It the B1G a national conference and the SEC a regional conference?

[cubuffsdoug]

Greg Sankey puffs chest touting SEC's strength as 'super league' dynamic reshapes college football

The article takes a look at how SEC Sankey views the current landscape.:

Sankey still wants to influence the selection of playoff teams. No auto bid increases the chances of more SEC schools.

That's the silk scarf in the commissioner. His message: Don't try us. For the moment, Sankey has tacitly removed the SEC's support of a 12-team playoff that includes six spots reserved for the top-ranked conference champions.

"I'd be fine with no [automatic qualifiers]," he said.

Sankey and the league president seem to focus on the NIL (Alston v. the NCAA). The SEC has put together a strategy to take advantage of this opportunity. The responsibility lies with the conference and the NCAA. I get the impression the SEC isn't controlling each school's NIL setup but has given them guidance on how to work the system in their favor.

A month before that revelation, Sankey had already told his league presidents it would be "the most consequential year in the history of college sports." Consider what has happened since: Alston v. NCAA decision; name, image and likeness rights; and the NCAA deciding to rewrite its constitution while ceding responsibilities to the membership power brokers like Sankey.

The video in the upper righthand corner goes into deep dive with Sankey on various topics, such as staying 16 teams to the B1G expansion cutting into his vacation, etc.:

3:50 mark of the video: Sankey discusses the idea of staying at 16 for now. Some of its concerns deal with the GOR of teams they are interested in, such as Clemson and Fla. State. ESPN controls both leagues, so ESPN has a vested interest in not losing money in either league. Sankey is thinking of staying regional (Southeast) because that's what the league identifies as, but the league wants national appeal. You can't have it both ways. If the B1G had stayed regional, no USC & UCLA, then the possibility exists.

5:53 mark: The size of the conference does impact the reason the conference exists in the first place. Sankey gave an example of going beyond 16 presents scheduling issues that affect traditions/rivals. The SEC struggle with Kentucky may go 12 years between visits to College Station (A&M), and the same for Arkansas to Florida. Expansion beyond 16 can be done, but the league begins to lose its identity. Imagine Ohio State and Michigan playing every few years instead of yearly. That could cause the league to break up. Bigger isn't always better because you can kill the golden goose.

7:55 mark: The recent move by the B1G caught everyone by surprise, including the SEC/Sankey. Sankey was preparing to go on vacation when the news broke. Sankey canceled a vacation to spend the weekend taking calls about the current events. Although Sankey didn't dive into details, the SEC is concerned in a big way.

 

[RUTGERS95]

nice write up thanks.

He should be concerned and if I were Texas I'd be reconsidering my SEC move

 

[e5fdny]

As to the title of the thread…I don’t think “regional” here is a bad word.

I was fine with the status quo.

Until we moved the B1G we were going to be in a national version of the AAC.

Didn’t really like that or this new version of the B1G. But nobody asked me. Or cares what I think. LOL

 

[anon_ivydyf0amkzay]

nice write up thanks.

He should be concerned and if I were Texas I'd be reconsidering my SEC move

LOL!

the SEC is and will be just fine…if you want to call the B1G and national conference and the SEC a regional one, fine. It is basically irrelevant to the power of either. SEC fan bases have no interest in expanding any farther north or west of where they are…MU is a bit of an outlier, but they would have been dumb not to accept Joining.

 

[rutgersal]

nice write up thanks.

He should be concerned and if I were Texas I'd be reconsidering my SEC move

I was just thinking the B1G should poach Texas and Notre Dame.

 

[rutgersguy1]

I was just thinking the B1G should poach Texas and Notre Dame.

It's not as if Texas couldn't have gone to the B10 in the first place. If Texas wanted to be in the B10, they would be. It's not like the B10 would have said no. They chose to be in the SEC.

 

[NickRU714]

National Conference?
Regional Conference?

Don't care what you call us, just don't call us late for the payment distributions.

You call the Big Ten a Fake P-5 Conference for all I care as long as the media money keeps coming in.

 

[rutgersguy1]

Geographically the SEC is regional and the B10 national but in practice the B10 is national and the SEC is "national-ish" as long as their programs are performing at a high level and winning national titles.

I wonder though what will happen post Saban. He's raised the game of the SEC but when he goes will that be maintained in terms of performance at this level. Still competitive and competing for championships but I wonder if at the current dominant level.

 

[rutgersal]

It's not as if Texas couldn't have gone to the B10 in the first place. If Texas wanted to be in the B10, they would be. It's not like the B10 would have said no. They chose to be in the SEC.

The Big Ten value proposition is much stronger today than it was previously because USC will soon be in it. This changes the game. And if we can add Notre Dame, the B1G will easily eclipse $100M/Team. There would be so much money to go around, that it wouldn’t matter that the Texas golf team has to goto Rutgers.

 

[rutgersguy1]

The Big Ten value proposition is much stronger today than it was previously because USC will soon be in it. This changes the game. And if we can add Notre Dame, the B1G will easily eclipse $100M/Team. There would be so much money to go around, that it wouldn’t matter that the Texas golf team has to goto Rutgers.

I think it's cultural fit for football as much as anything and recruiting area into the southeast too. I mean they have tons of money. What about OU too?

I don't see it. ND will eventually be B10 IMO so the opportunity will be there for Texas if they ever want it but not sure if they will.

 

[ru66]

You can bet the BIG has way more alumni spread out nationally than the SEC. That's why if you’re a kid from NJ or NY it's easy to get into Alabama,etc. They're dying to get that exposure.
They are regional schools for sure.

 

[anon_ivydyf0amkzay]

I was just thinking the B1G should poach Texas and Notre Dame.

There is no more avarice-driven program than the castrated bovines…would not surprise me one bit if they told the SEC to eff off and bolted to the B1G. They’ve already ruined the SWC, original b12 and b12-2-2+2 so why not leave the SEC holding the bag?

 

[RUTGERS95]

LOL!

the SEC is and will be just fine…if you want to call the B1G and national conference and the SEC a regional one, fine. It is basically irrelevant to the power of either. SEC fan bases have no interest in expanding any farther north or west of where they are…MU is a bit of an outlier, but they would have been dumb not to accept Joining.

I've not said anything about national vs regional here. My point is simply this and I'm sure you'll agree in that; Texas considers themselves elite and view themselves as a national power. The issues before were the Longhorn network and OU. The B10 was never and will never allow OU into the conference. Who knows what Texas is thinking now but if I'm them, I want the B10 now for money, prestige, and national attention

 

[rutgersal]

I think it's cultural fit for football as much as anything and recruiting area into the southeast too. I mean they have tons of money. What about OU too?

I don't see it. ND will eventually be B10 IMO so the opportunity will be there for Texas if they ever want it but not sure if they will.

Every program can always use more money. Oklahoma not AAU, so not a fit for the Big Ten. I agree that Texas likely stays in the SEC, but no harm in asking.

 

[rutgersguy1]

Every program can always use more money. Oklahoma not AAU, so not a fit for the Big Ten. I agree that Texas likely stays in the SEC, but no harm in asking.

No harm in trying and who knows maybe they have already but I'm guessing it won't change anything.

 

[Ty Webb]

Does it matter what you call each conference?

 

[AdventureHasAName]

If the SEC is a regional conference, then it's the region where everyone cares the most about sports.

 

[rutgersguy1]

Greg Sankey puffs chest touting SEC's strength as 'super league' dynamic reshapes college football

The article takes a look at how SEC Sankey views the current landscape.:

Sankey still wants to influence the selection of playoff teams. No auto bid increases the chances of more SEC schools.


Sankey and the league president seem to focus on the NIL (Alston v. the NCAA). The SEC has put together a strategy to take advantage of this opportunity. The responsibility lies with the conference and the NCAA. I get the impression the SEC isn't controlling each school's NIL setup but has given them guidance on how to work the system in their favor.






The video in the upper righthand corner goes into deep dive with Sankey on various topics, such as staying 16 teams to the B1G expansion cutting into his vacation, etc.:

3:50 mark of the video: Sankey discusses the idea of staying at 16 for now. Some of its concerns deal with the GOR of teams they are interested in, such as Clemson and Fla. State. ESPN controls both leagues, so ESPN has a vested interest in not losing money in either league. Sankey is thinking of staying regional (Southeast) because that's what the league identifies as, but the league wants national appeal. You can't have it both ways. If the B1G had stayed regional, no USC & UCLA, then the possibility exists.

5:53 mark: The size of the conference does impact the reason the conference exists in the first place. Sankey gave an example of going beyond 16 presents scheduling issues that affect traditions/rivals. The SEC struggle with Kentucky may go 12 years between visits to College Station (A&M), and the same for Arkansas to Florida. Expansion beyond 16 can be done, but the league begins to lose its identity. Imagine Ohio State and Michigan playing every few years instead of yearly. That could cause the league to break up. Bigger isn't always better because you can kill the golden goose.

7:55 mark: The recent move by the B1G caught everyone by surprise, including the SEC/Sankey. Sankey was preparing to go on vacation when the news broke. Sankey canceled a vacation to spend the weekend taking calls about the current events. Although Sankey didn't dive into details, the SEC is concerned in a big way.

BTW with regards to the playoffs, I've mentioned I don't expect the same playoff deal as last time. I said back then it was reasonable and fair. Now I could see a playoff without autobids or fewer than the top 6 conferences, maybe something like top 4.

I suppose it depends on if they go with 8 or 12 teams. I still like 12 and it allows for more inclusion autobids or not. I still think some form of inclusion is important for the sport. If it's 12 even without autobids there's a very good chance you'd have the top 3 conf champs included and possibly top 4. If you wanted to cement the top 4 with AQs that's okay too.

If they go with 8 teams I'm not sure there will be any autobids because if you take 4 AQs then you have 4 at larges which is the same number as you have now. I don't think Sankey will go for a model that doesn't increase the number of at larges. So if it's 8, I think it could be just 8 at larges. Without looking at history, I think that model would likely get 3 top conference champs most of the time.

 

[brgRC90]

Superficially national. The vast majority of their viewers will be between the Delaware River and the Mississippi.

 

[LotusAggressor]

Geographically the SEC is regional and the B10 national but in practice the B10 is national and the SEC is "national-ish" as long as their programs are performing at a high level and winning national titles.

I wonder though what will happen post Saban. He's raised the game of the SEC but when he goes will that be maintained in terms of performance at this level. Still competitive and competing for championships but I wonder if at the current dominant level.

It's possible that Smart or Fisher could be the next Saban. Whether they'll be able to build the Death Star he's built at Alabama is the question.

 

[rutgersguy1]

It's possible that Smart or Fisher could be the next Saban. Whether they'll be able to build the Death Star he's built at Alabama is the question.

They can be good, specifically Smart but dominance like Saban in this era seems unlikely.

Read an article that Saban nearly left for tv some time ago. Come on Nick, it's time to retire to a nice cushy tv analyst job.

Nick Saban considered leaving Alabama to become a TV analyst after Kick Six, according to new book

The most successful coach in this generation considered hanging up his headset in 2014 to become an ESPN analyst

www.cbssports.com

 

[Rufaninga]

Regional SEC - "it just means more"
National B1G - "It just pays more"

 

[angmo]

ACC and AAC are gonna merge to form a truly national conference. Will be called the ACACA.

Apologies in advance...