#Usf conference realignment tv#

Those schools, SMU, Memphis, USF, even Tulane would all fall under immediate consideration for various reasons. They would likely look towards the AAC first for expansion, again. If, when that time comes, they do decide to expand again, it could potentially spell very bad news for the AAC. He also said that once the dust has settled, then the Big 12 conference will reassess the situation. When you watch this thing, the Big 12 always had some issues, because people would say, there are only 10 (members).” Now, the Big 12 is likely to have an awkward year or two as its membership transitions, but Gundy is referring to long-term expansion to fourteen teams. He said, “We could be at 14 very easily, five years from now, from what I’m hearing.I think there’s strength in numbers. They were mostly sparked by comments recently made by Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy. AAC teams, like SMU, Memphis, and USF, have all been making moves to prepare for expansion, like expanding facilities. After all, they wanted to do everything in their power to make sure they were still a Power Five conference. Along the way, there were always rumors that the Big 12 wasn’t going to be done expanding. It became a matter of fact that the only conference they could realistically take from was C-USA, which everyone wanted out of and barely survived this round of realignment.

In particular, Mountain West schools that briefly seemed to have mutual interest with the AAC fell through. The AAC had to find answers but struggled to find schools to join them, as they were seen as the conference in trouble by then. The other was Independent BYU.įrom there, the G5 went through its own realignment. Three of them came from the AAC Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF. Importantly, he also turned around and landed four new schools for the Big 12, to stabilize the conference. That included declaring that the AAC and ESPN were colluding against the Big 12 for media purposes. He also deserves credit for aligning the conference as a whole following the coup, so that they wouldn’t get picked apart. Bob Bowlsby, rightly, took a ton of blame for not realizing that the SEC was after his two biggest brands. That, rather obviously now, isn’t what happened. Hypothetically, that would leave the Big 12 so weak that it wouldn’t have the influence to poach teams from the Group of Five, and the AAC could snag teams like TCU and West Virginia. Rumors swirled that, to keep up with the SEC, the Big 10 and PAC-12 would try to act like vultures and take what they wanted next.

The Big 12 had been blindsided by the SEC taking Texas and Oklahoma, which left every other school to consider its own future. Follow our Tampa Bay Times sports team on Twitter and Facebook.Once upon a time, there was hope and optimism for the AAC in conference realignment. Never miss out on the latest with the Bucs, Rays, Lightning, Florida college sports and more. “We just want everyone to step back, look at the situation, and we’re basically staying calm and just analyzing the situation.”Īnd waiting to see whether the AAC will remain the poached or become the poachers. “With all the things swirling around now, we don’t know what’s going to happen,” Aresco said. He did, however, say that he has had preemptive conversations with current members to make sure they understand the league’s value and why they’re in a better place now than they were five years ago. If any schools in the Big 12 or elsewhere have reached out, Aresco isn’t saying. And the Big 12 already has the Power Five designation and autonomy the AAC hopes to attain. The top of the AAC compares favorably on the field to what will be left of the Big 12, but its Temple/East Carolina basement isn’t as strong or valuable.

#Usf conference realignment tv#

The league pays its schools about $28 million from TV deals, so the leftovers are worth $14 million each - or twice as much as what AAC schools are receiving. Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby said this week that Texas and Oklahoma account for half the Big 12′s TV revenue.