USC and UCLA reportedly moving to Big Ten

CUTrevor 2022-06-30 14:35:05


Good grief. Yet another ridiculous move that makes zero sense in any way except for the schools' greed for more television money. The ACC was already well behind the Big Ten in television revenue despite being a better football conference than the Big Ten over the last 15 years, and this will widen the gap. ESPN wants everyone to think the Big Ten is better than the ACC in football, and it was LAST year, but look up the facts and the numbers. In every category: win percentage, bowl teams, bowl wins, national titles, playoff teams, draft picks, etc., the ACC has been the 2nd best conference behind the SEC over the last 15 years. The ACC has 3 national titles in football since 2013. The Big Ten has ONE. Again, however, despite these facts, Swofford did a terrible job at negotiating television contracts for the ACC. I was hoping Jim Phillips would finally get the ACC the TV money it deserves as the No.2 football conference, No.1 basketball conference and No.1 in Olympic sports, but now the Big Ten has the LA market to bargain with.

The ACC needs to make Notre Dame finally join in football and hopefully add Penn State in order to make itself more attractive to the TV networks. I would hate to see Clemson leave the ACC with all the history as a charter member, but at some point, the money Clemson could make by joining the SEC or even Big Ten might be too much to ignore. The Pac 12 will probably not survive this. I would expect the Big 12, which just added Cincy, Houston, BYU and UCF, to absorb the Pac 12 now.

I'll bet the Rose Bowl people are pissed about this!



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CUTrevor 2022-06-30 17:37:23


The good news is Clemson is the second-hottest commodity out there right now behind Notre Dame. That gives Clemson leverage and options. I wouldn't be surprised if the SEC kicked Mizzou out and offered Clemson their spot. Or they might just expand to 18 or 20 teams. They are already at 16 in a couple years with Texas and Oklahoma. Or maybe the Big Ten will offer Clemson a spot.

As a Clemson alumnus, I have always hated the idea of Clemson leaving the ACC as a charter member, but it's making less and less sense to stay as the other two conferences are making more and more money. It's ridiculous that Clemson should be making less money than SCAR, and the Gamecocks could be making twice as much 10 years from now. Besides, traditional conferences, rivalries, etc. have pretty much gone out the window in college sports already.

If Clemson stays in the ACC, it should force a deal for a larger share of the revenues, similar to the deal Texas had with the Big 12 for years. After all, Clemson has carried the ACC as a football conference for the last several years. Or if the ACC is able to add a couple valuable members, perhaps Phillips could finally get the ACC the TV deal it has deserved for years as the 2nd best conference in football and best or 2nd best in all sports. If Notre Dame and/or Penn State won't join the ACC, perhaps Oregon, Washington and/or Stanford would consider joining for football only. Adding them for all sports would not be practical because of travel expenses, but it would work for football only, and it would give the ACC a big bargaining chip with a west coast television market. Not to mention a big brand name and Nike money with Oregon. And if Notre Dame can be independent for football only, why can't Oregon be in the ACC for football only? I can tell you that the remaining Pac-12 schools like Oregon are scrambling right now to figure out their next move, and Jim Phillips should be on the phone with them!

The only thing we can count on is that this is only the beginning. More change is inevitable, and it could be a big change for Clemson, so stay tuned for the latest! I'll be talking to President Clements to get the inside scoop.



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CUTrevor 2022-07-07 15:31:43


One caveat to Clemson leaving the ACC for the SEC or Big Ten: any school leaving the ACC will have to forfeit its media rights until 2034 or 2035. That means that any revenues Clemson would receive from the SEC or Big Ten would go straight to the ACC and Clemson would get nothing. However, I believe there is a clause that if enough teams leave the ACC, that would render the contract null and void. So perhaps if Clemson, FSU, UNC and Miami could all join the SEC without losing any money. And even if Clemson leaves on its own and forfeits its media revenues for the next 10 years, that might still be worth it in the long run because the SEC is going to be making double that of the ACC, maybe more!


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