Mike Petrik
Member
Yes, aside from the important FB vs BB difference, ND is unique because its fan base includes hundreds of thousands of non-alumni Catholics. Duke simply does not have the fan base to secure a comparable tv contract.
Conference Realignment
- Thread starter DavidBenAkiva
- Start date
All Clemson and FSU ever had was jealousy at the bigger payouts in the SEC and B1G (which they deserve, because they have much bigger followings, it really isn't rocket surgery). Never mind the ACC is paying out a lot more than it ever did, and they have plenty of money to manage their affairs if they do so competently (a big ask, perhaps). Agreeing with Throaty, I see ZERO interest from the B1G for those teams...could actually see them opting for Duke and unc before anyone else in the league. Don't see the SEC clamoring for them either....
wichitadevil
Member
Time to start building the brand with Methodists!
Have it on pretty good authority that the B1G's primary targets in the ACC would be UNC, Duke and UVA (though we are probably 3rd among those but viewed as an attractive package with the UNC rivalry). They are not really interested in having non-flagship schools in SEC country - just doesn't fit the conference culture or their strategy vis a vis athletics.
One long-term spitball scenario apparently calls for adding 6 teams - ND, UNC, Duke, UVA, Stanford and Cal. Teams would be grouped in 4 pods of 6 teams each, primarily for non-revenue sport travel purposes but with some influence on FB and BB scheduling. Another interesting proposal was to have a set schedule of 14-16 MBB games plus mini in-season tournaments of 4-8 teams (1-2 from each "pod") over a weekend to get to 20 conference games overall.
Proposed Pods as I understand them:
Duke, UNC, UVA, Maryland, Penn State, Rutgers
Ohio State, Indiana, Purdue, ND, Michigan, Michigan State
Illinois, Northwestern, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska
USC, UCLA, Stanford, Cal, Oregon, Washington
There is a lot of logic to the above IMHO but it all hinges and landing Notre Dame and going from there.
We’d never lose a b-ball game in our pod
MarkD83
Member
SMU is already in the flock.
I don't think Notre Dame would ever have interest in losing its unique independent status for football.
This would certainly enhance the BIG's academic status. I would even include UNC as a good school when you take away the athletes from the mix.
Of course it would require us to go to College Park which is a fate worse than death.
I wonder if Rutgers would move the Duke game to the Pru Center in Newark at the risk of having 70% of the crowd root for Duke.
MChambers
Member
Some teams may be leaving Division 1, due to the probable costs of paying players under so-called revenue sharing:
bsky.app
Matt Brown (@mattbrown.bsky.social)
Hearing from multiple industry people I trust that several D1 schools are having SERIOUS internals talks about reclassifying out of D1 before July/House. Mostly but not exclusively in the northeast. I’d be a little surprised if nobody ends up doing it.
bsky.app
not since the school kicked UMC to the curb!
I think that may be a bit too strong. Independence is incredibly important to them. But if the economic advantages to doing it fade in a meaningful way and/or they get locked out from or very marginalized in terms of competing for national championships, they may find joining a conference more compelling. Also worth noting that the younger generations of ND alums tend to be less dogmatic about football independence generally.
If they flip, it will be to the B1G. Geography, rivalries, cultural fit, etc.
This seems like a very solid, logical model. That said, I agree with @Maged — ND ain't giving up its independent football status, and if it ever does, I'm not sure they're going to run into the arms of the suitor who didn't want them when they did have interest in joining a conference long ago (Michigan and Fielding Yost kept ND out of what would become the Big Ten way back in the 1920s... every time the B1G has come calling in recent years, ND has told them to go pound sand...).
throatybeard
Member
Oh God no.
The only good thing about expansion outside the SEC, which is a legitimately coherent conference even at 16, is that Duke doesn't have to deal with Maryland and their psychotic supporters anymore.
Old wounds do take a long time to heal but that happened over a century ago. And Notre Dame and Michigan have met on the gridiron 32 times in the past 47 years, including some incredibly high profile matchups in the 1990s. ND also has longstanding rivalries with B1G members USC (93 meetings), Purdie (86) and Michigan State (77). Adding Stanford (annual opponent since 1988) would also appeal to them.
SkyBrickey
Member
I think some of you might be undervaluing our favorite sports team. Media companies care about viewership, and to a much lesser degree, promotional (social media) reach. I don't see Notre Dame football on the graphic below.
Instead of burying Duke BB in a conference pod playing Rutgers, Penn State, Maryland, a better way to unlock that value might be to create marquee matchups throughout the season with top teams from all the conferences. What could that 180M viewership number become if Duke were playing top teams in the SEC, B12, B1G, Big East?
I think this is very unlikely to happen for lots of reasons, but hopefully Nina has at least explored the idea with ESPN, Fox, ...
Instead of burying Duke BB in a conference pod playing Rutgers, Penn State, Maryland, a better way to unlock that value might be to create marquee matchups throughout the season with top teams from all the conferences. What could that 180M viewership number become if Duke were playing top teams in the SEC, B12, B1G, Big East?
I think this is very unlikely to happen for lots of reasons, but hopefully Nina has at least explored the idea with ESPN, Fox, ...
throatybeard
Member
I don't really want a harder ooc schedule than we had this year. It was just right. Playing the top of everyone's conference every year seems like a good way to end up with a lot of 19-11 records and an occasional 2021 thrown in for good measure.
Lurkingdukedog
Member
They do reside in the Eastern part of Washington . . .
AGDukesky
Member
Those Duke-SMU games will be must watch TV!
SkyBrickey
Member
No, think of it this way. If you cut a deal with the B12 to give them 10-12 games every year, then you'd get some Kansas States mixed in with the Houstons. And you could always tune up with an NC State just for old times sake. And you've scheduled UCONN but they are having a bad year. You always play Indiana, UCLA, Kansas, UNC, Kentucky (blue blood make believe).
Sure, it would probably be the toughest schedule in the country, but not much tougher than what Auburn played this year. And because you're putting teams on the court every year like this one given the overwhelming recruiting advantage, you want to take on the best.
I may be in the minority but I actually miss having Maryland and their psychotic supporters in-conference - it made beating them that much more satisfying
That pod (UNC, UVA, Duke, Penn State, Maryland and Rutgers) would seem to have a lot of appeal for our lax and soccer programs
very good post. But I don't see why ND would play along unless the ACC unravels since they depend upon the ACC for all their non football sports. I have no real inside information but strongly feel what Nina is doing is positioning Duke for a B1G bid should one be required. Good point about non flagship schools like Clemson and FSU.