2021-22 Basketball happenings around the American Athletic!

[Stickboy46]

Is Cal a state or private school? When was the contract signed? They allow events to go forward if there were preexisting contracts before the state is put on their "list".

Football contracts are signed like 5-10 years in advance it seems

[Stickboy46]

Everything hinges on that WSU/Navy partnership. We could be hat in hand to the Summit League if we get shown the door by the AAC.

Feels like our "worst case" scenario is A-10 or MWC. Which isn't that bad of a scenario. I think getting picked up by the AAC and competeing well in it elevated our status so that even though the A10 and MWC weren't pushing hard last time, they would now.

[MikeKennedyRulZ]

Football contracts are signed like 5-10 years in advance it seems

Cal is a public state school as part of the UC system. I think the idiots in CA are going to find it hard to maintain their little spite list.

[BOBB]

You might want to look a Disney financials. They are hemorrhaging cash for the first 2 quarters this year. Their only bright spot has been Disney +, which through their package deals has increased the ESPN subscriber base while declining with the cable cutting.

Disney + Subscribers - 103.6 million
ESPN - 13.8 million

How many new subscribers would ESPN get if they brought the B12 teams in to the AAC? That gives you a rough estimate of what they could gain. I'm betting Disney execs see Disney + as the future and not ESPN, but maybe these remaining B12 teams markets are under utilizing ESPN.

I don't want to turn this political - at all. Most of you on the political forum know I'm left of the majority on this board, but right of AOC by a lot. The ESPN network is unwatchable. It has limited actual sports content and is primarily full of gasbags yelling at each other. It is TMZ/People Magazine in a sports disguise. Throw in a hefty dose of woke virtue signaling for good measure. They should go back to billiards and axe throwing content during the day.

ESPN+ is terrific. Damn near any game any sport no matter how narrow your interest. It's a steal at current prices. I expect that to continue to increase as more and more people give up on the network. Moving significant college followings to ESPN+ is good business.

[SubGod22]

I don't want to turn this political - at all. Most of you on the political forum know I'm left of the majority on this board, but right of AOC by a lot. The ESPN network is unwatchable. It has limited actual sports content and is primarily full of gasbags yelling at each other. It is TMZ/People Magazine in a sports disguise. Throw in a hefty dose of woke virtue signaling for good measure. They should go back to billiards and axe throwing content during the day.

ESPN+ is terrific. Damn near any game any sport no matter how narrow your interest. It's a steal at current prices. I expect that to continue to increase as more and more people give up on the network. Moving significant college followings to ESPN+ is good business.

I'm not sure the last time I watched anything on ESPN that wasn't a live sporting event. That includes SportsCenter. No clue the last time I watched that either.

And I fully agree on ESPN+. I wish it were easier to setup specific teams/events to be more easily accessible instead of constantly having to go to the search function, but it's still a great avenue to watch.

[BOBB]

I'm not sure the last time I watched anything on ESPN that wasn't a live sporting event. That includes SportsCenter. No clue the last time I watched that either.

And I fully agree on ESPN+. I wish it were easier to setup specific teams/events to be more easily accessible instead of constantly having to go to the search function, but it's still a great avenue to watch.

9 on content 2 on interface.

Disney + is equally bad.

Peacock is worse.

Netflix owns the interface

[Rocky Mountain Shock]

Is Cal a state or private school? When was the contract signed? They allow events to go forward if there were preexisting contracts before the state is put on their "list".

The CA law does not ban travel. It bans the use of state funds to pay for said travel. There's nothing preventing the schools from traveling to those states using private money. Again, it's not a travel ban.

[Rocky Mountain Shock]

Interesting nugget in this article:

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/texas-oklahoma-announce-intent-to-leave-big-12-but-plan-to-honor-their-existing-agreements/

"As the SEC shocked the world by preparing to assume the 'Horns and Sooners, the Big 12 lost 50% to 75% of its value, several industry sources tell CBS Sports. Their TV contracts with ESPN and Fox contain language that allows the Big 12 networks to reduce payouts if there is a loss of membership.

"When you're losing two of the most visible programs, the network has the right to come and say, 'We're going to reduce the rights by X.'" one longtime, high-profile administrator said.

That means the Big 12 deal could drop from $37 million in annual revenue to as low as $9 million per school. Considering there aren't two schools available that come close to replacing the value of Texas and Oklahoma, the Big 12 is in troubled waters to say the least.

There's a real possibility the conference could be scattered to the four winds. What a shame. Iowa State, Kansas State, West Virginia and Baylor look particularly vulnerable. Those schools are neither in a major market nor an established national brand."


Context: AAC's TV deal pays schools $7M per.

[pogo]

That’s nuts.

No...thats California

[Shock Top]

Interesting nugget in this article:

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/texas-oklahoma-announce-intent-to-leave-big-12-but-plan-to-honor-their-existing-agreements/

"As the SEC shocked the world by preparing to assume the 'Horns and Sooners, the Big 12 lost 50% to 75% of its value, several industry sources tell CBS Sports. Their TV contracts with ESPN and Fox contain language that allows the Big 12 networks to reduce payouts if there is a loss of membership.

"When you're losing two of the most visible programs, the network has the right to come and say, 'We're going to reduce the rights by X.'" one longtime, high-profile administrator said.

That means the Big 12 deal could drop from $37 million in annual revenue to as low as $9 million per school. Considering there aren't two schools available that come close to replacing the value of Texas and Oklahoma, the Big 12 is in troubled waters to say the least.

There's a real possibility the conference could be scattered to the four winds. What a shame. Iowa State, Kansas State, West Virginia and Baylor look particularly vulnerable. Those schools are neither in a major market nor an established national brand."


Context: AAC's TV deal pays schools $7M per.

Suddenly, my merger scenario doesn’t seem so crazy.

[SubGod22]

ESPN just needs to commit to upping the per school payout to 15M and go get any five they can from the group. 15M is still less than they're used to, but more than they'd be getting otherwise. ESPN picks up some great basketball and some pretty damn good football.

I forget what the split is for Navy/Wichita. Is it 60-40?

[Rocky Mountain Shock]

Suddenly, my merger scenario doesn’t seem so crazy.

I think it's just as likely as any scenario right now. I imagine a merger would look something like this:

• AAC members merge into whatever remains of the B12 (I'm assuming 4 schools) in order to keep B12's NY6 bowl tie in, autonomy, former B12 member exit fees, and accrued NCAA credits
• BYU and/or Boise join to get to 16 (depending on how many B12 leftovers there are)
• Big 12 keeps AAC's ESPN TV rights, which are renegotiated for new membership ($8-12M per school maybe?)
• Bowlsby becomes conference "chairman" or something like that with Aresco as commissioner, Bowlsby retires in 2026

[Stickboy46]

ESPN just needs to commit to upping the per school payout to 15M and go get any five they can from the group. 15M is still less than they're used to, but more than they'd be getting otherwise. ESPN picks up some great basketball and some pretty damn good football.

I forget what the split is for Navy/Wichita. Is it 60-40?

70/30 i believe.

[pogo]

Suddenly, my merger scenario doesn’t seem so crazy.

No I think it is very plausible and I like it but I think you left Tulsa out

[ShockerPrez]

I just laughed in that one article where it said the 2 faces of the Big 12, Texas and OU..... LOL.