Official 2012-2013 NCAA Football Thread

[cabiness42]

I know people who work for the Big 10 conference.

 

As for the hockey conference, Ive read it both ways, some say ND turned down an offer, some say Big never made it. Its really hard to tell because ND and the Big play things pretty close to the vest.

 

No teams outside of the Big Ten were offered entry into the hockey conference. It's something I'm 100% certain of.

[Soxbadger]

Yeah that is interesting then. A lot of big 10 hockey places I read alleged that ND may have turned them down. I have no idea, Im just speculating for fun about these things.

[cabiness42]

Yeah that is interesting then. A lot of big 10 hockey places I read alleged that ND may have turned them down. I have no idea, Im just speculating for fun about these things.

 

Nebraska wanted UNO to be in the conference which was a non-starter for the rest of the league and there was no way to get ND in and leave UNO out and not have a big stink about it.

 

ND may have very well said that they wouldn't join even if invited, but they were never actually invited.

[IlliniKrush]

Those uniforms were absolutely hilarious. I hope they do the rest of the big ten.

[Balta1701]

No more conference realignment please.

[Heads22]

chimpy will be happy:

 

 

"How do you not look into that option," asked Haggard. "On behalf of the Board of Trustees I can say that unanimously we would be in favor of seeing what the Big 12 might have to offer. We have to do what is in Florida State's best interest."

[chimpy2121]

chimpy will be happy:

 

 

"How do you not look into that option," asked Haggard. "On behalf of the Board of Trustees I can say that unanimously we would be in favor of seeing what the Big 12 might have to offer. We have to do what is in Florida State's best interest."

[zenryan]

FSU looks stuck in the ACC.

 

 

The BOT can talk about leaving but the President doesnt appear to be interested. Plus I doubt they are going to want to pay the $20+ million exit fee.

 

In a statement released Saturday night, and after the chairman of Florida State’s Board of Trustees undermined both the ACC and his own athletic department in suggesting the Big 12 is a viable conference option, university president Eric Barron said that the school “is not seeking an alternative to the ACC nor are we considering alternatives.”

 

On Monday, Barron released another, much lengthier statement addressing the conference affiliation issue for FSU, and did not back down from his weekend stance at all. In addition to once again noting the misinformation that was spread by, among others, BOT chairman Andy Haggard, as it pertained to Tier 3 rights, Barron in his memo seemed to focus in on four key areas of concern, including one that takes a direct slap at the academics in the Big 12.

 

The University of Texas Monolith

Part of the problem, perhaps the biggest problem, with past instability in the Big 12 was the perception that — right or wrong — it was the UT tail wagging the conference dog. Barron warned all of those concerned about the ACC being too North Carolina or hoops-centric to be careful what you wish for.

 

Barron: “2. Colorado, Missouri, Nebraska and Texas A&M left the Big 12, at least in part because the Big 12 is not an equal share conference. Texas has considerably more resource avenues and gains a larger share (and I say this as a former dean of the University of Texas at Austin – I watched the Big 12 disintegration with interest). So, when fans realize that Texas would get more dollars than FSU, always having a competitive advantage, it would be interesting to see the fan reaction.”

 

(Writer’s note: the president appears to be guilty of spreading misinformation ala FSU’s board chairman, or at least isn’t clear as to what tier to which he’s referring as the Big 12 has equal sharing of revenue for Tier 1 and Tier 2 rights. With the Longhorn Network, however, UT certainly dwarfs the other schools in the conference as there is no sharing of third-tier rights.)

 

Travel Concerns for Non-Revenue Sports, Loss of Rivalries

In this latest response, Barron makes the case that the travel costs associated with a move to the Big 12 would wipe out any gains in broadcast revenue, plus run beyond that $3 million annual difference between the Big 12 and ACC deals. Additionally, Barron mentions one rivalry specifically that would be lost in a conference move..

 

Barron: “3. Much is being made of the extra $2.9M that the Big 12 contract (which hasn’t been inked yet) gets over the ACC contract. Given that the Texas schools are expected to play each other (the Big 12 is at least as Texas centered than the ACC is North Carolina centered), the most likely scenario has FSU playing Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State, and West Virginia on a recurring basis and the other teams sporadically (and one more unnamed team has to join to allow the Big 12 to regain a championship game), we realize that our sports teams can no longer travel by bus to most games; the estimate is that the travel by plane required by FSU to be in the Big 12 appears to exceed the $2.9M difference in the contract, actually giving us fewer dollars than we have now to be competitive with the Big 12 teams, who obviously do not have to travel as far. Any renegotiated amount depends not just on FSU but the caliber of any other new team to the Big 12.

 

4. Few believe that the above teams will fill our stadium with fans of these teams and so our lack of sales and ticket revenue would continue.

 

5. We would lose the rivalry with University of Miami that does fill our stadium.”

 

Too Broke to Move?

FSU’s athletic department is already facing cuts due to revenue shortcomings, which has played at least some role in the speculation that the school should move its sports to a conference that offers a better annual TV take. One of the problems with that, however, is the upfront costs to actually leave the ACC.

 

Barron: “6. It will cost between $20M and $25M to leave the ACC; we have no idea where that money would come from. It would have to come from the Boosters which currently are unable to support our current University athletic budget, hence the 2% cut in that budget.”

 

Big 12′s Not Nerdy Enough

Haggard has already gone thermonuclear on the ACC, with the result likely being some very upset conference officials and school presidents. Now Barron has taken a sniper rifle and aimed it at the Big 12, hitting at the very heart of an institution of higher learning’s purpose.

 

Barron: 7. The faculty are adamantly opposed to joining a league that is academically weaker, and in fact, many of them resent the fact that a 2% ($2.4M) deficit in the athletics budget receives so much attention from concerned Seminoles, but the loss of 25% of the academic budget (105M) gets none when it is the most critical concern of this University in terms of its successful future.

 

That bolded part will certainly leave a mark in the classrooms throughout Big 12 country.

 

Barron closed his memo with some of the first bits of common sense tossed into this situation — don’t negotiate your future in the media and don’t let conference affiliation be governed by an emotional reaction to what some perceive as a “bad” broadcast deal.

I present these issues to you so that you realize that this is not so simple (not to mention that negotiations aren’t even taking place). One of the few wise comments made in the blogosphere is that no one negotiates their future in the media. We can’t afford to have conference affiliation be governed by emotion ? it has to be based on a careful assessment of athletics, finances and academics. I assure you that every aspect of conference affiliation will be looked at by this institution, but it must be a reasoned decision.

Of course, Barron’s “commitment” to the ACC or reasons for remaining in their current conference doesn’t ensure in any way, shape or form that FSU will or won’t remain remain in the ACC, or will or won’t reach out to the Big 12 to gauge interest, if anyone even loosely associated with the university hasn’t already. What it does, though, is continue to highlight the divide between the upper levels of the university’s administration.

 

Incidentally, the ACC’s spring meetings commenced today, so we’re it’s a near certainty that we’ll hear more on this issue from all sides at some point in the next day or two.

 

(Photo credit: Florida State University)

 

 

link

[chimpy2121]

Barron is handling this terribly. If the BOT wants him gone, it will happen.

[zenryan]

Barron is handling this terribly. If the BOT wants him gone, it will happen.

 

 

 

how so?

[chimpy2121]

how so?

 

Waiting 8 hours to respond to Haggard.

 

His e-mail was a very poor way to counter this issue. Rather than telling high price tag boosters "We are committed to the ACC and we do no have any plans to leave because we do not believe it is feasible for the university." He sends that list which many felt was very condescending.

 

He also academically called out the Big 12 which is really dumb.

 

He brings up the lack of academic funding, yet fails to mention his shortcomings in Florida legislature that have gotten us killed.

 

He also fails to mention that we do not see that increase in TV money until very late in the contract. In terms of Big 12 not being equal share: it is for Tier 1 and 2. Keeping our Tier 3 revenue would be another increase.

 

He mentions poor attendance: yeah, because the ACC schools really pack it in every week. I have no doubt Iowa St, Kansas St and West Virginia would bring more people to Tallahassee than Duke, GT, NCSt, UNC, Virginia, Syracuse, BC, Maryland, and Pittsburgh.

 

He also fails to mention that Syracuse is further in distance from every single Big 12 school when arguing the travel.

 

It's one thing to respond the quash rumors, it's another to respond to boosters by telling them they are absolutely incorrect.

 

 

EDIT:

 

I will say (but I do not believe this is the actual reasoning), this also could be Barron sandbagging for negotiations with the Big 12. Whether we are planning to stay or leave, we need to look like we are in the middle for bargaining reasons.

Edited May 15, 2012 by chimpy2121

[RockRaines]

Ty Issac from Joliet Catholic is considering Michigan. Holy crap. Kid is a beast. Doesn't belong in high school football.

 

 

Welcome to 2 months ago. He's also considering USC hard.

Ahem, committed to USC today.

[Brian]

Ahem, committed to USC today.

 

I knew it was down to USC and Michigan with Trojans front running.

[RockRaines]

I knew it was down to USC and Michigan with Trojans front running.

USC has the chance to be extremely good this year, it makes sense to go there if you are a RB. Who even knows what Borges's offense will look like when Denard leaves.

 

For me, I thought Issac was overrated and still do.

[LittleHurt05]

USC has the chance to be extremely good this year, it makes sense to go there if you are a RB. Who even knows what Borges's offense will look like when Denard leaves.

 

For me, I thought Issac was overrated and still do.

 

As long as they don't get hit too hard by injuries. I believe some of their scholarship restrictions have kicked in, so the top of their depth chart is loaded with talent, but they aren't the deepest team around.

[Soxbadger]

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/5...-bowl-landscape

 

Sounds like the Big 10 may drop its alliance with certain bowls to create more variety. Also may increase bowl eligibility to 7 games.

[Soxbadger]

Another article on the Big 10

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ncaaf--big-te...Z3q1lBA_Og5nYcB

 

I wish they would try and make some of the playoff games in the Midwest, but who knows what they are thinking.

[IlliniKrush]

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/5...-bowl-landscape

 

Sounds like the Big 10 may drop its alliance with certain bowls to create more variety. Also may increase bowl eligibility to 7 games.

Best part:

 

Coaches like Northwestern's Pat Fitzgerald and Purdue's Danny Hope oppose the increase from six to seven wins, but they're in the minority.

 

**************

 

With NW's garbage non conference schedule year after year after year, this comes as no surprise. If NW could play 6 s***ty non conference games to be eligible, they would.

[ZoomSlowik]

Best part:

 

Coaches like Northwestern's Pat Fitzgerald and Purdue's Danny Hope oppose the increase from six to seven wins, but they're in the minority.

 

**************

 

With NW's garbage non conference schedule year after year after year, this comes as no surprise. If NW could play 6 s***ty non conference games to be eligible, they would.

 

NU's upcoming out of conference slates:

 

2012- Syracuse, Vanderbilt, Boston College, and South Dakota

2013- Cal, Syracuse, Vanderbilt, and Maine

2014- Cal, Vanderbilt, Western Illinois and Notre Dame

2015- Cal, Ball State, Army and Duke

 

I don't see a whole lot of Charleston Southern's or Louisiana Tech's in there.

[IlliniKrush]

NU's upcoming out of conference slates:

 

2012- Syracuse, Vanderbilt, Boston College, and South Dakota

2013- Cal, Syracuse, Vanderbilt, and Maine

2014- Cal, Vanderbilt, Western Illinois and Notre Dame

2015- Cal, Ball State, Army and Duke

 

I don't see a whole lot of Charleston Southern's or Louisiana Tech's in there.

Yeah, let's play this game, comparing Illinois to NW in the non-conference. I'm not sure if you're ready for this.

 

From alioneye.com:

 

Illinois hasn’t played a non-conference opponent with a below .500 record since Syracuse in 2007. Northwestern hasn’t played a non-conference FBS opponent with an at-or-above-.500 record since Nevada in 2007. Here’s the lists:

 

So if you include our other non-conference games in 2007 (11-1 Missouri and 2-10 Syracuse) and theirs (6-6 Nevada), here’s the cumulative totals for the regular season records of the last 15 Illinois and Northwestern non-conference FBS opponents:

 

Illinois Fighting Illini: 123-57 (.683)

Northwestern Purple People: 47-133 (.261)

[ZoomSlowik]

Yeah, let's play this game, comparing Illinois to NW in the non-conference. I'm not sure if you're ready for this.

 

From alioneye.com:

 

Illinois hasn’t played a non-conference opponent with a below .500 record since Syracuse in 2007. Northwestern hasn’t played a non-conference FBS opponent with an at-or-above-.500 record since Nevada in 2007. Here’s the lists:

 

So if you include our other non-conference games in 2007 (11-1 Missouri and 2-10 Syracuse) and theirs (6-6 Nevada), here’s the cumulative totals for the regular season records of the last 15 Illinois and Northwestern non-conference FBS opponents:

 

Illinois Fighting Illini: 123-57 (.683)

Northwestern Purple People: 47-133 (.261)

 

NU has had some brutal schedules in the past, but it's patently obvious that their upcoming ones are a lot tougher.

 

Let's not pretend Illinois is out playing juggernauts every year either. South Dakota State is not a legitimate opponent, and despite the 10-3 record I'm pretty sure Arkansas State isn't scaring anyone. If they played the 4-8 Boston College team that NU faced on a neutral field, BC is the favorite.

 

Like most teams, the Illini play one BCS-level opponent, a couple of cupcakes, and maybe a decent non-power league team. The problem is that instead of a good Missouri team or a respectable ASU team, they have a home-and-home with Washington on the upcoming schedules.

Edited May 17, 2012 by ZoomSlowik

[LittleHurt05]

Like most teams, the Illini play one BCS-level opponent, a couple of cupcakes, and maybe a decent non-power league team. The problem is that instead of a good Missouri team or a respectable ASU team, they have a home-and-home with Washington on the upcoming schedules.

 

You need to read up on your Pac-10. Washington is a good football team now under Sarkisian and are definitely better than ASU

[ZoomSlowik]

You need to read up on your Pac-10. Washington is a good football team now under Sarkisian and are definitely better than ASU

 

Meh, I'll believe it when I see it with Washington. Even with Price and a legit running game, they weren't great last year. Admittedly ASU wasn't any better record wise, though they underachieved to their talent level.

[LittleHurt05]

Meh, I'll believe it when I see it with Washington. Even with Price and a legit running game, they weren't great last year. Admittedly ASU wasn't any better record wise, though they underachieved to their talent level.

 

5 of their 6 losses were @ Nebraska, @ Stanford, Oregon, @ USC & to the RG3 show. (@ OSU was bad)

 

I'm not saying they are Rose Bowl bound, but it's not the 0-12 teams from a few years ago. And ASU lost to Illinois last year, how good could they be?

[ZoomSlowik]

5 of their 6 losses were @ Nebraska, @ Stanford, Oregon, @ USC & to the RG3 show. (@ OSU was bad)

 

I'm not saying they are Rose Bowl bound, but it's not the 0-12 teams from a few years ago. And ASU lost to Illinois last year, how good could they be?

 

Come on, even Northwestern won @ Nebraska.

 

They gave up a s***-ton of points in basically every game. They need drastic improvement there to be anything more than entertaining. If nothing else, Price makes them somewhat dangerous I guess.

 

And yeah, ASU didn't play nearly as well as their talent suggested. That's why they have a new coach.