Acc conference expansion news12/29/2023 ![]() ![]() ![]() (ESPN’s hegemony over college football is a significant issue, as we explained last month.)īut by delaying expansion until the next contract cycle, the CFP could take all 11 games (over four rounds) to the open market and accept multiple bids, thereby driving up the price. If the 12-team format is implemented prior to the 2026 season, then ESPN would have the option to become the sole rights-holder in a non-competitive bidding process. ![]() And no issue carries more immediacy for the tripartite alliance than a possible vote to delay expansion of the College Football Playoff until the next contract cycle. However, multiple industry sources have described the scheduling piece as secondary to matters of policy and governance. According to a report in The Athletic, the alliance could be formally announced in the next week. The three conferences are discussing a potential alliance in the wake of the SEC voting to add Texas and Oklahoma. That model could change once the Pac-12’s new media rights contract begins in the fall or 2024, and there’s an obvious option that could intrigue potential media partners:Ī scheduling partnership with the Big Ten and ACC that creates a series of high-profile matchups each season. “Unless you come up with a solution that’s more attractive for TV for that ninth game,” Kliavkoff said, “you’re playing nine conference games.” ESPN and Fox assuredly would balk at a scenario in which those six openings were filled by non-conference matchups against creampuffs. The Pac-12 plays 54 conference games remove one per team and the total drops to 48. “But some of them, like whether we go to eight conference games instead of nine, may take a little longer because of obligations in our current media rights deal for how many conference games we play.” “Once we have recommendations, then some of them, I’m sure, we could do immediately - when we put bye weeks in for next year, as an example. “The timeline is to have a first set of working recommendations by the end of the football season. “Merton’s charge is to look at everything we decide at the conference level to optimize for College Football Playoff invitations,” Kliavkoff said. How to tweak the conference schedule to give teams the best chance for success. If the division format should be continued or eliminated. Whether to drop to eight conference games. Merton Hanks, the Pac-12’s chief of football operations, is working with all the athletic directors and head coaches to plot a strategy on several key issues: While Kliavkoff and his expansion advisors focus on the size of the conference, another group is diving deep into the structure of the football product. If we add schools from different geographic regions, does that fit well?” We have a major brand presence on the West Coast. It’s more about similar styles institutionally. “The second thing I hear a lot about is institutional fit. You could pick schools that make us a 16- or 18-team conference, but the next question is, ‘OK, how does that close the revenue gap? … “That still drives a lot of the decision-making. “All the conversations I’ve had are really focused on closing the revenue gap,’’ Schulz told the Hotline recently. Without Texas and Oklahoma propping them up, none of the Big 12 universities are believed to carry enough media rights value to be worthwhile to the Pac-12. That figure is expected to soar when the next media rights deals are negotiated in 18-24 months.Īny new member would have to bring enough media value to increase the windfall for the existing schools and help the conference narrow the revenue gap with the Big Ten and SEC. “No schools really add value,” said a source not affiliated with the Pac-12.Įach Pac-12 athletic department will receive approximately $24 million this year from the regular-season broadcast agreements with ESPN and Fox, according to the term sheet of the Tier 1 contract obtained by the Hotline. However, multiple industry sources contacted by the Hotline in recent weeks believe the most likely outcome for the conference is to remain at 12. But the list likely includes many, if not all of the universities in the Big 12, which is reeling after the departure of Oklahoma and Texas to the SEC. Kliavkoff has not specified which schools are interested in joining the Pac-12. The decision to pursue expansion doesn’t require approval by the presidents and chancellors, but a three-quarters vote of the CEO Group would be necessary for formal invitations to be extended to any new members. ![]()
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