INSIDE99

Too many esteemed people in the college football industry believe there is going to big a separation coming down the pike between the haves and the have-not's. Another tiered level of football, which really isn't a new concept. But the snowball is rolling faster. If you don't wish to accept it being said here, just follow Ross Dellenger and what he has been reporting the past month or so. Follow what Greg Sankey has touched upon. Watch what Rich Eisen and his very high level connected guests have concluded. Money drives this business, not academics anymore. The type of money being talked about with a Tier 1 football separation is in the $200 million range per team, not $80 million currently on the P2 books. What's new about all this isn't just TV contracts and viewership, private equity is now in the game like it or not. The same PE that the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Yankees are diving into. The revenue ceiling is endless (see NFL record pay outs) and presidents/commissioners are listening. Along with that comes risk too. But it's not coming, it's already here. None of this is waiting for 2036. I would not go so far to say the P2 is going to drive a new super league. Even the Vanderbilt and Northwestern types are going to have a hard time holding on to the money movement. There is more talk behind the scenes than ever before with this topic. Bash away at FSU and Clemson until your heart is content. Just know that at some point, the ground they are laying, has the ability to benefit institutions like Virginia Tech when the time comes. The established cost to exit the ACC (regardless of timelines) is what the court room is currently being used to establish. It will deal cards to others in the ACC and Big 12 looking for bigger things with affordability, and they are looking. What I am seeing on most forums and social media concerning realignment only focuses on the now, the instant gratification concepts. Try looking at this from the futuristic big picture knowing the history of money driving forces.

Girls or Boys included. The male playing right field is not going to earn as much as the quarterback.

so much more than FSU. Not sure what schools and conference media responses are supposed to be when asked about ACC realignment. Yea, we are interested or if FSU exits they have a place here or we are looking to expand. Not. ** Edited by INSIDE99 at 7/16/2024, 4:02:39 PM

No Title IX for Collectives

FSU investing/deciding to sue in 2023 to leave the ACC without having a known place to go was really dumb decision making by their BOT. Those business liaisons who oversee multiple billions of dollars lack sound judgement. I am being sarcastic. ** Edited by INSIDE99 at 7/13/2024, 9:42:04 AM

FSU already decided its fate and arrangements over a year ago. The rest is just how much it costs. They are in the ACC for 2024. P2 and nothing but after.

And making fun of him for making such a vague comment. That's pretty much the topic of this thread.

Was actually poking at Pate on this thread. His Sunday show the first 90 seconds talks about something starting this week, never mentioned realignment actually. Like, OK, cool...something in college football is going to happen this week. Could be the House settlement or whatever. Pate just being completely vague on a prediction about nothing. So I just went with the theme of this thread.

** ** Edited by INSIDE99 at 7/7/2024, 11:15:45 PM

Clemson complaint verifying the Composition Clause exists in the ACC/ESPN contract. There has been a change in the ACC membership. This opened the door for contract changes with ESPN. Not uncommon.

That is what I was trying to say without typing so much. I used the reference "mess" because I don't believe the Chapel Hill BOT and the BOG are on the same page. Especially given some public statements that have come out the past several months. Immediately following, the BOG installs an interim chancellor and diverts decision making power away from the BOT. As stated, I have no idea how it will all end up. If it's any rumor mill consolation, a very close ex-sports industry coworker I was involved with long ago who currently works in the governor's office in Raleigh told me back in February that both UNC and NC State had been approved as a package deal for the SEC. I think I posted that here. As soon as I got that news the BOG stepped in and did their power thing.

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The ACC made a media production out of it for everyone.

The ACC/ESPN contract currently runs through 2036. Depending on what side of the legal fence one resides, ESPN has until February 2025 to extend the deal past the 2026 season. Neither side can walk away or renegotiate unless something changes the contract (composition of the conference). I believe what Josh Pate is continually referring to (as he mentions the lawyers he has contact with) is that once SMU is added and once FSU leaves, the composition of the conference has changed by two teams. And ESPN has already horse traded the end result to share rights with FOX/WBD in their Venu partnership. It's a done deal, just waiting on the official announcement. Following the money trail, the question becomes...does ESPN make more money with FSU/Clemson in the ACC or did they find another way to make more money keeping the ACC together without those two teams while getting Tier 1 partnership rights for FSU/Clemson versus the Michigan, Ohio State and USC teams of the world? Point being, ESPN is making that call. The ACC has no choice if they want the ESPN contract. None of this has anything to do with the current lawsuits, which is why I refer to the court rooms as Kabuki theatre. My intel chatter has more to do with what Notre Dame and UNC are doing now in this chaos. That FSU/Clemson is in the rear view mirror. It's always seemed palpable that the ACC cannot survive if UNC bolts. That is a BOG mess and I have no idea what that end result will be. Maybe ESPN makes an offer they cannot refuse to UNC, but it would have to involve unequal revenue sharing.

July 1 - the day SMU is officially an ACC member August 1 - the day both Cal and Stanford are officially ACC members August 15 - the last day an ACC member can officially send their intention to exit letter to be out for the 2025 fall season The Composition Clause is common practice. It exists in every conference agreement with the attached network. For the ACC, if the composition of the conference is altered by two or more teams, either the ACC or ESPN can renegotiate or void the contract. The Composition Clause has nothing to do with number of teams in the conference.

posted by the FSU AD likely had more to do with FSU extending the contract of head baseball coach Link Jarrett. But their fanbase is in a tizzy, LOL. The X emoji kabob must be a FSU thing. No one is sure if it represents a fireworks rocket, a Seminole spear or a real kabob for grilling. It's now a joke for announcing I suppose.

** ** Edited by INSIDE99 at 7/1/2024, 1:37:11 AM

Despite the FSU AD Alford posting fireworks on his X account yesterday and then proceeding to delete the post, which riled up their fan base, EXACT dates are always unknown even by the person making official announcements. Guess that's why the ole COMING SOON analysis is oft over used. SMU joins the ACC July 1. Hoping the media let's SMU have their moment on this day. Let realignment talk rest Monday. The Mustangs sacrificed (and donated) much to be here. Walk in their shoes. But I still expect and stand by my predictions that a FSU announcement is forthcoming. With an administrative trip to Chicago following. Does anybody really care? ** Edited by INSIDE99 at 6/30/2024, 2:03:36 PM

July 1, August 1 - the ACC composition changes. Welcome SMU to the ACC! Like it or not, they have the financial resources. Yearly tuition is $62K, more than Harvard. People with money.

There are a handful of schools that fit that build with USF being one of them. I was replying to OP question with some rumor mill stuff. Was reading the Commercial Appeal talking about Memphis and their new AD Scott (from UVA). He addressed questions about realignment, so I shared. See link.

Former UVA deputy AD Ed Scott is ready. Fireworks on Monday.

"That $ was generated from the efforts of college athletes (the vast majority by men’s college basketball players), and was mostly used to fight against having to share more $ with those same athletes." - Winter Sports Law Oh, the irony.

Does anyone believe the ACC/ESPN contract has not been on the negotiating table since 2021 when Phillips took over? At this point ESPN knows what it wants to do moving forward with the ACC. They are not going to tell anyone.

SPECULATION :) Bury the lede - man, I have not heard that one since my journalism teacher mentioned it long ago. Allow me to rephrase and expand from the last post. ESPN will end up sublicensing more future CFP games, including some semifinal games, in exchange for a handful of financing. On the flip side, ESPN will be able to carry some B1G games, in particular on the new Venu Sports package that's about to debut. Venu is a sports streaming service joint venture between Disney/ESPN, FOX and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). It is scheduled to launch this fall. The capabilities include high level DVR programming for such things as pause, rewind, save, etc. for sports carried by all three partners, including TNT. This product has been called a sports television game changer for everyone including the NFL. The CBS and NBC folks are cautiously watching. FOX did not bid on the CFP (why the price came in much lower than expected) in exchange for FSU and potentially other ACC members where ESPN becomes the finance recipient to broadcast those games in the B1G. WBD will also broadcast some of the CFP games in 2026 that will be produced by ESPN and their on-air talent. This provides different demographic numbers for ESPN. Again, with ESPN paying for FSU and possibly other ACC members to exit for the B1G, ESPN gets to broadcast B1G games. I have mentioned in the past that for FSU to enter the B1G, don't be alarmed if ESPN is permitted to broadcast some of those games. The realignment world is waiting on FSU to announce. I have stated before that all this comes out before August 15, but I suspect it could be any day now as I have tried to relay what I know. I have no issues for people calling out and disagreeing on my speculation. This really makes me no different from the podcast entrepreneurs in their basement who claim to have source info. I find it all interesting. The ACC/ESPN contract negotiation is for another topic. ** Edited by INSIDE99 at 6/27/2024, 2:15:59 PM

The landscape is always going to change, especially over the next two years. More... Texas A&M is extremely unhappy and wants out of the SEC. Almost as bad as FSU felt about their snub. The Aggies got out of the Big XII because of their rival Texas. Now they are entertaining what it might take to get out of the SEC. The Longhorns stealing their baseball coach was just another dagger. Plain and simple however, A&M does NOT want to be in the same conference as Texas, nor do they wish to play them in all sports. We'll see like everything else. This is a dynamic realignment changer right now because see my first sentence. There are some things I would like to post here using info I get and more speculation, but they are going to fall under the "coming soon" ESPN category, which seemingly makes some people upset...despite their inner fire to subconsciously login and read these type of things.

Hopefully I have not been disrespectful at any point nor resorted to personal attacks. This has always been a great place to discuss avenues of football for a very long time.

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I agree. I may be a little more hardcore than your average conference commissioner, but when the P2 pushed the new CFP agreement in their favor with threats floating around about the P2 separating if they don't get what they want, I would have told them to split. Go form your own football season and playoff but do the same for basketball and all other sports. Got to love these really small schools suing and pushing the envelope refusing to pay what was demanded they pay for the House settlement with zero representation. They literally had no say at all.

A separate entity in football is inevitable just based on finances as Dellenger points out. Other articles out there on this topic talk about schools such as Illinois and Indiana being concerned about being left out, even in a P2 world. A school's budget must be able to pay with all the financial changes being implemented. Praying college hoops stays the way it is some how. Most people seem to feel the same.

flying around today. I've been getting an abnormal amount of texts and emails concerning SEC and ESPN having heated issues that go beyond FSU/Clemson dominoes. Some heavy stuff to where you have to step away and realize it's the connected world we live in. Small rumors trying to become huge realities for news to sell. Why can't we go back to the days of when your team's best player gets hurt and you don't find out about the extent of the injury until a week later when hard print gets delivered to your doorstep? Not sure if that wasn't a better sports information world in some regards. Gee, ESPN and the SEC don't see eye-to-eye on some heated issues turns into gossip yammer. I do get it and why some forums such as these are tired of the hearsay. But you can always step away at least.

for trying to work out a deal with the B1G because the answer was no. Got it. In that case, FSU has been in discussion with the B1G for over a year to see if they would be approved.

Then you will be fine when the announcement comes that FSU is leaving, only an opinion until official of course if that makes this post plausible for your judgement. Josh Pate was not entirely accurate, those breaking news stories have been in the oven. But don't take other FWAA writer's word for it. Could be that Pate's legal contact is false and spreading misinformation just to get clicks.

going on between FOX and ESPN concerning ACC realignment. They have partnered for their own streaming network that debuts this August. There is courtroom and there is business. The later moves much faster.

Texas/OU to the SEC did not happen in a week. Prior to an announcement it took an extensive time of expensive analysis, discussions by both sides, BOT and member voting behind closed doors, network acceptance, approvals, etc, etc. -- all this long before the Big XII contract was up. All this while ESPN was still making money off of LHN (Longhorn Network) and CBS still owned the SEC contract. If some want to believe it was not the same "tortious interference", feel free to engage in that fantasy. Deals and options are constantly being discussed amongst institutions and conferences while under contract somewhere else. Not sure if a link is required or that this can be chalked up as common knowledge. Do those same people think VT has not talked with the SEC partners about opportunities/acceptance? If so you would be massively incorrect. Pitt has been in discussion with the B1G for over a year now concerning membership. LINK: https://pittsburghsportsnow.com/2023/10/13/big-ten-consid... QUOTES: According to a report from Yahoo! Sports’ Ross Dellenger, Pitt was included on a list of “attainable” programs that the Big Ten considered for potential expansion in the summer of 2022. “We had this list of schools and went through it with the chancellors and presidents,” a conference official who wished to remain anonymous told Dellenger. I can offer so many other tidbits without a link because they would never have a link. Don't care if readers believe it. When Greg Sankey visited the Gamecocks in February to have a meeting with their trustees, it wasn't to discuss out-of-state FSU...if you catch my drift. The ACC will have to sue the B1G and FOX to prove tortious interference, not FSU. Good luck getting those network trade secrets through discovery. CURRENT ACC LAWSUITS STARTING IN 2025 ACC vs. FSU FSU vs. ACC ACC vs. Clemson Clemson vs. ACC ACC vs. B1G ACC vs. FOX Have at it. Maybe the ACC will have to sue VT for working on getting out.

are not on the same side? That there has been no network horse trading? Do you have a link? That's how you have approached my posts.

Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby sent ESPN a cease-and-desist letter alleging that the television network and the SEC is conspiring to damage the league’s standing by luring schools to leave. How did ESPN and the SEC defend themselves when they took Texas and OU before their Big XII contract was done? Did you know other conferences have realigned before with teams under contract? Who were some of those teams? What law was broken? Was it an NCAA violation or a federal crime? Cause I'm not sure. ** Edited by INSIDE99 at 6/22/2024, 10:48:57 PM

Stated here a few times that FSU has been locked to the B1G since October, long before the snub was even conceived.

If we tailgated on a Blacksburg Saturday I bet you find we would have a good time talking football. Not so far apart. I'd gladly bring the burgers and dogs. I'm too old to hate. VT ain't going to disappear. Good football and good times continue. Exciting season ahead with a great chance of making the Dance. Peace. GO HOKIES!. ** Edited by INSIDE99 at 6/22/2024, 7:15:30 PM

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The SEC came on board later when reality set in for FSU/CU. The SEC is involved big time (more pressure on UNC is already happening). Full pro-rata type deals from the start. I know where FSU is headed. Not so much with Clemson. They hide details very well - but they are pre-approved. The FSU fanbase won't be happy going B1G if there is not a southern regional partner. For some reason, regional alignment and conference realignment got tossed out the window. California teams in an Atlantic Coast league? WVU traveling to Orlando and Tucson? Makes zero sense, especially for Olympic sports.

Everything you post makes total sense. Not sure if realignment makes much sense sometimes however when Mon E. Greed is the driver. I hopefully don't come across as a person who claims to know all answers - quote me on that haha, especially hard details. No one does. I can only speculate by using what we hear and "connect dots" to see if it adds up. So we all speculate. I gather that when Phillips said recently his ACC office was currently in discussions with ESPN over a "Look in" clause, part of that had to do with the additions of Cal/Stanford/SMU. No chance should anyone ever state that ESPN has intentions to do anything. That would be silly. My concerns for the ACC future actually have little to do with FSU/Clemson leaving. It's what happens with the other members that is about to be chaos. There are approvals from other conferences for other ACC schools and those ACC members have spent money on that study, bet on that. This whole talk about what legally constitutes an approval / offer / meddling isn't an issue. Institutions don't just up and move without prior acceptance and lengthy study. Proof of that is in recent realignment history, whether it was Maryland, OU, Texas, Pac 12 or the many other G5 realignments that have been taking place. In regards to keeping the ACC together, it's for sure possible, but won't be easy when the money talks and NIL reality of getting the best players really kicks in and prime time televised slots become dominated by two conferences. Sorry for the longer rambles, I type super fast.

I love Razorback passion. It's as engrained as any state in America. Can't drive past a gas station without a Razorback logo on the pumps kind of thing. Good to talk football with you anytime. I just posted a new thread on what Josh Pate had to say about the water gif. It's weird you asked that question and he already answered it. My NBC friend says Josh is like most in the know, they know already and the dam will leak. But they won't expound without confirmation details that are murky at best from all sides of the fence. Dissecting what it all means will be Phase II after an official announcement comes. Settlement is not imminent, but it needs to be sooner than later.

In short, Josh knows what I have known for quite a few months. Link provided below to his show from last night (Friday). Starts at about the 28 minute mark. Here is the transcript regarding his ACC water gif this past week: Can you expound on your water gif from Twitter this week in relation to the ACC? Yeah, I think the ACC is kind of, sort of screwed. I think the future of the conference will look radically different then it does now. There are powerful entities that are well motivated and well financially backed that want out. In other words, FSU and they're not alone. I think they're going to get out. I put that gif out earlier this week because I have not talked about this publicly by the way. I have acquaintances shall we say. I have contacts in the legal community. These are not contacts I would normally have. I came about these contacts in a very interesting way. But I have them. And they're on the legal side of this and they're not necessarily on the football side. They're just on the legal side. I don't even know if they're aware of what Florida State's mascot is, but they're on the legal side. And I've gotten as much intel as they can give me through out this whole thing. And they've always been very, very guarded. They talk like classic legal types would talk. I can't say this, I can't tell you this, I can't tell you that, I can't respond to that. Well, earlier this week when they said, "Hey, get ready. It's coming." I put the gif out. I don't know what the timeline is. I just know that this is the kind of person who is not one for hyperbole. Frankly I don't even think they care about the ramifications over on the college side or the conference realignment side. But they know I do. And they know people like us do. So they threw that at me and I asked a bunch of questions and I got some answers I can't share, but the long and short of it is I think that the reconstruction or reconfiguration of the ACC is pretty imminent. And I don't certainly know action is going to happen before this season. But it wouldn't stun me at all if we heard news on this front before this season starts. And that's what? Nine Saturdays away. So yeah, if that gives you any idea of what kind of time table we're working on it wouldn't surprise me at all if we had some breaking news stories or several breaking news stories. And knowing some of the folks that work on those stories I can whole heartedly tell you those stories are in the oven as we speak. So that's what the water gif was about. ** Edited by INSIDE99 at 6/22/2024, 11:43:19 AM

I thought everyone's identity on forums was secretive. I don't post on other VT boards here, only the Realignment Board. Not sure what giving my real name or where I attended college would provide anyway other than the normal accusations of favoritism. I have played against VT in Lane Stadium for the visiting team - long enough ago that I do not qualify for House Settlement NIL dollars :( ---which BTW may not pass now that the smaller schools are peeved and legally battling over their non-inclusion on having any say. Good for them...taxation without representation. Just for fun, it's after midnight and I am RV camping all weekend with a great friend since high school who is one of the top NBC Sports execs. We are sipping Eagle Rare and talking about football and life again (2nd time in a month). We attend a few music festivals every summer. But dang, it's hot. He is laughing as I type this. He says ask whatever realignment question you want and he will try to answer. But I can't give out his name, although he doesn't seem to care right now. Hahaha. But seriously, ask away. He has had enough truth serum. Enjoy the banter here, even in disagreement. Thanks. ** Edited by INSIDE99 at 6/22/2024, 12:55:47 AM

The NC government legislation did attempt to force state schools to play each other. It was shot down. Never was it claimed this was a done deal. The idea was stupid and based on realignment fear. As stated...UNC and NC State playing each other for the past 53 years had to be forced all of the sudden? Like many realignment followers, it seems you are looking for definitive dates and times. Hahaha. You can continue to put your head in the sand that FSU and Clemson are leaving asap.

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Adding CalFord Ponies without paying them is not the same as losing FSU/Clemson for networks. Networks could care less about academics as well. That late time slot is going to be one of the few prime time slots the ACC gets moving forward. 3:30, 7:00 and 8:00 just went P2 with ESPN, FOX, CBS, NBC. Even the noon prime slots will slide to predominately P2 coverage outside of FSU and Clemson versus top competition, which only supports network movement. It is what it is. FSU is pre-approved by FOX for the B1G. So is UNC and ND. Not sure about Clemson. That is how pre-approval usually works. Conferences don't suddenly add opponents then seek network approval. All of this has already be choreographed. FSU didn't all of the sudden just decide to sue to be an Independent or join the Big XII.

Read the link I posted about the clause. Last winter I just thought this would be common knowledge. Apparently it was not. COMMON LOGIC: FSU/Clemson leaving changes the entire ACC contract ball game like it or not. Cal/Stanford/SMU additions without giving them any revenue for an extended time period does not move the money needle for any network. The comparison is not the same. There is enough info available that demonstrates what ratings equate to without your top two (and only) championship qualifiers the last 30 years. I predict VT will be a P2 member down the road. Take it or leave it. My interest here and at other social networks is to bring attention to the opposite of what each self-interest fan wants, sees and dissects. At present, many FSU people are off their rockers. So are the SMU, VT and Clemson fans based on self-interest. It's human nature to believe what fits your desire. I would hope my going against the VT grain mentality opens up some positive dialog and intelligent thoughts outside the personal wishing walls, not the opposite. "It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so." - Mark Twain