Are Maryland And Florida State Keeping Their Conference Realignment Options Open, Just A Little?
by Brian Favat on Sep 22, 2011 1:01 PM EDT
in Conference Expansion
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PrintSo remember earlier this month when the ACC was toying with the idea of increasing the buyout for members to leave the conference? Then the University presidents went ahead and did exactly that, unanimously approving an increase to the exit fee to $20 million and signaling to the other conferences that the ACC was much more stable than it initially appeared?
While the vote was unanimous, it looks like the original number was in the $34 million range, that is, until Florida State and Maryland talked the rest of the conference down to $20m.
Obviously, this is worth noting as both Florida State and Maryland are rumored to have options other than sticking around the ACC should the Big Ten (Maryland) or SEC (Florida State) come calling, though both seem like long shots. A $34m figure would have easily made it cost-prohibitive to leave the conference, but $20m seems slightly more palatable. Even still, the $20m figure isn't anything to sneeze at, as that is roughly twice the cost Nebraska paid to get out of the Big 12, and twenty times the price Boston College paid to leave the Big East.
Do I think that this means that both the Florida State and Maryland administrations have one foot out the door? Not really. Especially if the ACC is successful in landing one of the three conference expansion heavyweights into the fold. But it is worth noting that both schools are keeping their options open.
HT: Testudo Times
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I think it's wise to continue to maintain available options
But I don’t see Maryland going anywhere. It would be foolish for them too, as the ACC has been their home since the 1950’s and they become second fiddle to the rest of the Big Ten. Now for FSU, I wouldn’t doubt they would not want to be paying that much in case an invite came there way.
Don't give up, don't ever give up ~ Jim Valvano
Maryland's kind of 2nd fiddle in the ACC as is.
The NC schools and maybe UVA rule the roost.
F the Deacs - Notre Dame, Rutgers and UConn to the ACC
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MiNDSET? SWAG-ER-ISM!!!
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Wherever you are, Trick, you are wise, indeed.
Correct, Sir Trick.
You truly are one of God's treasures, Trick
Why would Maryland want the Big Ten?
As a College Park alum, I can say the reasons are many — and extend far beyond athletics:
- The Big Ten is comprised of land-grant flagship universities that Maryland views as its peers (Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan, Wisconsin, etc.), whereas with the addition of Syracuse, the ACC now has five private institutions, and its state universities (Virginia, North Carolina) tend to be relatively small as flagships go.
- Research. The Big Ten’s CIC consortium (all 12 members plus the University of Chicago) are active in hundreds of millions of research dollars. Maryland would like to get involved in that action, plus its proximity to Washington, D.C. and government matters would aid the Big Ten.
- Revenue. The ACC’s major athletic problem is that its football brand is negligible at best, and that’s hurt Byrd Stadium attendance for many years. Moving to the Big Ten brings in visits from Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan, Nebraska, etc. — and the D.C. area is full of Big Ten alums. Maryland might not do much better in football in the Big Ten than in the ACC (though it would be a boon to recruiting), but it would make a lot more money doing it. And for an athletic department struggling with red ink, and the possibility several teams might be eliminated, money can’t be overstated (money you get from football, not basketball).
Big Ten membership would solidify College Park into the top tier of public universities for decades to come. The ACC is fine; the Big Ten is the only conference I would leave it for.
Agreed, but...
Actually, Michigan State is the land-grant university in the state of Michigan, not UofM.
by Sparty_Cyclone on Sep 24, 2011 8:59 PM EDT up reply actions
They could easily just make it a pro-rated buyout.
The first team costs $40M.
The 2nd team to opt out costs $30M
3rd team $20M
4th team on $10M
It makes it hard for that 1st team to go, so in that case all 12 members should feel comfortable that they won’t be abandoned.
And the NFL, with their threat of teams losing draft picks or heavy fines if players are accused on faking injury. Better solution: any player that gets hurt enough that the officials have to stop the clock, that player is ineligible for the rest of the possession. they can’t come back in a play later like nothing ever happened. There are still loop holes there, but its a rule you can use throughout the game, is in the best interest of the player, and prevents a lot of deception.
If you want to ensure stability...
then do what the Big 10 and Pac-12 have done. As a condition of membership in the conference, each school must sign over their media rights to the conference for 20-25 years. All this talk of PSU possibly coming to the ACC are pointless. The Big 10 had all their members re-sign over their media rights to the conference in 2007, so even if PSU somehow wanted to go to the ACC, they’d be doing so with no media for the next 20 odd years. Not gonna happen.
The penalty is fine, but the media rights are a killer.
by chicagofire1871 on Sep 22, 2011 11:27 PM EDT reply actions
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