ctx48c wrote:
Fox thinks they need to get into Florida for its tv market.The national championship will penalize financially those conferences that do not have league playoff and you need 12 or more schools to do that.The likely targets are FSU and Miami of the ACC.
Because they don't want to settle for the Interstate 4 duo of UCF and UCF. Fox, ESPN, etc., shall essentially and eventually have the power over conferences to determine each's members.
It'll become more of who one is assigned to play rather than who one wants to play. Next level will be to shift schools as the networks wish for a given contract. Conferences get caught up in greed only to later dawn on them they've lost control.
The B1G defining prospects in terms of AAU criteria, that too will be incorporated in future marketing gimmicks.
The question with the SEC focuses on scheduling. Dealing with 14 has it's adjustments. The SEC has tried to do it in a manner not to exclude annual fb OOC rivalries, 5 of which involve ACC schools, so from a certain angle the inteface has certain mutal benefits. Some have been talking about moving season-ending OOC rivalries to earlier in the season. Not all fans will want to understand. Schools such Alabama and Auburn can be very fussy and stubborn about whom they play and what their division looks like and what crossovers are acceptable and when. For a conference that wants to remain at 8 fb conference games, why would 16 or more be needed, other than advancing more broadcasting revenues? 14 has to be plenty for bb and all other sports. Looking at current baseball schedules, 12 (with the divisions) seemed better as a total than 14.