Wisconsin named one of the most attractive schools for future conference expansion
Wisconsin football was named one of the most attractive schools for any future conference expansion, according to an article by FootballScoop.
The ranking takes into account the factors that television executives are looking for: brand value, market size and general success.
FootballScoop’s exercise took every team in the nation and power-ranked them based on if conferences were disbanded immediately and built from scratch.
This list will be interesting to revisit if conference expansion continues in the next few years — notably with the ACC’s current struggles.
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What ACC programs might the Big Ten target in conference expansion?
Florida State appears to be heading out of the ACC. If Florida State leaves the conference, it could well set off another round of conference expansion and re-alignment for the Big Ten, the Big 12 and the SEC.
The ACC, which has a terrible media deal, isn’t on life support at this point. But there is no denying that the conference is struggling to keep up as a Power Five conference. The media deal is limiting the ACC’s ability to keep up and compete in the college sports arms race, especially with regard to facilities needed in football and basketball.
Staff hiring and retention is also an issue.
Now, is the Big Ten, or any conference for that matter, ready to expand? Who knows. But conferences have to be proactive and expand with the idea of the next media rights deals.
So the Big Ten or the SEC or even the Big 12 might need to act sooner rather than later if Florida State does bolt!
Scroll down and check out how the ACC’s top programs rank for Big Ten conference expansion! (Spoiler alert: Notre Dame is not on this list)
Big 12 commissioner dishes on expansion and future schedule at conference basketball media days.
The Big 12 is already looking at the future of their college basketball product beyond the upcoming season. Beginning in 2024-25 the conference will add Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, and Utah while Oklahoma and Texas head off to the SEC.
The idea is that the conference will play a 20-game schedule in men’s basketball and an 18-game schedule in women’s basketball. Big 12 commissioner Brett Yorkmark discussed scheduling for future seasons at media days in Kansas City. According to the commish, “scheduling and travel are a major priority for the conference.”
The Big 12 will try to keep competitive balance and rivalries at the forefront when the league expands to 16 teams next season. There has been plenty of chatter about the possibility of adding a 17th team to the mix for all sports outside of football. Gonzaga has been mentioned among the Big 12’s shortlist but Yormark states that “there’s nothing imminent” when it comes to adding the basketball power to an already strong basketball conference.
“I do explore all options that come to me, and if it creates value for membership both short- and long-term, we’re going to explore it even more.” – Yormark
As far as the upcoming season, all 14 teams will begin conference play on Jan. 6. Big 12 play will conclude on Mar. 9 and the conference tournament will top off at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri, on Mar. 12. The same day that the women’s Big 12 tournament will conclude.
After weeks of deliberation, the ACC has officially expanded, adding Cal, SMU, and Stanford to the conference.
Week one of the college football season may be here, but conference realignment never rests.
On Friday morning, the Atlantic Coastal Conference officially announced the additions of Cal, SMU, and Stanford, giving the conference 18 members. Out of those 18, 17 will be full-time, with Notre Dame being a part of the ACC in all sports except football, where they remain independent. All three institutions will join the ACC next summer, with SMU officially joining on July 1, while Stanford and Cal will both officially join on Aug. 2.
“We are thrilled to welcome three world-class institutions to the ACC, and we look forward to having them compete as part of our amazing league,” ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips, Ph.D said in a press release on Friday. “Throughout the evaluation process, the ACC Board of Directors, led by President Ryan, was deliberate in prioritizing the best possible athletic and academic experience for our student-athletes and in ensuring that the three universities would strengthen the league in all possible ways. Cal, SMU and Stanford will be terrific members of the ACC and we are proud to welcome their student-athletes, coaches, staff and entire campus community, alumni and fans.”
The additions of the three schools come just a few weeks after the conference initially voted not to expand after the conference’s 15 members voted 11-4. The four dissenting votes came from Clemson, Florida State, North Carolina, and NC State. According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, it was NC State’s chancellor, Randy Woodson, who flipped his vote, which allowed the conference to extend invitations to the three universities.
For Cal and Stanford, the ACC is a lifeline for the two universities left in the remanents of the Pac-12 alongside Oregon State and Washington State. Both of those universities remain looking for their next home, with the Mountain West Conference as their most likely option.
For SMU, the move to the ACC marks the university’s return to a power conference. After being a part of the Southwest Conference from 1918 through 1995, the university has only been a member of the Group of Five conferences since 1996. The Mustangs previously spent time in the Western Athletic Conference, Conference USA, and American Athletic Conference.
According to Thamel, Cal and Stanford will only receive 30% of the conference’s revenue share for the first seven years of their membership. However, that number will increase to 70% in their eighth year with the conference, 75% in their ninth year, and they will then receive full financial shares in their tenth year.
SMU, on the other hand, to give themselves the best chance of being accepted into the conference, opted not to take any revenue share from the conference through their first nine years.
Notably, SMU’s move to the ACC will mean that the AAC will have lost a fourth program in the last two years, with Central Florida, Cincinnati, and Houston all joining the Big 12 this summer. However, thanks to being proactive in conference realignment themselves, the AAC will still have 13 members, including 12 for football, following SMU’s departure after adding six new members his summer.
The Power 5 Conferences are officially just the Power 4 now.
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Conference expansion continues to move westward with the ACC being the latest power conference to pillage teams from the dying Pac-12. After a Thursday evening phone call, the conference is set to add Stanford, Cal and Southern Methodist University to its ranks, according to reporting from Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger.
It’s final: ACC presidents have approved expansion to add Stanford, Cal and SMU, sources tell @YahooSports, ending a month-long saga into an issue that divided the league.
Should the three new invitees accept their invitations from the ACC, they’ll reportedly officially join the conference in the 2024 season.
The conference’s schools met three weeks ago to discuss potentially adding new schools to their 15-team conference, per the Associated Press, but decided not to vote on it knowing that they didn’t have the 12 necessary to move things forward. Florida State, Clemson, North Carolina and North Carolina State were reportedly the holdouts.
Obviously, something changed along the way. NC State seems to be the team that flipped with “no” votes still coming from Clemson, FSU and UNC. The question is why. The answer — like every other conference realignment story — is probably money. The conference’s teams had 72 million reasons to expand.
The ACC would reportedly squeeze an extra $72 million out of its TV deal with ESPN if it added three more teams, per On3 Sports. On top of that, those three newbies would get smaller portions of the revenue share upon entry into the conference. They’d slowly ramp up over time, sure, but in the meantime, the conference’s current powerhouses would rake in the cash.
That’s why the ACC is expanding. They don’t care if Virginia’s basketball teams have to travel coast-to-coast to play Stanford. Sacrifices must be made. Especially when the executives at the table aren’t really the ones sacrificing anything.
Meanwhile, what does the Pac-12 have left? By my count, Oregon State and Washington State are the only teams left in the conference. What are they supposed to do with that? There’s no way this conference will survive after 2023.
Sure, it’s partially the Pac-12’s own fault. Its media rights deal was catastrophic. It tried to launch its own network and failed miserably instead of partnering with an already established entity like ESPN or FS1. Now the conference is reaping what it sewed.
They get the cash and, in exchange, we lose what makes college sports special. The rivalries, good competition between conferences, the welfare of the student-athletes. All of that falls by the wayside just for some extra scratch.
It’s bad. But it’s our reality. Welcome to the new world of college sports. Hope you can enjoy it.
The lay of the land in College Sports
(AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)
A lot has changed in college sports over the last few years or so. With all of this conference expansion, it’s hard to know exactly who plays where now.
So, in the spirit of trying to keep up, I’ve listed all the teams in the Power-5 (4?) conferences and where they’ll be playing. Newcomers will have the year they’re officially joining the conference in parenthesis.
ACC: California (2024), Stanford (2024), SMU (2024), NC State, Duke, Pittsburgh, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Boston College, Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami, North Carolina, Wake Forest, Syracuse, Notre Dame.
Pac-12: Oregon State, Washington State
SEC: Texas (2024), Oklahoma (2024), Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Missouri, South Carolina, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Auburn, Texas A&M, Arkansas, Alabama, Florida.
Big Ten: Oregon (2024), UCLA (2024), Washington (2024), USC (2024), Purdue, Rutgers, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State,
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ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum says that the Big Ten will look to target two ACC programs next.
In the world of college sports and conference expansion, change seems to be the one true constant. The ACC is expanding and the Big Ten never seems far removed from the idea.
But what is next for the Big Ten in all of this? And who is the Big Ten’s top target when they expand next?
ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum talked this week about the future of college football and in particular, conference expansion. With the Big Ten adding UCLA, USC, Oregon and Washington in 2024, the Big Ten now sits at 18 members.
Does the Big Ten look to add two more teams to raise their membership to 20 universities? Finebaum thinks that if the Big Ten does expand, two ACC programs would be the target.
“I happen to think North Carolina is number one for both leagues, they bring so much to both leagues. Is it Miami? You’re also talking about broad areas. I don’t think geography matters more. Brands matter more,” Finebaum told Rutgers Wire.
“The Big Ten essentially has become a television network. I compliment them for having a myriad of programming but I don’t understand the logic beyond that. Greg Sankey made a good point: SEC is contiguous. At least you can look at a map and say it isn’t the SEC but I get it. The Big Ten makes no sense. This is what happens when you have the decisions made with television networks.”
North Carolina, given their national brand in basketball, makes sense for the Big Ten. They add the growing media market of North Carolina to the Big Ten’s portfolio.
They are an AAU member and are also strong in football.
“This part of the house doesn’t comport with the next part. It is a hodgepodge. One part looks like this, another part looks like that,” Finebaum said.
“I congratulate the Big Ten on what they’ve done but now it’s the NFL”
Where could the Big Ten be looking next in conference expansion?
College conference expansion is taking a break, but it isn’t going to slow down. Not anytime soon, and not as long as the ACC’s media deal remains inferior to that of the Big Ten, the SEC and the Big 12 (not to mention Notre Dame).
But it is clear after recent additions of Oregon and Washington that the Big Ten will continue to be aggressive in the college expansion and realignment landscape. This is as much about accruing assets (i.e. desirable media markets) as it is about adding fine athletic programs.
So where does the Big Ten go next in all of this? And what does the Big Ten value in conference expansion?
AAU membership (all current additions to the Big Ten are members of this prestigious academic institution)
Football, followed by basketball, drives this bus
Media markets, especially for the next television deal, are vastly important for the Big Ten to remain the most valuable conference in college sports.
So with that being said, scroll down and check out the most recent power rankings for possible expansion candidates to the Big Ten!
(Oh, and no Notre Dame on this list as they don’t seem enthralled with the idea of joining any conference quite yet)
What is next for the ACC, Big Ten and Big 12 for conference expansion??
The Big Ten is expanding as is the Big 12. The SEC seems happy to not expand. The ACC might be the next conference to be plundered when it is all said and done. Welcome, to conference expansion.
And while the Big Ten recently expanded with the addition of Oregon and Washington (the Big 12 did too), there is likely only going to be more conference expansion. Why? Conferences are going to target the best programs in the best media markets to further enhance their portfolios for the next round of television deals.
So what is next in the world of conference expansion? And who ends up where? Scroll down and check out some predictions for what happens to Notre Dame and UConn and the rest when it comes to conference expansion!
The Big Ten likely isn’t done in the conference expansion arms race.
Early in August, the Big Ten made another big move in conference expansion, adding Oregon and Washington. The Big 12 followed suit, with their own flurry of moves.
But what’s next now for the Big Ten? Will they expand again? And who are the top targets?
The Big Ten is currently at 18 teams. They likely want to add two more teams within the next year if only to continue stockpiling programs. Where this leads the Big Ten is anyone’s guess.
After all, who would have thought that Rutgers and Maryland would become Big Ten members in 2014.
Keep in mind a couple of things when it comes to conference expansion and the Big Ten:
The conference only admits AAU members. This whittles down the list considerably, doesn’t it?
Football is driving the bus with basketball second.
Almost as important (if not as important) in all of this? Television markets being added to the conference.
This is really an arms race between the remaining Power Four conference to best position themselves for the next round of television negotiations.
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Scroll down and check out the updated Power Rankings for Big Ten conference expansion:
Starting in 2024, the Big Ten Conference will add four new schools.
Starting in 2024, the Big Ten Conference will add four new schools. Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington will leave the Pac-12 for a news league.
Where do these schools currently sit among their soon-to-be fellow conference schools in recruiting rankings? Michigan and Ohio State hold the top two spots in the recruiting services rankings.
Where does Nebraska’s 2024 recruiting class currently rank among their fellow Big Ten schools? The Huskers hold 24 commits, with six 4-star prospects scheduled to join the program in the future.
The class is led by in-state commitments Carter Nelson and Dae’vonn Hall. The 4-star prospects are currently ranked as the No. 1 and No. 2 recruits in the state of Nebraska.
You can find the Big Ten 2024 Recruiting Class rankings from 247Sports below.
