Personally, I think the ACC should position itself flexibly to gain the most, whether it's 5-11 or 3 AQ bids.

The meaning of an SEC/B1G alliance has been, along with "House," the hot topic on message boards for a while now. We have also seen (for years) plenty of ideas about how ESPN might broker an ACC/SEC mini merger to benefit all parties. And the other popular subject has been some possible blending of The ACC and Big XII. Am I the only one to notice the dog that isn't barking: Why not an "alliance" of sorts among The B1G, The XII, along with PayPal, and media partners (including streamers) Not a conference merger by any definition, but a locked-in, long-term schedule, and possible post season FB agreements, and midseason hoops tournaments. This solves a good list of problems for both conferences: 1 Both get the nation-wide footprint they seek without having to grow to 30+ teams each. 2 This gives The B1G the needed regular visibility in Texas? 3 Yormark craves the Northeastern MBB culture and Fox can introduce him to The Big East. 4 Picture The B1G in Miami, GT, maybe FSU. They need only a couple schools in The South. 5 Calford might move to The B1G. 6 If Yormark expands (likely) ACC properties will be available, as well as USF. Big FL markets. 7 The B1G would no long want to poach the Four Corners because they have market access. I think Sankey would secretly welcome this. He wants to add UNC and UVa and seemingly nothing else. Is anybody opining about this; have I just overlooked it?

divides the cash more ways, less for member schools.

I mean they are so trustworthy. 😳🤣 Sorry you are serious, and I should not be joking. It’s just that everyone seems to get mad at the SEC, but the quiet one (the B1G) is the one harping for 4 Automatic Playoff Bids just for being in their conference, and then trying to sell it like it is better for everybody else. Their problem is, even with their Podcast Broadcast repeatedly saying it, no one is buying it, or at least very few. Eventually what you do drowns out your words, it can take a while, but eventually what goes around, comes around IMHO.

Then Gene Smith overruled him. So you'd have to consult Ohio State.

Gene Smith said he was not interested in Ohio State playing out side of Big Ten schools. So he tanked the "Alliance". Plus I believe Larry Scott had already destroyed the PAC12 by then.

None of these participants has clean hands. Each conference acts in its own interest. I never thought the original "Alliance" was anything more than a voting bloc to stop The SEC from controlling the playoffs. I have said forever that there is no P2; there is a P1 and another P1. The SEC and B1G are in a bit of a chess match with huge stakes. I just saw a post on another board that proposed an alliance (actually a messy merger) among The SEC, ACC, and XII. The next couple of years will be madness.