Radakovich on Alliance's effect with Clemson scheduling, Playoff expansion

Will non-alliance regular-season games like Clemson-Georgia become a thing of the past? Radakovich doesn't see a drastic change for Clemson.

by TigerNet Staff - Thu Aug 26 15:47:48 GMT-04:00 2021

Possibly the most interesting aspect of this week's announced ACC/Big Ten/Pac-12 Alliance might not impact Clemson anytime soon, Tigers athletic director Dan Radakovich says.

Radakovich covered a number of subjects in an interview with The Roar on Thursday and the alliance's effect on Clemson football scheduling was featured.

“I’m not sure," Radakovich, who will be on the alliance scheduling committee, said of the changes to future schedules coming and how it may affect games like Clemson-Georgia in the future. "Our Georgia game came out of necessity for both institutions looking at where we want to be at the end of the year and strength of schedules and all that. As we look out from our vantage point, we have our traditional Power Five rivalry with South Carolina plus one additional one booked through 2036. So, I don’t know how active we might be in that market, but I think there will be other schools in the Big Ten and the Pac-12 and the ACC that will utilize that to fill some holes in their schedules.

"It could end up, if things change, and leagues look at how many games they’re playing in their conference -- if some leagues move back and maybe that opens up some opportunities in the future. Right now, the alliance is partially about scheduling and various events in football and men’s and women’s basketball, but more about 41 like-minded institutions, broad-based programs looking to deal in legislative activities that will keep the collegiate model as is.”

So why did the SEC's expansion bringing in Texas and Oklahoma essentially cause such an arrangement?

“I think back in 2010 and 2011, every school was a free agent," he said. "There was no Grant of Rights tie to conferences. So this time, you have the two biggest brands of one league decide together to go to the Southeastern Conference. That was a little different than the one-offs in 2010-11. Now, one could argue that Texas A&M and Missouri going to the SEC were two big brands, but I think Texas and Oklahoma are a little bigger than both of those nationally...The brand opportunities of these schools going to the SEC and also the recent negotiation that the SEC had with ESPN really increased their TV rights deals.

"Those were all factors as to why the (Texas and Oklahoma) move occurred and maybe why there is maybe some angst from schools around the country."

Radakovich was also on the first Playoff committee and will certainly have his say in the next iteration of an expanded Playoff, which is currently proposed to get to 12 teams from four. Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney has come out against any expansion, although recognizing that it's coming, and Radakovich can see the different sides of the argument.

"I think that from the time that the Playoff began with four teams, there was always just this echo out there of making it larger. I think it had to have some experience and it’s had seven playoffs now," he said. "There has been a few teams -- and we’ve been very fortunate at Clemson -- Alabama, Ohio State, Oklahoma -- have taken a number of those spots. There are folks around the country that are saying those programs are great but could we expand the playoffs so we have more inclusiveness with other programs because as you look at postseason championship capabilities -- football is by far the smallest percentage of teams with an opportunity to go into the postseason with a chance to win a championship.

"So from that perspective, I certainly understand the idea of expanding from four. Because we’ve had a chance to be in those type of games, we understand the toll it takes on the student-athletes and how difficult it is to move a football team and a marching band, as well as all our fans and parents to all these various location. The logistics are what give me the most pause to be able to figure those things out."

But Playoff expansion is something the decision-makers in college football were expecting.

"I think all of us in college football knew at some point in time it was going to expand," said Radakovich. "Whether it gets to 12 or there’s models of 10 or eight, that will be up to the board of directors of the College Football Playoff to ultimately decide. But I think the addition of various spots into there overall will be really good for college football."

The Playoff and the alliance are just two factors in a seemingly drastic set of changes in college athletics lately, including the Name/Image/Likeness rules and expected changes to the NCAA structure. Radakovich sees positives overall for the future landscape, however.

"College athletics, I think, (are) in a state of flux right now," he said. "I don’t know that it’s in a negative state. Certainly, NIL (Name/Image/Likeness) for the opportunities for our student-athletes has been really, really good. I mentioned earlier that the Southeastern Conference just signed a large television deal and there will be other leagues hitting the market soon and really the most valuable commodities on television are live events. Ultimate reality shows. From that area, college athletics are strong. We have work to do as it relates to the governance and that’s why the NCAA has pulled together a large group of individuals to talk about governance within the NCAA and how much it will stay in Indianapolis (the NCAA’s current headquarters) and how much it should be sent to the various conferences. That’s going to be an interesting thing to watch over the next few months.

"But all in all, college athletics gives such great opportunities to so many student-athletes all around the country in so many sports so that it is an important and integral part to at least Clemson University life and I think it’s the same way in many other parts of the country. I’m still bullish on college athletics. It may look a little different 5-10 years down the road, but I still think it will its purpose of entertaining a very, very rabid and loyal fanbase as well as giving student-athletes a great opportunity to compete and get their education."