Dear Andy,
You are now tasked with creating a conference to rival the SEC and Big Ten in terms of money earned. Any team that you select has to join your conference. There are no stipulations on number of teams or geography. The only teams you cannot pick are current or future SEC or Big Ten members. Who do you pick and would you make more money than those current conferences?
— Seth
This is a big ask. The SEC just scooped up the two best properties on the board in Oklahoma and Texas. I don’t think I can make more money than the SEC or the Big Ten — especially given what the Big Ten is about to pull in TV money — but I think I could create a league that would draw significant interest from television networks or streamers desperate to buy a chunk of the live sports audience, which is now the most valuable group in broadcasting because it’s the only one that consistently gathers to watch television programs in real time.
If you don’t believe me, just consider Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Academy Awards ceremony. Given that the broadcast received the second-lowest rating in its history — just ahead of last-year’s remote ceremony — you probably didn’t watch the slap live. You probably found out like I did — on social media afterward. I don’t believe the slap was staged, but I do believe it will encourage at least a few more people to tune into the Oscars live next year for the who-knows-what-might-happen factor. Well, sports has a built-in who-knows-what-might-happen factor. That’s what makes it so valuable now. We think Wisconsin will beat Minnesota, but things get a lot more interesting when the Badgers don’t. We think Alabama will beat Auburn on Friday, but suddenly it’s the fourth quarter early Saturday evening and the Iron Bowl is hurtling toward overtime.
The SEC is about to get paid by Disney/ESPN. The Big Ten is about to get paid by … We don’t know, but we know the money will be enormous. So on Seth’s orders, let’s create a league that would get some other schools paid.
I feel for the volleyball, baseball and softball players in this league, because their travel schedule is going to be hellish. The only way to make it truly valuable is to have it be a 16-team league that stretches from coast to coast. I’ll be adding members of the ACC, the Big 12 (old and new) and the Pac-12 to increase the value. Basically, this would be a version of the future Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy discussed on SiriusXM on Tuesday in an interview with Gabe Ikard and Dusty Dvoracek.
“I think that there could potentially be a cutoff where football tries to branch off and take to what would be maybe the top 30 teams in the country in somebody’s opinion — and that somebody would be television because they’re funding everybody’s athletic department through television money,” Gundy said. “If you get to that point, you want to make that cut. I personally don’t think that’s good for college football, but I don’t make those decisions and people don’t listen to me when it comes to that.”
No one listens to me either, but Seth has tasked me with creating this conference. So after careful consideration, here is my 16-school league that should turn the Power 2 into the Power 3. This league is completely fictional and theoretical, because unless someone in the ACC finds a way to get out of a grant of rights that lasts until June 30, 2036, then no one is leaving that league. But back in our Power 3 fantasy, we’ll give Dabo Swinney, the dean of our conference’s football coaches, the honor of naming the new league. It’ll be called the ROY Conference. What does ROY stand for? “Rest of y’all.”
Baylor
Cincinnati
Clemson
Florida State
Houston
Miami
NC State
North Carolina
Oklahoma State
Oregon
UCF
UCLA
USC
Utah
Virginia Tech
Washington
How did I choose these? Some — like Clemson, Florida State, Miami, Oregon, USC and Washington — were obvious. These programs are bigger football brand names than quite a few Big Ten and SEC programs. North Carolina and UCLA, meanwhile, aren’t bigger football brands but are huge sports brands that also occasionally enjoy success in football. I also wondered whether I should include Duke and Kansas for basketball purposes. Because while football absolutely drives the financial train, competing for national titles in basketball is financially beneficial and great for exposure. But with last year’s men’s national champ and a current Final Four program in the lineup, I also feel good about this league’s chances in hoops.
North Carolina isn’t a big football brand but is a huge basketball brand that occasionally enjoys success in football. (Bob Donnan/ USA Today)
There were a lot of tough omissions. I struggled with whether I should include Arizona and Arizona State. I also wanted to include Pittsburgh and West Virginia to reignite the Backyard Brawl and also to get West Virginia in a league with a lot more nearby schools than it has now.
I’m sure Texas Tech fans are furious that I chose Baylor and Houston over their school. As for Baylor, the Bears have been good under their past three head coaches and seem to have hit upon a sustainable football model. Houston, meanwhile, is a futures play. I’m betting on the big state university in the major metropolitan center to rise to the occasion in the company of some huge brand names.
I chose UCF for a similar reason. It’s a young university that is only beginning to produce alumni who cared about UCF sports while they were in school. And given the school’s massive enrollment, it’s now pumping out such alums. Meanwhile, it’s located in a football hotbed. We’ll see in real life how much Big 12 membership will boost UCF’s recruiting. In this scenario, it would be fascinating to see how the Knights fared in talent acquisition if the program was viewed as an equal alongside Florida State and Miami.
At the top, this league would be a blast to watch. Assuming Lincoln Riley makes USC better and Dan Lanning keeps Oregon’s talent level high, seeing those schools square off against Clemson — with potential challenges from Baylor, Cincinnati, Miami, NC State and Oklahoma State — for the conference title would be outstanding. And every matchup in this league looks like something I’d enjoy watching for 3 1/2 hours.
Would it be the equal on the balance sheet of the Big Ten and the SEC? No. But it would get close enough to give its teams the resources to compete for national titles against the most powerful in the Power 2.
You are now tasked with creating a conference to rival the SEC and Big Ten in terms of money earned. Any team that you select has to join your conference. There are no stipulations on number of teams or geography. The only teams you cannot pick are current or future SEC or Big Ten members. Who do you pick and would you make more money than those current conferences?
— Seth
This is a big ask. The SEC just scooped up the two best properties on the board in Oklahoma and Texas. I don’t think I can make more money than the SEC or the Big Ten — especially given what the Big Ten is about to pull in TV money — but I think I could create a league that would draw significant interest from television networks or streamers desperate to buy a chunk of the live sports audience, which is now the most valuable group in broadcasting because it’s the only one that consistently gathers to watch television programs in real time.
If you don’t believe me, just consider Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Academy Awards ceremony. Given that the broadcast received the second-lowest rating in its history — just ahead of last-year’s remote ceremony — you probably didn’t watch the slap live. You probably found out like I did — on social media afterward. I don’t believe the slap was staged, but I do believe it will encourage at least a few more people to tune into the Oscars live next year for the who-knows-what-might-happen factor. Well, sports has a built-in who-knows-what-might-happen factor. That’s what makes it so valuable now. We think Wisconsin will beat Minnesota, but things get a lot more interesting when the Badgers don’t. We think Alabama will beat Auburn on Friday, but suddenly it’s the fourth quarter early Saturday evening and the Iron Bowl is hurtling toward overtime.
The SEC is about to get paid by Disney/ESPN. The Big Ten is about to get paid by … We don’t know, but we know the money will be enormous. So on Seth’s orders, let’s create a league that would get some other schools paid.
I feel for the volleyball, baseball and softball players in this league, because their travel schedule is going to be hellish. The only way to make it truly valuable is to have it be a 16-team league that stretches from coast to coast. I’ll be adding members of the ACC, the Big 12 (old and new) and the Pac-12 to increase the value. Basically, this would be a version of the future Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy discussed on SiriusXM on Tuesday in an interview with Gabe Ikard and Dusty Dvoracek.
“I think that there could potentially be a cutoff where football tries to branch off and take to what would be maybe the top 30 teams in the country in somebody’s opinion — and that somebody would be television because they’re funding everybody’s athletic department through television money,” Gundy said. “If you get to that point, you want to make that cut. I personally don’t think that’s good for college football, but I don’t make those decisions and people don’t listen to me when it comes to that.”
No one listens to me either, but Seth has tasked me with creating this conference. So after careful consideration, here is my 16-school league that should turn the Power 2 into the Power 3. This league is completely fictional and theoretical, because unless someone in the ACC finds a way to get out of a grant of rights that lasts until June 30, 2036, then no one is leaving that league. But back in our Power 3 fantasy, we’ll give Dabo Swinney, the dean of our conference’s football coaches, the honor of naming the new league. It’ll be called the ROY Conference. What does ROY stand for? “Rest of y’all.”
Baylor
Cincinnati
Clemson
Florida State
Houston
Miami
NC State
North Carolina
Oklahoma State
Oregon
UCF
UCLA
USC
Utah
Virginia Tech
Washington
How did I choose these? Some — like Clemson, Florida State, Miami, Oregon, USC and Washington — were obvious. These programs are bigger football brand names than quite a few Big Ten and SEC programs. North Carolina and UCLA, meanwhile, aren’t bigger football brands but are huge sports brands that also occasionally enjoy success in football. I also wondered whether I should include Duke and Kansas for basketball purposes. Because while football absolutely drives the financial train, competing for national titles in basketball is financially beneficial and great for exposure. But with last year’s men’s national champ and a current Final Four program in the lineup, I also feel good about this league’s chances in hoops.
North Carolina isn’t a big football brand but is a huge basketball brand that occasionally enjoys success in football. (Bob Donnan/ USA Today)
There were a lot of tough omissions. I struggled with whether I should include Arizona and Arizona State. I also wanted to include Pittsburgh and West Virginia to reignite the Backyard Brawl and also to get West Virginia in a league with a lot more nearby schools than it has now.
I’m sure Texas Tech fans are furious that I chose Baylor and Houston over their school. As for Baylor, the Bears have been good under their past three head coaches and seem to have hit upon a sustainable football model. Houston, meanwhile, is a futures play. I’m betting on the big state university in the major metropolitan center to rise to the occasion in the company of some huge brand names.
I chose UCF for a similar reason. It’s a young university that is only beginning to produce alumni who cared about UCF sports while they were in school. And given the school’s massive enrollment, it’s now pumping out such alums. Meanwhile, it’s located in a football hotbed. We’ll see in real life how much Big 12 membership will boost UCF’s recruiting. In this scenario, it would be fascinating to see how the Knights fared in talent acquisition if the program was viewed as an equal alongside Florida State and Miami.
At the top, this league would be a blast to watch. Assuming Lincoln Riley makes USC better and Dan Lanning keeps Oregon’s talent level high, seeing those schools square off against Clemson — with potential challenges from Baylor, Cincinnati, Miami, NC State and Oklahoma State — for the conference title would be outstanding. And every matchup in this league looks like something I’d enjoy watching for 3 1/2 hours.
Would it be the equal on the balance sheet of the Big Ten and the SEC? No. But it would get close enough to give its teams the resources to compete for national titles against the most powerful in the Power 2.
