League commissioners announce ACC/Big Ten/Pac-12 alliance |
“The Alliance,” as it's been informally dubbed, is officially official.
After weeks of reports vaguely describing its coming existence, conference commissioners from the ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12 announced the measure Tuesday afternoon, which is a strategic grouping that formed after the SEC fired a warning shot to college athletics by raiding top Big 12 brands Texas and Oklahoma in late July. This arrangement is billed, formally and informally, as helping navigate a multitude of issues, including the future of college football, the proposed expansion of the College Football Playoff, a restructuring and weak-in-perception NCAA, and the Name/Image/Likeness era within that. "The ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12 today announced an historic alliance that will bring 41 world-class institutions together on a collaborative approach surrounding the future evolution of college athletics and scheduling," a joint press release stated. "The alliance – which was unanimously supported by the presidents, chancellors and athletics directors at all 41 institutions – will be guided in all cases by a commitment to, and prioritization of, supporting student-athlete well-being, academic and athletic opportunities, experiences and diverse educational programming. The three conferences are grounded in their support of broad-based athletic programs, the collegiate model and opportunities for student-athletes as part of the educational missions of the institutions." Light on details Tuesday, the most interesting aspect of the arrangement may very well be football non-conference scheduling down the road. A Yahoo report late Monday said the “most ambitious” endeavor of the deal is an agreement where each team within the alliance plays one game versus the other two conferences each season. That may, the report speculates, bring the Big Ten and Pac-12 in lockstep with the ACC on an eight-game conference schedule. The problem in the near term -- and why that may not come until down the road -- is a whole set of contracts in place for future scheduling, including at Clemson where it has an SEC rival to play each year (South Carolina) and games set out to 2037 with (starting in 2022): Notre Dame (7x), Georgia (4x), LSU (home and away) and Oklahoma (home and away). "The scheduling alliance will begin as soon as practical while honoring current contractual obligations. A working group comprised of athletic directors representing the three conferences will oversee the scheduling component of the alliance, including determining the criteria upon which scheduling decisions will be made," said the joint news release. "All three leagues and their respective institutions understand that scheduling decisions will be an evolutionary process given current scheduling commitments." "The football scheduling alliance will feature additional attractive matchups across the three conferences while continuing to honor historic rivalries and the best traditions of college football." Clemson athletic director Dan Radakovich is on a working group of ADs within the alliance to tackle scheduling and strategy, per ESPN. “The ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12 recognize the unique environment and challenges currently facing intercollegiate athletics, and we are proud and confident in this timely and necessary alliance that brings together like-minded institutions and conferences focused on the overall educational missions of our preeminent institutions,” said ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips via news release. “The alliance will ensure that the educational outcomes and experiences for student-athletes participating at the highest level of collegiate athletics will remain the driving factor in all decisions moving forward.” The Yahoo report indicated the ACC is in the worst position monetarily of the three with TV contracts coming up soon for the Pac-12 and Big Ten and the ACC “stuck in a lopsided deal with ESPN until 2036 that it signed in order to obtain a television network. The Alliance is not expected to help the conference get out of the ESPN deal.” More details to come out of a 2 p.m. ET press conference Tuesday. Collaboration items: Have heard from the start and reiterated last night/this morning that the Pac-12, of the three leagues, is most engaged on alliance and may make individual adjustments (i.e. reducing 9 league games to 8) sooner than later. Several people have told me the Pac-12 is "driving this." But the main thing to expect today is a public acknowledgement of common values between the leagues and alignment around many topics affecting athletes and schools. Not expecting a ton of specifics just yet, although all three commissioners will speak. An example of how tough it would be for ACC to schedule B1G/P12 annually in the near future… Am told announcement will mention a scheduling agreement that goes into effect "as soon as practical," given existing contracts. Men's and women's basketball also part of this, and working group of ADs from all 3 leagues will oversee scheduling strategy and criteria. https://t.co/68jgPMpogD ACC commissioner Jim Phillips on the CFB Playoff expansion as proposed: "From an ACC standpoint we haven't made a decision about where we will fall." Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff on the Alliance: "There is no signed contract. There was an agreement among three gentlemen and a commitment from 41 presidents and chancellors. ... There is no signed document and there doesn't need to be. Kliavkoff: "We did the alliance to protect the collegiate model. ... We were not focused on revenue when creating the alliance." Bruce Feldman follows up on having no binding contract to the alliance. Jim Phillips: "It’s about trust. We’ve looked each other in the eye and made it an agreement." Scheduling: If they’re not tearing up contracts, how’s it help? The ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12 conferences include (via news release): -World-leading academic institutions committed to the shared values of supporting the next generation of leaders. -Innovative research that benefits communities around the world. -27 of the 34 Autonomy 5 members in Association of American Universities (AAU). -34 institutions ranked in the Top 100 national universities by US News & World Report. --Broad-based athletic and academic programs. -A long heritage of leadership in diversity, equity and inclusion. -Over 27,000 student-athletes competing on 863 teams in 31 sports. -A combined 1,019 NCAA Championships. -Longstanding relationships across bowl partnerships, men’s and women’s basketball challenges and Olympic Sport events. -194 Olympic medals won in Tokyo by current, former and future student-athletes. -Some of the most iconic and historic venues in college sports. -Hundreds of millions of dollars in direct annual institutional support of student-athlete scholarships. -Over $15 billion in annual federal research support, nearly one-third of the total across all colleges and universities.
· Student-athlete mental & physical health, safety, wellness and support
· Strong academic experience and support
· Diversity, equity & inclusion
· Social justice
· Gender equity
· Future structure of NCAA
· Federal legislative efforts
· Playoff
From 2022-2026, ACC teams have just 36 total open slots for OOC games (out of 280 possible) & Lou, Clem, WF & VT have none.
Alston: 3 P5 leagues working together actually increases the likelihood of antitrust litigation.
Realignment: The SEC knows it has an enemy now. The Big 12 is screwed. And nothing here PREVENTS poaching (3/x)
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