Big changes in college basketball?

[Halldan1]

Football drove USC and UCLA to the Big Ten, but could (eventually) mean big changes in college basketball, too

Super-conferences are on the way, raising the possibility the NCAA Tournament as we know it could be a thing of the past

www.cbssports.com

Super-conferences are on the way, raising the possibility the NCAA Tournament as we know it could be a thing of the past​

By Gary Parrish
Jul 1, 2022


UCLA has won 11 national championships in the sport of men's basketball. That's more than any other program. The tradition is strong. The trophy case is big. But that's not why the Big Ten announced Thursday that it will accept UCLA and USC as league members in 2024.

Basketball just doesn't matter much in these matters.

The reason the Big Ten announced Thursday that it will accept UCLA and USC as league members in 2024 is because USC is one of this nation's biggest and best football brands. That's the prize. And if you're taking USC, you might as well take UCLA because then you'll have the two biggest athletic departments in the second-biggest television market in the United States. Plus, traveling partners and all that.

And so here we are again.

Conferences are realigning ... again. And though this has been a constant thing for decades now, it's hard not to feel like what happened Thursday represents something different because it suggests that the Power Five will soon be gone and replaced by a Power Two of a super-sized Big Ten and a super-sized SEC.

Nobody thinks the Big Ten is stopping at 16. Nobody thinks the SEC is stopping at 16.


Both leagues are expected to, in the coming weeks or months or years, get to 20 members and maybe more. Washington and Oregon could follow USC and UCLA to the Big Ten. Clemson and Florida State could join Texas and Oklahoma in the SEC. North Carolina and Duke are sensible Big Ten candidates. Miami and Virginia Tech are reasonable SEC candidates. So on and so forth.

The possibilities are endless.

(Yes, there are contracts to get around. But that's what lawyers are for.)

At some point, most assume, somewhere between 40 and 50 of the biggest brands in college athletics will either be in the Big Ten or the SEC. As previously noted, basketball relevance will have little to do with which schools are pursued. But that doesn't mean these developments won't impact basketball.

Which brings me to what I really want to write about -- the NCAA Tournament.

How confident are we that it'll remain untouched?

CBS and Turner have a contract to broadcast the NCAA Tournament through 2032. So we should be cool for a decade, I guess. But if the Big Ten and SEC are indeed super-sized leagues pushing a combined 50 members when that contract expires, how crazy is it to think the SEC and Big Ten could grab another league or two -- or not -- and offer networks a postseason tournament featuring nothing but schools from those leagues? Does it sound any crazier than UCLA and Rutgers being in the same conference?

Obviously not.

I recently asked a television executive about the possibility of something like this happening, and he more or less told me it would probably be more lucrative but likely be an inferior product because, just about everybody agrees, one of the things that makes the NCAA Tournament special is how all the teams from all 32 leagues have access to it. Without that, you never get Saint Peter's over Kentucky. Or George Mason to the Final Four. Or Dunk City. Or Davidson's Steph Curry becoming a star by bouncing through the bracket.

But the only thing I heard is "more lucrative."

That scares me.

Because nearly every decision the decision-makers have made when it comes to seismic changes in college athletics in recent years has been motivated by money with little regard for anything else. So while I've heard many make the case that the one thing you cannot do is mess with the NCAA Tournament because an NCAA Tournament without all 32 conferences would ruin what is arguably the best postseason tournament in American sports, I guess my question is this: What if messing with the NCAA Tournament -- and by "messing with the NCAA Tournament" I mean basically replacing it with a gigantic Big Ten/SEC Tournament that determines the "national champion" -- is more lucrative for the Big Ten and SEC?

Would they mess with it then?

Before you answer, remember, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey has already floated the idea of an SEC-only postseason tournament in football -- and if he's willing to put ending the CFP as we know it on the table, I can't imagine he's unwilling to put ending the NCAA Tournament as we know it on the table. He doesn't strike me as the sentimental type. Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren doesn't either.

They're just money chasers now being chased by money chasers.

This week, it was USC and UCLA. Soon, more will follow suit.

Exactly how it all shakes out is impossible to predict. But nothing seems safe anymore. Not the Pac-12. Not the Big 12. Not the ACC. Not geographical rivalries, traditions or even a 68-team NCAA Tournament featuring access for all that leads to Peacocks upsetting Wildcats and creates underdog moments that matter.

 

[HallLine69]

His "more lucrative" point scares me. I have no doubt if they come up with a concept that is potentially more profitable than the NCAA Tournament, they will junk our beloved March Madness at the first opportunity. And that is a very sad possibility. What we have here is evidence once again how money corrupts and destroys. It truly is the root of evil.

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

There is ultimately bad management from a conference leadership level that creates this chaos.....lazy leadership and clueless people (Larry Scott butchered the Pac 12 with a poor TV, no DirecTV for Pac 12 network) and mix that with other leagues not knowing how to market themselves, and you force schools to think for themselves.

The NCAA has stolen billions of dollars for at least 3 decades, and can't enforce any rules of the road for recruiting shenanigans, toothless and selecting punishment for smaller schools and letting big schools skate.....

Should this end the March Madness tournament?? No, but what exactly has St Peters or other schools done with the increased exposure and money/revenue?? They put the money in their pockets and never reinvest a nickel into their sports programs.

Why should all of the football schools, who took the risk of investing into a business, finance and uplift some smaller schools who don't invest or don't market themselves properly??

It is really about what investment are donors making into their programs and what schools are sitting idle, doing nothing.

The past lack of leadership by the Big East, allowing the defections of the schools to the ACC, was easily prevented, but allowed to happen. It forced this into a business model that other schools around the country saw and looked at carefully.

The Big East will go down in history and one of the best leagues ever created and the one that sat back on its laurels and ultimately destroyed itself from lack of vision. Even to this day, they should have the vision to gobble up Dayton, VCU, Loyola Chicago, with maybe a couple of other basketball only schools and lock in UConn...instead they allowed UConn to have an exit strategy when they readmitted them, which is foolish.

Dayton, VCU and Loyola Chicago etc, could have easily made the jump to the Big East and expanded the basketball only footprint. If you want to maintain a relevant status as a basketball league and maintain your history and keep the NCAA tournament, the basketball schools need to act like they're big branded basketball schools.....and the Big East needs to act. Instead, they'll be swallowed up, resting on the MSG arena and Big East Tournament history.

Even Gonzaga, sits back enjoying the publicity and plays nobody consistently in a league that's getting better, but nowhere to be found on TV in January and February.....and truthfully, they should have moved up to the Mountain West a decade ago. Again, no vision, no foresight.

 

[CL82]

There is ultimately bad management from a conference leadership level that creates this chaos.....lazy leadership and clueless people (Larry Scott butchered the Pac 12 with a poor TV, no DirecTV for Pac 12 network) and mix that with other leagues not knowing how to market themselves, and you force schools to think for themselves.

The NCAA has stolen billions of dollars for at least 3 decades, and can't enforce any rules of the road for recruiting shenanigans, toothless and selecting punishment for smaller schools and letting big schools skate.....

Should this end the March Madness tournament?? No, but what exactly has St Peters or other schools done with the increased exposure and money/revenue?? They put the money in their pockets and never reinvest a nickel into their sports programs.

Why should all of the football schools, who took the risk of investing into a business, finance and uplift some smaller schools who don't invest or don't market themselves properly??

It is really about what investment are donors making into their programs and what schools are sitting idle, doing nothing.

The past lack of leadership by the Big East, allowing the defections of the schools to the ACC, was easily prevented, but allowed to happen. It forced this into a business model that other schools around the country saw and looked at carefully.

The Big East will go down in history and one of the best leagues ever created and the one that sat back on its laurels and ultimately destroyed itself from lack of vision. Even to this day, they should have the vision to gobble up Dayton, VCU, Loyola Chicago, with maybe a couple of other basketball only schools and lock in UConn...instead they allowed UConn to have an exit strategy when they readmitted them, which is foolish.

Dayton, VCU and Loyola Chicago etc, could have easily made the jump to the Big East and expanded the basketball only footprint. If you want to maintain a relevant status as a basketball league and maintain your history and keep the NCAA tournament, the basketball schools need to act like they're big branded basketball schools.....and the Big East needs to act. Instead, they'll be swallowed up, resting on the MSG arena and Big East Tournament history.

Even Gonzaga, sits back enjoying the publicity and plays nobody consistently in a league that's getting better, but nowhere to be found on TV in January and February.....and truthfully, they should have moved up to the Mountain West a decade ago. Again, no vision, no foresight.

The “UConn exit strategy” is paying the Conference $30 million if they leave in the first six years. I actually think that was pretty smart by Ackerman. If Connecticut were to leave within its first six years of Big East membership, and I find that prospect to be extraordinarily unlikely, the conference gets a windfall. Then there’s another maybe four more years where are exit fee is $15 million before it drops to the regular exit fee of $10 million.

It is a smart and measured approach. In any event, unless someone suddenly decides to hand us tens of millions of dollars annually, Connecticut is going nowhere. As a fan, that works for me, because I like the conference, but I do worry about what the future will look like for everyone who is not in the mega conferences.

 

[Section112]

Should this end the March Madness tournament?? No, but what exactly has St Peters or other schools done with the increased exposure and money/revenue?? They put the money in their pockets and never reinvest a nickel into their sports programs.

Do you really believe the crap you write? Comparing St Peters to the big football schools? Seriously? And yes RU continues to invest in their programs with all the student fees they continue to over charge and state school money they get. It's not comparable at all to a St Peters who needs every dollar they get to stay alive? To even mention St Peters in your all over the board argument is silly. Good luck competing against some of these bigger schools in the B10.

 

[hallstorm]

There is ultimately bad management from a conference leadership level that creates this chaos.....lazy leadership and clueless people (Larry Scott butchered the Pac 12 with a poor TV, no DirecTV for Pac 12 network) and mix that with other leagues not knowing how to market themselves, and you force schools to think for themselves.

The NCAA has stolen billions of dollars for at least 3 decades, and can't enforce any rules of the road for recruiting shenanigans, toothless and selecting punishment for smaller schools and letting big schools skate.....

Should this end the March Madness tournament?? No, but what exactly has St Peters or other schools done with the increased exposure and money/revenue?? They put the money in their pockets and never reinvest a nickel into their sports programs.

Why should all of the football schools, who took the risk of investing into a business, finance and uplift some smaller schools who don't invest or don't market themselves properly??

It is really about what investment are donors making into their programs and what schools are sitting idle, doing nothing.

The past lack of leadership by the Big East, allowing the defections of the schools to the ACC, was easily prevented, but allowed to happen. It forced this into a business model that other schools around the country saw and looked at carefully.

The Big East will go down in history and one of the best leagues ever created and the one that sat back on its laurels and ultimately destroyed itself from lack of vision. Even to this day, they should have the vision to gobble up Dayton, VCU, Loyola Chicago, with maybe a couple of other basketball only schools and lock in UConn...instead they allowed UConn to have an exit strategy when they readmitted them, which is foolish.

Dayton, VCU and Loyola Chicago etc, could have easily made the jump to the Big East and expanded the basketball only footprint. If you want to maintain a relevant status as a basketball league and maintain your history and keep the NCAA tournament, the basketball schools need to act like they're big branded basketball schools.....and the Big East needs to act. Instead, they'll be swallowed up, resting on the MSG arena and Big East Tournament history.

Even Gonzaga, sits back enjoying the publicity and plays nobody consistently in a league that's getting better, but nowhere to be found on TV in January and February.....and truthfully, they should have moved up to the Mountain West a decade ago. Again, no vision, no foresight.

The Big East was founded on basketball. It’s what made ESPN. They didn’t rest on their laurels so much as stay true to who they were. The fact that the ACC tried to hedge their bets with football and basketball is why they also won’t exist.

The fact that this country loves football is what’s driving this bus. We are the only country that even likes football. Basketball is global and baseball has even more reach around the world (soccer, car racing, even golf are on this list).

We’ll see if football driven college sports will be sustainable. It’s what's happening now—but it’s to be seen if it will persevere.

 

[lloyde dobler]

When it comes to having a vision, I’m going to trust Val Ackerman more than a poster on a message board.

 

[walshtrips]

There is no way "Super Conferences" can create a basketball tournament that is more lucrative than the March Madness format. National interest would disappear if we're limited to watching 50 teams from 2 conferences compete for a crown.

Football is the prize for these super conferences, they don't care about creating a marketable product for a basketball tournament. It would be more lucrative to have the NCAA do what it does with March Madness, and just focus on a football tournament.

Worst case scenario would result in the NCAA continuing the March Madness format for the remaining 300+ universities, and let the super conferences do their own thing. I envision basketball only schools becoming more attractive to basketball recruits.

 

[SPK145]

There is no way "Super Conferences" can create a basketball tournament that is more lucrative than the March Madness format. National interest would disappear if we're limited to watching 50 teams from 2 conferences compete for a crown.

Football is the prize for these super conferences, they don't care about creating a marketable product for a basketball tournament. It would be more lucrative to have the NCAA do what it does with March Madness, and just focus on a football tournament.

Worst case scenario would result in the NCAA continuing the March Madness format for the remaining 300+ universities, and let the super conferences do their own thing. I envision basketball only schools becoming more attractive to basketball recruits.

"We" wouldn't watch that tournament, LOL.

I agree, let the NCAA still run the tournament as is.

That worst case scenario would be horrible financially though.

 

[CL82]

There is no way "Super Conferences" can create a basketball tournament that is more lucrative than the March Madness format. National interest would disappear if we're limited to watching 50 teams from 2 conferences compete for a crown.

Football is the prize for these super conferences, they don't care about creating a marketable product for a basketball tournament. It would be more lucrative to have the NCAA do what it does with March Madness, and just focus on a football tournament.

Worst case scenario would result in the NCAA continuing the March Madness format for the remaining 300+ universities, and let the super conferences do their own thing. I envision basketball only schools becoming more attractive to basketball recruits.

They don’t need to create one that’s more lucrative the March madness, the only need to create one that’s more lucrative than the cost of putting it on for it to be a net positive.

 

[LeftCoastPirates]

There is no way "Super Conferences" can create a basketball tournament that is more lucrative than the March Madness format. National interest would disappear if we're limited to watching 50 teams from 2 conferences compete for a crown.

Football is the prize for these super conferences, they don't care about creating a marketable product for a basketball tournament. It would be more lucrative to have the NCAA do what it does with March Madness, and just focus on a football tournament.

Worst case scenario would result in the NCAA continuing the March Madness format for the remaining 300+ universities, and let the super conferences do their own thing. I envision basketball only schools becoming more attractive to basketball recruits.

The NCAA tournament has history and appeal due to Cinderella getting a shot.

But the real reason it is popular is because for an abbreviated window it allows people to bet on the sport without much knowledge of what took place over the previous 4 months. Why do we keep pretending that this isn’t all about $$$.

And it will be lucrative even in its new format because there is more appeal to watch the Blue Bloods play than there is to watch unknown smaller schools.

 

[hinson32]

There is no way "Super Conferences" can create a basketball tournament that is more lucrative than the March Madness format. National interest would disappear if we're limited to watching 50 teams from 2 conferences compete for a crown.

Football is the prize for these super conferences, they don't care about creating a marketable product for a basketball tournament. It would be more lucrative to have the NCAA do what it does with March Madness, and just focus on a football tournament.

Worst case scenario would result in the NCAA continuing the March Madness format for the remaining 300+ universities, and let the super conferences do their own thing. I envision basketball only schools becoming more attractive to basketball recruits.

Yes they can. All they need to do is tell the networks if they want to carry their football games they need to also pay this much for basketball as well. The BIG is about to sign a media deal worth over $1B dollars a year.

 

[Halldan1]

Yet I respectfully ask why this????

In a deal quietly hammered out last week, New Jersey leaders agreed to earmark $100 million in taxpayer money to Rutgers University in the upcoming state budget to help fund the renovation of the state school’s aging basketball arena and kick-start a multimillion-dollar indoor football practice facility.