Conference Realignment
- Thread starter DavidBenAkiva
- Start date
AustinDevil
Member
Exactly. What she did is simply put the focus on fundraising. Like she and every AD has to every day.
she has been very consistent, and she knows that the football money pays for most of her department....I'm glad she's at the helm.
wilko
Member
Any REAL verifiable new news on this front?
I thought since we were now into August this noise would die down for a bit.
Twitter was seemingly again kicking the can on rumor speculation and innuendo last night.
It had something to do with ESPN leaning on the Big12 to pic up the Pac2 teams - to stop an anti-trust lawsuit?
Nothing ACC specific that I could tell.
Could be all hot air and smoke. But interesting all the same.
I thought since we were now into August this noise would die down for a bit.
Twitter was seemingly again kicking the can on rumor speculation and innuendo last night.
It had something to do with ESPN leaning on the Big12 to pic up the Pac2 teams - to stop an anti-trust lawsuit?
Nothing ACC specific that I could tell.
Could be all hot air and smoke. But interesting all the same.
JasonEvans
Host, The Duke Basketball Roundup
The ACC contract for all teams states that you must inform the league by August 15th if you plan to leave at the conclusion of the following season. So, if FSU and Clemson want to bolt, they would have to do so by 8/15 or they will be in the ACC until at least the 2025-26 season.
Put another way, I win my pie bet if no one drops out of the league in the next 2 weeks.
-jk
Well-known Moderator
If they're negotiating an exit, who's to say they'll do it under the contract's existing guidelines? And if they're exiting without negotiating, do the contract's guidelines have any bearing?
-jk
hallcity
Member
If all you have to do to avoid paying anything for leaving is to announce you're leaving and refuse to negotiate, FSU and Clemson, at the least, would already be gone. They wouldn't be wasting time and money on litigation. They're trying to get the courts to find that the provisions of the contracts don't apply to them so they can leave safely but they're not confident enough in their position that they'll just jump into the abyss.
wilko
Member
So we aren't out of the Woods of Defection, just yet...
The buzz I was hearing wasn't about the possible ACC exits (for a change) - it was about ESPN brokering a PAC 2 move to the Big12.
Perhaps avoiding a lawsuit, perhaps blocking and muddying the water for ACC defections?
Not sure why you see it this way. ESPN has a large Big 12 contract, so adding more schools seems like a reasonable idea for everyone.
wilko
Member
I don't see it any particular way just yet. I am trying to understand it and verify what might be true vs smoke and BS.
OK, but I just don't see any link whatsoever to ACC defections.
Fla State claims in court that the Grant of Rights ends 2027. Not 2036. If this is found to be true , good bye ACC
www.si.com
Florida State, ACC fight: ESPN have option to end deal in 2027, document shows
ESPN appears to have an option to end the ACC’s media rights deal in 2027, according to a document released by Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody. Although t
This isn't really news at all -- the original lawsuit was premised on the allegation that the ACC had breached its duties/acted negligently by allowing ESPN a no-cost option to end the media rights deal in 2027 while the GOR extended to 2036. While the validity of that argument remains to be seen, the suggestion that this means "the Grant of Rights ends in 2027" seems absurd. The GOR document plainly ends in 2036, not 2027.
The GOR's language (quoted below) is clear that what's being granted is the "rights" the ACC needs to be able to perform its obligations under the ESPN Agreement. So, there's a reasonable argument that, IF ESPN were to elect to exercise its option to end the ACC media rights deal in 2027, then the GOR would go away. But, that seems like very much a moot point -- since the lawsuit's fundamental premise is that the ACC (negligently) gave ESPN a sweetheart deal, there's no way that ESPN is going to terminate in 2027, in which case the GOR plainly continues in force.
GOR Agreement, Para. 1:
"Each of the Member Institutions hereby (a) irrevocably and exclusively grants to the Conference during the Term ... all rights ... necessary for the Conference to perform the contractual obligations of the Conference expressly set forth in the ESPN Agreement, regardless of whether such Member Institution remains a member of the Conference during the entirety of the Term .... The grant of Rights ... includes, ... (A) the right to produce and distribute all events ... that are subject to the ESPN Agreement; ... ; (C) the·right·of the·Conference or its designee to ·create and to own ·a copyright of the audiovisual work of the ESPN Games (as defined in the ESPN Agreement) ... ; and (D) the present assignment of the entire right, title and interest in the Works that are created under the ESPN Agreement. ..."
The GOR's language (quoted below) is clear that what's being granted is the "rights" the ACC needs to be able to perform its obligations under the ESPN Agreement. So, there's a reasonable argument that, IF ESPN were to elect to exercise its option to end the ACC media rights deal in 2027, then the GOR would go away. But, that seems like very much a moot point -- since the lawsuit's fundamental premise is that the ACC (negligently) gave ESPN a sweetheart deal, there's no way that ESPN is going to terminate in 2027, in which case the GOR plainly continues in force.
GOR Agreement, Para. 1:
"Each of the Member Institutions hereby (a) irrevocably and exclusively grants to the Conference during the Term ... all rights ... necessary for the Conference to perform the contractual obligations of the Conference expressly set forth in the ESPN Agreement, regardless of whether such Member Institution remains a member of the Conference during the entirety of the Term .... The grant of Rights ... includes, ... (A) the right to produce and distribute all events ... that are subject to the ESPN Agreement; ... ; (C) the·right·of the·Conference or its designee to ·create and to own ·a copyright of the audiovisual work of the ESPN Games (as defined in the ESPN Agreement) ... ; and (D) the present assignment of the entire right, title and interest in the Works that are created under the ESPN Agreement. ..."
Even if true, FSU goes to Big 12 since B1G and SEC don’t want the Seminoles. Doubt Clemson would follow FSU’s trail.Fla State claims in court that the Grant of Rights ends 2027. Not 2036. If this is found to be true , good bye ACC
Florida State, ACC fight: ESPN have option to end deal in 2027, document shows
ESPN appears to have an option to end the ACC’s media rights deal in 2027, according to a document released by Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody. Although t
Thurber Whyte
Member
I thought that the settlement with all the teams that left the Pac-12 left Washington State and Oregon State with most of the conference’s money in the bank plus the family silverware (rightly so as the only teams that did not actually leave). Could they offer to merge the Pac-2 with the Big-12 or ACC and add their riches to the other conference in exchange for admission? This could be like a delightful Regency costume drama where two homely ladies with a fortune are sought after by penurious aristocrats to maintain their status.
Thurber Whyte
Member
Florida State thinks it is big and important, so it thinks it should be in a big and important conference. More than anything else, it is afraid that, without the same income as SEC teams, it will fall behind them in the arms race and slide into irrelevance. Joining the Big-12 does not give them more status or more dollars than they already getting in the ACC. The Big-12 is not going to let them have the equivalent of the Longhorn Network either. Florida State moving to the Big-12 would ultimately be bad for the ACC, but it would be hilarious, especially if they pay us a huge settlement so they can do that.
Thurber is right. And again, it is well worth noting that the athletic dept. at FSU did not find any flaw in the Grant of Rights, it was ordered by the school's Board to take action (any action) which explains why they are throwing lots of stuff at the wall and hoping something, anything, sticks.
I would guess that since the Big 12 media deal expires in 2031 they think they will get a head start with that new deal vs the ACC deal that expires in 2036. They might hope that they would increase the modified B12 deal disproportionately with their addition. It’s a matter of the buyout. It’s at best a lateral in terms of status (probably still a downgrade for football).
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UConn looking at the Big 12?
sports.yahoo.com
Sources: UConn, Big 12 in serious negotiations about Huskies joining as newest expansion member
In the latest version of the deal, UConn would join the conference as a member in all sports except football starting, at latest, in 2026.
sports.yahoo.com