Let’s hope that streaming services will kill ESPN/ABC.
Someone’s favorite team got left out. Too bad.
Its a stupid article. CBS has the right for the majority of the big SEC games not Disney. Texas and OU are now moving to the SEC. And on and on.
For example, the last time a Big 12 team won the natty was 2005 Texas Longhorns. Before that was 2000 Oklahoma. (Don't go back to Nebraska's 1994 and 1995 nattys because they were in the Big 8 at the time.) So for the 6 seasons of 2000-2005 the Big 12 had 2 national champions -- IMHO that's pretty good. Since then, nothing.
Since 2006 (17 seasons from 2006 to 2022) the SEC has won 13 nattys, with 3 others won by ACC teams that are in the southeast footprint (Clemson twice and Florida State once). Of the past 17 seasons, the only time a non southeastern team won the natty was only once: 2014 Ohio State of the Big 10. So all of the conferences are chasing the SEC specifically, and the southeastern region in general. They all want the kind of success and money the SEC teams are enjoying, and I can't blame them.
Disney.
Is there anything they cannot ruin?
Uh, no.
Eventually conferences will go away.
The programs will decide they don’t need the conferences and will create their own organization and negotiate their own TV deal.
If done right, that could be a good thing.
I have proposed created a structure that basically has about 10 divisions each with around 7 teams, based on geography and traditional rivalries. That covers most of the current “Power Conference” teams.
You then have a Second-Level for the other Division 1 teams, they will play in divisions aligned with the top-level, so that covers all 130+ Division 1 teams.
And in a given season, there will be a playoff to determine which Second-Level teams get to play in the Top-Level the next season.
Sheer stupidity explains a lot of what happened, but there is also something more sinister at the heart of it in my opinion .It's only about the $$$$.
Every media format, cable TV, over the air TV, streaming etal. need content.
They can do the math and see that college football with big named teams draw the most eyeballs {therefore the most ad bucks}.
Big time college football is the cash cow for every other college sport {with the exception of March madness} so every college President is looking to maximize the guaranteed TV revenue.
Not one of them give a fat rat's ass about fun, tradition, rivalry or sportsmanship, because without the big bucks the college's would have to resort back to student athletes, and who would pay big bucks to see that.
The college I graduated from has less than 2,500 students and a football team.
They have a contract with a local AM radio station that broadcast's their games that pays the President of the College a 'Subway sandwich' once a week.
I go and watch them play @ $15/game a coupla times a year and while the players try, there are probably several western PA super large High School Teams that would destroy them.
Small private colleges provide a great place for an education, they are not pro sports learning centers, and not ready for TV contracts.
There are so many free streaming services already on the internet,that I can watch any sport or game I wish for free.
I thought it would be the Big 8/12 that would die, but at this point it looks like it will be the Pac 8/10/12 that will die.
College football destroyed college football.
It’s got a lot more to do with the NCAA than ESPN. The demand of the illusion of amateur athletes causes so much idiocy. The big teams get tired of having their wins vacated and being banned from the post season because some players got free tattoos, or a player’s mom got a free house. Or most recently a recruit got a free burger during the tour. The NCAA sees the writing on the wall which is why the punishments got more meaningless (coach suspended for 3 games). But in the end the big teams just don’t have a need to put up with that. But in order to make their own championships and playoffs they really need 4 conferences. And there’s only 1 way to get from 6 to 4.
He’s writing about sportsball, right?