33laszlo99

If l'm wrong you will have the pleasure of saying, "Told ya so!"

The text of this law at the time it is enacted means NOTHING!!!! It establishes a federal College Sports Commission. The responsibilties of that commission include the preservation of conferences. That is in no way specific. If this bill heads for vote I expect the P2 to unleash immediate expansion on a scale unknown ro mankind.

Villanova, Georgetown, Butler (I think) ** Edited by 33laszlo99 at 7/23/2026, 12:53:35 PM ** Edited by 33laszlo99 at 7/23/2026, 12:54:29 PM

is passed. I will immediately start morphing into Cody's dream. All they need to do is get the machine up-and-running.

ultra-competant gov't will have established themselves as the regulators of college sports through their body of "experts." The rules will change continuously, twice a week, if necessary, until they finally come around to that original purpose. Whatever long-range plans the P2 have regarding realignment will be dead. If the passage of this bill becomes imminent, the P2 will be forced to execute those plans immediately or forget about them entirely. ** Edited by 33laszlo99 at 7/23/2026, 12:24:30 PM

money with Cody Campbell and his non-P2 friends. And then the pool of plunder would be redistributed among all FBS schools by some very wise experts who know that the P2 are "bad." These same fine folks will tell the media which games will be seen by the viewers on any given gameday. They have told us that the media will want to pay even more for the content, having been relieved of this burden. Some say that the P2 disapprove of the plan. But how is that possible? Do the P2 not believe in sharing, fairness, sportsmanship, Cody Campbell?

Nobody in these negotiations is operating in good faith. The PCSA proponents are pretending to be open to compromise. The P2 are faking it too. When the PCSA'ers are finally sure that P2 are just stalling, they will move to get a vote and pass the bill no matter what's in it. Once the bill becomes law, the legislators own college fb in all aspects. They can change it and adjust it as often and as politically useful as they want. The P2 cannot allow that, never. If the bill goes to the floor for a vote, P2 will execute the most rapid flurry of expansion ever dreamed of. It's not the way they would prefer to do it, but they will not allow this bill to smother what they have built. The bill can not reverse the realignment. "exposed fat toe" (Latin)

had look. They have been paying armies of people to have a look all day, every day, for years. The P2 will keep expanding until the media comanies tell them to stop.

expenditures for college sports. There have been consequences, I would say. But her point of view is valid. We often say that athletics are the "front porch" of a school. But why must that include a money-guzzling football program? If enrollment at a school is sustained by a reputable football team, fine, it's earning its keep. But enrollments across the board may be approaching a cliff. Would UConn be worse off without a fb team? Many schools will be facing a decision before long.

realignment chaos. ACC and Big12 observers see the bill as no big deal, pass or not pass. P2 schools see the mere existence of this law, in any watered down form, as absolutely fatal. Even if the first edition looks completely benign, the possibility for revisions at any future time would make it radioactive to the P2. I predict that they will get out ahead of it. Just the opinion of a realignment junkie who just can't get by on Sac St to the MAC and NDak St to the MWC.

I'm referring to the Protect College Sports act. My brain apparently conflated "save" ad "protect". Let's try this again: Will sudden, reckless realignment occur if the P2 panic about the "Protect" bill?

How many here believe the threat posed by the pending Congressional Bill to the P2 will provoke a sudden move by SEC and B1G to complete their realignment activity in the next few months/weeks far ahead of a rational schedule? How many teams ? Which teams? ACC, Big12, or both? How does anyone prepare for that? ** Edited by 33laszlo99 at 7/17/2026, 2:56:59 PM

"The Solution" to all of college athletics' ills. Among those will likely be one formed by The B1G and one formed by The SEC. Each will try to get out ahead of the other and persuade other conferences to buy in to their respective syndicates. It will be messy for years. Great time to be a lawyer.

got us here in the first place. If the schools could set limits on player compensation, they would have done it long ago. Why is this discussion continually restricted to disparity among FBS conferences. Those who are truly interested in parity of revenue must include all conferences: FCS, Div2, Div 3. Those are the guys who are making do with less and will continue to do so. If you're P4 and you don't include all conferences, you don't care about fairness. You are simply envious of the P2.

provides the skeleton to be fleshed out with discussion. It's the best starting point.

the P2 advantage. It was earned over time. Pooling media money doesn't solve labor issues or anything else. It simply redistributes money. Should MIT and Johns Hopkins pool their research grants with Boise, etc.?

they will get a restraining order and sue for the next hundred years. They will never voluntarily agree to share the wealth, nor should they. If the supporters of this bill fail to grab the P2's money, will they still think it is, at least, fair to pool their money with all NCAA conferences, including Div 3? This will test whether they really believe in revenue pooling, or if they are simply envious of the success of their superiors.

The GoR assigns rights to the BTN, which is 61% owned by Fox. With Amazon likely jumping-in for the next round among NBC, CBS, and of course Fox, this will be madness. I think TV carriers already have very refined data on viewership volume and demographics. But if ROKU really does reveal new insights, Fox will be guiding B1G realignment forcefully.

position they have achieved. P4, G6 and any others can come along for the ride. I beliebe the P2 understand the value of having a larger universe of competitors. But they are at the top and they want to stay there. Selfish? Yes. Surprising? No. They will not allow others (Campbell/Cruz) to intervene. NIL was an earthquake. Sadly, college FB as a whole, did not adequately prepare themselves to deal with this. Saying that players can earn money for NIL does not mean the school must make them employees. Nor does it mean that schools should be permitted to simply bribe high schoolers to commit. A structure (CSC) was formed to regulate NIL to the extent that money being paid was in fact in exchange for a valid NIL purpose, and not just a bribe. Who knows if it is having any effect? The NCAA couldn't do it, of course. I think the CSC will fail, as well. But there will be a solution because the P2 need to get it fixed; they will. As for TT, although the "court" ordered them to restore Sorsby to the team, his status should be non-specified health leave. If he is allowed to rejoin the team, even as a bench player, the TT athletic program will cease to exist (after the legal smoke settles.) Has anyone asked his teammates how they view him? Unity could be fragile.

with predetermined penalties. For example: a quarterback who bets on games would be subject to an immediate lifetime expulsion, financial penalties, and will have signed a contract agreeing to same. Similar rules/penalties will exist for individual teams in a way that does not damage other conference members. The Wild Wild West can be tamed. Yes, lawsuits will persist. Fine. Add rules, amend rules until, over time, the operation is all buttoned up. If a tainted player can sign on with a different conference, good for him; shame on them.

it's NFL. It will still be college (amateur) sports, but with "adult supervision." The adjacent business entities will solve most of the headaches we are experiencing now. The schools, themselves, can stop offering NIL and stop worrying about athletes as employees. Schools will become more generous with the stipends (offered to all scholarship athletes) that are currently restricted by the NCAA. NIL and bargained-for wages will be managed by the commercial entity. Contracts will be the rule. Expect very strict and very specific conference bylaws to slow down the bad behavior of some schools. Academic and ethical requirements will not be diminished.

entities from scratch. They will be multi-functional and definitely profitable.

among P4 conferences and "maybe" G6. The argument for lopsided revenue for P2 vs P4 can be made by G6, FCS, Div 2, and Div 3. The current system is not "fair" to those schools either. But Cody C. is not advocating for them. Doing so does not benefit his school, so why bother; screw 'em. The P2 two will withdraw from the NCAA. They have been studying and planning for this for a long time. They probably aren't ready, but the time has come. There will soon be a P1 and another P1. As we discuss this be assured that they are trying to draw P4, G6, and even FCS schools to join their respective spheres of influence, primarily through their common media relationships. Congress and Cody will be joined by another "C" word, "courts" as we try to untangle the bonds among NCAA, CFP, Conferences, and TV. Buckle up.

mates, the sport in general. The lawsuit is probably already written, but without the filing date. This is classic self interest.

your school will be paying for it forever. It is not a fleeting misadventure; it is defining moment. Texas Tech better get it right.

the membership. Entry into their market is no cakewalk. Envision the NFL with 140 teams. Better? Here's an issue I haven't seen discussed: Revenue is revenue. Money is money. If Congress sees fit to pool media money and control the distribution, why not do the same with ticket sales, concessions, parking, merch, and hey, why not NIL cash? Afterall, a dollar is just a dollar. Does keeping score produce unfair outcomes? Let's find a "fair" way to reallocate points.

share a single red cent with G6 peasants. Too steep and slippery a slope.

need to grow the footprint more than he is comfortable with. As for these B1G and SEC Commissioners, they are media-money-crackheads. They will be told what to do. And they will be well paid to do it.

Superconference. I don't see things your way. This looks like an "ideal" course for VT and The ACC. There may be more action that you are hoping for, sooner and mor explosive.

from, ahem, streamers. I don't claim to have any real knowledge of this, but I expect Paramount+CBS to irritate the other carriers by bidding-up content prices. They want in badly. National Brand will be no more, or less a factor than it has been. But look for a new element of value to show up in the calculus: International Brand. One reason UNC is so highly coveted by P2 conferences is because they have residual global cache from the Michael Jordan era. MJ put an indelible stamp on the planet. Carolina Blue jerseys can still be seen in urban neighborhoods all across the U.S. ESPN cannot possibly be satisfied with The SEC geographical footprint. The SEC wants a pay increase before 2034. This spells aggressive realignment, and likely before 2030.

The ACC is feelin' it. B1G still has work to do. Yormark cares more about hoops than others. He has his eye on the Northeast where college hoops draws better than FB: Mass, NYC, N.j., CT, Philly. He should cozy-up to CBS because I think they will try to steal The Big East from Fox. FB makes the most money, by far. But they need content year-round. I personally think there is too much overlap of FB & MBB. Basketball season should start 5 - 6 weeks later and give us "MAYhem" in place of March Madness.

75% goal? Miami, UNC, Virginia, Duke, Notre Dame, FSU, Clemson, GT, Utah, Kansas... ? If this passes in DC it will subsequently fail the vote of the schools. The disparity in media payout may seem "unfair" to many, but the P2 didn't steal it. Not so far in the past we had a semblance pf parity. That changed with Jim Delaney's challenge to ESPN and the launch of The BTN. Cable TV requires markets and The B1G went after them. The SEC and ESPN followed that pattern, and succeeded, as well. The P2 didn't steal their wealth, they acquired it through innovation and risk. The ACC surrendered their long-term rights and decisions to content predator, ESPN, hoping to avoid risk. The Big 12 thought a cable TV channel was silly. The PAC 12 operated a fantasy network and the residue of that conference continues to delude themselves. Both ACC and Big 12 have lost family members to the War for CFB Dominance. Schools have been made cruelly aware that a secure future lies in the P2. If a school has not been taking steps to earn a P2 promotion they are negligent. Life outside of the P2 is not the end of the world, but it is a different world. We are watching college football Darwinism.

and some lists on what ESPN/Fox-etc. would like to see. The scarcity of FBS between Lincoln and The Pacific Ocean stands out on the P2 map. Maybe the TV geniuses think this doesn't matter because somehow subscription fees will make up for shrinking ad dollars. But streaming seems to have devolved into just an interesting theory. And I think advertising dollars seeking a broad footprint across dense, rich markets will always matter. ESPN and Fox share Big 12 football. Will that be enough for ESPN/SEC? ** Edited by 33laszlo99 at 5/28/2026, 1:02:22 AM

Maroon, I think that you and I are the only ones who see the 4 corners cluster as likely P2 targets. I would add Kansas to that list, as well. The SEC needs to break from their stubborn identity as literally "The Southeastern Conference." I'm sure ESPN is urging them to expand their footprint. I don't know if ESPN is still extending pro rata benefits to The SEC for expansion. But if Sankey hopes to improve his media deal earlier than the 2034 expiry, he will need to compromise with his media overlord. He insists that he wants only limited expansion. Maybe so, but economic reality may move him from that position. The B1G will have ample opportunity to poach The ACC. Questions for them are: how much to add in The East and; how much Out West. I don't believe they have any restrictions on size. They apparently intend to bring-on a major streaming partner to help take the product global. ESPN cannot be happy with its diminishing coverage in the MST and PST tome zones: Calford, 4 corners, and The Big Sky (FCS). Of these, only The Big Sky is safe from poaching by The B1G. Speculating on the consequences of The ACC Success Initiative" is impractical. Changes in this conference are incoming at warp speed. Heaven knows what it will look like in 2030. But it will be the force of media companies, not conferences that will secure the future for VT. No guarantees, but VT is still a valuable piece on the board.

improvement of its academic standing and public profile and athletic performance. But for conference realignment purposes, the evaluations and rankings are likely already fixed. That doesn't mean the decisions have been made. It means that VT's chances for joining a P2 depend on factors beyond relative rankings. There will be pairings/groupings based on complementary fit, sequence of movement, negotiated conditions of payouts and fees. I think very little has been determined at this point. The conferences and the candidate schools have preferences, but what a flurry of bargaining and lobbying must be happening outside of view.

Georgetown, Butler, Villanova, UConn. Among these, only UConn is FBS. Better choices in The American Sun Belt, heck, even The MAC.

The revenue and expense by sport, male vs female, even coaching are reported. Also explore IPEDS for very fine detail on a vast variety of school characteristics. Familiarize yourself with "unitid" identifier which is used in many of these databases in place of Texas A & M University-Corpus Christi, or like.

much viewership. Consider Argentino Abierto, The Argentine Open Polo Championship. Sounds like a select small audience and very high-end advertisers.

and WBD owns TNT, TBS, & TRU. So all of CBS, CBS Sports, Paramount+, TNT, TBS, TRU will be their battery.

recent contract. ESPN did not fight them on it. As for CBS, they want everything (just my opinion). Why did they renew with MWC and sign-on in the new PAC12 deal? Because those are the only two contracts that opened since Skydance Paramount+ joined the fray. CBS had a golden goose with the old SEC game of the week. They were paying $55 mil. and when the renewal was due they took the bidding up to $300 mil. before dropping-out. Supposedly ESPN paid $307 mil. So CBS took one game per week from The B1G for $350 mil. and it has been disappointing, they say. I could see CBS jumping into every negotiation that opens up for bids. They are bringing three linear cable channels into their stable soon. ** Edited by 33laszlo99 at 5/4/2026, 7:26:51 PM ** Edited by 33laszlo99 at 5/5/2026, 9:43:54 AM

TNT airs a minimum of 15 games; CBS/Paramount+ 26 games. Yormark may want to open up the contract early. But I can't imagine ESPN would like to see that.

I think he has overlooked some factors that should be discussed. Yes, NFL rights are rising. But the burden will be shared by more media outlets. Imagine one network buying all of the NFL content. How will they monetize all 272 regular season games in 18 weeks? "It takes a village." Not everyone will prosper, but many are willing to try. The cost of the content is actually painless to the ones who are making a profit. They will not be inhibited from buying more content to fill "non-NFL" days of the week and weeks of the year. Even the lower performing networks my be motivated to buy NCAA (and other) content to make up for NFL underperformance. So if NFL gets expensive, college sports must take a haircut... I don't think so. TV needs more than The NFL can provide. College sports will continue to get strong competitive bids. Realignment predictions seem to always be set in the year 2030. That will be perhaps the busiest year ever for movement, for obvious reasons. But I could imagine some very strategic, intentional early moves before the dam breaks. Exit fees be damned. Mr. Williams reports that The NFL is exploring a Sunday morning package (9:00am). Don't rule-out a similar college window on Saturday morning. Remember, a game that starts in Atlanta at 9am will be seen live in London at 2pm, in Berlin at 3pm, and in Dubai at 5pm. This may be the audience that finally lifts streaming services into profitability. Why is streaming still losing money? They are offering their services at below-cost rates while they wait for cable companies to die. ESPN and Fox One even bundled their respective packages at humbling rates. But in the US market I think cable still has some good years ahead of it. In 2023, the B1G expansion year, cable subs actually increased a little. The next year, OUT to The SEC, subs decreased very minimally. Cord cutting is still a reality, but most of the remaining subscribers seem to be live sports viewers who see no reason to adopt streaming. Watch out for CBS who is in the same stable, now, as TNT, TBS, and TRU; all sports cable carriers. I anticipate vicious predation.