The Next Big Challenge For Pitt's AD

[SVPanther]

Will probably be positioning Pitt not to be left out of the next round of conference musical chairs. Given major college athletics insatiable quest for dollars, I think the formation of some form of super conference is inevitable. When does it come to a head? My guess within 5 years.
This will be one hell of a challenge for Pitt to maintain a seat at the table.

 

[joeydavid]

Yeah, not happening.

Will probably be positioning Pitt not to be left out of the next round of conference musical chairs. Given major college athletics insatiable quest for dollars, I think the formation of some form of super conference is inevitable. When does it come to a head? My guess within 5 years.
This will be one hell of a challenge for Pitt to maintain a seat at the table.

 

[bubba31]

Will probably be positioning Pitt not to be left out of the next round of conference musical chairs. Given major college athletics insatiable quest for dollars, I think the formation of some form of super conference is inevitable. When does it come to a head? My guess within 5 years.
This will be one hell of a challenge for Pitt to maintain a seat at the table.

Utterly ridiculous

c'mon Fleck....your better than this

or....maybe not......

 

[Slick Manager of Champs]

Utterly ridiculous

c'mon Fleck....your better than this

or....maybe not......

You give this clown too much credit. He is not "better than this"

 

[CrazyPaco]

Will probably be positioning Pitt not to be left out of the next round of conference musical chairs. Given major college athletics insatiable quest for dollars, I think the formation of some form of super conference is inevitable. When does it come to a head? My guess within 5 years.
This will be one hell of a challenge for Pitt to maintain a seat at the table.

Guarantee that's not happening in the next 5 years. Pitt is safe for awhile, but it better not rest on its laurels. It almost got caught napping this last time. If the 2000s realignment happened in the 90s we'd be in the American with Temple and ECU.

 

[Pittparade]

Will probably be positioning Pitt not to be left out of the next round of conference musical chairs. Given major college athletics insatiable quest for dollars, I think the formation of some form of super conference is inevitable. When does it come to a head? My guess within 5 years.
This will be one hell of a challenge for Pitt to maintain a seat at the table.

Actually, I do not believe this to be a preposterous notion at all. Why would PITT not be on chopping block?

It may not happen in 5 years but at some point I am under the impression that the power 5 will dissolve into 4 super conferences. This means that about a dozen teams have to go and that short list would likely include PITT.

All I am saying is for PITT fans to not summarily dismiss this as nugatory poppycock----cause it isn't.

 

[HailToPitt725]

We'll be just fine. ACC will be a player at the table no matter what happens. The Big XII will be the one breaking apart, if anything happens.

 

[Pittparade]

to continue my thoughts on this topic-----if the power 5 becomes the super 4 they will keep only the schools that are fully committed to being football powers. There is no need to keep pretenders around when they can take a greater share of the revenue pie that now exists due to the FBS playoffs.

 

[Pittparade]

We'll be just fine. ACC will be a player at the table no matter what happens. The Big XII will be the one breaking apart, if anything happens.

That may be but those schools will end up somewhere---most of them. They will merge with the four other existing conferences. There will not be a need to keep all pre-existing schools in those conferences, though. The conferences could be selective about who enters and who stays. This is where I wonder if PITT would eventually be on the chopping block.

 

[HailToPitt725]

That may be but those schools will end up somewhere---most of them. They will merge with the four other existing conferences. There will not be a need to keep all pre-existing schools in those conferences, though. The conferences could be selective about who enters and who stays. This is where I wonder if PITT would eventually be on the chopping block.

I was about to say that, that'd be the only we're left out. I still think we'd be fine though. Schools like Wake Forest? Not so much.

 

[Piranha]

Will probably be positioning Pitt not to be left out of the next round of conference musical chairs. Given major college athletics insatiable quest for dollars, I think the formation of some form of super conference is inevitable. When does it come to a head? My guess within 5 years.
This will be one hell of a challenge for Pitt to maintain a seat at the table.

You have been hoping Pitt would go D2 or D3 for awhile now. This would make u happy.

 

[CrazyPaco]

That may be but those schools will end up somewhere---most of them. They will merge with the four other existing conferences. There will not be a need to keep all pre-existing schools in those conferences, though. The conferences could be selective about who enters and who stays. This is where I wonder if PITT would eventually be on the chopping block.

Conferences aren't throwing anyone out. No one can predict the future with clarity, but the only way that happens is if the whole system gets blown up, like some sort of move to semi-professionalism where the conferences all dissolve. But none of the existing conferences are kicking out any members.

The B12 is the conference most in danger. It is all up to Texas, and what they decide to do as the B12 Grant of Rights expires in 2025.

 

[CorsosRevenge]

Aside from Temple in 2000, name me one school to be tossed out of a conference.

 

[CrazyPaco]

Aside from Temple in 2000, name me one school to be tossed out of a conference.

Temple wasn't a member of the Big East. They were only an associate football member. And they were given a very specific set of criteria they need to achieve to retain associate membership, which they failed to do.

Seriously, the only school that I know of that has ever gotten 'tossed' out of a conference that they were a full member of was when Penn State got thrown out of the Atlantic 10 after they announced for the Big 10. They had to play as a basketball independent for at least a year (because the Big 10 was in no rush to add them). There was also some serious discussion about what to do with them by the B10 in the wake of discovering they covered up the serial rape of children for a decade or more. Too much $ at stake though.

 

[Jpripper88]

Actually, I do not believe this to be a preposterous notion at all. Why would PITT not be on chopping block?

It may not happen in 5 years but at some point I am under the impression that the power 5 will dissolve into 4 super conferences. This means that about a dozen teams have to go and that short list would likely include PITT.

All I am saying is for PITT fans to not summarily dismiss this as nugatory poppycock----cause it isn't.

Why would a dozen teams have to go? What is the math for that?

Right now there are 14 teams in the ACC, 14 teams in the B1G, 14 teams in the SEC, 10 in the B12, and 12 in the Pac12. That equals 64, plus ND and BYU as legitimate independents. If going to "4 super conferences" I assume you mean that all 4 conferences would have at least 16 teams. That means 64 teams. So, one school would have to get left out to add ND or two for ND and BYU. We definitely aren't school #65. Now, if "4 super conferences" means 4 conferences of 14 teams, then you are cut back to 56, so the numbers get tighter with 8-9 schools getting bumped, but still hard to see us being school #57. Of course, I don't know how you call 14 teams a "super conference" when that is already what we have in the power broker conferences.

It is far more likely geography will play some role and the 10 teams in the B12 are by far the most vulnerable, if it is cut down to 4 conferences of 14 teams. Our only worry would be being booted from the ACC for ND, but Wake, BC, and Syracuse should be in more danger than Pitt.

However, I don't see anyway this is a realistic expectation. The SEC and B1G aren't going to agree to share their wealth and there are only 3 (ND, UT, and maybe OU) schools out there who would increase the total enough to make addition attractive for their individual conferences. I think it is much more likely the Pac12 and B12 expand to 14 and expansion at the P5 level essentially closes until, perhaps, football moves to tenuous ground because of concussion and injury concerns. The B12 has already laid the groundwork to have a sweetheart setup for Texas and so adding 4 "not full share" memberships is easy to see. Texas has so much power in this because they could easily jump to the Pac12 with whoever they wanted and kill every other Texas and Oklahoma school dead and buried.

 

[Jpripper88]

to continue my thoughts on this topic-----if the power 5 becomes the super 4 they will keep only the schools that are fully committed to being football powers. There is no need to keep pretenders around when they can take a greater share of the revenue pie that now exists due to the FBS playoffs.

Then they wouldn't be "super conferences" because there wouldn't be more than 48 programs left standing. Plus, there are state legislators who just would not allow that many programs to wither and die.

 

[HailtoPitt]

I think one super conference might be closer than people think. As the cable well continues to dry up, football tv deals won't be as lucrative. However, programs with large budgets and lots of revenue will seek other steams of money to avoid cutting costs. That could mean that the very top programs will band together into one large super conference, take their financial licks for exit fees, and come out smelling like roses because each of the powerhouse programs will end up with more per school. Pitt likely won't be in this group, unless we can somehow come up with astronomical football success.

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

That's funny....if anything, just like we saw with the "bigger is better" stadiums, I think if there is any real stratospheric change in conferences over the next 20 years it will be realigning more along the lines with geography, like it was originally.

Because as this stuff with football continues on...who knows where it goes. Don't laugh, when everyone was following Mike Tyson/Holyfield or Hearns/Hagler in the the late 80' mid 90's, who would have thought less than 25 years later, boxing would be relegated to an afterthought.

 

[HailtoPitt]

Boxing screwed itself, mostly.

 

[HailToPitt725]

Here's a good article highlighting what's been mentioned in this thread http://www.foxsports.com/college-fo...10-years-alabama-ohio-state-notre-dame-051616