Realistically, how could Pitt get into the Big Ten?

[HailToPitt725]

As much as I like the ACC, if you believe the “Power 2” are the future of CFB, what is a realistic scenario that involves Pitt landing a Big Ten invite? By realistic, I mean it doesn’t involve someone like David Tepper throwing their money around. This is also assuming nothing happens prior to 2036, when the ACC’s GOR expires.

Unfortunately, we wouldn’t increase the B1G’s overall “value” as it stands today (e.g., below-average TV ratings, average brand recognition). With that in mind, I think there are two “likely” options:

1. Notre Dame agrees to join the Big Ten so long as their long-standing ACC rivals (Pitt, Stanford) also join. Perhaps this could be part of a larger scheduling agreement where they get to play us two, USC, Michigan, etc. annually for their conference schedule.
2. The Big Ten and SEC each expand to 20+ as part of a seismic shift in college athletics, adding several members before breaking off from the rest of the FBS to form their own entity.

What else do you got? It is the offseason after all. And if all else fails, I suppose AD Greene has some contacts in the SEC…

 

[BigChungus90210]

3. An asteroid perfectly splits as it enters the atmosphere, with one half hitting State College and the other hitting Columbus. The league then needs to find options to backfill Pennsylvania and Ohio, with Pitt and Cincinnati rising up.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

As much as I like the ACC, if you believe the “Power 2” are the future of CFB, what is a realistic scenario that involves Pitt landing a Big Ten invite? By realistic, I mean it doesn’t involve someone like David Tepper throwing their money around.

Unfortunately, we wouldn’t increase the B1G’s overall “value” as it stands today (e.g., below-average TV ratings, average brand recognition). With that in mind, I think there are two “likely” options:

1. Notre Dame agrees to join the Big Ten so long as their long-standing ACC rivals (Pitt, Stanford) also join. Perhaps this could be part of a larger scheduling agreement where they get to play us two, USC, Michigan, etc. annually for their conference schedule.
2. The Big Ten and SEC each expand to 20+ as part of a seismic shift in college athletics, adding several members before breaking off from the rest of the FBS to form their own entity.

What else do you got? It is the offseason after all. And if all else fails, I suppose AD Greene has some contacts in the SEC…

The Big Ten would honestly add 30 other teams before they added Pitt. Its a duplicate market. There is literally 0 chance. Much better chance at the SEC. If the SEC ever grew to 22 or 24, I think we'd have a shot.

UNC
UVa
Clem
FSU
Miami
Pitt???

 

[HailToPitt725]

3. An asteroid perfectly splits as it enters the atmosphere, with one half hitting State College and the other hitting Columbus. The league then needs to find options to backfill Pennsylvania and Ohio, with Pitt and Cincinnati rising up.

Well, there is an asteroid arriving in 2032…

 

[Pitt_Boss]

well if the right 50 schools drop D1 sports, we are a LOCK

 

[csh2088]

As much as I like the ACC, if you believe the “Power 2” are the future of CFB, what is a realistic scenario that involves Pitt landing a Big Ten invite? By realistic, I mean it doesn’t involve someone like David Tepper throwing their money around. This is also assuming nothing happens prior to 2036, when the ACC’s GOR expires.

Unfortunately, we wouldn’t increase the B1G’s overall “value” as it stands today (e.g., below-average TV ratings, average brand recognition). With that in mind, I think there are two “likely” options:

1. Notre Dame agrees to join the Big Ten so long as their long-standing ACC rivals (Pitt, Stanford) also join. Perhaps this could be part of a larger scheduling agreement where they get to play us two, USC, Michigan, etc. annually for their conference schedule.
2. The Big Ten and SEC each expand to 20+ as part of a seismic shift in college athletics, adding several members before breaking off from the rest of the FBS to form their own entity.

What else do you got? It is the offseason after all. And if all else fails, I suppose AD Greene has some contacts in the SEC…

Notre Dame has longer standing rivalries with Big Ten schools Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue, and Northwestern and they haven't joined the conference so why would adding Stanford change their mind.

 

[BreakingPitt]

Pray. Who cares anymore.
We all lost hope for anything good to happen to Pitt , ever.

 

[pittchagg]

I think the Big Ten ship essentially left the harbor in 1990 when Penn State joined without Pitt. And it was set in stone by the early 2000’s when the Big Ten made the strategic choice to build out the Big Ten Network, which drove their subsequent expansion decisions that were based on state footprints and television markets.

Don’t see it as a possibility now, and it probably hasn’t been a realistic possibility for 35 years. The best scenario for Pitt is to try and help make the ACC the best league that it can possibly be, because this is our best case scenario.

 

[Pitt1975]

Wasn’t Tito’s uncle witness to seeing Pitt’s name posted in an SEC meeting on expansion?

 

[ThePanthers]

The asteroid mentioned above

 

[jtownknowitall]

Become a branch campus of Purdue?

 

[HailToPitt725]

Don’t see it as a possibility now, and it probably hasn’t been a realistic possibility for 35 years. The best scenario for Pitt is to try and help make the ACC the best league that it can possibly be, because this is our best case scenario.

I like this mindset, and I do think the commissioner has done a great job leading the conference through some tumultuous times.

SMU has given the league a nice boost, ditching the divisions likely got us two teams in the CFP, and having more game on TV with The CW has been nice. I also liked the competitive bonuses idea. Can’t think of anything negative he’s done thus far… maybe not advocate enough for FSU making the CFP in 2023? Although I think they were getting excluded no matter what.

 

[pittiswhereiamfrom2]

3. An asteroid perfectly splits as it enters the atmosphere, with one half hitting State College and the other hitting Columbus. The league then needs to find options to backfill Pennsylvania and Ohio, with Pitt and Cincinnati rising up.

I thought the exact same thing minus OSU.

That asteroid has to hit state college on game day for this to be a possibility

 

[pittchagg]

I like this mindset, and I do think the commissioner has done a great job leading the conference through some tumultuous times.

SMU has given the league a nice boost, ditching the divisions likely got us two teams in the CFP, and having more game on TV with The CW has been nice. I also liked the competitive bonuses idea. Can’t think of anything negative he’s done thus far… maybe not advocate enough for FSU making the CFP in 2023? Although I think they were getting excluded no matter what.

I think he inherited a tough situation: a big tent league with a lot of schools who have varying levels of resources and commitments to winning at the high level. It’s a league with Clemson and also Boston College, and the difference between them is probably more stark than any other conference. Whatever the TV deal was, that fundamental delta was always and will continue to be a challenge to keep the cats herded.

I think the SMU, Cal and Stanford additions saved the league, to be honest. Not just by cutting off FSU and Clemson’s voting power, but by the quality of the schools, because I think all three are going to continue to raise the quality of the league, as well as being massive money makers for the other schools. It was a conference-saving move and he deserves more credit than he’s gotten.

Plus, when he got here he basically put every president and AD in a room and said, “you aren’t spending enough on football. You need to spend more money on football.” And the schools have - Pitt has almost doubled its football expenditures since Phillips got here, and most ACC schools are similar, especially as the schools at the bottom have tried to raise the floor of the conference. Now he needs to figure out basketball, but he’s done a lot for football.

He just doesn’t speak well in public, compared to a Music Man type of commissioner like Yormark. But I think he’s been a very shrewd and competent, if unexciting, commissioner - and I think that’s a good thing for this era of college sports.

 

[HailToPitt725]

I think he inherited a tough situation: a big tent league with a lot of schools who have varying levels of resources and commitments to winning at the high level. It’s a league with Clemson and also Boston College, and the difference between them is probably more stark than any other conference. Whatever the TV deal was, that fundamental delta was always and will continue to be a challenge to keep the cats herded.

I think the SMU, Cal and Stanford additions saved the league, to be honest. Not just by cutting off FSU and Clemson’s voting power, but by the quality of the schools, because I think all three are going to continue to raise the quality of the league, as well as being massive money makers for the other schools. It was a conference-saving move and he deserves more credit than he’s gotten.

Plus, when he got here he basically put every president and AD in a room and said, “you aren’t spending enough on football. You need to spend more money on football.” And the schools have - Pitt has almost doubled its football expenditures since Phillips got here, and most ACC schools are similar, especially as the schools at the bottom have tried to raise the floor of the conference. Now he needs to figure out basketball, but he’s done a lot for football.

He just doesn’t speak well in public, compared to a Music Man type of commissioner like Yormark. But I think he’s been a very shrewd and competent, if unexciting, commissioner - and I think that’s a good thing for this era of college sports.

All good points, and I agree. I can’t imagine going through the past four years with Swofford still in charge.

 

[joeydavid]

As much as I like the ACC, if you believe the “Power 2” are the future of CFB, what is a realistic scenario that involves Pitt landing a Big Ten invite? By realistic, I mean it doesn’t involve someone like David Tepper throwing their money around. This is also assuming nothing happens prior to 2036, when the ACC’s GOR expires.

Unfortunately, we wouldn’t increase the B1G’s overall “value” as it stands today (e.g., below-average TV ratings, average brand recognition). With that in mind, I think there are two “likely” options:

1. Notre Dame agrees to join the Big Ten so long as their long-standing ACC rivals (Pitt, Stanford) also join. Perhaps this could be part of a larger scheduling agreement where they get to play us two, USC, Michigan, etc. annually for their conference schedule.
2. The Big Ten and SEC each expand to 20+ as part of a seismic shift in college athletics, adding several members before breaking off from the rest of the FBS to form their own entity.

What else do you got? It is the offseason after all. And if all else fails, I suppose AD Greene has some contacts in the SEC…

I would rather stay in the ACC. Run it out until college football is in it's finally resting ground.

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

I'm not even sure that we're in Notre Dame's top ten rivals. They have a lot of Southeastern alum (a big part of why they continue to even mess around with the ACC), so they'd probably make that deal with a Georgia Tech before us, if they were feeling adamant about extending a life raft to someone who would otherwise be screwed. If the Big Ten expands, it'll be south - UNC, Virginia, Clemson, FSU, Miami. And I do think it's important for them to do so, as high school football continues to wane in most of the northern states. We offer absolutely nothing that would benefit them.

 

[steelcurtain55.]

 

[HailToPitt725]

I would rather stay in the ACC. Run it out until college football is in it's finally resting ground.

I will say that I hope the ACC remains a viable power conference as long as it can, because I think it’s a much better institutional fit for us than the Big Ten. I’ve really enjoyed our time here, and it’s been a great home for us to this point.

 

[HailToPitt725]

View embedded media

What can I say, I’m an eternal optimist.

 

[joeydavid]

I will say that I hope the ACC remains a viable power conference as long as it can, because I think it’s a much better institutional fit for us than the Big Ten. I’ve really enjoyed our time here, and it’s been a great home for us to this point.

It's not going anywhere, any time soon imo. They will have the opportunity to backfill with B12 teams if needed.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

It’s a league with Clemson and also Boston College, and the difference between them is probably more stark than any other conference.

I really don't think that the difference between Clemson and Boston College is bigger than the difference between Ohio State and Northwestern or Alabama and Vanderbilt. It's just that Northwestern and Vanderbilt got their positions a long time ago, and it's going to take a little longer until they lose those positions.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Well, there is an asteroid arriving in 2032…

Just in time for the next round of television negotiations!

 

[HailToPitt725]

It's not going anywhere, any time soon imo. They will have the opportunity to backfill with B12 teams if needed.

Am I correct that the ACC will make more in TV revenue than the Big 12 through the end of its current contract? I’d love to get a few more west coast teams (the ‘Four Corner’ Pac-12 schools) if the financials make sense.

I’d also (selfishly) want KU to join… free drinks to my Lair friends who make the first road trip to Lawrence.

 

[joeydavid]

Am I correct that the ACC will make more in TV revenue than the Big 12 through the end of its current contract? I’d love to get a few more west coast teams (the ‘Four Corner’ Pac-12 schools) if the financials make sense.

I’d also (selfishly) want KU to join… free drinks to my Lair friends who make the first road trip to Lawrence.

Yeah, it's not even close. The ACC will almost double up the B12 over the next 7 years.

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

I really don't think that the difference between Clemson and Boston College is bigger than the difference between Ohio State and Northwestern or Alabama and Vanderbilt. It's just that Northwestern and Vanderbilt got their positions a long time ago, and it's going to take a little longer until they lose those positions.

Yeah, Alabama and Ohio State are way bigger deals than Clemson (top 3-5 in desirability vs top 20-25), while I'm not sure that Boston College is lagging behind Northwestern or Vanderbilt, other than conference revenue.

 

[Joe Magarac]

3. An asteroid perfectly splits as it enters the atmosphere, with one half hitting State College and the other hitting Columbus. The league then needs to find options to backfill Pennsylvania and Ohio, with Pitt and Cincinnati rising up.

This is the most realistic scenario for Pitt to be invited to the B1G.

 

[Cap pitt]

I would rather see Pitt in the sec, big 10 already has a pa market school

 

[pittchagg]

Am I correct that the ACC will make more in TV revenue than the Big 12 through the end of its current contract? I’d love to get a few more west coast teams (the ‘Four Corner’ Pac-12 schools) if the financials make sense.

I’d also (selfishly) want KU to join… free drinks to my Lair friends who make the first road trip to Lawrence.

Very much true. I’d expect for the gap between the ACC and the Big 12 to be about $5M this spring, and about $10M in 2026. After that, I think we’ll see close to that gap annually going forward, but I’m being conservative because it could be more.

 

[joeydavid]

Very much true. I’d expect for the gap between the ACC and the Big 12 to be about $5M this spring, and about $10M in 2026. After that, I think we’ll see close to that gap annually going forward, but I’m being conservative because it could be more.

Altimore's estimates have the ACC about $20 mil per year ahead of the B12 but $20 mil per year behind the B1G/SEC over the next 7 season.

The ACC definitely has some upside to close/widen that gap a bit.

 

[steelcurtain55.]

Carnegie knew a long time ago that the 1st to enter an industry has a MAJOR advantage over the rest of his potential competitors.

Foresight is such a powerful thing.

 

[HailToPitt725]

Altimore's estimates have the ACC about $20 mil per year ahead of the B12 but $20 mil per year behind the B1G/SEC over the next 7 season.

The ACC definitely has some upside to close/widen that gap a bit.

The question becomes, how can the ACC close the gap between the B1G/SEC? I believe those CW games go back to ESPN after 2027… is there any way we can sublicense those games back out to someone like TNT, similar to what they did for College Football Playoff?

 

[HailToPitt725]

Carnegie knew a long time ago that the 1st to enter an industry has a MAJOR advantage over the rest of his potential competitors.

Foresight is such a powerful thing.

The funny thing is, the eastern independents could’ve easily had that advantage if it had the foresight to form a conference in the 80s.

Boston College, FSU, Miami, PSU, Pitt, Rutgers, South Carolina, Syracuse, VT, and WVU would’ve been a solid foundation that could’ve poached the ACC’s most valuable schools. At the very least, we’d be on the same level as the B1G/SEC.

 

[Atilla Cosby]

You'd have to be insane to want to play in that evil trash little 11 (couldn't count past 10 when they added the pedophiles) conference. I've mostly despised those teams all my life. No interest in being paired with them.

 

[ThePanthers]

The question becomes, how can the ACC close the gap between the B1G/SEC? I believe those CW games go back to ESPN after 2027… is there any way we can sublicense those games back out to someone like TNT, similar to what they did for College Football Playoff?

ESPN owns those games. Any money goes to them.

 

[ThePanthers]

Altimore's estimates have the ACC about $20 mil per year ahead of the B12 but $20 mil per year behind the B1G/SEC over the next 7 season.

The ACC definitely has some upside to close/widen that gap a bit.

From my understanding the acc and big xii will be in the same ballpark and the big xii will get the jump in 2031 when their deal ends.

I still think the most valuable acc teams leftover after the big ten and sec takes what they want will go to the big xii or the acc and big xii blow up and a “best of the rest” conference forms. Just hope Pitt is in that.

 

[HailToPitt725]

ESPN owns those games. Any money goes to them.

So any additional revenue that’d go to ESPN from sub-licensing those games out would not be redistributed to the ACC? Well, back to the drawing board…

 

[joeydavid]

From my understanding the acc and big xii will be in the same ballpark and the big xii will get the jump in 2031 when their deal ends.

I still think the most valuable acc teams leftover after the big ten and sec takes what they want will go to the big xii or the acc and big xii blow up and a “best of the rest” conference forms. Just hope Pitt is in that.

That doesn't make any sense unless you are ignoring the ACCN revenue. If you exclude the ACCN, then yeah both conferences will be around $30 mil.

 

[joeydavid]

ESPN owns those games. Any money goes to them.

That's not correct. Raycom Sports "owns" the CW games.

 

[HailToPitt725]

From my understanding the acc and big xii will be in the same ballpark and the big xii will get the jump in 2031 when their deal ends.

I still think the most valuable acc teams leftover after the big ten and sec takes what they want will go to the big xii or the acc and big xii blow up and a “best of the rest” conference forms. Just hope Pitt is in that.

This is why it’s important for the ACC to poach the Big 12 prior to 2036, given it has the chance to, and make sure it’s the last one standing.

Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, Kansas, and Utah would all be solid additions. I’d also say TCU, but we already have Texas covered with SMU.