USC/UCLA to the Big Ten?

It appears ND is awaiting the strengthening or demise of the ACC before they commit to a conference.

At this point, I would so be done with them. I would not invite a team that thinks they are privy to be put on a pedestal over every other team in the conference. The BIG 10 of any conference has never been like that and are probably the most united conference as far as supporting every team.

Screw ND! What I would do is give them one last hard ultimatum and a date to make a decision. I would say have us an answer by Friday, July 15 at 9:00 p.m. CT. Say, we aren't doing this horse and pony show any longer. You have this one last chance and if we don't hear from you, you will never be even remotely considered. This is your last opportunity.

They need to force their hand and let them know they are and will not EVER be above the conference. If ND was serious, they would join.

Oh, and let me add, I would also state that if the answer is no, then you will never, NEVER, have any non-conference scheduled games with a BIG university going forward.

Personally, I hope they wouldn't answer. We don't need any Texas's in the BIG. This conference is better than that. Go out and get Oregon and Stanford while you can and be done with it.
 
I wonder what FL. State could bring to the BIG as far as media and fitting the bill. One would think the BIG would want to try to get into that market. It would also be going in a plucking a team from the SEC region. I realize Fl State is not in the SEC but it's down there in the region. Again, there would be a presence in the media market as well. Also wondering about Baylor or a Texas school for very same reason.

As far as a formidable team on the field or court, Fl. State has had some success in football and basketball in the past and seem to be a little more nationally recognized than some.
Florida St. doesn't fit the Delany Doctrine at all. It's not an AAU school. It's located in the panhandle of Florida on the red neck riviera. It's not even particularly close to a large television market that it controls. And it is a second fiddle in the state. If the demographics of Florida continue to change, UCF might be a bigger school in Florida sports wise in the next 20 years than Florida St. UCF already is the largest undergrad school in the state of Florida.

Now Florida on the other hand.. That's one of the few SEC AAU schools. And the Gators are the biggest college draw in Florida by a mile. The only reason why I wouldn't ask them to join is because I know they would say no.
 
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It appears ND is awaiting the strengthening or demise of the ACC before they commit to a conference.
I've been following Notre Dame message boards since the news broke that Notre Dame was being courted. Their fanbase seems to be about 1/3rd of people that want to keep things the way it is and 2/3rds that recognize we are heading to 2 mega-conferences (and that group clearly wants to be in the B1G and not the SEC).

Like always, the hang up seems to be more about money than anything else. The Notre Dame TV deal with NBC runs through 2025. So I don't even think it's feasible for them to move until 2026. Really, if I were in the Notre Dame decision making room, I'd advise them to table the talks for a couple of years, let the B1G and the SEC make their best pitches and see where the money is going to be. I am starting to think that NBC has to be included in the B1G TV package; that NBC ends up with every ND home game and like pick #3 of B1G games when ND is on the road. Let CBS have game #1 as long as it's not an ND home game. And let Fox and the BTN have the rest of the games.

The ACC schools are in a different pickle. They have a clause in place that if you leave the conference, your school must give the ACC conference any revenue you make from television through 2035. I'm very uncertain that the ACC schools are really up for grabs because nobody is going to forgo $100mil a year and just hand it over to Wake Forest. They almost have to organize a safe landing for all of the members of the conference before any of them are moving. Now maybe it could be in the form of partial revenue sharing, or becoming a relegation conference to the SEC, or by the forming of a 3rd mega conference; but none of these ideas look like they have any legitimate way of coming to light.
 
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The ACC schools are in a different pickle. They have a clause in place that if you leave the conference, your school must give the ACC conference any revenue you make from television through 2035. I'm very uncertain that the ACC schools are really up for grabs because nobody is going to forgo $100mil a year and just hand it over to Wake Forest. They almost have to organize a safe landing for all of the members of the conference before any of them are moving. Now maybe it could be in the form of partial revenue sharing, or becoming a relegation conference to the SEC, or by the forming of a 3rd mega conference; but none of these ideas look like they have any legitimate way of coming to light.
If ESPN blows up their TV deal with the ACC, then that 2035 date is no longer valid. I think ND is waiting for this.

But I'm also guessing the ACC won't let them out without some significant financial concessions as they'll end up similarly to where the PAC 12 is right now.
 
If ESPN blows up their TV deal with the ACC, then that 2035 date is no longer valid. I think ND is waiting for this.

But I'm also guessing the ACC won't let them out without some significant financial concessions as they'll end up similarly to where the PAC 12 is right now.
I have read articles that state ND is stuck until 2035, and other articles that state the football team is free and clear, but the other sports are under the ACC umbrella through 2035. IMHO, the more financially savvy articles state they are free and clear. I'm no lawyer, but from the reputation from the sources I've read, I'm willing to bet ND is free of football whenever they want to be. I'll add a disclaimer that I've been wrong on more than one occasion.
 
I think the B1G is going to do another short term media deal, then grab ND, Stanford, Oregon, and maybe Washington. That then would give them a “national “ conference. The SEC would be basically blocked into being a regional conference stuck basically on only ESPN/ABC whereas the B1G will more than likely be on multiple networks plus a streaming option
 
If ESPN blows up their TV deal with the ACC, then that 2035 date is no longer valid. I think ND is waiting for this.

But I'm also guessing the ACC won't let them out without some significant financial concessions as they'll end up similarly to where the PAC 12 is right now.

Why would ESPN do that? They have the ACC schools for much less than market value.
 
Why would ESPN do that? They have the ACC schools for much less than market value.
The last rumor I saw was that ESPN was offering a new TV Deal for the ACC schools close to current market value for any schools that stay and then that would allow other schools to leave. ESPN will make way more on SEC 20 games than they'll lose giving the current ACC a few more million each year.

What they should do, but won't is Combine what's left of the ACC with WVU, Cincy, UCF and get ND into ACC formally and then have the original Big 12 (9 teams after UT & OU gone) along with UH and merge with the PAC 10. Then you have 2 decent conferences that would remain stable instead of PAC/BIG12/ACC trying to pick off each others teams.
 
When I think of the ACC Grant of Rights contract that is so far below market and 14 years to go..I think of my business law classes in college and recall that a contract is voidable if it is unreasonable and so heavily weighted toward one party.,..I think the word unconscionable is the key word. So I've wondered how it is that so many people assume that the ACC is irrevocably locked in. Seems to me that they can rescind the grant of rights. ? Any attorneys out there?
 
When I think of the ACC Grant of Rights contract that is so far below market and 14 years to go..I think of my business law classes in college and recall that a contract is voidable if it is unreasonable and so heavily weighted toward one party.,..I think the word unconscionable is the key word. So I've wondered how it is that so many people assume that the ACC is irrevocably locked in. Seems to me that they can rescind the grant of rights. ? Any attorneys out there?
I'm no attorney but what I do know is that these schools have looked at the Grant of Rights contract that they are under and so far, haven't found a way out of it. I'm sure they've considered all the angles, they've probably got a boatload of lawyers who've looked at it and continue to do so. Maybe they'll come up with a way out. But so far, it seems to be pretty ironclad.
 
When I think of the ACC Grant of Rights contract that is so far below market and 14 years to go..I think of my business law classes in college and recall that a contract is voidable if it is unreasonable and so heavily weighted toward one party.,..I think the word unconscionable is the key word. So I've wondered how it is that so many people assume that the ACC is irrevocably locked in. Seems to me that they can rescind the grant of rights. ? Any attorneys out there?

The Grand of Rights and the TV contract are two separate things.
 
When I think of the ACC Grant of Rights contract that is so far below market and 14 years to go..I think of my business law classes in college and recall that a contract is voidable if it is unreasonable and so heavily weighted toward one party.,..I think the word unconscionable is the key word. So I've wondered how it is that so many people assume that the ACC is irrevocably locked in. Seems to me that they can rescind the grant of rights. ? Any attorneys out there?

Unconscionability is a contract defense, but that defense is highly unlikely to be available for something like this. The contract was drafted by supposedly sophisticated parties with counsel. It was drafted specifically to be draconian because everyone was so pissed off when Maryland left. And oh by the way, the counterparty is a conference that presumably each member institution owns an interest in. The court system ain't gonna bail them out from writing a shitty contract, but given the ACC's location there is probably a governing law and forum selection clause that are both probably North Carolina, so maybe UNC could pull a fast one if they get the right judge, but even that would be a helluva stretch.
 

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