re: I believe West Virginia should be Team No. 14

you dont have to push to subscribe to it. I have the big 10 network and I didnt ask for it. Anybody that has direct tv pretty much has it. The NC State fans will also push for it to be on a cable. Well the cable companies aren't just gonna offer it to NCState fans they will make it part of a tier along with the NFL channel, Big 10 Channel, espnU cbs sports etc.

SO we get 85 cents for every one of those subscribers.

This expansion is all about money and future potential earnings. If it wasn't I would be ok with WVU.

You asked why regular fans care about the money angle, well we care about our school and want it to continue to do well. Same goes for our conference. Well right now we are falling behind the Big 10 and Pac 12 in $$$ earned per school. They will eventually be able to build better facilities and hire the better coaches like we are able to right now. Hell the ACC is really reall close to us and with their additions and big media markets they may pass us in $$$.

The SEC got to the top by having the best facilities, coaches and generally pouring more into the programs then the other conferences were able to do because we were making more money do to our tv contracts and the overall $$ scheme being less about TV money then it is now/will be in the future.

If we aren't making the most money then we are falling behind and our product will suffer on the field.


Thats why it is so important that we do this expansion right. Its not just about right now but the future earnings of the conference. Of all the potential schools WVU offers the least in this aspect.

We dont have to add a power house(which WVU certainly is not) we need to add a school with a very good OVERALL athletic program with a good football program with the potential to become very good in football. This school needs to be in a populous state and have overall good academics.

WVU only fits the good football portion of that equation. They have a decent overall athletic program and certainly basketball helps them but the rest of the sports hurt them bad. Population kills them. Academics are horrible.


BTW Academics matter to those voting on this. Plus I personally believe in the future the SEC will create a research pact, like the CIC the Big ten has, were all members share research data, money, and work on projects together. WVU hurts us in this aspect because of the academic reputation.

If this was just about fit then WVU would be my first pick outside of the ACC, but its not. Its about so much more then that.



THE BIGGEST THING BEING OVERLOOKED THOUGH IS THAT THE SEC IS NOT GOING TO WAIT 27 MONTHS FOR WVU TO LEAVE THE BIG EAST.

[b]BOTTOMLINE:
20 million < 27 months of lost revenue.[/b]

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They fought against the south. No.

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Ooooooooooooooh! Them thar's fightin' werds!

You realize we've averaged 7-8 wins the last five or so years right? I just have a hard time seeing WVU do much better than that on average.

yea I do and thats about were I see WVU at. But over the course of the last 20 years you havent been that good. Over the next 20 years I dont expect you to average that unless you sink a lot more resources into the program.

WVU on the other hand would average that or better IMO.

They have a top 20 all time program. Thats not why they shouldnt get an invite and saying otherwise is dumb. Expansion is not about that its about what kind of $$$ can you bring in now and in the future. WVU brings shite in the regard when compared to the other options.

ALSO 27 months lost revenue > 20 million.

If you think the SEC is the big bad arse it really is, then Slive shouldn't settle.

WVU is settling.

If you want 14, get 14. If you want 16, get 16.

If you're Slive, getting A&M is a home run, you aren't going to get a school that brings everything A&M does. So maybe you view getting the other schools as a cost of getting A&M.

But who are the biggest pieces of the pie remaining?

My list:

1.) UNC.

2.) Duke.

3.) Virginia Tech.

4.) Missouri.

5.) Florida State.

6.) Georgia Tech

7.) Virginia.

8.) Clemson.

9.) NC State.

WVU isn't even on my list.


An important thing to consider; if you go 16 and keep two divisions, do you even care about cross divisional rivalries? At that point it doesn't seem feasible. 7 division games, 1 permanent cross divisional? Then rotate 1 game with the other 7? Dumb. If you're Alabama, it will take 14 years for Georgia to travel to Bryant-Denny. If you go 4 divisions, are you having a 4 team playoff?

But back to the ideal SEC conference. To me UNC/Duke is the ultimate prize. You would become the best basketball conference in the country, you would add two AAU schools, and you would still be contiguous.

Look what happened when the SEC added South Carolina and Arkansas, two schools that bring little or nothing. In my mind, it just extended the brand. It gave the SEC more games to showcase its actual strength and talents. A&M actually brings something to the table, and maybe it isn't that important that 14/14-16 don't just do what Arkansas/South Carolina did.

In my mind it would be worth taking NC State if it meant getting Duke/UNC. Ideally Virginia Tech/Mizzou would bring more eyeballs and expose more regions to the SEC brand, but it would be a price I think Slive should pay if it isn't feasible.

WV adds little to the table in terms of $$$ which is what the SEC is looking for.

Because outside of UNC, we don't want them.

As of now, the only regional "SEC Network" programming I see is the Saturday morning game with SECcentric analysis from an ESPN studio. Is it a given that this format gets wedged in with ACC games in that slot in the NC markets? FWIW, I don't know if the ACC still has the JP games in that slot, or if we (SEC) are already on in that state. I understand that the choice of NC State would be about negotiating with ESPN for more money based on "eyeballs" in NC... I just don't see NC State bringing in that many more "eyeballs" than any of the other schools mentioned.

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I would rather have Louisiana Tech or Southern Miss. than West Virgina.

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Even USL is better than WVU.


For those under 30, USL is now U-La-La.