Used to be a huge college sports fan, now disinterested. Call me if/when VT is in something and otherwise I no longer care. I guess tv numbers are ok (?) but I talk to a lot of folks like me who no longer pay attention.

the teams that have always beat them. Nothing much left but G5's after that.

with each passing day that the powers that be(big media, SEC and B1G) have the long term goal of controlling collegiate sports and their plan is falling into place nicely. They will continue to use the Big 12 and the ACC until they are no longer useful and then discard them just like they have done with the NCAA and the smaller schools with the only variation being they will cherry pick any remaining desired brands from the Big 12 and the ACC. The CFP was the first piece of the puzzle and weakened NCAA control to an extent. NIL and the House settlement further weakened the NCAA and gutted the resources of smaller schools to fight. The Golden Goose of March Madness is being coopted at present and that will facilitate a final breakaway for the P2 once control of tourney revenues is at hand. 2030/2031 seems like the designated split date. TV contracts coming up for renewal, the rolling average formula for NCAA tourney units will be largely P2 controlled by that point if they continue to get 11 or more Sweet Sixteen spots in coming years, ACC GOR will be minimized for cherry picking at that point and they still have a 5/6 year runway to iron out remaining details and lawsuits. I think their potential miscalculations are the number of disgusted fans who will walk away and likely deny them the broad base of fan support they actually need for ever increasing media rights and government pushback at various levels as winners/losers are chosen and people recognize the institutional impacts across the board. I think the guys considered the drivers/architects of this will eventually be reviled even more than they already are.

prediction to a T!! He also stated that if that happens, you will see Anti-trust suits galore from the remaining schools over TV and P2 cash. Is he on to something? I guess we'll see in 5 years.

If a school wants to spend $M on players then they should be on hook and the player likewise for a term. Makes no sense to have 6 mo roster turns anywhere.

are not the CFP or NIL. The issue was their design and implementation and the regulation/enforcement applied to administer them.

feeble organization to ever exist since the Vichy French government.

and misguided for a long time. The weakening involves the continued viability of executive leadership as frontmen for the individual members and the stability of the organization as a mostly united body of members.

the bracket picking phenomena in the 90's. If the 1st round becomes all sec vs b1g would think it loses some luster but who knows.

bracket and seeing how many I got right or missed. It's not as much fun with the P-2 corrupting it all.

aren't pleased to not see the Cinderellas. It is the greedy Presidents and conference commissioners helping to screw this up. Or what they will do is invite the other conferences to their March Madness, cutting out the NCAA, naturally angling the payouts and invites to the Big 10 and SEC. ** Edited by HouClone at 3/24/2025, 1:50:06 PM

the “disgusted fans walking away” part.

...financial implications over the long haul. None of this works without TV ratings, and if there ends up being only ~40 fan bases that care anymore, I don't believe that's enough people to sustain the revenue the P2 schools have become accustomed to. I do believe they are probably aware of that risk, thus the push to normalize sports betting. With potentially 50% fewer engaged fans, the TV networks will need a large number of gamblers to tune in to maintain ratings. If there is a "P2 breakaway league", my prediction is that it will die a slow death over a decade or two. Meanwhile, I could definitely see the majority of fans flocking to whatever the other conferences scrape together from the ashes. Hopefully it would more closely resemble amateur athletics...but who knows.

many don't watch a game until the tourney - then they fill out the brackets and watch some.

I had this general feeling of boredom this year with the tournament but didn’t put a whole lot of thought into it. But the excessive P2 is clearly part of the problem. Too many big football school teams that are familiar. Too few mid majors in general. No Cinderella story at all (came close yesterday but nothing in the sweet 16). And no I don’t consider Arkansas from the SEC as a Cinderella. This is all just a bunch of overpaid players on over funded programs. #March malaise

Zealand and Fiji since March 5 but still. I’ve seen a few clips and scores but I couldn’t even tell you who the #1 seeds are.

I was sitting there thinking to myself, "What am I going to watch?" I've never been less interested in a tourney (other than rooting for SEC teams to lose).

Yep, that’s where we are located these days. 🚽 However, that’s why they don’t care if we watch or not, many gamblers are riveted to the games.

The SEC but just not there to really care about it tbh.

Smart coaches, grown men, and players that can hit open shots. I would never have watched a Colorado State game otherwise. I see some of these big men like Maryland's Julian Reese and just imagine how fun that would be to have one or two in a VT jersey. Now imagine him surrounded by several more. Mark Sears is just a great PG and amazing to watch - I never get tired of that. I actually enjoy Pedulla more now than when he was in a VT jersey. But the head band is gotta go.

He's on the left, I'm on the right in blue. 😅

player I want to watch the most.