Chuck Neinas on B12 Expansion

[XOVER]

Big 12 Interim Commissioner Chuck Neinas was interviewed on Kansas City Sports Radio 810 on 1-24-12, and here are the highlights of the interview.

* "Further expansion is subject to further review. Won't say yes, won't say no." B12 is "comfortable" at 10 teams.
* Definitely 10 teams next year.
* If 12 teams, then there has to be divisional play, which most members are not interested in.
* If 11 teams (which is apparently quite possible), does the additional team "add value?" Meaning more money divided 11 ways.
* 14 teams is "too large" because you become a "scheduling matrix", or scheduling nightmare.
* 16 teams can be "put in the closet and lock the door."
* The B12 expansion committee is active, is meeting on 1-25-2012, with another meeting on Thursday next.
* ACC and SEC commissioners have said they are "comfortable where they are" at 14.
* SEC "gentlemen's agreement" is they won't take a school from the same state as another member.
* Some in the SEC preferred Clemson to go with A&M, but the "gentleman's agreement" precluded Clemson.
* If GT and FSU wanted to join the B12, it would not necessarily increase the TV contract due to limited games times available to air games over TV. (Wow)
* The B1G Network gets 40 cents per subscriber.
* SEC believes their network will get into 30+ million homes.
* Does not sense any "appetite to expand" beyond 10.
* For expansion, you go to TV and say, "If we add X school, can we get to Y dollars?" If can't get "added value," then no further expansion.
* WVU must play in the B12 next year, or the Tier 2 FOX component of the B12 contract will get renegotiated, and "we would not want that."
* The B12 is "counting on WVU lock, stock, and barrel" to play in the B12 next year to avoid FOX contract renegotiation.
* Next year's football schedules will be provided to TV within the contractual time-frame, which is February 1.
* Some schools don't want to play the basketball tournament in KC because MO is no longer a part of the conference, but Neinas seems to favor KC. "Don't want to cut your nose off to spite your face", ie, fan draw, noise, and money.
* Neinas comment to Dodds about playing games in Mexico was just a joking comment in response to the PAC playing a game in China.
* Call him Chuck.


The Link

 

[Santafe]

(1) While I would never want Texas to join the SEC, it would be interesting to see if the SEC's "gentlemen's agreement" would hold up if Texas wanted to join.

(2) If Clemson, Florida State, and Notre Dame all asked to join the Big 12, that would be one hell of an expansion meeting.

In reply to:

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[XOVER]

I know a lot of folks feel the way you do, Santafe, but I've done a complete 180 on the SEC due to proximity and money.

In the SEC, we'd get Texas A&M, Arkansas, LSU, and probably Oklahoma would come, too. That's the core of an exceptional division or pod.

Huge gameday draws in several stadiums that seat over 100,000. Big Tier 1 and 2 TV contracts. Tier 3 is still retained by the individual schools, and under current rules we'd get the LHN as well.

The only negative I see is the treatment of NQs.

But all that other stuff? Cheating, dumb schools, and all that stuff? That stuff is way, way overblown, I think.

I do realize that my opinion is in vast minority here, and may constitute scurrilous villainy to some.

 

[Santafe]

Xover, I agree the SEC is attractive to Texas in terms of proximity and money, even though the SEC ranked third in TV revenue for the 2011 season:

Big Ten: Average Annual per School: $19.7 million
Pac-12: Average Annual per School: $18.8 million from Fox/ABC/ESPN (* $30 million projected with Pac-12 Network. * Pac-12 Network: the network will launch in 2012 with a primary network and 6 regional networks. Revenue projections combined are expected to be in the same range if not more than the Big Ten Network, which produces $280 million per year at $11 million per school. New members receive 50% share in 2012, 75% share in 2012, 100% share in 2014.)
SEC: Average Annual per School: $17.1 million (Contract is expected to be renegotiated with the addition of Texas A&M and Missouri, maintaining the current per-school payout. The SEC may be on it’s way to starting it’s own network that depending on future additions, could gain the conference and additional $10-$20 million per school per year).
Big 12: Average Annual per School: $15 million (Expansion to 12 would also add a championship game expected to fetch a payout of $10-$18 million per year.)
ACC: Average Annual per School: $13 million (Revenue expected to improve with the additions of Syracuse & Pittsburgh.)

Today, there is no doubt money is driving college football. So even though Texas is not sold on the academic ranking of SEC members, money and proximity (and renewing Aggie rivalry) might be enough for UT to revisit SEC membership. It all boils down to money. Why else would Texas consider joining the PAC 10 and the ACC?

 

[coolhorn]

IF UT and OU became the fifteenth and sixteenth members of the SEC, I wouldn't have a problem with it. A Western Division of us, the okies, the swine, LSU, 'Ole Miss, 'Ole Miss State, agricultural, and 'Bama wouldn't suck...and nobody would have any complaints about strength of schedule. However, it ain't happening. What's okie gonna do with okie lite? What kinds of problems would we have with the lege, with sand aggy, with Baylor's President Starr??? I see us and the paper clips in a rebuilt Big XII for the foreseeable future, or at least until the LHN is up and running on all the major carriers.

 

[Dirty Martin]

It's not as if we need the extra money.

 

[coolhorn]

I'd actually like to see the Big XII back up to twelve teams, with Florida State and Clemson joining West Virginia as part of the new Big XII East. Notre Dame's a pipe dream, and I don't see what either Louisville or BYU would add, except more ways the tv money has to be split.

 

[misirlou]

KU is presumably a huge reason for any game to be in KC. Of course if they can have the bball tourney in their backyard, we should be fighting for SA.