There was a time when we knew what differentiated the conferences – geography. The SEC represented the Old South. The Southwest was Texas. The ACC consisted of schools along Tobacco Road. The Big Ten curled around the Great Lakes and included schools near Rust Belt cities.
The Big Eight was west of the Big Ten. The Pac-10 was west of everything. The WAC was desert and the Four Corners. The Ivy League, once good at football, settled for producing Presidents. Army and Navy were the future leadership of our fighting forces. Notre Dame was, and in football still is, an entity unto itself.
That was then. What’s a conference now? Geography no longer matters. Neither does history. Back in the day, conferences included neighbors of similar minds. What’s the shared ethos today? Make more money? Grow or wilt? Don’t tread on my TV rights?
The SEC will number three members of the defunct Southwest. The Big Ten will have four members from the Pac-10/12. The Big 12 siphoned off four other Pac-men and women, leaving the league known for its Rose Bowl affiliation a defoliated garden. Left are two smart schools from the Bay Area, two lesser schools from states north of California – and that’s it. A dozen down to four, just like that.
The ACC is trying to decide if it should add Cal and Stanford, not so much because adding them makes sense but because not adding is seen as the road to ruin. In a fun twist, Notre Dame is believed to be pushing Cal/Stanford for full ACC membership, though Notre Dame isn’t a full ACC member itself.
The Mountain West, which almost lost San Diego State to the Pac-12, is waiting to see what the ACC does before deciding if it wants the remnants of the conference that just tried to raid it. (Yes, it’s complicated.) ACC presidents just declined to vote on expandsion because there’s a chance that, come next week, the league could face contraction.
Florida State has been the loudest dissident, but it’s not alone. In May, seven ACC members expressed displeasure over TV revenue, the rights for which are pledged to ESPN through 2036. (Notre Dame has its own football rights.) The deal that begat the ACC Network was once a source of pride. Then membership saw what the going rate for college football has become and wept bitter tears.
Old rule: Conferences create stability for their membership. New rule: Conferences are only as good as their TV deals. The joke of the summer was that the Pac-12 would announce its new media package any day now. When it was learned the carrier would be Apple TV, a streaming service, five of the nine remaining schools took flight.
Forget geography. The heck with ethos. Where’s the money?
The we’re-in-this-together feeling fostered by former commissioner John Swofford – the feeling was underpinned by the grant-of-rights agreement – has yielded to what’s-in-it-for-me. Apparently seven schools believe what’s in it isn’t enough. The grant of rights could keep them in the ACC, but it won’t keep them happy. Ask the Pac-12 what becomes of unhappy conferences.
Whatever happens next will involve the ACC. The Big Ten is fat and sassy. The Big 12 is relieved. The SEC is assessing. The ACC is under pressure to expand even as it faces dissension within the ranks.
Any ACC member seeking to exit in 2024 must declare its intentions by Tuesday. Florida State is on the clock, and maybe not just Florida State.
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