the Big 12 think there could be a potential stir in realignment. Maybe not. But maybe.

Stay tuned.

[steve dave]

Interestingly, incoming commissioner Bob Bowlsby didn't arrive for the Big 12 meetings until late on Wednesday, after the athletic directors had met and discussed the pros and cons of expansion as well as the Big 12's position on a college playoff format.

lol

["storm"nut]

it could also be as it is and the Big 12 knows that the $20 million is good, while ESPN and Fox knows that if the Big 12 lands ND then they will not have to pay any more.

[Pete]

i think he means the $ per team won't go down even if we add crap teams.  however , it might go up.

DD and KK talk about this at the 7:30 mark of this podcast: http://www.stationcaster.com/player_skinned.php?s=26&c=375&f=544181

good call mcmw

that's how i took it too. also, could espn be any more in love with the big12? i don't think they could.

Ya, definitely good call mcmw.

My "shut the eff up Dennis Dodd" reflexes are quite honed...sometimes they just fire off.

[Dugout DickStone]

i think he means the $ per team won't go down even if we add crap teams.  however , it might go up.

DD and KK talk about this at the 7:30 mark of this podcast: http://www.stationcaster.com/player_skinned.php?s=26&c=375&f=544181

good call mcmw

that's how i took it too. also, could espn be any more in love with the big12? i don't think they could.

Ya, definitely good call mcmw.

My "shut the eff up Dennis Dodd" reflexes are quite honed...sometimes they just fire off.

I was hoping you'd enjoy the snake handling story I posted.

[BMWWcat]

"There's just no urgency right now for the Big 12 to be proactive," the source said.
 

[Pete]

I was hoping you'd enjoy the snake handling story I posted.

I do.  It's glorious.  The Lord truly does work in mysterious ways. 

[Panjandrum]

Pan....the eff is this crap?

The new Big 12 TV deal is expected to be announced any day, perhaps here this week as a celebration of the league's new-found strength. Within that deal is a clause that will give any new expansion candidates the same money as the current members (estimated to be at least $20 million per year).

One industry source said that number applies whether the Big 12 invites, "Appalachian State or Florida State." And according to another industry source, ESPN wouldn't stand in the way of Big 12 expansion even after negotiating a new deal with the ACC.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/story/19206833/big-12s-born-again-and-feeling-its-oats-sitting-at-10-12-or-14


Can that be right?

Well, think of it this way.

If FSU, or any other school, joins the conference, and they get their guaranteed $20 million, to get the contract escalated $1 million for each of the ten existing member schools, FSU has to bring $30 million in value to the conference, annually (their split plus 10 million divided ten ways).  The following school would need to be worth $31 million (their split plus 11 million split eleven ways).  Now, is FSU worth $30 million a year?  Eh, probably.  Is Clemson worth $31 million?  Eh, probably not. 

If we were able to negotiate a CCG at the Big Ten's rate ($2 million per school/year), then we'd all be looking at a $22 million payout.  That's pretty good.  That would put us at the same level as the Big Ten's payout to member schools this year for all three tiers (since the BTN owns all Tier 2 and Tier 3 rights).

In the grand scheme of things, I can easily see why Texas would want to stay at ten.  An extra $2-3 million doesn't mean anything to them.  That's less than 2% of gross revenue per year.  The potential for getting into the playoff more easily with ten teams outweighs that dollar amount.

However, for the remaining nine teams, it would most likely be very beneficial to add teams like FSU and Clemson to start a network that would be in over 60 million homes (in our footprint).  Also, if the nine teams created a Big 12 Network, and we started the Tier 3 deal with ESPN, you could create a model where we could more easily swap programming with the LHN and get those bundled together.  Therefore, the LHN could finally get on some national carriers, and the rest of us may be able to get a flat rate for subscriber fees and a variable amount of advertising revenue coming in from Tier 3.  I don't know how you could make this work since Fox owns all of our cable rights at the moment, but for the sake of argument, I think we could make it work because they'd have ample quality content for their money should we add quality programs like FSU and Clemson.

So, yeah, it makes sense that new members would get the same cut.  I feel like we could see a minor escalator for FSU and Clemson and a little boost from a CCG.  But Texas is right; if we held out for FSU and ND and stopped there, that's where the REAL money would come from in Tier 1 and Tier 2, and that benefits Texas.  But if ND comes, they're getting a network (presumably), so the remaining ten teams would probably not get the same value in a network that they would if we went to 14 and threw Clemson and GT/Pitt/Louisville into the mix.

[Dr Rick Daris]

I was hoping you'd enjoy the snake handling story I posted.

I do.  It's glorious.  The Lord truly does work in mysterious ways.

it's really amazing how we traded mu for the only school in the country that is more mu than mu is. so blessed.

[Panjandrum]

"There's just no urgency right now for the Big 12 to be proactive," the source said.
 

Well, truthfully, there isn't.  We'll still make more money, the ACC schools will not sign a GOR (FSU and Clemson will not sign anything like that hoping for an invite from the Big 12 or SEC), and we can invite ND for non-revenue sports and wait until they feel like jumping and have our pick of any school in the nation for number 12.

I think a lot of people, including me, have been working under the premise that we'd have to invite FSU or someone like that to entice ND to join based on the strength of the conference.  However, if ND feels like this is a place they'd ultimately like to land, we'd be able to make anyone work at #12 with the money we'd be able to get out of it.

I guess it all hinges on how far and how serious Notre Dame is in ultimately joining.

[steve dave]

Thursday, May 31, 2012Quick Update
Just a quick update before I head out of town.

I received an email from my buddy about 20 minutes ago saying not to believe the "Big 12 is happy at 10" stuff  and that the "Big 12 was ready to move on expansion soon."

He confirmed my belief that we'll have resolution on expansion by the end of June with possible movement after the BCS vote on June 20th.

Previously  he has  advised me not to but much stock in reports of Notre Dame joining the conference and expressed his belief that Notre Dame could make more money as a member of the Big 10. His believes that all Notre Dame football games would be picked up as either T1 or T2 broadcasts and that T3 rights to basketball and olympic sports would earn the Irish more money as part of the Big 10 Network.

He also says that everyone except Texas is against Notre Dame as an associate member and right now the vote would be 7-1 or 9-1 against (counting WVU and TCU) allowing Notre Dame in without football.  The idea that Notre Dame would play only select members of the Big 12 in football until they can join as a full member is not popular and will not be approved.
Posted by The Dude of WV at 10:12 AM 0 comments  Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to Facebook
What did you expect?


Imagine the scene: Chuck Neinas  walks up the podium and boldly declares “With the 11th and 12th picks in the college football expansion draft the Big 12 conference selects Florida State and Clemson universities.”


The Twitterverse would have exploded.


Instead the Big 12 threw a big wet blanket on expansion.


The Big 12 is happy with 10.


The Big 12 hasn’t contacted either FSU or Clemson.


Neinas denied it all.


Before you hit the panic button think back to last year when SEC commissioner Mike Slive sated the SEC was happy with 12.


The SEC was so happy with 12 that they added Texas A&M.


Slive then went on record saying the SEC was happy with 13.


Somebody in Birmingham must have suffered from triskaidekaphobia because the SEC promptly added Missouri.


Get the picture?


We should have all learned by now when a conference says it’s happy with x number of members that expansion is just around the corner.


And expansion is just around the corner for the Big 12 with the addition of FSU and Clemson.


FSU and Clemson are still on track, but nothing will happen until Bob Bowlsby takes office and the BCS vote is finalized.


It’s that BCS vote that will determine if the Big 12 expands to 12 or  14.


If Notre Dame is forced into a conference by the new BCS deal then it’s a solid bet that the Big 12 will be their new home.


And if you doubt expansion is still on track consider what Bowlsby said yesterday to Dennis Dodd: “The Big 12 certainly doesn't want to make the same mistake three times, admiring that national landscape while the world passes it by.”


Miscellany


I suggest that everyone read Dennis Dodd’s article posted last night:


http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/story/19206833/big-12s-born-again-and-feeling-its-oats-sitting-at-10-12-or-14


But when you do don’t overreact to the dollar numbers mentioned.  The key here is the “at least $20 million”. The number with FSU and Clemson is expected to be closer to $25 million without the money for a championship game or the new champions bowl.


In Dodd’s story he says “One industry source said that number applies whether the Big 12 invites, "Appalachian State or Florida State." but that’s not an accurate portrayal of the contract. 


FSU will be the first to move. FSU will more than likely submit a written request to be considered for Big 12 membership along with the necessary paperwork shortly after the BCS vote on June 20th.  I’m not going to put any date on it but if we haven’t heard word of FSU’s intentions by the end of June I’ll start to worry.


Contrary to popular belief withdrawing from the ACC before applying is not required by the Big 12. WVU accepted an invitation to the Big 12 and then sent notice to the Big East.


Clemson is still 1 or 2 votes shy of having their Board of Trustees approve a move to the Big 12. Once its clear that the ACC is effectively out of the picture for the BCS playoff system its expected Clemson will have all the votes it needs.


FSU’s Board of Trustee is ready to move. If they had their way FSU would have danced into the Big 12 meetings with cowboy hats singing “Home on the Range”.

[AbeFroman]

  <--- but with all the colors of every Big 12 team painted on his face.

[EMAWmeister]

Sorry if LUKEmeister, but OU Network is going live this fall and showing a game.

[steve dave]

Sorry if LUKEmeister, but OU Network is going live this fall and showing a game.

well, that's good

[Rage Against the McKee]

Sorry if LUKEmeister, but OU Network is going live this fall and showing a game.

Isn't their network just an extra game being aired on Fox Sports or something like that?

[steve dave]

Sorry if LUKEmeister, but OU Network is going live this fall and showing a game.

Isn't their network just an extra game being aired on Fox Sports or something like that?

well, that's not so good

[Panjandrum]

Sorry if LUKEmeister, but OU Network is going live this fall and showing a game.

Do we know that for sure?  I've never been able to find confirmation that they signed the deal.  I think they had something lined up and everyone assumed it was a done deal.  But I haven't heard anything official.

[Panjandrum]

Sorry if LUKEmeister, but OU Network is going live this fall and showing a game.

Isn't their network just an extra game being aired on Fox Sports or something like that?

well, that's not so good

It's supposed to be 1000 hours of content and Tier 3 games on FSN regional broadcasts.

It's a glorified and expanded version of what we do with FSN KC for basketball, IMO.  They'll just brand it as the Sooner Network, and it will show on FSN Oklahoma.

[steve dave]

I want them to go ahead and invest heavily in their own network.  They can join with OSU to do so if they want. 

[EMAWmeister]

Sorry if LUKEmeister, but OU Network is going live this fall and showing a game.

Do we know that for sure?  I've never been able to find confirmation that they signed the deal.  I think they had something lined up and everyone assumed it was a done deal.  But I haven't heard anything official.

kbohls ?@kbohls
The unnamed OU Network will be distributed in four states, including Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas. Will offer 1,000 hours of programming.

Dennis Dodd ?@dennisdoddcbs
OU launching cable network this fall according Joe C. One fb game on it this fall. "Comprehensive distribution strategy," Joe C

Sorry if LUKEmeister, but OU Network is going live this fall and showing a game.

Isn't their network just an extra game being aired on Fox Sports or something like that?

well, that's not so good

It's supposed to be 1000 hours of content and Tier 3 games on FSN regional broadcasts.

It's a glorified and expanded version of what we do with FSN KC for basketball, IMO.  They'll just brand it as the Sooner Network, and it will show on FSN Oklahoma.

Yeah this appears to be correct.  The above tweet by Dodd () had me confused.

[Panjandrum]

http://blog.newsok.com/berrytramel/2012/01/04/ou-football-deal-with-fox-sports-sounds-solid/

Sports Business Journal is reporting that OU and Fox Sports have agreed — not signed, only agreed — to a partnership for a quasi-Sooner Network. It won’t be one channel solely dedicated to OU, but Fox Sports would carry 1,000 hours of Sooner programming a year. Discounting the summer, that’s 111 hours a month, which is 27-28 hours a week. Basically four hours a day, on average.