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Jul 27, 2022
1:52:26pm
NOCAL_YFAN Intervention Needed
Expansion is all about TV money of course, but there are 2 other reasons that
have become more important as additional driving factors in the latest expansion (and they're still money related). If you pay close attention to Kevin Warren's quote on expansion (the initial one yesterday, not the CYA one today), you get some clues. Now mind you, this is from his opening prepared remarks, which is significant because a) every word is intentional, not an accident, and b) as opening remarks it represents the most important messages the Commissioner wishes to communicate. His quote...

"It [Big10's future plans] may include future expansion, but it will be done for the right reasons, at the right time, with our student athletes', academic, and athletic empowerment at the center of all decisions that we will make.....We won't expand just to expand. It will be strategic, it will add value to our conference, and it will provide [an opportunity] for our student athletes to be put on a platform so that they can build their careers, but also that they will have an opportunity to grow and learn from an academic and athletic standpoint."

Yeah, you get more TV money as a conference when you expand to new markets or with teams that bring enough eyeballs, but it's becoming clear to me that part of that motivation for getting into new markets in new time zones and expanding the breadth and presence of your conference is to put your schools in a position to attract the best NIL opportunities for its student athletes. That's what he's talking about when he 1) cites student athletes as the first reason for expansion, 2) uses the phrase "athletes'...empowerment", and 3) refers to giving the athletes a "platform...to build their careers." So I think one big factor in the latest round of expansion is NIL. The schools can't technically pay the athletes, but the ones who will win in this NIL world are the ones who can create the best NIL attractive environment/opportunity.

The other factor that is also not talked about as much as a motivator in expansion is the playoff money. Conference TV contract money is still the first priority, but there is significant potential increased revenue that will be available when the playoff is expanded. If a 4 team playoff earns X, a 12 or 16 team playoff will earn X^y (an exponential increase for all you Utes and Aggies out there), especially considering that it essentially takes over all the bowl game money plus more because it's a playoff. Where does that extra money go? It goes to whoever has the most power when the playoff terms are negotiated. The more big schools you have in your conference, the more power you have to dictate playoff distribution terms, and the more money you get. This is possibly what he (and others who have cited it) means when he refers to "strategic" reasons for expanding.
This message has been modified
Originally posted on Jul 27, 2022 at 1:52:26pm
Message modified by NOCAL_YFAN on Jul 27, 2022 at 1:55:55pm
NOCAL_YFAN
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