SMASH Capital presented their plan for a Super League to the ACC Athletic Directors.
SMASH Capital's super league plan incorporates the four power conferences into a 70-team structure that would expand the postseason, modify scheduling, tier revenue distribution and infuse as much as $9 billion in private capital cash for the schools involved. SMASH Capital's architects for the college football super league include former Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick.
Sounds like it really doesn't matter much as both the SEC and Big 10 currently have dismissed being involved and without those two conferences this plan likely never moves past the idea phase.
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Money = power. And the SEC and Big10 have the money. Looks like VT and the ACC will be the passengers on this ride.
Sure, but if there's a ride, the ACC will likely be on it.
That's the important part.
Just the SEC and B1G would be a lonely ride, regardless of what they may think.
When the leaders of the SEC and Big Ten keep talking about their plans to distance themselves from everyone else, believe them.
Their split to create the P2 is inevitable. There is nothing the ACC or anyone else can do to stop it. Its only a matter of time before it happens, and no, the likes of the ACC, Pac 12, Big XII, etc will not be included, outside of some small collection of schools that get brought in before that ship sails into the sunset.
They want to distance themselves, but they still want other college teams to beat up on.
They want a league where all pigs are equal, but some pigs are more equal than other pigs.
They'll be perfectly happy to beat up on each other if that means they get to keep all of the pie. And then they won't have to worry about a loss looking bad, because they've already conditioned the public to think it just means more in those conferences and every team is good. Hell, at this point a loss to Vanderbilt looks better on the resume than beating Florida State.
To be fair, a close loss to Vanderbilt this year probably IS better than beating Florida State.
But note to the P2: College football without the ACC and Big 12 isn't the same, and fans will eventually come to that realization, too.
Maybe, but that realization would come long after the P2 has legitimately left them behind. And it might come too long after the point of no return where anyone who isn't in it is permanently held back due to falling too far behind financially.
Note to college football.... You made Bama/UGA meaningless- both teams will make the playoff. You made TX/UGA meaningless- both teams will make the playoff. The SEC title game is meaningless- both teams are in the playoff. As an aside- what sick fuck pays 500 dollars to see UGA Texas in Atlanta with NOTHING on the line? Someone with more money than sense. In many years- not this one- OSU Michigan will be meaningless. The Rose Bowl doesn't exist anymore- the list goes on. You don't think fans will catch on to this? Of course they will. The sport is in trouble long term they just don't know it.
UGA and Texas fans with more money than they know what to do with. And quite a few of the ones that really shouldn't be able to afford it.
yup.
a regional version of minor league football won't be any more popular than minor league baseball
I hope the P2 splits from everyone else. And with that, I hope that "everyone else" refuses to ever play anyone in the P2 and it becomes a de-facto pro-starter league. Aaannnndd, I hope that "everyone else" goes back to a regional model and crowns their own champion. I would never watch a P2 game again in my life but I would be soo on board to watch some "everyone else" football every weekend.
The P2 split is inevitable - it's also a greedy, short-sighted money grab that will pay them hugely now and will really come back to bite them later. The product will get even more stale than it already is and even more folks will lose interest. I know I have. I used to love watching football on Saturdays - I was invested in the sport beyond just VT. Nowadays, I ONLY care to watch VT games - and even then, I barely watch them. It just isn't the priority that it once was in our household. Partly because the product has been poop for the last decade but that's beside the point. Even when VT was bad in Beamer's later years I was interested in and excited to watch VT AND other football games. Ever since Bama and LSU played each other for a title I've been gradually losing interest in the sport generally, this year hitting the all time lowest point. I have only watched about 3 full football games all year - all of them VT - and I've probably watched a combined 17 minutes of non-VT football games (most of that being the end of the FSU-GT game for the LOLZ)
It just isn't fun to watch anymore. The P2 is sucking the fun right out of the sport and they have been for the last 15 years
If this means that the current last place football team in the ACC gets a higher share of revenues and we are still bent over for Notre Dame- fuck every ounce of this- fuck every ounce. If it means Miami- who will play for an ACC title for the first time in 20 years- gets more share of the pie, we should immediately go independent or beg the Big 12 to let us in.
Agreed.
I'd rather the ACC and Big 12 have their own separate league than for the ACC to join a league that's inherently and significantly biased for the P2 teams, which is clearly what the P2 wants.
Private equity = please God, send us the Exorcist to cast them out.
Yep they are in the MONEY business- not your business
They now own my business, so they make my business worse all the time. Counting down the months until (1) my daughter graduates high school in June, 2027 or (2) we reach our target $X of total household net worth - whichever comes first - to when I can resign. Assuming I'm not laid off first.
This is the obvious end-game of NIL...private equity taking part or full ownership of Conferences.
The non-P2 will be the first to fall since they are going to need cash first but eventually private citizens are going to tire with funding NIL Collectives even in the football-obsessed parts of the country.
And the fan experience will start to replicate the Airline (an industry highly leveraged by private equity) experience. Up-charge for every single part of the process. Yay.
The really fun part will be when foreign (read: Saudi) money gets involved. I see this ending splendidly.