ACC/MD Settlement

[billybud]

It was very predictable...most of us thought and posted that the ACC would keep what had been withheld....to do other (either the ACC seeking more or Maryland seeking damages) would involve protracted court battles....

$31 million ain't chicken feed...sets a recrd for exit fees paid.

Now, both parties can declare a victory and march on...that's what settlements are about.

 

[RegisteredUconn]

That's just the thing, we don't know if the B1G has any plans to add UConn, no one does. Given that, we would have to jump at the first invite that comes along.

Your predicate, i.e., we must accept the first invitation, follows only if that which it was predicated upon, i.e., nobody knows if the B1G has plans to add UConn, holds true. We here might not know but it would surprise me to discover that Storrs is as ignorant as we.

 

[Confident Carl]

This is GREAT news for UCONN. The ACC's hold on its members isn't as strong as everyone thought. I wouldn't be shocked to see a few schools get lured to the B1G or SEC. They clearly don't have to wait until the GOR expires. And the $51M exit fee can be negotiated down.

Part of me wished this went to trial so we can have some dirty laundry aired. But this is very bad news for the ACC and excellent news for UCONN's hopes of getting an escape pod.

The ACC took the 31,000,000 and ran with it. Besides they are thrilled with Louisville and got the best of that deal. 31 million is a lot of dough and they avoided a legal quagmire!

As good as UCONN is in basketball, if FSU and Clemson bolted (and I don't believe they will) I am not so sure they would go for UCONN. I could see FSU being replaced by UCF and Clemson by Cincy or maybe even ECU. The B1G seems best suited for UCONN. If the ACC adds a 16th team, UCONN has a better chance of going to the ACC.

 

[RegisteredUconn]

Actually the exit fee is 3 times the expected conference payout for a given year. So with the money from the CFP starting to roll in along with ESPN's bump, NCAA credits & new Bowl game revenue should push that amount in the 30 million range. So for arguments sake let's say you owe 60% of 90 million & whatever it costs to get out of the GOR. You could be looking at a 100 million to leave

I get lost when people introduce acronyms without foundation. I have no idea what a CFP is. Neither does Google unless college sports are being secretly bankrolled by certified financial planners. Let me guess, some part of your job description roughly translates to obfuscator. Am I correct?

 

[Kolumbo]

$31 million is chump change to a school like FSU. But then again, the settlement could be different for FSU since one could argue that the ACC could not effectively replace FSU. Replacing MD was a different story.

The $31 million settlement equals "the amounts previously withheld." Sounds like the figure is just an arbitrary settlement amount based on what happened to be already withheld. If this were decided 6 months ago, the amount could have been much less.

 

[RegisteredUconn]

The ACC took the 31,000,000 and ran with it. Besides they are thrilled with Louisville and got the best of that deal. 31 million is a lot of dough and they avoided a legal quagmire!

As good as UCONN is in basketball, if FSU and Clemson bolted (and I don't believe they will) I am not so sure they would go for UCONN. I could see FSU being replaced by UCF and Clemson by Cincy or maybe even ECU. The B1G seems best suited for UCONN. If the ACC adds a 16th team, UCONN has a better chance of going to the ACC.

ECU...yeah, that's where the ACC has been short sighted. Not enough North Carolina representation.

 

[Confident Carl]

ECU...yeah, that's where the ACC has been short sighted. Not enough North Carolina representation.

I hesitated about mentioning ECU but the 50k attendance might be worth considering. Assuming Diaco upgrades the program and I suspect he will UCONN would be much more attractive. As hugely successful as UCONN has been in Bball, football drives the bus. If FSU and Clemson were to bolt, the ACC would have to get the best football teams. That's all I am saying.

 

[Ha Who]

Your predicate, i.e., we must accept the first invitation, follows only if that which it was predicated upon, i.e., nobody knows if the B1G has plans to add UConn, holds true. We here might not know but it would surprise me to discover that Storrs is as ignorant as we.

We are talking about state government. You would be shocked at the little kingdoms that develop and the ignorance is bliss that permeates the state.

 

[dayooper]

I hesitated about mentioning ECU but the 50k attendance might be worth considering. Assuming Diaco upgrades the program and I suspect he will UCONN would be much more attractive. As hugely successful as UCONN has been in Bball, football drives the bus. If FSU and Clemson were to bolt, the ACC would have to get the best football teams. That's all I am saying.

There is no way that ECU would ever bring more to The ACC. With four teams already, ECU adds nothing to the market value for the conference. If there was ever going to be an ACCN, ECU would be the worst candidate. Adding a school in a state that The ACC owns lock, stock, and barrel would lose money for the other schools.

If the ACC wants a network, they need new areas, not overlaping ones. The best adds that are attainable for The ACC are Cinci and UConn. Cincinnati is a pretty large town itself, let alone in the 7th most populated state. If UConn helps with The NYC market, it could be a boon for The ACC in New England. ECU does nothing in that regard.

 

[Calamitous]

$31mm plus. So go back and see who guessed right. That is not $52mm but is still a bunch of money and GOR is not coming up for a legal decision. (sorry, missed in the other posts).
http://www.theacc.com/#!/news-detail/agreement_08-08-14_lryjmo

This does nothing pro or con for Uconn today or for any other conference that wants to grab teams within the P5. GOR looks like it may hold some weight since MD had to pay almost double what it wanted to pay but since it never came to trial, it is the status quo for now.

UMCP left prior to the ACC GOR, so the GOR was a moot point anyway.

 

[Calamitous]

They clearly don't have to wait until the GOR expires. And the $51M exit fee can be negotiated down.

The remaining ACC schools are bound by the GOR until 2026. UMCP left before the GOR was placed into effect. Any ACC school can leave now, but all media rights will belong to the ACC until 2026. The UMCP lawsuit was all about the exit fee and nothing about the GOR.

 

[RegisteredUconn]

We are talking about state government. You would be shocked at the little kingdoms that develop and the ignorance is bliss that permeates the state.

I've worked for state government. Let's just say it wasn't my most satisfying job. Here was a typical work day (in winter):

8:30 am - arrive, do nothing until rest of team arrived at 9:30.
9:30 am - team arrives, play darts, shoot hoops, or play parcheesi until 10am.
10:00 am - morning break until 10:45.
10:45 am - return to playing darts, hoops, cards or other game until 11:30.
11:30 am - lunch until 1:30.
1:30 pm - see 10:45 until 2:15.
2:15 pm - afternoon break until 3:00.
3:00 pm - repeat 9:30 activities until 3:30.
3:30 pm - team (except for me) calls it a day, do nothing until 4:30.
4:30 pm - go home.

I know you think I'm exaggerating but I'm not.

 

[Dooley]

The remaining ACC schools are bound by the GOR until 2026. UMCP left before the GOR was placed into effect. Any ACC school can leave now, but all media rights will belong to the ACC until 2026. The UMCP lawsuit was all about the exit fee and nothing about the GOR.

My point is that if a school deems $31M as "doable", then they might be willing to challenge the GOR. As Fishy said in this thread or another (I don't remember which), there has yet to be a conference to stick the entire set of exit terms to a departing school. Someone will challenge a GOR at some point. The playbook: we signed it under duress. There's no way definitive way to prove, one way or the other, something so vague as "duress".

Who know, that someone might even be your VT. Personally, I would love a VT/UCONN combo to the B1G. More markets, more football recruiting, more hoops recruiting, and solid academics. Non AAU but close in both cases. VT a little closer than UCONN.

 

[Confident Carl]

There is no way that ECU would ever bring more to The ACC. With four teams already, ECU adds nothing to the market value for the conference. If there was ever going to be an ACCN, ECU would be the worst candidate. Adding a school in a state that The ACC owns lock, stock, and barrel would lose money for the other schools.

If the ACC wants a network, they need new areas, not overlaping ones. The best adds that are attainable for The ACC are Cinci and UConn. Cincinnati is a pretty large town itself, let alone in the 7th most populated state. If UConn helps with The NYC market, it could be a boon for The ACC in New England. ECU does nothing in that regard.

I agree with you. ECU was mentioned only if Clemson left. They would be losing a South Carolina school. ECU's popularity and enthusiastic fan base could be worth consideration by the ACC especially because they beat NC and NC State last year. In reality it would be between Cincy and UCONN but Cincy's football program has been much better. If FSU left then UCF would seem to be a natural replacement. The Big East has been the feeding pool for the ACC. UCONN needs to up their football program NOW. Bob Diaco is going to be the savior of the program!

 

[Calamitous]

My point is that if a school deems $31M as "doable", then they might be willing to challenge the GOR. As Fishy said in this thread or another (I don't remember which), there has yet to be a conference to stick the entire set of exit terms to a departing school. Someone will challenge a GOR at some point. The playbook: we signed it under duress. There's no way definitive way to prove, one way or the other, something so vague as "duress".

Who know, that someone might even be your VT. Personally, I would love a VT/UCONN combo to the B1G. More markets, more football recruiting, more hoops recruiting, and solid academics. Non AAU but close in both cases. VT a little closer than UCONN.

Valid point. That will take a lot of guts both on the departing school and the conference trying to snag them. I keep hearing the B12 and ACC are vulnerable, but something big would have to happen to make a school test a GOR. I just don't think a Tech move will happen if the B1G expects to expand in the next 5 years. It would make for great entertainment if that happened though.

As for making a case to the B1G, UConn has fewer strings attached with a NYC presence. Tech on the other hand feels obligated to UVa for helping us into the ACC, plus has the GOR technically tying us down. However, UMCP has a very active working relationship with VT on many different levels (share a Vet school, research, etc.) and am sure they'd love Tech to join the B1G some day. Neither of our schools have AAU status which isn't helping. On the flip side, both UConn and Tech are cozy with a lot of B1G schools. UConn's SCHEV of peers includes OSU, Purdue, Iowa, Rutgers and Minnesota. Tech's SCHEV of peers includes Illinois, UMCP, Michigan, MSU, Minnesota, OSU, PSU, Purdue, Rutgers and Wisconsin. UConn needs to beef up their SCHEV peer list to add some more AAU voting schools so they can get their 18 votes. I know Tech's research is rapidly evolving and growing. I assume UConn is heavy on the research end too, being the Flagship/Land Grant surrounded by all those good New England schools.

I'd like a UConn/VT combo as well. But most B1G fans don't get as excited about VT as they do UVa. Although, I think it was Ldandy who posted a picture of Huskies on one side of a fence with Wild Turkeys on the other side. Our 2 schools would make PSU fans pretty happy and seal a regional area of significance.

 

[btstimpy]

This settlement does not affect the ACC Grant of Rights in any manner at all.

To get out of the ACC (assuming anyone wants to, no evidence any other than Maryland did/does since all signed a subsequent GOR), the school leaving will have to pay around $30 million AND figure out a way to bust the GOR in court.

Good luck to that brave school...

$30 million is now the floor. With each passing year that number goes up. There are no brave schools in the ACC as you put it, and there will not need to be.

I was hoping that the litigation with Maryland would have gone to trial because the ACC had the winning hand, but the delay with this case was starting to get in the way of the ACC's plans for things like the ACC Network Channel, the scheduling arrangements with other conferences like the SEC and Big XII, and other stuff. The ACC was too concerned about looking like a thriving conference while at the same time trying to look damaged during this litigation. This is now over, and the fun can begin.

If the Big Ten had any aspirations for another ACC school, it needed the ACC exit fee to be ruled punitive. It has now been set at a floor of $31 million. So as I've said before, the Big Ten needs to look to Iowa State. Perfect fit and they want to be in the Big Ten. But it won't be another state for the BTN, so Big Ten fans here don't like the idea. It's easier to integrate a good cultural fit sometimes than a school that is not a cultural fit. I still have a hope that UConn will be invited to the ACC at some point. If not there may be other options for both UConn and the ACC. Removing this two division requirement for a Championship Game in football will help with more flexibility.

 

[btstimpy]

There is no way that ECU would ever bring more to The ACC. With four teams already, ECU adds nothing to the market value for the conference. If there was ever going to be an ACCN, ECU would be the worst candidate. Adding a school in a state that The ACC owns lock, stock, and barrel would lose money for the other schools.

If the ACC wants a network, they need new areas, not overlaping ones. The best adds that are attainable for The ACC are Cinci and UConn. Cincinnati is a pretty large town itself, let alone in the 7th most populated state. If UConn helps with The NYC market, it could be a boon for The ACC in New England. ECU does nothing in that regard.

The ACC won't invite ECU. We already have four North Carolina Schools. To get into a P5, ECU's best option would be the SEC. It sounds far fetched, but that is their best option unless the Big XII gets poached and reaches out to AAC schools to replace. Then ECU could be an option for the Big XII. The same can also be said for Old Dominion in Virginia, SEC or something happening to the Big XII. They are new to FBS, but if they can get their local kids to stay home, they will improve in football and be attractive.

But for now I think you are going to see the SEC and the ACC cooperate together with ESPN for media access in the collective footprint of both the SEC and the ACC to make both conferences very successful in the combined geographic footprint of both conferences, not just the overlapping 4 states. The SEC will gain access to North Carolina and Virginia by playing football and basketball in both states a whole lot more often than they have been. The ACC will gain the same access to the western SEC states. And we just saw Notre Dame schedule Georgia.

 

[Fishy]

There's no floor.

The 'floor' was $52,000,000 on Thursday. On Friday, it was $30,000,000.

And even if it was, Big Ten/SEC money makes that math work every single time.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

The proximity of Louisville to Cincy can be viewed as a positive or negative.
Cincy's airport is in Ky and they bill themselves the gateway to the South. In many respects it's a southern city. Similarly Southern Ind,and Ill,are much different than the northern part of those states.
It gives the Cards their traditional rival going back to Metro days.
But with Cincy not in a P5, Louisville might look at it as a opportunity to expand.
at their expense. The BC strategy. Louisville support drops off outside the city limits as UK owns the state. So capturing some of Southern Ohio is a possible strategy.
Even in the city itself UK fans make up a good % of the population. Cincy has the same problem in Ohio. with the OSU.

$30 million is now the floor. With each passing year that number goes up. There are no brave schools in the ACC as you put it, and there will not need to be.

I was hoping that the litigation with Maryland would have gone to trial because the ACC had the winning hand, but the delay with this case was starting to get in the way of the ACC's plans for things like the ACC Network Channel, the scheduling arrangements with other conferences like the SEC and Big XII, and other stuff. The ACC was too concerned about looking like a thriving conference while at the same time trying to look damaged during this litigation. This is now over, and the fun can begin.

If the Big Ten had any aspirations for another ACC school, it needed the ACC exit fee to be ruled punitive. It has now been set at a floor of $31 million. So as I've said before, the Big Ten needs to look to Iowa State. Perfect fit and they want to be in the Big Ten. But it won't be another state for the BTN, so Big Ten fans here don't like the idea. It's easier to integrate a good cultural fit sometimes than a school that is not a cultural fit. I still have a hope that UConn will be invited to the ACC at some point. If not there may be other options for both UConn and the ACC. Removing this two division requirement for a Championship Game in football will help with more flexibility.

Iowa State brings nothing to the B1G, their more of an ACC team ,number two in their state. (Except VA and Carolina maybe BC ) see Clemson,FSU,Louisville,Duke,Wake,NCS,Pitt. VPI,Miami

The B1G wants only flagships
Kansas at least brings a new Market

 

[kyleslamb]

There's no floor.

The 'floor' was $52,000,000 on Thursday. On Friday, it was $30,000,000.

And even if it was, Big Ten/SEC money makes that math work every single time.

Yea that's ridiculous. A settlement does not create a "floor."

 

[btstimpy]

There's no floor.

The 'floor' was $52,000,000 on Thursday. On Friday, it was $30,000,000.

And even if it was, Big Ten/SEC money makes that math work every single time.

To anyone facing having to pay it, it is a floor. Believe what you will, but that is exactly how every one of the 15 ACC schools sees it, and there are no brave ones looking to challenge it. And as you are about to see, there won't be any need. The Big Ten/SEC future projections might make that work with their channels and what not. You have yet to see the ACC's.

 

[Stinger92860]

Was this a ruling? I thought it was a settlement.

 

[TRest]

To anyone facing having to pay it, it is a floor. Believe what you will, but that is exactly how every one of the 15 ACC schools sees it, and there are no brave ones looking to challenge it. And as you are about to see, there won't be any need. The Big Ten/SEC future projections might make that work with their channels and what not. You have yet to see the ACC's.

Well, the ACC just traded the Baltimore/Maryland/DC market for one that dies 5 miles outside of the Louisville city limits. And the ACC continues to have no rights to any of the programming that could be broadcast on a potential ACC channel. Nice job.

 

[btstimpy]

Well, the ACC just traded the Baltimore/Maryland/DC market for one that dies 5 miles outside of the Louisville city limits. And the ACC continues to have no rights to any of the programming that could be broadcast on a potential ACC channel. Nice job.

In the cable subscriber game you get all the subscribers in a state if you get carriage. Fewer follow Maryland or Rutgers in their home states than Louisville in theirs, but the Big Ten took them both anyway. Why is that? Cable subscribers in those states. Oddly enough Pittsburgh gives the ACC access to all the subscribers in Philadelphia as much as Penn State does. I find that odd, but Pitt is in the same state. That's how subscriber contracts work.

I don't want Cincinnati in the ACC because I like sticking with the East, but there are several cable subscribers in Ohio. The Big Ten Network has now taught everyone this game, and ESPN was able to play it perfectly with the SEC Network. The ACC Network will get to take advantage of that experience that ESPN has, and the ACC and SEC will cooperate to make both channels successes across the entire footprint of both conferences combined. Put Notre Dame football content on the ACC Channel and anything is possible. This is my prediction, and it's actually an educated guess.

If the ACC wants back in Baltimore/Maryland market, we can add Navy. They have already inquired and Notre Dame and UVA are already willing sponsors. The ACC isn't in expansion mode though yet. There are many other things the league is working on at the moment. The ACC already has the DC market DMA. The basketball tournament is headed there, and VT and WVU are scheduled to play football there. It will now share it with the Big Ten.

The bright side for UConn is that with a thriving ACC, there will be two P5 options for UConn down the road if either should expand. UConn is a good candidate for both. You shouldn't want the Big Ten to be your only option although I know having been here a while, it is your preferred option. The Big XII is also an option I guess, but not a really good one due to distance. I do believe that there will be some more expansion during the decade.

 

[btstimpy]

Yea that's ridiculous. A settlement does not create a "floor."

By the way, the floor in the AAC is $11.5 million. The Louisville settlement set the floor. Rutgers was able to also settle on the same floor. Some of the others that never made it all the way in like Boise State, San Diego State, and TCU paid less, but they are exceptions. The $11.5 million will be the floor for UConn.