have to work around. But man, if 4-6 quality Pac-12 teams jump to the BigXII, we are putting ourselves in a position of the clear cut number four. I wonder if FSU and maybe Clemson might be working to get UO, UW et al. here. We aren't going to be able to add a Texas or a USC, but this would be the next best thing. OTOH, if ACC leadership continues to be a do nothing organization, it might cause schools that think they have real options (FSU for instance) to start the process of blowing up the conference. ** Edited by Maroon Baboon at 2/28/2023, 11:10:21 AM

Especially with FSU & Clemson still in the fold. That 2036 date with the inherent GOR is too much to expect any Pac school to sign onto. It ultimately comes down to a willingness by ESPN to renegotiate that ACC TV contract. The ACC Commish can do nothing about that but make kindly requests to ESPN. ESPN holds all the cards.

I've wanted WVU and Cincinnati for years, but that ship looks like it sailed. So 4-6 out of the PAC12 would be helpful if ESPN would pay for it. We would get a good bump from the ACC Network if we pick the choices well. It looks like the PAC12 has been trying to stay together, but we'll see.

Two 12 team conferences separated by performance. The top 12 conference would be elite. Promotion/relegation aspect would be fascinating and innovative. ESPN would have to want this, of course, and the bump for the best football schools would have to be worth it. The Pac schools would absolutely do this once confirmed B1G is not an option. The lower ACC football schools wouldn’t like it but they have a path to an elite conference (top 12), path to playoff, maintain rivalries in/out of conference, get preferred b-ball treatment, etc. Sounds crazy but a status quo of unrest and further irrelevance ain’t great.

They now go from having a chance at 2 of them, to only having a chance at 1 of them if they are all in the same Conference.

One network? Where is it written that two conferences can't join to negotiate the same media contract? Make it north of what the big12 gets, and Oregon, Washington, Clemson, and F$U might just sit the hell down, and schedule some pretty darn good games.

Has a fighting chance to make the playoff and arguably a better path that many in the top 12.

with the Big10 and SEC. They have the media guarantied money moving forward, and have picked off most of the legacy brands. The ones not invited to their party need to find a way to compete. I think the automatic playoff berths is a way they can compete. For instance (Big12 and ACC are interchangeable for discussion). The Big12 and PAC join forces, and they negotiate a media contract that pays the PAC schools the same amount as the Big12 guys. The media company gets the PAC network, adds the Big12 content, and you now have a network that you can market to the rest of the country. They keep their conference affiliation, and each sends at least one team to the playoffs, with most years sending 3 - and if the planets line up, 4. That is exactly the same amount of teams the SEC and IG will be sending every year. I feel like I'm on and island here, but I see the future big money in the expanded playoffs, not in the guarantied media money, This battle is lost for the ACC, Big12, and the PAC. Join forces to fight another day, and win the war.

with the big boys. I’m sure there are many reasons why it wouldn’t happen but the whole point is to get the capable football schools equipped to compete with SEC/B1G. That will never happen under the current agreement as is even with unequal revenue sharing.

First post here, and I'm happy it gets to be this one because I am a massive fan of promotion/relegation models. It won't work in the American Pro leagues because of salary caps and all that. But college football is ripe for something like that. I'd love to see it be NCAA wide. Honestly, each division can have a playoff system for the championship. But of course the biggest achievement would be promotion into the first division and then winning a National Championship. Basically 8 regions that have equal amounts of teams divided into divisions. Schedule would be 5-7 games in the divisions depending on their size. Then OOC everything else. No one misses rivalries, cross division match-ups could be interesting. Schedules are always competitive and regionally based for at least 50% of the season. Each division winner gets a ticket to the play-offs. Additionally the top division team moves up, the bottom division team moves down. An added nuance could be playoff games for the second place teams and second to last teams to determine whether there is a another promotion/relegation taking place that season. I know I am dreaming, no one needs to come here to berate me for that. But it would shut up the likes of UCF and anyone else who feels they were overlooked for the 4-team playoff that exists today. And honestly be a breath of fresh air compared to the ludicrous arms race we are witnessing.

champions play in a national final. 13 schools at each level in the East, 13 in the West. If you use Chicago as the dividing line, it slices the 130 D-1 teams in almost exact half. It would create 5 tiers. It would be how baseball used to be before interleague play. The East and the West teams wouldn't play each other during the regular season, and would just meet in the national final or bowl games. The regular season matchups would be INSANE. But of course there is a million different ways to do it. But either way, it would solve most very "issue" facing college football. ** Edited by Maroon Baboon at 2/28/2023, 3:01:32 PM

Combine the remaining conferences and the G5 into one body. Pay the teams for performance on the field and in the media. Everyone being an independent. The rich will stay rich because of their brands and programs, and the poor will have to either get off the pot, or move to FCS. Real competition, and equal opportunity for every team. NOT equal out comes.

But this is Baylor. For a school with only 15k undergrads they sure do like to be in the mix with all the large state schools. Something feels a bit extra crazy this year. I don’t know what to expect anymore. But I hope VT and UVA are both being smart and planning for all contingencies.

I used to call them the Kato Kaelin of college football since them would ride on the coattails of star programs to get in or stay in conferences. But at least they are out there winning as a private school. Unlike Vandy and Northwestern for instance.