Texas and OU can join the SEC a year early in time to participate in the ’24 football season.

[Rembrandt90]

The SEC is going to be a college version of the NFL. It will be so competitive the days of going undefeated are going to be exception not the rule. The portal and NIL will make it harder and harder to build depth.

With the playoff 3 losses in SEC may still be viable. Any team can get you at any point.

Then the potential of adding a FSU and Clemson to the SEC good freakin luck. If I was SEC I add Virginia and UNC. Two markets you don’t have with OK football brands. The SEC doesn’t need more powerful programs.

Don't think so. I don't see the SEC adding Clemson, FL St, VA, or NC. The SEC is already the top conference. This is about big network money, pure and simple. Why split up the money that many more ways when none of those schools would pull their own weight by adding significant media markets? Makes no sense, so there would be a lot of opposition from current members.

In addition to that, UF would fight against bringing in FL St for territorial reasons and I wouldn't blame them. For same reason, SC and GA would not be happy with Clemson. I don't think SC would like NC either. Lot of complicated territorial politics there over little or no financial benefit.

If feasible, the SEC should add ND (Chicago), Univ. of Miami, and Univ. of Houston, three huge media markets that would bring in very big money. TCU could be attractive because of the Dallas Ft. Worth market. Could also consider UCF (Orlando market) but UF might not go along with that and I wouldn't blame them.

 

[JHB4UK]

UNC won't ever leave the ACC because of basketball in my opinion. ESPN would lose it not being able to have their slurpfest over the Duke/UNC game 2 or 3 times a year. You might have a better shot at NC State. Probably have a better shot at VT instead of Virginia as well.

That is very very true, agree completely.

Everyone thinks the ACC will be carved up eventually, but I think ESPN will do everything to keep them existing. And for the exact reason you gave, to keep college basketball with those schools alive and to put on their TV channels every Jan-March. North Carolina in the B1g T3n playing Ohio & Michigan on the hardwood isn't a money maker.

 

[Rembrandt90]

Focus on the best way to get an SEC championship.

Yes, for sure. Do everything necessary to keep a strong coaching staff around Stoops. (They basically already are.) Keep updating facilities. Run a lucrative recruiting budget. Football is the principal profit center sport, and will only become more so with shrewd growth of the conference to include more large media markets. So it only makes good fiscal sense to keep investing in football.

Our guys having to play at the highest intensity for nine games will be hard to do anyway.

That's the same for every SEC team. I get it that the 2022 season disappointed our fans. Nobody enjoyed losing to Vandy and SC at home or getting shut out in the MCB. But the long term direction of our football program is still up. Over a multiseason period, UK is an upper half of the conference football program. Our biggest logistical problem is having to recruit from a location in a small northerly state. Conference expansion, wisely managed, will bring even more money to every SEC athletics department. As long as Stoops can keep recruiting successfully in OH, TN, GA, AL, and on the eastern seaboard, our football team will keep getting better. Quality depth means holding up during a challenging schedule. Success breeds success.

 

[vhcat70]

UNC won't ever leave the ACC because of basketball in my opinion. ESPN would lose it not being able to have their slurpfest over the Duke/UNC game 2 or 3 times a year. You might have a better shot at NC State. Probably have a better shot at VT instead of Virginia as well.

It's all about the Benjamins.

 

[vhcat70]

Don't think so. I don't see the SEC adding Clemson, FL St, VA, or NC. The SEC is already the top conference. This is about big network money, pure and simple. Why split up the money that many more ways when none of those schools would pull their own weight by adding significant media markets? Makes no sense, so there would be a lot of opposition from current members.

VA & NC are big & growing states. One school from each would pull their weights imo.

 

[Rembrandt90]

VA & NC are big & growing states. One school from each would pull their weights imo.

I did not say NC and VA aren't big, growing states. That describes every decent sized state in the southern US. I said VA and NC would not add enough in the way of untapped media market to put those schools near the top of an SEC wish list. I illustrated this by comparison to Univ. of Houston, Univ. of Miami, and ND. If you believe the SEC would take NC or VA in preference to Univ. of Miami, Univ. of Houston, or ND, then we disagree. Chicago, Miami, and Houston are huge media markets. Follow the money.

 

[trueblujr2]

Play UofL for a couple more years to get the lead in the modern series then dump it, that game does nothing for us going forward.

Kinda wish the SEC would play hardball with the ACC and stop scheduling them period. Go for the death blow, Big 10 could do the same with Notre Dame and both conferences could get all the teams they want.

Lots of in state rivalries go by the wayside in that scenario. GA/GA Tech, Clemson/SC, FL/FSU, UK/UL
Of course a couple of those teams might be candidates to join the SEC.

 

[Cat_Man_Blue]

I did not say NC and VA aren't big, growing states. That describes every decent sized state in the southern US. I said VA and NC would not add enough in the way of untapped media market to put those schools near the top of an SEC wish list. I illustrated this by comparison to Univ. of Houston, Univ. of Miami, and ND. If you believe the SEC would take NC or VA in preference to Univ. of Miami, Univ. of Houston, or ND, then we disagree. Chicago, Miami, and Houston are huge media markets. Follow the money.

If you add UNC, you capture every TV market in North Carolina. With Texas and and TAM the SEC already captures a large viewership in Houston.

 

[vhcat70]

I did not say NC and VA aren't big, growing states. That describes every decent sized state in the southern US. I said VA and NC would not add enough in the way of untapped media market to put those schools near the top of an SEC wish list. I illustrated this by comparison to Univ. of Houston, Univ. of Miami, and ND. If you believe the SEC would take NC or VA in preference to Univ. of Miami, Univ. of Houston, or ND, then we disagree. Chicago, Miami, and Houston are huge media markets. Follow the money.

We disagree.

 

[Rembrandt90]

We disagree.

Fair enough. No problem. But I simply suggest the next round of expansion will be all about which conference gets financial control of the Miami, Houston, Dallas, Chicago, and northeast media markets, as well as whether current Power 5 conference besides the SEC and B10 will or will not survive. I suspect the B10 will eventually control the northeast and west coast markets while the SEC will control the entire state of TX and the FL peninsula including all of south FL. The big battle yet to come will be over recruitment of ND because that is the SEC's chance to get into the Chicago market and break into the B10's exclusive control over the midwest market.

But a bigger question might be the timeframe in which the SEC suits are thinking about the next phase of expansion. They are just now finalizing the arrangement to admit TX and OK, which they just accelerated forward into 2024. In itself, that expansion creates a new round of SEC reorganization and a new scheduling paradigm. Some conservative schools on the south side of the SEC will want to pause and let everything settle for a couple of years. But the more aggressive schools will see the SEC is in a time sensitive battle with the B10 to make the next moves while the B10 does the work of absorbing UCLA and Southern Cal. UK and MO in particular have something to gain by expansion of the SEC's coverage and footprint in the midwest.

 

[Grumpyolddawg]

Don't think so. I don't see the SEC adding Clemson, FL St, VA, or NC. The SEC is already the top conference. This is about big network money, pure and simple. Why split up the money that many more ways when none of those schools would pull their own weight by adding significant media markets? Makes no sense, so there would be a lot of opposition from current members.

In addition to that, UF would fight against bringing in FL St for territorial reasons and I wouldn't blame them. For same reason, SC and GA would not be happy with Clemson. I don't think SC would like NC either. Lot of complicated territorial politics there over little or no financial benefit.

If feasible, the SEC should add ND (Chicago), Univ. of Miami, and Univ. of Houston, three huge media markets that would bring in very big money. TCU could be attractive because of the Dallas Ft. Worth market. Could also consider UCF (Orlando market) but UF might not go along with that and I wouldn't blame them.

Lots of in state rivalries go by the wayside in that scenario. GA/GA Tech, Clemson/SC, FL/FSU, UK/UL
Of course a couple of those teams might be candidates to join the SEC.

UGA won't be dropping Tech. In fact I think the SEC and networks will encourage the others to remain.

 

[vhcat70]

Fair enough. No problem. But I simply suggest the next round of expansion will be all about which conference gets financial control of the Miami, Houston, Dallas, Chicago, and northeast media markets, as well as whether current Power 5 conference besides the SEC and B10 will or will not survive. I suspect the B10 will eventually control the northeast and west coast markets while the SEC will control the entire state of TX and the FL peninsula including all of south FL. The big battle yet to come will be over recruitment of ND because that is the SEC's chance to get into the Chicago market and break into the B10's exclusive control over the midwest market.

But a bigger question might be the timeframe in which the SEC suits are thinking about the next phase of expansion. They are just now finalizing the arrangement to admit TX and OK, which they just accelerated forward into 2024. In itself, that expansion creates a new round of SEC reorganization and a new scheduling paradigm. Some conservative schools on the south side of the SEC will want to pause and let everything settle for a couple of years. But the more aggressive schools will see the SEC is in a time sensitive battle with the B10 to make the next moves while the B10 does the work of absorbing UCLA and Southern Cal. UK and MO in particular have something to gain by expansion of the SEC's coverage and footprint in the midwest.

Thanks.

- SEC has control of the Houston & Dallas markets already between TX/A&M/OK. I mean A&M is an hour north of Houston. Adding Houston is like adding Georgia Tech imo.
- Chicago & IL are declining markets vs. the growth of VA & NC. Regardless, ND would be good but have no idea what they might do. Nor do I think anyone else does.
- Miami makes some sense though I don't know how big CFB is there - like DC/Philly/NYC/Boston not being so. Even the best secondary CFB markets are in central FL, not south. I tend to think of Miami people as more like NYC & DC vs. CFB fans. Data I find says UM averaged 43K attendance in 65K stadium. Not very inspiring.
- What would really help is buying Vandy out of the SEC for say a $500M.
- While USCw & UCLA wrap up the LA market for B1G, those two do not fill their stadii such that I don't know the total viewing audiences.

 

[Grumpyolddawg]

With the amount of money networks aer paying to conferences I think they will soon have input on scheduling or cut pay for lower level opponents. It's all about the rankings and advertisers. Which game will get the most views, an SEC team vs South Alabama or an SEC team vs ND?

 

[Cat06]

SEC needs to swallow up the ACC and set up an Open League. The best-ranked teams in the ACC would be promoted to the SEC for the next season, and the worst-ranked teams in the SEC would be demoted to the ACC for the next season.

That would juice up any UK-UL game. It would also be Louisville's version of Dante's Inferno. Annually crushed emotionally as they fall just short of reaching the SEC.