FSU and Clemson can barely pay their utility bill.

Sorry for the ommission.

I think I just failed to mention them because I just lump them in with Clemson and FSU now. My fault.

So don’t take the silence or the I have a source group to know anything either. Some of these FishingCasters/PodCasters are doing just that, throwing out enough fishing lines that one will eventually be right. Then they will focus on the lucky guess and drop talking about the misses. Even a broken clock is right twice a day. ** Edited by Stech at 4/20/2024, 10:05:06 AM

is that ESPN tries to broker a deal to get FSU and Clemson into the SEC and the other ACC schools sue ESPN for purposely weakening the ACC to further strengthen their valued SEC. The downside could be that ESPN won't want to deal with a lawsuit so they'll just let the Big 10/Fox take them and won't renegotiate a new contract with the ACC or at best give the ACC a deal that places the ACC a distance 4th behind the Big 12. ESPN knows that a FSU/Clemson-less ACC has few options in future negotiations.

We know for a fact that Nielsen ratings are not all encompassing. We also know that ratings are driven by more than just matchups. The day of the games, time, and channel are all factors (and all can be controlled by ESPN/FOX/CBS). So ESPN will point to ratings to justify cutting ACC money. And they will be able to present a strong case (because it has been built that way over time). The ACC has no clear cut way to challenge ESPN on the value of FSU/Clemson vs other ACC schools. Even without the ratings, ESPN can cite market value that they determine internally. FSU and Clemson historically have more titles than the rest (national and ACC), more wins, more draft picks, more fans, etc. ESPN holds all the cards in this matchup if the ACC ever challenged them.

the SEC recruiting wise. Right now they can say you don’t want to go to Clemson or FSU, because you don’t get to play in SEC. It helps recruiting. They fear B1G football about as much as they do the ACC. Actually the ACC is tougher to recruit against since the parents can drive to a lot of the away games, and they can sell less chance of injury in the ACC. Add that to what you said about this getting ugly for ESPN, with the fact that the SEC already does great in Florida and South Carolina TV wise, I just don’t see those two to the SEC. B1G yes, same with Miami, and maybe Georgia Tech. They would be less mouths to feed, and in the type of markets that the B1G has mainly been expanding in.

that neither the Big 10 or SEC wants to expand right now and are happy with what they have. FSU and Clemson want out now but there are no takers. There's a rumor that ESPN is willing to bring FSU and Clemson to the SEC just to keep Fox/Big Ten from taking their ACC properties even though the SEC presidents aren't interested in expansion. I also keep hearing that Notre Dame, FSU, UNC and Clemson are the remaining valuable P-2 prizes and that Clemson's value isn't as great as the other three. The P-2 has no interest in any other ACC or Big 12 member. I agree that there is no clear path and everyone in the ACC is scrambling for survival.

backchannel talks

The other three are poverty schools !