Another interesting take from the Athletic... and again, only parts of the article are here... vast majority are in the link below, it is worth the read (why do I feel like I am trying to sell Athletic subscriptions?) Basic premise: this is not about building a great conference and helping college football as a whole. This is about greed and getting as much as you can before the next guy comes in and takes it. In some ways I see it... in some ways not so much. And is it a good thing? Or will is break us like when the WAC over extended itself?
This isn’t about the greater good of college football. It’s about the greater good of one conference and the blind and endless pursuit for the greatest power and wealth. These are independent contractors attempting to put together the best deals and programming to fill their own pockets.
If this was boxing, the SEC would be Don King.
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But the aspects of college football that make it unique are going to be crushed by realignment.
Tradition. Rivalries. Regionalism. Intimacy.
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It’s not going to stop with Texas and Oklahoma. It’s not going to stop with the SEC. Remember what happened in 2011: The then-Pac-10 attempted to raid the Big 12 of up to six teams: The two that now appear to be headed to the SEC, as well as Texas A&M (which joined the SEC in 2012), Texas Tech, Oklahoma State and Colorado. The now-Pac-12 wound up adding only Colorado and Utah (from the Mountain West), which was like searching for a seafood restaurant and eventually driving through Captain D’s.
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At some point, we’re either going to be down to some version of four 16-team conferences (plus whatever Notre Dame does). Or maybe two 32- or 33-team conferences.
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And then where will college football be? Not the NFL, as Swinney says. Worse than the NFL. A bunch of schools that formed conglomerates lacking any sense of appeal or geographic sense.
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There’s no question Texas and Oklahoma would lead to more television revenue for the SEC and affirm the conference’s seat on the highest mountain. But this is no more about the greater good than it was when school presidents and athletic directors spewed empty talking points about their academic mission while at the same time approving 12-game schedules, 9 p.m. kickoffs and expanded postseasons.
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This is about one conference’s objective to crush other conferences, and other conferences will follow accordingly. Because sometimes it’s difficult to see the big picture when the primary focus is on wealth and power and, like Gekko, the conferences actually start to believe they’re not destroyers.
theathletic.com
This isn’t about the greater good of college football. It’s about the greater good of one conference and the blind and endless pursuit for the greatest power and wealth. These are independent contractors attempting to put together the best deals and programming to fill their own pockets.
If this was boxing, the SEC would be Don King.
____
But the aspects of college football that make it unique are going to be crushed by realignment.
Tradition. Rivalries. Regionalism. Intimacy.
_____
It’s not going to stop with Texas and Oklahoma. It’s not going to stop with the SEC. Remember what happened in 2011: The then-Pac-10 attempted to raid the Big 12 of up to six teams: The two that now appear to be headed to the SEC, as well as Texas A&M (which joined the SEC in 2012), Texas Tech, Oklahoma State and Colorado. The now-Pac-12 wound up adding only Colorado and Utah (from the Mountain West), which was like searching for a seafood restaurant and eventually driving through Captain D’s.
_____
At some point, we’re either going to be down to some version of four 16-team conferences (plus whatever Notre Dame does). Or maybe two 32- or 33-team conferences.
_____
And then where will college football be? Not the NFL, as Swinney says. Worse than the NFL. A bunch of schools that formed conglomerates lacking any sense of appeal or geographic sense.
_____
There’s no question Texas and Oklahoma would lead to more television revenue for the SEC and affirm the conference’s seat on the highest mountain. But this is no more about the greater good than it was when school presidents and athletic directors spewed empty talking points about their academic mission while at the same time approving 12-game schedules, 9 p.m. kickoffs and expanded postseasons.
____
This is about one conference’s objective to crush other conferences, and other conferences will follow accordingly. Because sometimes it’s difficult to see the big picture when the primary focus is on wealth and power and, like Gekko, the conferences actually start to believe they’re not destroyers.
Schultz: SEC expansion and realignment are about greed, not the greater good
The SEC’s motto: “It Just Means More.” Gordon Gekko’s motto: “Greed Is Good.” Is there a difference?
theathletic.com
