Big 12....It is time folks.

May 23, 2012, 10:32 PM

Ok,

So if you are one of those that think this is a bad idea....or one of those ACC apologists from Chapel Hill and the like disparaging these rumors of FSU and Clemson leaving at every turn.....then you need to get your head out from your ####.

This will not happen overnight in terms of who goes where etc., however, once the gradual move towards a playoff started (which it has with the plus one coming), this was always going to become a major league $$$ bidding war between the networks for the rights.

Look, basketball has its 64+ team watered down playoff. That bid is done there is no more money to make there other than the minimal increase in bids when the next contract with CBS and TNT is up.

This however, is different. Potentially tens of billions different. Football is it....period. All of the bitter Chapel Hill folks and the like talk about why anyone would want Clemson, we haven't done anything significant in 20+ years on the field etc., they don't get it.

It's about football brands, it's about football tv markets (that you may not have now), about football facilities and the arms race there, recruiting which goes hand in hand with the tv market, and program support. Those things equal money.

There is a reason why even living in Charlotte outside of SC, that I get pretty much every game we play on television. Why espn 1,2,3,4,U,N, or whatever picks up our games when the ACC network doesn't. People watch. Because Clemson football is a brand.

I will give TDP credit for one thing, his focus on building up facilities has put us way ahead of the other schools in the ACC that are trying to catch up, and will be doing so for a while. Forgetting about the coaching hires I disagree with, and there have been many, this he got right. I also believe that we should be proud that when he stuck his hand out, in the face of questionable results on the field, WE got the checkbooks out.

I will again agree to disagree with those out there that believe Dabo was the best hire for Clemson, but this is beyond that....way beyond. This decision to get our seat at the table will carry us forward long after Dabo is gone. But to the Dabo point, he now has two of the highest paid assistants in the country, and I would argue that position coaches cumulatively pretty close as well.

So, here is the question, that I think we as alums, donors, supporters and fans should ask ourselves. Why? Why have we given all of this money for facilities, and why has the administration approved of these salaries for assistant coaches, etc.?

My belief is that it was to take this brand that has been built through Clemson's history, and ensure it is at the level we and the people that write checks for the networks believe it can and should be. And that had better for #### sure mean that if and when this gradual move towards what I believe will be 4 conferences with 48+ teams fighting for 8 playoff spots comes to fruition, we are at the table for every gradual step.

This is not about academics, Clemson stands on its own there, as every school should, and it's not about basketball or non revenue sports. It's about money, and the money that football is going to command in a playoff scenario includes many 0's.

We stepped up. We opened the checkbooks, we have supported whether we liked the coach or not. And this for me is exactly why. Because when a conference with Texas and Oklahoma needed to align themselves with more football brands to ensure their stroke, we would be at or near the top of that list.

The time has come. John Swofford and his lack of foresight will cost his conference a seat at the table.....and that is his problem....and his member institutions that have not proactively done what we have with regard to football.

Let's take our football brand and leave them behind. It's become a dog eat dog world and thankfully we are not the ones with milkbone underwear on.

Cash the check Mr. Wilkins. For the good of Clemson Football.

nc.

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why we are currently in an optimum position to consider Independent status as a pre-emptive move in regards to the ACC and securing our own future. I'm okay with a Big XII membership that ensures a solid collection of competitive east coast programs in a division that would help raise the bar. Anything that's going to excite kids to come play against the competition and inspire the fanbase, I'm for.

I don't know that we're going to see a quick rush to 16 this year or the next or the year after that. With college presidents and BOT's running much of the show and far reaching repurcussions for the upcoming actions that will last for many years, I can see leagues being cautious to add too fast as schools will be hesitant to make quick decisions.

A larger East/West Big XII would be fun; we'd have a solid slate of games to play each year and it would be a tough championship to earn. It takes an excellent team to win a national championship though, and no path there has been easy. It's a rare event even for the top historical programs. So we should never lose sight of the games themselves being something to get competitively excited about on a week by week basis.

Unless the Big XII is prepared to pull in a substantial slate of strong east coast programs, at least four at once, I'd be very hesitant to commit. The league doesn't have a great track record in terms of stability. Unless there's a committed east coast group going in at the onset, it may remain unstable following, and that's a huge long-term gamble that rests on forces beyond our control. Leaving the ACC, however, is almost mandatory if both the leadership and the revenue model doesn't change in the immediate future. The status quo is highly detrimental to Clemson University and we cannot remain in the league any longer as it is today.

We have a remarkable infrastructure in place and as you said are in the midst of a transformational construction and improvement phase, a lot of which is already in place, ahead of much of our competition. Our gameday atmosphere is second to none (debatable of course by the other programs who have great ones as well), our fans are all over the country and love to travel with the team, a rarity mostly. And we draw significant viewers to our games, a highly valuable commodity. And we're good and seemingly getting better. No matter what league we're in, or not in, we're poised to flourish. We should take greater control of our own destiny though and simply leave the ACC regardless of whether we're in another conference or not.

We wouldn't have any problem fielding highly competitive schedules for all sports, and stand to far surpass our current media revenue with at least 7 home games against a healthy mix of other conference teams playing in Death Valley. We could pledge to finish out the 2013 season (which is projecting to be a very strong year) in the league and then plan 2014 as an Independent. With the four-team playoff going to the best four at season's end, regardless of what league we play in or not we'll get a shot. FSU could easily come along with us in this, but they certainly wouldn't have to. Now that distribution of programming has become so abundant, it's easier than ever to operate without the confines of a conference.

As you stated, "It's become a dog eat dog world and thankfully we are not the ones with milkbone underwear on." Couldn't fit a better scenario.

Big 12....It is time folks.

Many of the assets for our program you cite are precisely

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