There are really only two possibilities:
1. ESPN/CBS as the Target -- The SEC wants a major bump in revenues from ESPN/CBS in broadcasting rights. To get that bump, given that we expanded without a specific monetary promise of greater revenue* from our TV partners, they need some sort of leverage. The idea that the SEC desperately wants to avoid a 9 game schedule could be little more than a negotiating ploy. "We're so willing to avoid an 9 game schedule, that we would be willing to give up UGA vs. AU and Bama vs. UT to stay where we are....unless you made us one hell of an offer." So...you leak our fear that the AU series would be lost due to the emphasis we're placing on the 8 game schedule.
2. The Fans -- This could be McGarity's way of bracing us for the worst in hopes that whatever solution we ultimately end up with is better than the tradition killing loss of the yearly AU series.
2. The Fans -- This could be McGarity's way of bracing us for the worst in hopes that whatever solution we ultimately end up with is better than the tradition killing loss of the yearly AU series.
Personally, I think the ADs and Presidents care more about money than:
-- Making fans happy
-- Making coaches happy
-- Making players happy
-- Making faculty happy
-- Making TV partners happy
-- Making coaches happy
-- Making players happy
-- Making faculty happy
-- Making TV partners happy
And there is more money in a 9 game SEC schedule than an 8 game SEC schedule. A better inventory of TV games means more dollars from TV. Plus, this is a competitive market. The ACC and Big XII both have a 9 game league schedule going forward while the Big Ten and Pac 14 have scheduled a cross conference competition every year to act as a defacto 9th league game for the Big Ten and potentially the same for the Pac 14.
Therefore, my thought is to follow the money on this one. If we're not going "all in" with greed vs. the best interest of the fan, coaches or players, then no one is going to be happy and no objective will be met fully. So...assume we're all in with greed. Everything else suggests that is the case.
PWD
*I think we can all agree that it was dumb to make such a move without a greater revenue guarantee on the front end.
6 comments:
This whole expansion thing is ridiculous. Georgia plays Auburn every year, and Bama plays Tennessee every year. That is how its been, and that is how it should always be. I hope the athletic directors, commissioners, and president will not destroy what is great about college football just to make a few more dollars. The SEC is about tradition, culture, and passion. As southerners, we are passionate about college football and its not just part of our culture; it is our culture. I hope Slive and boys do what is right.
Also, I hope we never go to a play off. That rant is for another day.
This is the future of College Athletics. The people in charge are more like hired CEO's than those who worked their way up through the company. McGarity does not care about the Georgia-Auburn rivalry because he has not lived it the way we have. It is frustrating.
* Correction, I was angry and forgot that McGarity was in Athens before he went to Florida. The point is still the same. The people in charge are not concerned with the foundations of various schools, only how to bring in more revenue.
McGarity does not want to see an end to the Georgia - Auburn rivalry any more than any other Georgia fan does. He's just being realistic.
And why should this be any surprise? We have seen an end to the Georgia - Clemson, Oklahoma - Nebraska, Missouri - Kansas, and the Texas - Texas A & M rivalries.
Besides, we knew this was a possibility when the SEC took in two more schools.
The SEC never needed to expand anyway, at least not in a seemingly panic-like mode. Texas A&M was the only one in desperate need of a new home. We could have cherry-picked this deal for the absolute two best schools to join us in our own time frame. And as you stated Paul, driven a much bigger monetary deal in the process.
Why are you calling it the Pac-14? They haven't announced any new additions.
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