Sports in Charlotte

[KJHburg]

I sure hope we make a play for the NFL Draft as I heard Tepper would love to host one here.

In other NC sports news the best performing major league team is the NHL Carolina Hurricanes.  Here is a story from Axios Raleigh:

 

""The Carolina Hurricanes are leading a Sun Belt ascendancy in the Stanley Cup playoffs — a surprise for a league that has long been dominated by its original franchises from the North.

State of play: This is the first time in NHL history that all four conference finalists are based in Sun Belt states, with the Hurricanes taking on the Florida Panthers in the East and the Dallas Stars playing the Vegas Golden Knights in the West, Axios' Kendall Baker reports.

The big picture: Some have expressed worry that this could become a ratings nightmare for the NHL, which started the playoffs with three New York teams, Boston, Los Angeles and Toronto in the hunt.

But many Canes fans will tell you they're tired of a perceived media bias against Raleigh — a smaller market that has now beaten two New York-area franchises to start the playoffs.
Gov. Roy Cooper, a Canes fanatic, called out ESPN on Twitter for "grudgingly acknowledging" the playoff performances of the team, while extolling the New Jersey Devils and New York Islanders.
The intrigue: Removed from the glare of the biggest TV markets, though, the Canes stand to get some national kudos for a winning turnaround initiated by owner Tom Dundon and coach Rod Brind'Amour.

The Hurricanes have now made five straight playoff appearances, and their performance has been rewarded by stellar attendance.
The Canes drew more total fans (800,566) this season than every team except Montreal, and PNC Arena is dubbed "The Loudest House in the NHL" for a reason.
Bottom line: The success of February's outdoor game at Carter-Finley felt like a high-water mark for the Canes under Dundon's ownership.

This playoff run is pushing it even higher.
What's next: The Canes begin their series against the Florida Panthers at PNC Arena tonight at 8pm.

The Eastern Conference Final will be a family reunion of sorts. Canes captain Jordan Staal will face off against both of his brothers, Marc and former Canes captain Eric.""

 

[carolinaboy]

UNCC Baseball knocks Clemson out of the NCAA Regional but then gets knocked out by Tennessee. Good run for the 49ers. Looking forward to them being in the American Athletic Conference (AAC) next year.

As an aside, NC had 8 teams in the tournament this year. UNCC, Wake Forest, UNC, Duke, NC State, East Carolina, Campbell and UNCW.

[J-Rob]

^fixed it for you. 

"Charlotte Baseball knocks Clemson out of the NCAA Regional but then gets knocked out by Tennessee. Good run for the 49ers. Looking forward to them being in the American Athletic Conference (AAC) next year.

As an aside, NC had 8 teams in the tournament this year. Charlotte, Wake Forest, UNC, Duke, NC State, East Carolina, Campbell and UNCW."

I must admit when I first moved here I thought the four letter abbreviation made UNCC sound like a community college, so I prefer the ambiguity of them referring to themselves as Charlotte now, lol.

 

[go_vertical]

Pretty impressive crowd today at Memorial Stadium for the LaCrosse League event.  Looks like a good time.

[Hushpuppy321]

Question - Seems like Charlotte FC has done well as a Sports Franchise 1.5 years in now.  Well meaning in terms of Sponsorship, Promotion, Game Attendance, etc.  Do you all think that an MLS Franchise in Raleigh (if they had gotten it instead of Charlotte) would have done/be doing so well?  Is the Triangle Market big enough to support Two (2) Professional Teams?  Seems like the Charlotte Market is handling Three (3) Pro-Sports Franchises pretty well.

Asking bc the Charlotte Talks episode today was on how the Charlotte FC Team is being received in general in the Charlotte market.

Edited June 21, 2023 by Hushpuppy321

[kermit]

The WSJ has a story on the PLL (Professional Lacrosse League) today. The league has been playing using a touring model, but the league says they will switch to a home team structure next year by assigning their 8 existing teams to a city for the year. Unfortunately the story implies that PLL has not yet made the city decisions, but its possible we might have another tenant at Memorial for eight weekends next summer.  The article did include this nice promotional shot of Memorial Stadium but I don’t think the WSJ was hinting at anything.

Would love to see things happening at Memorial every weekend.

https://www.wsj.com/sports/premier-lacrosse-league-rabil-6c9f1996 (probably paywalled)

Edited July 6, 2023 by kermit

[Hushpuppy321]

On 7/6/2023 at 9:37 AM, kermit said:

The WSJ has a story on the PLL (Professional Lacrosse League) today. The league has been playing using a touring model, but the league says they will switch to a home team structure next year by assigning their 8 existing teams to a city for the year. Unfortunately the story implies that PLL has not yet made the city decisions, but its possible we might have another tenant at Memorial for eight weekends next summer.  The article did include this nice promotional shot of Memorial Stadium but I don’t think the WSJ was hinting at anything.

Would love to see things happening at Memorial every weekend.

https://www.wsj.com/sports/premier-lacrosse-league-rabil-6c9f1996 (probably paywalled)

That would be fantastic - I’d even attend a game or two.

Also - Not sure why it seems Charlotte or NC in general doesn’t host any Pro-Boxing or MMA type sports.  Is there a prohibition for that in NC or is it because there was no Betting allowed?  Seems like SC does host stuff like that from time to time (Bare Knuckle Boxing, etc.)

Edited July 9, 2023 by Hushpuppy321

[kermit]

57 minutes ago, Hushpuppy321 said:

Also - Not sure why it seems Charlotte or NC in general doesn’t host any Pro-Boxing or MMA type sports.  Is there a prohibition for that in NC

I believe there have been lots of regulatory barriers to MMA in NC (and perhaps boxing as well). Can't speak to details however.

EDIT: MMA was banned in NC in the 1990s, regulations appear to have loosened up in 2007 but there are still state fees on tickets and a few other things that may send many events elsewhere.

https://www.wfmynews2.com/article/news/local/lawmakers-approve-mixed-martial-arts-fighting-in-north-carolina/83-402392802

 

Edited July 8, 2023 by kermit

[Hushpuppy321]

9 hours ago, kermit said:

I believe there have been lots of regulatory barriers to MMA in NC (and perhaps boxing as well). Can't speak to details however.

EDIT: MMA was banned in NC in the 1990s, regulations appear to have loosened up in 2007 but there are still state fees on tickets and a few other things that may send many events elsewhere.

https://www.wfmynews2.com/article/news/local/lawmakers-approve-mixed-martial-arts-fighting-in-north-carolina/83-402392802

 

Thanks!  So this is why they’re sometimes in smaller markets like Greenville, SC and Myrtle Beach because it’s a more permissive Location.

[kermit]

The Gastonia Honey Hunters are tied as the best team in the Atlantic League but appear to be circling the drain for financial / business management reasons. Attendance isn’t good (1700 ave) but mismanagement (pissing off sponsors) appears to also be an issue.

Unfortunately the team owner also owns a bunch of real estate around the ballpark making a sale more complicated than it might have otherwise been.

At the rate they are struggling to consistently make payroll (the players delayed a game start by 45 minutes in protest) and stadium rent, I hope they can make it to the end of the season. Since it’s not an mlb affiliate league it’s unlikely there will be any help available from the league. The ballpark has really changed this part of Gastonia, I hope it is resilient enough to survive a bad owner.
 

https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2023/07/26/gastonia-honey-hunters-gaston-county-financials.html

Edited July 28, 2023 by kermit

[KJHburg]

this seems to be a good matchup that should attract a lot of people to the Bank.  Mexico vs Ghana in soccer match. 

https://www.charlottefootballclub.com/news/bank-of-america-stadium-welcomes-mextour-to-charlotte-on-october-14-vs-ghana

[eastsider]

Interesting to see if they lay down natural turf for this match, they already said they wouldn't for the following weeks match against Miami, maybe they are having a change of heart and trying not to tempt Messi from sitting that one out. 

[15895]

Are the Panthers exploring getting a new stadium still or just upgrades? I can’t recall where that landed (though I hope it’s not at the pipe land area or whatever it’s called) With new stadium after new stadium, I’m starting to think it’d be nice to have a brand new modern one.  Obviously I hope and expect a nice stadium in DC from the Commanders.

Here’s the 76-er’s & Titans new arena/stadium plans:

[tozmervo]

It is still abhorrent to me that they are replacing the Titans stadium already. The thing is only 24 years old. What a complete waste. 

[DonkeyKong]

13 minutes ago, tozmervo said:

It is still abhorrent to me that they are replacing the Titans stadium already. The thing is only 24 years old. What a complete waste. 

Their stadium is a dump. IMO

[kermit]

Charlotte is reportedly on the short(ish) list for WNBA expansion. They are looking at adding 1-2 teams. I don't see much visible ownership interest in this here but I don't know much about the new Hornets owners. I will say that Uptown is much better suited for WNBA fans now than it was back when the Sting folded in 2007 (Robert Johnson, ugh). A WNBA team + The Knights + Charlotte FC will make for lots of summer activity Uptown, something that was non-existent before the Knights moved in 2014. The absence of women's pro sports is certainly a gap in our portfolio.

[can't believe the Knights have been uptown for nearly a decade]

Quote

 

Engelbert told Front Office Sports in May that the league’s list for expansion consideration is down to 10 cities to “hopefully work towards expanding in a couple cities by the 2025 season.” Cities under consideration include the Bay Area, Nashville, Toronto, Austin, Denver, Charlotte, Philadelphia, and Portland. 

https://frontofficesports.com/cathy-engelbert-on-wnba-expansion-we-need-more-than-12-teams/

Edited August 11, 2023 by kermit

[KJHburg]

I was talking with one of my college friends tonight and he told me that he thought the ACC could completely fall apart in a few years.  FSU and Clemson want out.  But there is some kind of clause in their contracts that could cost them millions upon millions to exit the league.  I hear all these schools mentioned but then not interested.  What  is yall's thoughts on this?  Will there be some mega SEC and Big 10 conferences and everyone else left scrambling.  Is a merger possible between the ACC and someone else?  I just don't know enough about it.  

No wonder there is just an American flag court at the BOAT not the ACC school flags as they might be changing yearly! 

[CharlotteWkndBuzz]

A few of us called this awhile back lol. It’s poaching season!  Although the exit fee is expensive, the tv money revenue that gets split amongst the schools in the SEC and B10 is stupid crazy. It’s all a money game. College sports as we knew it is going down hill lol. You thought the differences between the haves and have nots were bad back in the day? Multiple by 100 after these super conferences get formed. The acc may survive in its current form this upcoming season but buckle up. 

Opinions aside lol, there’s a lot of variables happening BTS. Ppl dubbing “Calford” bc a lot depends on where Stanford and Cal land. AcC teams are not all aligned with adding them and pac and aac merger rumors.  everyone thinks their the best thing since sliced bread. 

Edited August 15, 2023 by CharlotteWkndBuzz

[Hushpuppy321]

On 8/11/2023 at 2:28 PM, kermit said:

Charlotte is reportedly on the short(ish) list for WNBA expansion. They are looking at adding 1-2 teams. I don't see much visible ownership interest in this here but I don't know much about the new Hornets owners. I will say that Uptown is much better suited for WNBA fans now than it was back when the Sting folded in 2007 (Robert Johnson, ugh). A WNBA team + The Knights + Charlotte FC will make for lots of summer activity Uptown, something that was non-existent before the Knights moved in 2014. The absence of women's pro sports is certainly a gap in our portfolio.

[can't believe the Knights have been uptown for nearly a decade]

https://frontofficesports.com/cathy-engelbert-on-wnba-expansion-we-need-more-than-12-teams/

I agree with you that a WNBA Expansion back to Charlotte would be great.  I think it would be supported but I just don’t know if there’s any Ownership Support/Interest.  Also with the Spectrum Center having more concerts & events if they could handle a WNBA schedule?  

[kermit]

19 hours ago, KJHburg said:

I was talking with one of my college friends tonight and he told me that he thought the ACC could completely fall apart in a few years.  FSU and Clemson want out.  But there is some kind of clause in their contracts that could cost them millions upon millions to exit the league.  I hear all these schools mentioned but then not interested.  What  is yall's thoughts on this?  Will there be some mega SEC and Big 10 conferences and everyone else left scrambling.  Is a merger possible between the ACC and someone else?  I just don't know enough about it.  

No wonder there is just an American flag court at the BOAT not the ACC school flags as they might be changing yearly! 

The ACC could fall apart this week (today is the deadline for a team to withdraw for 2024-2025), but its unlikely. This is more than you need to know but here is a timeline of the ACC's recent travails: 

• 2013: After Maryland left the ACC for the Big 10, all the schools in the conference agreed to contractually assign their media rights to the Conference office until 2036. This means that -any- revenue generated from broadcasting home games at the school belonged to the league and not the school (this is referred to as the league's Grant of Rights). In return, each school receives an annual payment from the league of around $30 million (each schools share of the TV contract with ESPN which runs through 2036). This $30 million includes revenue from the ACC Network. EVERY SCHOOL AGREED TO THIS.
• This was a pretty good TV contract (compared to other conferences) when it was signed in 2013, but was MUCH longer term than the other leagues.
• Since 2013 all the other conferences have renegotiated their TV deals. The SEC (which has the best football product) and the Big 10 schools will now collect nearly $60 million per year in TV revenue per year (roughly double ACC TV revenues)
• Since the ACC is working under a long term contract, they are unable to renegotiate their ESPN deal -- so ACC schools are in a situation where they will bring in MUCH less revenue than their peers in the SEC and Big 10. In the world of NIL, and the transfer portal (college players are not essentially free agents and can move from school to school) there is huge pressure to maintain sports facilities at the highest level (its part of recruiting). The ACC schools are now at a serious recruiting disadvantage moving forward.
• This recruiting disadvantage threatens the long-term competitiveness of every school in the ACC since any future TV revenues will be partly based on the number of national championships (and playoff appearances) the league can claim. If schools are at a recruiting disadvantage then they are going to perform relatively poorly so future TV revenue prospects are kinda bleak.

Given this financial situation the ACC's strongest football schools (Florida State and Clemson) have been open about their desire to either leave the conference or get a larger share of the conference's TV revenues at the expense of other schools in the conference (since they feel like they generate most of the TV eyeballs -- don't get me started on the reality disconnect that FSU fans seem to have).

• Leaving the conference is essentially impossible due to the Grant of Rights agreement (which has been described as "Iron Clad" by every lawyer that has reviewed it -- many, many lawyers have reviewed this agreement).
• There is also an additional exit fee that would need to be paid to the conference in order to leave (I have heard several numbers for this fee between $50 and $120 million)
• Long story short, leaving the ACC will cost schools somewhere between $50 and $120 million dollars plus they may not even own their media rights until 2036. This cost is far larger than what they might make elsewhere.
• Escape hatch: The Grant of Rights can be ended if 12 of the 15 ACC schools vote for that (this is very unlikely since more than half of the league has bleak prospects if the ACC dissolves -- college basketball is just not a major revenue generator anymore)
• The other big brand in the ACC is Chapel Hill (they have been discussed as part of either the Big 10 or the SEC). The current athletic director has said that they want to keep the ACC together so they are not interested in dissolving the league for greener pastures. Its not clear to me if this is genuine or just lip service.

There is another wrinkle to all of this:

• It appears that the TV money supply for sports has hit a ceiling. This is in part to Disney-ESPN economic struggles, ratings ceilings and the fact that there are only a finite number of national television viewing windows available for college sports.
• This means that even the Big 10 and SEC  are going to struggle to find more money to bring in additional teams (the Big 10 only gave a half share to Oregon and Washington, their two newest teams. They will make about the same amount that ACC teams do).
• It has been said that Clemson and FSU are not particularly attractive to the SEC since they would not bring the SEC any new TV markets (and will recruit against schools already in the SEC). Fans of FSU and Clemson choose not to believe this is a significant factor and they FIRMLY believe the SEC would be lucky to have them.  The SEC is really Clemson and FSU's only option since they are unlikely (but not impossible) additions to the Big 10 because of their academic quality. So, ironically, the ACC may be the best these two schools can do in the current TV climate.
• Chapel Hill and UVA have been said to be of interest to the SEC since they would bring the SEC TV sets in NC and VA (where they do not currently have teams), but those schools are imperfect cultural fits for the SEC. UNC and UVA  are also of interest to the Big 10 so these two schools may have the most options in the league -- but they have both publicly advocated to keep the ACC going. There will also be a political element here since their respective University systems will advocate that their 'little land-grant brothers' (NCSU and Va Tech) go with them to any new league (this aint gonna happen)
• Miami has been mentioned as a fit for both the Big 10 and SEC but no one other than Miami fans seems to be taking that seriously.

So for both legal and financial reasons it looks like that the ACC is stuck with its existing mix of unhappy schools for another 13 years. Unfortunately the competitive future of the league is bleak. It is possible (but nobody knows how likely) that the whole league could blow up (just like the Pac 12 did two weeks ago although the Pac 12 did not have a current TV contract). If the ACC explodes the days of hardcore rivalry games between the four tobacco road teams would basically be over. This would be a super sad day for me as a Carolina hoops season ticket holder -- I won't go to see the Heels play a bunch of Big 10 schools.

Edit: This saga may be good news for UNCC. If the ACC dissolves there will be a bunch of schools in the area (Wake, NCSU, V Tech, G Tech, Duke...) that will need to create a new league (the Super-Sunbelt?) UNCC and ECU (Georgia State? App? ODU?) would probably be natural fits.

Edit 2: Yes, college sports is ONLY about money now. It sucks.

 

Edited August 15, 2023 by kermit

[go_vertical]

13 minutes ago, kermit said:

......that will need to create a new league (the Super-Sunbelt?) UNCC and ECU would probably be natural fits.

I doubt there's a team out there that'll want to say they play for the SS.

(Sorry, I'll see myself out now.   Very informative post BTW.)

[Durhamite]

2 hours ago, kermit said:

The ACC could fall apart this week, but its unlikely. This is more than you need to know but here is a timeline of the ACC's recent travails: 

• 2013: After Maryland left the ACC for the Big 10, all the schools in the conference agreed to contractually assign their media rights to the Conference office until 2036. This means that -any- revenue generated from broadcasting home games at the school belonged to the league and not the school (this is referred to as the league's Grant of Rights). In return, each school receives an annual payment from the league of around $30 million (each schools share of the TV contract with ESPN which runs through 2036). This $30 million includes revenue from the ACC Network. EVERY SCHOOL AGREED TO THIS.
• This was a pretty good TV contract (compared to other conferences) when it was signed in 2013, but was MUCH longer term than the other leagues.
• Since 2013 all the other conferences have renegotiated their TV deals. The SEC (which has the best football product) and the Big 10 schools will now collect nearly $60 million per year in TV revenue per year (roughly double ACC TV revenues)
• Since the ACC is working under a long term contract, they are unable to renegotiate their ESPN deal -- so ACC schools are in a situation where they will bring in MUCH less revenue than their peers in the SEC and Big 10. In the world of NIL, and the transfer portal (college players are not essentially free agents and can move from school to school) there is huge pressure to maintain sports facilities at the highest level (its part of recruiting). The ACC schools are now at a serious recruiting disadvantage moving forward.
• This recruiting disadvantage threatens the long-term competitiveness of every school in the ACC since any future TV revenues will be partly based on the number of national championships (and playoff appearances) the league can claim. If schools are at a recruiting disadvantage then they are going to perform relatively poorly so future TV revenue prospects are kinda bleak.

Given this financial situation the ACC's strongest football schools (Florida State and Clemson) have been open about their desire to either leave the conference or get a larger share of the conference's TV revenues at the expense of other schools in the conference (since they feel like they generate most of the TV eyeballs -- don't get me started on the reality disconnect that FSU fans seem to have).

• Leaving the conference is essentially impossible due to the Grant of Rights agreement (which has been described as "Iron Clad" by every lawyer that has reviewed it -- many, many lawyers have reviewed this agreement).
• There is also an additional exit fee that would need to be paid to the conference in order to leave (I have heard several numbers for this fee between $50 and $120 million)
• Long story short, leaving the ACC will cost schools somewhere between $50 and $120 million dollars plus they may not even own their media rights until 2036. This cost is far larger than what they might make elsewhere.
• Escape hatch: The Grant of Rights can be ended if 12 of the 15 ACC schools vote for that (this is very unlikely since more than half of the league has bleak prospects if the ACC dissolves -- college basketball is just not a major revenue generator anymore)
• The other big brand in the ACC is Chapel Hill (they have been discussed as part of either the Big 10 or the SEC). The current athletic director has said that they want to keep the ACC together so they are not interested in dissolving the league for greener pastures. Its not clear to me if this is genuine or just lip service.

There is another wrinkle to all of this:

• It appears that the TV money supply for sports has hit a ceiling. This is in part to Disney-ESPN economic struggles, ratings ceilings and the fact that there are only a finite number of national television viewing windows available for college sports.
• This means that even the Big 10 and SEC  are going to struggle to find more money to bring in additional teams (the Big 10 only gave a half share to Oregon and Washington, their two newest teams. They will make about the same amount that ACC teams do).
• It has been said that Clemson and FSU are not particularly attractive to the SEC since they would not bring the SEC any new TV markets (and will recruit against schools already in the SEC). Fans of FSU and Clemson choose not to believe this is a significant factor and they FIRMLY believe the SEC would be lucky to have them.  The SEC is really Clemson and FSU's only option since they are unlikely (but not impossible) additions to the Big 10 because of their academic quality. So, ironically, the ACC may be the best these two schools can do in the current TV climate.
• Chapel Hill and UVA have been said to be of interest to the SEC since they would bring the SEC TV sets in NC and VA (where they do not currently have teams), but those schools are imperfect cultural fits for the SEC. UNC and UVA  are also of interest to the Big 10 so these two schools may have the most options in the league -- but they have both publicly advocated to keep the ACC going. There will also be a political element here since their respective University systems will advocate that their 'little land-grant brothers' (NCSU and Va Tech) go with them to any new league (this aint gonna happen)
• Miami has been mentioned as a fit for both the Big 10 and SEC but no one other than Miami fans seems to be taking that seriously.

So legally it looks likely that the ACC is stuck with its existing mix of unhappy schools for another 13 years. Unfortunately the competitive future of the league is bleak. It is possible (but nobody knows how likely) that the whole league could blow up (just like the Pac 12 did two weeks ago although the Pac 12 did not have a current TV contract). If the ACC explodes the days of hardcore rivalry games between the four tobacco road teams would basically be over. This would be a super sad day for me as a Carolina hoops season ticket holder -- I won't go to see the Heels play a bunch of Big 10 schools.

Edit: This saga may be good news for UNCC. If the ACC dissolves there will be a bunch of schools in the area (Wake, NCSU, V Tech, G Tech, Duke...) that will need to create a new league (the Super-Sunbelt?) UNCC and ECU (Georgia State? App? ODU?) would probably be natural fits.

Edit 2: Yes, college sports is ONLY about money now. It sucks.

 

This is a good overview of the current situation; however, the conference realignment snowball will effectively end references to the vintage term "conference" as we know it (it already has).  Eventually, I think they'll call the merged entity the CFB conference with divisions like B1G, ACC, SEC, etc to keep some form of connection to the past.  No way these TV networks can continue to pony-up hordes of money versus funding one source with varying levels of divisional access to compete for a championship.  I think they'll try to keep competition regional with regional headquarters say for the "ACC Division" in Charlotte.  Though teams like FSU and Clemson may belong to higher tiered division for CFB.  Meaning, teams in the higher tiered divisions will probably have 2x as many representatives as a lower tiered division to make the playoffs.  There are several teams in the B1G and SEC that don't have the brand or able to compete at the same level as certain teams in the top tiered division of CFB (suck it up butter cup, headed to a different division which only makes sense).  It's already there and it won't be long before those higher tiered teams demand a greater share of the pie, very similar to what FSU is doing in the ACC...though FSU hasn't really done anything in a decade to warrant the barking other than its historical brand (uh, let's try to beat Wake Forest on a regular FSU).

I think this is only the only way to save collegiate sports without totally alienating the fans and completely destroying rivalries.  

Edited August 15, 2023 by Durhamite

[eastsider]

5 hours ago, Durhamite said:

This is a good overview of the current situation; however, the conference realignment snowball will effectively end references to the vintage term "conference" as we know it (it already has).  Eventually, I think they'll call the merged entity the CFB conference with divisions like B1G, ACC, SEC, etc to keep some form of connection to the past.  No way these TV networks can continue to pony-up hordes of money versus funding one source with varying levels of divisional access to compete for a championship.  I think they'll try to keep competition regional with regional headquarters say for the "ACC Division" in Charlotte.  Though teams like FSU and Clemson may belong to higher tiered division for CFB.  Meaning, teams in the higher tiered divisions will probably have 2x as many representatives as a lower tiered division to make the playoffs.  There are several teams in the B1G and SEC that don't have the brand or able to compete at the same level as certain teams in the top tiered division of CFB (suck it up butter cup, headed to a different division which only makes sense).  It's already there and it won't be long before those higher tiered teams demand a greater share of the pie, very similar to what FSU is doing in the ACC...though FSU hasn't really done anything in a decade to warrant the barking other than its historical brand (uh, let's try to beat Wake Forest on a regular FSU).

I think this is only the only way to save collegiate sports without totally alienating the fans and completely destroying rivalries.  

Somewhat agree with this, the difference being that is with the NCAA pretty much being a useless organization, the top 50-60 schools disbanding and form their own league. They are the main content provider for whatever broadcast/streaming service wants write them a massive check.  No need for them to share with the other lower profile programs.  The leftovers go back to forming regional "conferences" with "student athletes" playing the sports.

[Hushpuppy321]

On 8/11/2023 at 10:12 AM, tozmervo said:

It is still abhorrent to me that they are replacing the Titans stadium already. The thing is only 24 years old. What a complete waste. 

That New Stadium Rendering is very good looking though.  I am sure that this is an attempt at landing Major Events like a Final Four, Super Bowl, etc which seems to require a New/Roofed Stadium.

[elrodvt]

22 hours ago, go_vertical said:

I doubt there's a team out there that'll want to say they play for the SS.

(Sorry, I'll see myself out now.   Very informative post BTW.)

LOL. I wouldn't count out MS, AL and FL schools.