ACC leadership touts progress in trying to address financial gap with the Big Ten and the SEC
1 year, 7 months ago

ACC leadership touts progress in trying to address financial gap with the Big Ten and the SEC

Associated Press  

AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. — The Atlantic Coast Conference emerged from three days of spring meetings at a posh, oceanside resort with one resolution: the formalization of tiebreaker rules for the league’s new, no-division format. Most everything else discussed behind closed doors remained secretive works in progress, most notably how the league plans to close the financial gap on college football’s preeminent powerhouses: the Big Ten and the Southeastern Conference. Three months later, Alford softened his stance and insisted he’s “optimistic about the future.” “I’m thrilled with the work and the direction that it’s going,” Alford said this week. “If you base it on your investment in football and winning football, I think we’d probably end up on the good end of that,” Wake Forest football coach Dave Clawson said. That’s what we control.” The new model would have no effect on the equally distributed revenue from the league’s television contracts, meaning no school would not get any less than it’s currently getting.

Football School Revenue Phillips Sec League Acc  leadership  schools  million  trying  gap  financial  progress  acc  revenue  football  sec  league  touts  big  school  college  phillips  need  address

History of this topic

Belichick’s bid to reshape football at UNC another sign of rising pro influence on college level
1 week, 4 days ago

Belichick’s bid to reshape football at UNC another sign of rising pro influence on college level

Associated Press  

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! “I really think there’s going to be some of those guys that maybe don’t have a job in the NFL anymore,” Kansas State general manager Clint Brown said, “and now that this is going to be structured in a way where there is a cap that …

‘It’s an arms race’: Florida weighs how to compete in new expensive era of college sports
1 month ago

‘It’s an arms race’: Florida weighs how to compete in new expensive era of college sports

Politico  

“It’s an arms race, let’s call it what it is,” Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. said during a meeting of top university officials in October. You have Alabama, or you have Tennessee — you have other places decide that they’re going to pour some state funds into this, and then it puts our universities at a disadvantage.” Although colleges …

College Football Playoff Bubble Watch: Big 12, ACC should relish multiple bids if they get them
2 months ago

College Football Playoff Bubble Watch: Big 12, ACC should relish multiple bids if they get them

New York Times  

Read The Athletic’s latest edition of College Football Playoff bubble watch. There’s a chance the Big 12 or ACC might be given two automatic bids in a Playoff that expands to 14 or 16 teams, but the two richest leagues hold all the power to make the rules after the nine conference commissioners and Notre Dame signed a new Playoff …

For Big Ten ADs, SEC meet-up offers a chance to hash out the issues that just mean more
2 months, 2 weeks ago

For Big Ten ADs, SEC meet-up offers a chance to hash out the issues that just mean more

New York Times  

When the Big Ten Council of Presidents and Chancellors hired Tony Petitti as commissioner in spring 2023, it mandated he work closely with Southeastern Conference counterpart Greg Sankey and thaw the icy relationship between the collegiate sports superpowers. “Given where we are with the overall landscape of college athletics, those who see things in a common way, to me we …

For ACC teams, adding an NFL-like front office is the new norm for transfer-portal recruiting
2 months, 4 weeks ago

For ACC teams, adding an NFL-like front office is the new norm for transfer-portal recruiting

Associated Press  

New Boston College coach Bill O’Brien wanted to build a pro-style approach to handle the growing demands of recruiting in the transfer-portal era. “We’re continuing to grow,” said California coach Justin Wilcox, whose Bears are in their first ACC season. If there’s more investment on the front end, I’ve got to believe the back end is going to look better, …

ACC schools have a new path to more revenue: Just win... in the postseason
3 months, 2 weeks ago

ACC schools have a new path to more revenue: Just win... in the postseason

Associated Press  

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! That “success initiative” could mean $20 million to $25 million more for a school in a big year, based primarily on football like everything else in college athletics. The plan also includes existing revenue distributions for success in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, with “units” earned …

Bulked-up Big Ten and SEC set to dominate college football on and off the field
4 months ago

Bulked-up Big Ten and SEC set to dominate college football on and off the field

Associated Press  

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! “An incredibly strong conference, amazing TV deals, incredible partner, certainly exciting times to be part of the Big Ten,” Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens recent said recently on the Navigating Sports Business podcast. “Now, as a TV guy, if I’m going to pay increasing dollars, I’m …

SMU embracing challenge of ‘moving up in weight class’ and joining Atlantic Coast Conference
5 months ago

SMU embracing challenge of ‘moving up in weight class’ and joining Atlantic Coast Conference

Associated Press  

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! “I think it just speaks to the acknowledgement from our community, the SMU community, this isn’t just about athletics,” athletics director Rick Hart said. “That us off pretty bad and we are mad at that.. That’s a big motivator because now we know we just can’t …

EA Sports College Football 25, among most anticipated sports video games in history, hits the market
5 months ago

EA Sports College Football 25, among most anticipated sports video games in history, hits the market

Associated Press  

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! EA Sports College Football 25, among the most highly anticipated sports video games of all time, has flooded the market as gamers who waited more than a decade for the franchise’s next installment rush to play. “To say we’ve been blown away by the excitement, energy …

Recruiting mailbag: A ‘tainted’ Ohio State title? Better investment, ACC or Big 12?
6 months, 1 week ago

Recruiting mailbag: A ‘tainted’ Ohio State title? Better investment, ACC or Big 12?

New York Times  

Neither do your questions. Ari, will Ohio State’s massive spend to bring in talent taint any success they have this year, having not won recently with maybe the best rosters in all college football? Think about it in the reverse, though: If Ohio State spends all this money to assemble a roster that’s superior to most — if not all …

Schools in basketball-centric leagues face different economic challenges with NCAA settlement
6 months, 3 weeks ago

Schools in basketball-centric leagues face different economic challenges with NCAA settlement

Associated Press  

Bernadette McGlade leads an Atlantic 10 Conference built around basketball and focused on getting multiple bids to the NCAA men’s tournament much more than anything tied to big-time football. “So we have to get to the strategy table and start doing analysis.” Schools that lean on basketball in leagues like the A-10, Big East — home to UConn, the two-time …

SEC gathers to sort through consequences of settlement, comes away with more questions than answers
6 months, 3 weeks ago

SEC gathers to sort through consequences of settlement, comes away with more questions than answers

Associated Press  

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! “It’s going to be a process,” Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin said. “We have to recognize we don’t have all the answers right now.” One way to boost revenue schools are already considering is selling advertising that would be displayed on football fields or uniforms. In …

With CFP snub still stinging, Atlantic Coast Conference ponders how to boost football perceptions
7 months, 1 week ago

With CFP snub still stinging, Atlantic Coast Conference ponders how to boost football perceptions

Associated Press  

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. — The College Football Playoff snub of unbeaten Florida State is still a fresh wound for the entire Atlantic Coast Conference. Unbeaten ACC champion Florida State was passed over after losing quarterback Jordan Travis to a season-ending leg injury late in the year, …

Paying college athletes is closer than ever. How could it work and what stands in the way?
7 months, 2 weeks ago

Paying college athletes is closer than ever. How could it work and what stands in the way?

Associated Press  

The proposed settlement of a federal class-action antitrust lawsuit that has been approved by the NCAA and major college conferences would cost billions and pave the way for college athletes to get a cut of the revenue that has been flowing to their schools for years. FILE - Footballs stand ready before the Virginia Tech at Wake Forest NCAA college …

ESPN will remain the home of the College Football Playoff through 2031 under $7.8 billion deal
9 months ago

ESPN will remain the home of the College Football Playoff through 2031 under $7.8 billion deal

Associated Press  

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! The College Football Playoff and ESPN announced a $7.8 billion deal Tuesday that will give the network exclusive rights to the expanded postseason through the 2031 season, with the national championship game moving to ABC starting in 2026. “It’s a significant day for the CFP and …

Conferences and Notre Dame agree on 6-year deal to continue College Football Playoff through 2031
9 months, 1 week ago

Conferences and Notre Dame agree on 6-year deal to continue College Football Playoff through 2031

Associated Press  

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! The nine Bowl Subdivision conferences and Notre Dame reached an agreement Friday on a six-year deal to continue the College Football Playoff through the 2031 season, a significant step that establishes a revenue-sharing plan and allows the CFP to finalize a media rights agreement. Executive Director …

College Football Playoff moving toward agreement between conferences needed to complete ESPN deal
9 months, 1 week ago

College Football Playoff moving toward agreement between conferences needed to complete ESPN deal

Associated Press  

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! The College Football Playoff is moving toward a revenue-sharing agreement among participating conferences that is needed in order to finalize a new media rights contact with ESPN. Conference officials were meeting separately this week with their schools to consider a deal that would commit them to …

Analysis: Big Ten and SEC power play undermines credibility of playoff, marginalizes ACC and Big 12
9 months, 3 weeks ago

Analysis: Big Ten and SEC power play undermines credibility of playoff, marginalizes ACC and Big 12

Associated Press  

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! There will be at least two 12-team playoffs, this season and next, but the Power Five is now down to four, dominated by a Big Two: The Southeastern Conference and Big Ten have decided to throw their weight around to protect their own interests with little …

With 12-team playoff set, CFP already discussing possibly more teams for 2026 and beyond
10 months ago

With 12-team playoff set, CFP already discussing possibly more teams for 2026 and beyond

Associated Press  

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! DALLAS — Now that the yearslong process to finalize how the 12 teams for the expanded College Football Playoff will be selected for the next two seasons is complete, there are already discussions about maybe adding more teams for 2026 and beyond. The CFP management committee …

A 14-team field … already? CFP is fixing something that isn’t broken
10 months ago

A 14-team field … already? CFP is fixing something that isn’t broken

New York Times  

It was too good to be true. The SEC took the top two brands from Bowlsby’s conference, the Big Ten’s old commissioner annexed Los Angeles, the Big 12’s and Big Ten’s new commissioners went scorched earth on the Pac-12, and the ACC picked up their leftovers. GO DEEPER CFP officials discuss expanding to 14 or 16 teams for 2026 onward …

As CFP meetings resume with ESPN TV deal on table, the battle for control of the future rages
10 months ago

As CFP meetings resume with ESPN TV deal on table, the battle for control of the future rages

New York Times  

— Reporting by Andrew Marchand, Nicole Auerbach, Stewart Mandel and Chris Vannini College football’s future could receive some needed clarity this week. Then there’s the question of governance: Would the Big Ten and SEC, having newly formed a joint advisory group to “take a leadership role in developing solutions for a sustainable future of college sports,” push for more autonomy …

ESPN, College Football Playoff agree on 6-year deal worth $1.3 billion annually, AP sources say
10 months, 1 week ago

ESPN, College Football Playoff agree on 6-year deal worth $1.3 billion annually, AP sources say

Associated Press  

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! ESPN and the College Football Playoff have agreed to a six-year deal worth $1.3 billion annually that allows the network to keep exclusive rights to the 12-team playoff through the 2031 season, two people with knowledge of the agreement told The Associated Press. ESPN was first …

Florida State to discuss future of athletics, affiliation with ACC at board meeting, AP source says
1 year ago

Florida State to discuss future of athletics, affiliation with ACC at board meeting, AP source says

Associated Press  

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! The board is expected to consider a possible exit strategy that could involve legal action against the ACC and contracts that bind the conference’s members for 12 more years, according to the person, who spoke Thursday on condition of anonymity because the school had not yet …

AP Sports Story of the Year: Realignment, stunning demise of Pac-12 usher in super conference era
1 year ago

AP Sports Story of the Year: Realignment, stunning demise of Pac-12 usher in super conference era

Associated Press  

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! The redrawing of the college sports map and demise of the Pac-12, a conference that claims the most NCAA championships and a legacy that includes the likes of Jackie Robinson, Bill Walton, Aaron Rodgers, Katie Ledecky, Tiger Woods and Cheryl Miller, made conference realignment The Associated …

Arizona’s athletic department is struggling financially ahead of move to the Big 12
1 year, 1 month ago

Arizona’s athletic department is struggling financially ahead of move to the Big 12

Associated Press  

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! The University of Arizona’s athletic department is struggling financially ahead of its move from the Pac-12 to the Big 12. Arizona’s athletic department was given a $55 million loan during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic that hasn’t been paid back “fast enough,” according to the …

Opinion: The Pac-12 is the ‘Conference of Champions.’ Don’t let it disappear
1 year, 2 months ago

Opinion: The Pac-12 is the ‘Conference of Champions.’ Don’t let it disappear

LA Times  

USC Trojans celebrate their victory in the Division 1 NCAA Women’s Beach Volleyball Championship in May 2023. Consider the Olympic sports contested across the NCAA: Pac-12 schools dominate the top 25 national rankings and finishes, and Stanford, UCLA and USC sweep the podium spots for schools with the most NCAA team titles. Indeed, it is Olympic sports that have made …

CFP puts off decisions on format tweaks with Pac-12 still in limbo, hears from potential TV partners
1 year, 2 months ago

CFP puts off decisions on format tweaks with Pac-12 still in limbo, hears from potential TV partners

Associated Press  

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! The number of spots reserved for conference champions when the College Football Playoff expands to 12 teams next year remained open for discussion Wednesday as administrators who manage the postseason wrapped up meetings that mostly focused on potential television partners. College Football Playoff Executive Director Bill …

What’s next in major college football realignment? How about a best-of-the-rest league
1 year, 3 months ago

What’s next in major college football realignment? How about a best-of-the-rest league

Associated Press  

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! A relegation approach is a complicated if inclusive way to reach what might be the best next move for the two schools and other top programs in the so-called Group of Five conferences: A best-of-the-rest, football-only conference that ignores geography and focuses on maximizing TV dollars …

Revenue-sharing with major college football players seems ‘inevitable.’ How could it be done?
1 year, 3 months ago

Revenue-sharing with major college football players seems ‘inevitable.’ How could it be done?

Associated Press  

When one of college football’s top coaches makes a point of letting the world know he believes his players should essentially be paid, it gets a lot of attention. “When the student-athletes call it a business, the corporate-types call it a game.” Overhauling the collegiate sports model to allow athletes playing at the highest levels of college football to share …

Analysis: Conference realignment has mangled the college sports map, but to what benefit?
1 year, 3 months ago

Analysis: Conference realignment has mangled the college sports map, but to what benefit?

Associated Press  

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! Beyond dollars moving from one bank account to another it’s hard to see the overall benefit, but the most disruptive round of conference realignment at the highest level of college sports appears to be almost over — at least for the near future. We’ll probably have …

ACC becomes latest super conference, expanding cross-country by adding Stanford, Cal and SMU
1 year, 3 months ago

ACC becomes latest super conference, expanding cross-country by adding Stanford, Cal and SMU

Associated Press  

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! “Joining the ACC will ensure the Power Conference competitive infrastructure and long-term media revenues that are critical for our student-athletes to compete.” For the ACC, adding three schools will increase media rights revenue from its long-term deal with ESPN and allow the conference to spread much …

Stanford and Cal's ACC move shows college sports are broken
1 year, 3 months ago

Stanford and Cal's ACC move shows college sports are broken

LA Times  

It’s the fall of 2024. This scenario is just one of the ridiculous ideas I’ve seen floated on how to make Stanford, Cal and SMU’s move to the ACC — made official Friday morning — work out for the hundreds of affected athletes who don’t play football or men’s basketball. The leadership at those prestigious California institutions simply was unwilling …

Realignment prompts fresh look at the number of automatic bids in 12-team College Football Playoff
1 year, 3 months ago

Realignment prompts fresh look at the number of automatic bids in 12-team College Football Playoff

Associated Press  

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! IRVING, Texas — The conference commissioners who manage the College Football Playoff met Wednesday for the first time since a wave of realignment tore apart the Pac-12, raising the possibility that the number of automatic bids in the 12-team postseason format to be implemented next year …

ACC progressing toward expansion, with Stanford, Cal and SMU potential targets
1 year, 4 months ago

ACC progressing toward expansion, with Stanford, Cal and SMU potential targets

LA Times  

Stanford running back E.J. The Atlantic Coast Conference is making progress toward an expansion that could grab Stanford and California from the sinking Pac-12, a person with knowledge of the ACC’s potential move told the Associated Press on Wednesday. Two weeks ago, the ACC got so far as to gather its entire board of university leaders twice in three days …

ACC football mailbag: Over/under on how long league can retain its current members
1 year, 4 months ago

ACC football mailbag: Over/under on how long league can retain its current members

New York Times  

Thanks so much for all of the questions. The only lesson to be learned here is if current ACC teams really want to go after championships, they’ll find a way to do it by either leaving the league for a better TV deal elsewhere or raising a lot of money on their own to build a ridiculous NIL program and …

Ubben: College football’s ruthless next step is a matter of when, not if
1 year, 4 months ago

Ubben: College football’s ruthless next step is a matter of when, not if

New York Times  

In the 2022 fiscal year, the 11 Big Ten schools receiving full shares of revenue earned $58.8 million. Or the SEC surpasses the Big Ten and its members become the sport’s highest earners, edging out the clear other college football superpower. The Pac-12’s most valuable properties — USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington — are already headed to the Big Ten. …

Oregon State, Washington State ponder next moves after getting left out of college reshuffling
1 year, 4 months ago

Oregon State, Washington State ponder next moves after getting left out of college reshuffling

Associated Press  

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! CORVALLIS, Ore. — Inside one of the new premium areas at Oregon State’s renovated football stadium reads a lyric from the school’s fight song. And that’s all I want to say today,” Oregon State athletic director Scott Barnes said Tuesday during a tour of the school’s …

FSU will consider leaving the ACC without ‘radical change’ to revenue model, school’s president says
1 year, 4 months ago

FSU will consider leaving the ACC without ‘radical change’ to revenue model, school’s president says

Associated Press  

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! Florida State President Rick McCullough believes the Seminoles will have to consider leaving the Atlantic Coast Conference unless there is a “radical change to the revenue distribution.” McCullough made his remarks at a board of trustees meeting Wednesday, stoking more speculation that FSU is poised to …

Prime real estate: Colorado’s return to Big 12 fits Deion Sanders’ football recruiting blueprint
1 year, 4 months ago

Prime real estate: Colorado’s return to Big 12 fits Deion Sanders’ football recruiting blueprint

Associated Press  

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! BOULDER, Colo. — Colorado’s return to the Big 12 in 2024 fits right into Deion Sanders’ recruiting blueprint, allowing him to get an even better foothold in the teeming Texas and Florida markets. “So I think more than anything it adds to the excitement because it’s …

ACC football mailbag: Ranking brands, realignment misses, playing the what-if game
1 year, 5 months ago

ACC football mailbag: Ranking brands, realignment misses, playing the what-if game

New York Times  

ACC media day begins Tuesday in Charlotte, N.C. That means we are getting close to the beginning of preseason camp, so it’s a great time to answer your questions about the league. Corrigan later told PennLive columnist David Jones he’d have persuaded ACC presidents to get Penn State into the league had he known it was looking to leave the …

College football conference realignment timeline: 124 years of drama, money and bitterness
1 year, 5 months ago

College football conference realignment timeline: 124 years of drama, money and bitterness

New York Times  

The Western Conference, known today as the Big Ten, was formed in 1896 by the universities of Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Northwestern, Purdue, Wisconsin and Chicago. GO DEEPER Journey back to Sewanee, a founding SEC member that has no regrets Dec. 12, 1948: Nearly a decade after original member Chicago dropped football, the Western Conference becomes the Big Ten again by …

ACC backs plan to offer increased payouts to schools for postseason success
1 year, 6 months ago

ACC backs plan to offer increased payouts to schools for postseason success

Associated Press  

The Atlantic Coast Conference is moving forward allowing schools to earn more money generated from their own postseason performances, a move coming as the league tries to find ways to close a growing financial gap with two power-conference peers. The league has long distributed revenue evenly among its membership, including money coming from revenue-generating postseason events like the College Football …

Is the Pac-12 really this bad? Why the league has no TV deal without USC and UCLA
1 year, 9 months ago

Is the Pac-12 really this bad? Why the league has no TV deal without USC and UCLA

LA Times  

A few days after USC and UCLA forever altered the college sports landscape with their move to the Big Ten Conference last summer, the Pac-12 announced that it would begin its exclusive 90-day negotiating window with ESPN and Fox for its long-awaited next media rights agreement. The move by Pac-12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff to begin that process early was meant …

‘Been Everywhere': TCU conference-hopping run to title game
1 year, 11 months ago

‘Been Everywhere': TCU conference-hopping run to title game

Associated Press  

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! “It’s like that old song by Hank Snow, ‘I’ve Been Everywhere’ — our fans, they’ve traveled all over the place,” said John Denton, the Horned Frogs’ kicker for their 1984 Bluebonnet Bowl team who has been part of their radio broadcasts since 1988. whether it’s teams …

CFP expansion ‘not finished,’ still working toward 12 in ’24
2 years, 2 months ago

CFP expansion ‘not finished,’ still working toward 12 in ’24

Associated Press  

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! The CFP management committee, comprised of 10 major college football conference commissioners and Notre Dame’s athletic director, met for six hours at an airport hotel to work on a plan to triple the number of playoff teams from four to 12 for the 2024 season. It’s …

College athletics sees surge in nonprofits paying players
2 years, 2 months ago

College athletics sees surge in nonprofits paying players

Associated Press  

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! The new world of college athletes getting paid for endorsements has created a rapidly expanding pop-up industry: Brand new nonprofit “collectives” that pay athletes to promote charities. “My default on this is skepticism.” There’s enough skepticism that a bipartisan effort in Congress has been started to …

The future of College Football, Inc.: Where the sport’s money and management go from here
2 years, 2 months ago

The future of College Football, Inc.: Where the sport’s money and management go from here

New York Times  

“Dramatic changes are necessary to permit athletes to participate in the enormous proceeds.” When longtime NCAA president Walter Byers said those words about college athletics in 1995, the Big Ten’s annual revenue was around $50 million. “There’s general agreement, at least among FBS programs, that we need a new model to govern football and certain parts of what we do …

Takeaways: After rush to give Tucker megadeal, MSU slips
2 years, 2 months ago

Takeaways: After rush to give Tucker megadeal, MSU slips

Associated Press  

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! Michigan State blew up the market for college football coaches last season by giving Mel Tucker a massive 10-year contract as the Spartans charged out to a 9-1 start in his second campaign. Tucker’s overall record as a head coach was 16-13 at that point, covering …

ACC gets September shot to boost reputation in marquee games
2 years, 3 months ago

ACC gets September shot to boost reputation in marquee games

Associated Press  

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! DURHAM, N.C. — Duke coach Mike Elko has been around college football long enough to know how the season’s opening month can shape the perception of a league’s strength. “We have to win football games,” said Elko, who left Texas A&M’s staff to take over at …

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