![]() ![]() Who in the hell saw that coming? Regardless, I have always thought the media markets in North Carolina and Virginia were too enticing to be overlooked by what are currently better college football programs in Clemson and Florida State. Well, lo and behold, Oklahoma and Texas are joining the SEC in 2024, the same year that shockingly, USC and UCLA are joining the Big Ten. Entitlement is not how you win games in the SEC. Texas has a bit of a wine-and-cheese feel to it. I had a feeling those two schools would have the easiest time assimilating into the league like Texas A&M has done since its arrival last decade. When the SEC was still at 14 teams, the two schools I thought made the most sense to acquire would be Oklahoma and North Carolina State. ![]() North Carolina, Virginia seen as ACC expansion possibilities for Big Ten or SEC Once again, conference realignment is not always about what seems to be the most obvious thing. I do not think you can add one without adding the other… Where North Carolina and Virginia are located, they would be contiguous additions to either league should the Big Ten or SEC come calling. ![]() It is all about geography and market share. Although neither program has won a national title before on the football field, there is way more than meets the eye with the Heels and the Hoos than shooting hoops, turning left and academics. While Clemson, Florida State and even Miami might make more sense in terms of conference expansion on the college football side of things, the two ACC schools leagues like the Big Ten and SEC might covet more than any are … North Carolina and Virginia?!ĮSPN’s Pete Thamel reported earlier in the week that UNC and UVA will be “coveted” by both leagues in potentially the next wave of realignment. It is easy to see which brands ESPN wants and just as easy to see that SEC Football gets almost no value from adding UNC, UVA, and basically every other ACC team, except for Clemson and FSU.The two ACC schools the Big Ten and SEC might want the most are North Carolina and Virginia. The number for UNC was two and for UVA it was zero. The number was 19 for Clemson and 16 for Florida State. Loesche tracked ACC teams going back to 2012 and tabulated how many games drove 4M or more viewers. My advice is to read his entire article.įor those who want a summary, the measure of the value of a college football brand should be measured by the viewing interest it creates. Jon Loesche does a great job explaining the dilemma. A bubble is defined as a period when prices rise rapidly, outpacing the true worth, or intrinsic value, of an asset, market sector, or an entire industryĪre massive media fees for college football approaching, or at a bubble stage? Such questions are rarely answered, “until a bubble bursts.”Īt the least, ESPN and other large media companies must be more cautious than bold. In a traditional definition a ‘bubble’ indicates a dangerous situation for a market. In a recent article, Jon Loesche discussed a college football TV bubble. Using top brands to build new rivalries means more games with more eyeballs for ESPN. Months ago ESPN admitted its interest is in college football brands rather than markets. That Charlottesville is a small market does not matter. The measure of added value, to drive increases in media rights fees, has nothing to do with market size. While that might be a bit less true for the Big Ten, it is absolutely true for the SEC. Conference realignment is driven almost solely by football. What they don’t do, is offer much clout from their football programs. Both would also bring top-tier basketball programs, and in the case of the Tar Heels legit elite status. Both would bring academic prestige to any conference. The University of Virginia and the University of North Carolina are outstanding schools. No link is provided in this post because the suggestion, at least in terms of the SEC is nonsense. It was recently written that both the Big Ten and the SEC are interested in adding North Carolina and Virginia. Given how much cord-cutting is believed to have cut into ESPN revenues, ESPN may not be close to throwing more money at college football product. No SEC expansion makes sense until ESPN is ready to ante up once again. One is the SEC is currently happy with its return from media deals. There are a couple of reasons why the conventional wisdom is credible. The conventional wisdom is SEC Football will not expand in the near future. ![]()
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