and have collectively informed the league unless they have a mega donor willing to pony up mega bucks to pay the GOR penalty.

the conference?

the GOR or conference would imply ALL the schools voting would have secured acceptable landing spots already. The likelihood or probability of that, absent some actions that might create other legal consequences, is pretty low.

Say there are 6 schools voting to get out, and have invites. It seems to me, there would be a Colorado type of school that will not want to be left behind in a weakened ACC. One that has zero chance of being invited to the P2. I wouldn't out of hand assume that there aren't teams that would rather have stability rather than sticking with a bunch of schools that want to break up the conference. No one would leave for the B12 today - but if those votes happen, do you honestly think Cuse and Louisville (example) are just going to sit around and roll the dice?

will do what is best for them and what is best is money until it goes away. Six is not enough and hurt feelings do not cause somebody to move absent financial motivation.

MDU was much less of a loss, other than the ACC "losing face." Clemson and (probably) F$U (finally) would officially signal the ACC's implosion as a P5 conference.

wouldnt they have a chance at the new expanded playoff as an independent... not sure they'd be first to jump at conference realignment ** Edited by kingofcassell at 8/1/2023, 10:09:17 AM

It gives them a home for all their other sport. They get in the neighborhood of 11 mil from the ACC. If their next NBC contract does go as excepted (everyone seems to report they will get 60 mil a year from it), then they will be fine as an independent in football

That figure comes straight from the ACC tax return. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/2023/05/19/... ND is looking to sign a big NBC deal, stay indy in football and keep the status quo with the ACC. Why would ND want to deal with an exit fee and GOR buyout, just to look for a new place to park its other sports? ND is fine with sitting still here.

Passionate fans with good football history. Personally I have never liked FSU but Bobby Bowden I started to like the older I got. There is no denying though they love their football team in Tallahassee. Clemson I like better than FSU but I live in FL. Always enjoy watching home games played at Clemson just like FSU. Great fans even if the tomahawk chop is annoying as heck.

Gain of about half a billion each paid to the ACC over the next decade plus. Can't see either leaving any time soon, unless they find a way to break the GOR. And the only legitimate sounding option to break the GOR is to join with a bunch of other schools to dissolve the conference. Ignore the rumors.

Start of the season right around the corner and a gor that seems pretty secure. Seems crazy.

joining the conference on July 1, 2036 (the day after the ACC's GOR expires) unless an earlier date could be agreed upon, then how do you think the ACC and other members would respond to it? Even though it is about 13 years away, I do think the schools could get nervous and some may even start to plan their exit strategy because they don't think the ACC has a future after June 30, 2036. At the very least it would create a strained relationship between FSU and the rest of the ACC because FSU would be a lame duck member. It may even be enough to destabilize the ACC because it prompts other members to announce they are leaving the ACC well in advance of the date. The hope would be that enough members announce they are leaving the ACC so they vote to dissolve the ACC and void the GOR in order to move up their exit date before July 1, 2036. Now I don't think the other 7 schools would make a similar announcement this year. Instead, it would be a trickle effect between now and maybe 2030 or 2032. Even if the Big Ten and FSU waited until 2030 to make the announcement, I do think the other 7 announcements would still be a trickle effect. At least I would be surprised if 8 ACC schools announced on the same day that they have voted to dissolve the ACC so they could join another conference before July 1, 2036. FWIW the Great West Conference (GWC) was a DI conference that dissolved in 2013. If you look at how the dissolving of the GWC played out, then it could easily be the blueprint for dissolving the ACC because 6 of the 7 full members announced at different times that they were leaving the GWC for another conference. NJIT was the only member to not announce it was leaving the GWC for another conference before the conference dissolved.

First, it's so obvious a negotiating ploy as to be worthless as a negotiating ploy. Second, this thing is in upheaval, the finances and structure will change and change back and change some more over the next decade, why on earth would you pick your future ex wife when you are staying with your next ex wife for 13 years? Third, if the league can change the payout model by vote, the other schools could change it again to reduce what they get as an announced lame duck.

the catalyst for other ACC schools to announce they are leaving too. What fans currently don't know is what value the Big Ten and SEC would place on each ACC school if the GOR was not a factor. However, everyone believes it would take at least 8 votes to dissolve the ACC which should dissolve the GOR. Even if the 8 schools wait to publicly announce they are leaving on the same day, it is safe to assume that each school will likely reach an agreement with their new home on different days. Also, at some point there should be enough votes to prevent changes to the bylaws as a way of punishing the lame duck members because it will become clear that the ACC's future after June 30, 2036 won't be as bright as people thought.

even more than the other Elite 8. (I think Notre Dame is in the middle of this to be able to stay independent, and signing a 3-4 game agreement to also play the B1G each year is not very Independent and they know it, even if they won’t admit it ). This is a battle between the 🐭 and the 🦊 to get the football first schools, and now the big basketball success schools. I have little doubt that they will expand the NCAA 🏀 Tournament to 90-100 teams, and the Sweet 16 teams will make much more of the money. The ACC finally led on something that IMHO will cross over to the Power Conferences. Playoff and Sweet 16 money will mainly go to those that participate. Just like it does in football right now for Notre Dame. All of that said, if Florida State announces they are going to leave the 🐭 as early as possible for the 🦊, (they really don’t have to set a date) it will force ESPN to the table. The problem as so many have pointed out, is that we have too many schools in the ACC that don’t pull the numbers in either football or basketball, even if they are winning. The 🐭 wants to reduce dramatically paying those schools, because the money is simply not there to pay them. So here we go, grab your 🍿and let’s see where this goes,

bring the other ACC schools to table in an attempt to amend the length of time remaining on the GOR. I do think we'll see schools attempt to destabilize the ACC in order to attack the GOR. Most (maybe all) will fail, so it will be interesting to see which method ends up working in the end. At least I would be surprised if the GOR remains in tact as it is until June 30, 2036 because there's too much money at stake for the ACC to continue down this path. Something the ACC schools may want to keep an eye on is just how committed is ESPN to the ACCN after June 30, 2036. Right now ESPN is looking to lower its cost. Does that open the door to the possibility that the ACCN could be on the chopping blocks too at some point in the future? If so, then it may not make financial sense for some schools to continue to be affiliated with the ACC. I could see a chicken-egg scenario develop because schools decide to leave the ACC which makes ESPN's decision easier to discontinue its relationship with the ACCN or vice versa.

not react publicly, laugh privately and move on about their business. It would likely be an uncomfortable period up until exit or 13 years, whichever came first and a textbook case study for schools on what not to do if you anticipate leaving a conference.

secret anymore. Plus, someone affiliated with the school will eventually make a comment about the announcement. For example, Dan Lanning, Oregon's HC, made this comment, 'I don’t remember them winning anything' when asked about Colorado's decision to leave the Pac-12 and re-join the Big XII. 10+ years is an awfully long time to try to keep any comments on the announcement from going public particularly when the personnel affiliated with the school will likely change multiple times during that time period. Besides, if other ACC schools want to join the Big Ten, then they may not be able to burn any bridges with FSU because of the potential impact it could have on achieving that goal. You are right it could be a textbook case study on what not to do when leaving a conference. It is just as likely it could be a textbook case study on what to do to get out of a long-term comment particularly if the GOR ends up being voided prior to June 30, 2036. Dissolving the ACC may be the only legal way to reduce the GOR's length of time remaining. It would take an awful lot of coordination among the 8 schools to have a new home before they vote to dissolve the conference. Hence why I suggested the trickle approach because is a lot easier to get 1-2 schools to get the ball rolling in a certain direction than 8 schools. Also, we are not sure if the uneven revenue distribution will be enough to appease everyone to stick around until the GOR expires. If it isn't, then we should eventually start to hear rumblings from other schools which could trigger someone to announce it is leaving the conference earlier than the typical 1-2 years in advance we have seen in the past. All it takes is 1 domino to fall to start that chain reaction. Right now, that 1 domino could fall from a number of directions which isn't good for the future of the ACC.

Pitt is way down the line in terms of value added to the ACC. The city is great for ACCN. The university is a fantastic school, zero doubt about that. But the ACC member institutions are all looking to increase their revenue with the least risk possible. That’s what realignment is all about. Schools leaving for the P2 at the end of their GOR are getting the best revenue with the least financial risk. (Most would argue their is substantial risk involved with leaving the relationships they’d built in their previous league, but very low financial risk) FSU and Clemson leaving now would experience serious financial risk. But both also experience serious financial risk remaining in the ACC. The other ACC member institutions face serious risk if FSU and Clemson were to leave. This thing is TV revenue driven and those two offer by far the biggest TV draws in the league. They are the talismans for how many other ACC programs build and market their brand. The Big XII and Pac 12 are one year away from experiencing what happens when there are no mega brands in your league. Yormark has done well to re-brand the Big XII with the additions he has made, but there is a harsh reality about to set in when Texas and OU’s eyeballs are absent every Saturday. And Yormark’s PR is shielding the big XII from this reality a good bit. This is what the ACC faces without FSU and Clemson. If Pitt were to leave…ACCN revenue would drop with losing that area from its core subscriber base. But per team payouts would increase. Pitt would pay a penalty. Substantial. I don’t think FSU or Clemson would be on board adding another school because we couldn’t add anyone valuable enough to increase our payouts, except maybe SMU? We’d just all pocket 1/14th of roughly ~$600M that the ACc got paid out last year as a Pitt boost. Not as big a deal. ** Edited by hokieZ71 at 8/1/2023, 6:45:24 AM

a couple of other teams watching the top teams of the conference trying to destroy the conference? These are teams that have very little chance of being invited to the P2 - what do you think they will do? Root for the mag seven to destroy an already premier conference?

That's patently false. The Mag 7 want their revenue streams within the ACC to approach the P2. That's all. If the Pac 12 had done their deal a year or two ago, they'd be the Pac 10 right now and be together outside USC/UCLA for the next 7-8 years.... The Big XII saved itself on multiple occasions and is still together. At the current time, the ACC's stance is much the same as the Big XII. FSU has stated not much publicly, outside the whole "we need more competitive revenue" Big whoop.

Speaking succinctly, I never said "This (the ACC) had anything to do with the B12" But athletic conferences all operate in very similar ways these days. So, could we get back to your original statement that Pitt would be a major loss? Because 1) Pitt ain't going nowhere. and 2) If they leave on their own, it's not a major loss.

as an example - substitute Cuse, if you want. The point is, as long as your conference believes some teams are better than the others, you will find the lower half looking for their own landing spot. Colorado didn't hang around, and took what was offered. If the PAC imlodes, would they have received an invite over Oregon and Washington? There are no guarantees in this world, and if I'm one of the non mag 7, Im looking around too.

Can you explain that please?

Right now, the ACC is much stronger than they think. The problem is, that 1/2 of the conference has publically made it clear that they are NOT happy with the status quo. What happened? 4 top football blue bloods changed conferences, and the Big 10 got a media contract that is off the charts. OMG - the B12 is the next Big east!. - We have to keep up or we won't compete! - We have to be the third best conference! We are worth more than they are contracted to pay us !!!!!!!!! We need to dump 1/2 of the conference because they are dead weight! (just a few from the hip, but there are many more) The PAC was OK, even when they lost USCLA. The problem was that they thought they were worth MUCH more than the media companies would pay . WHY? They have good football programs, they are off the charts academically, they actually, tongue in cheek, thought that their stuff didn't stink. Guess what? It's an athletic conference, and the media contracts are based on advertising revenue - NOT who you think is better. If you look at the New12, they all fill their football stadiums with fans as passionate as VT fans except Kansas and Houston. Show me another team in the New12 that doesn't fill or nearly fill their stadiums like VT. The biggest threat to the PAC10 (before Colorado announced) was that a Colorado would not agree to uneven conference distribution. The media deal hasn't even been announced, yet you have the top two remaining blue bloods pleading to get out of the conference and go to the Big10, What the hell do you think a Colorado or Arizona would do - hope that they can keep the Magnificent 7 and take less money? No, they said the hell with that. (an analogy) A Pitt, BC, Cuse, Wake, Louisville, or a team like that just may stand up and say - the hell with you guys, you want us out anyway. Why would they stick around when the rest of you have a foot out the door? yep - I say Pitt is the linchpin, because if they finally have enough of the FSU, Clemson, NC, and the rest of the sevens stuff, THEY may leave, and there will be teams floundering like the PAC is now.

none of them bring value to the B1G or SEC. I doubt they get more from the Big 12 than they are getting now from the ACC. Then we have this thing called an exit fee and a GOR which would severely criple those "Other 7" schools financially. Do you honestly think the Big 12 would want Louisville and Pitt or Syracuse or BC? I know that the existing Big 12 schools wouldn't want them to take a slice of their pie. Of the "Other ACC 7's", I would guess that Georgia Tech would be the most desirable for the Big 12 but why would GT leave and likely make less money and have to pay an exit fee and GOR penalties?

any game. I think a big part of the ACC’s weakness is the lack of fans at a game at Pitt and Miami. To many of their fans watch on Sunday and not Saturday.

they all stay because they cannot get $40MM anywhere else and going anywhere else likely involves additional increases to their cost structure.

is that they are negotiating a settlement from the ACC GOR. everything is negotiable, and FSU inpativualr, is doing it publically. There is no reason to think that they will not be successful in negotiating a settlement that works for them and the ACC. Either that, or there will be uneven distributions that will be untenable for the "bottom 7" The GOR is giving the conference stability, until it doesn't. If others brak off and start leaving, the Pitts of the world will be searching for a home.

in your CURRENT thinking. If the GOR fails and stability is gone that is an entirely different scenario. You say they are now negotiating a settlement and you have no reason to believe they will not be successful but, I doubt you really have any better reason to believe they will be successful and have even more doubt you really understand exactly what may be going on and what the real probabilities for success are, particularly in the near term. You really have no idea how tenable or untenable uneven revenue distributions might be and what the amounts might actually be until the formula becomes public. So, at the moment it would appear what you really have are hopes and dreams that you believe MIGHT benefit the Big 12 and potentially hurt the ACC.

the result of uneven distributions, except that we have a prime example of what can happen with Texas. They got everything they asked for, and still left the rest of the conference in the dust. I also am not here pumping the B12, and thinking that it is a better conference than the ACC. I'm trying to point out that the ACC is imploding from within. You have many VT posters that think the mag 7 should break away, and many that think they should drop schools. Then you talk about uneven distributions, and on top of that, how to get out of the GOR. With respect, that isn't the B12 trying to desstable the ACC. My moniker states that I am an outsider, but i assure you, I'm old school, and want the PAC and ACC to find a way to challenge the P2, not become part of it. I like the B12 conference as it stands - many here do not have the same opinion of their conference, and there will be schools surprised that they are on the outside looking in. Who in their right mind thought that Colorado would leave the PAC to join the B12 two years ago?