AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. -- The story of the spring at Clemson was the development of receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who looked like a different player on the field for the Tigers. All you need for proof is what he did in the first quarter of the spring game ...
Here's a look at those who made names for themselves, those who fine-tuned some strengths and those who burst onto the scene this spring in the ACC. WR DeAndre Hopkins, Clemson: Hopkins had seven catches for 120 yards and a touchdown in the Tigers' ...
Here at Your Best 11, we've been mighty hard on Jim Delany and his assault on the SEC, 2011 Alabama to be specific, during the BCS meetings. It must be noted however, that he is not the only one pushing a more selfish agenda when it comes to how the ...
Source: FSUnews.com
Since its origin in 2009, the City of Tallahassee's Gaines Street Rejuvenation Project has been working to bring the area's hidden arts and culture into public view.Source: FSUnews.com
Once a Seminole, always a Seminole-and Seminoles band together to take care of their own.Source: FSUnews.com
Florida voters and political organizers will be facing a more rigid set of regulations in the coming presidential election following the enactment of new voter ID and registration laws many claim will suppress voter participation.Source: FSUnews.com
For many students, May 14 marked the return to school for Summer A and B sessions, as well as another begrudging round of textbook buying.Source: FSUnews.com
Source: Tallahassee Democrat
AMELIA ISLAND — The Florida State-Big 12 saga took another interesting twist Wednesday.
Source: Tallahassee Democrat
AMELIA ISLAND — Though he said it didn't interfere with his conference's spring meetings, which concluded here Wednesday morning, ACC Commissioner John Swofford confirmed Wednesday that he has spoken with Florida State officials about the scuttlebutt regarding the Seminoles considering a move to the Big 12.
Source: Tallahassee Democrat
It's not going to be easy for the Florida State men's golf team this weekend in Norman, Okla.
Source: Tallahassee Democrat
The division has already been decided.
Source: Chantrant by Rich
An update on where we are now and what could happen next, written by our undercover insider.
by Seminole Savant
Is there an offseason in college football anymore? Not at Florida State the past few weeks. Just a refresher of what’s happened in less than 14 days:
• FSU administrators announced that there would be a $2.4 million budget deficit that would need to be covered by a reserve fund.
• The ACC signed an extension to its TV deal with ESPN, which was quickly ridiculed for not being as lucrative as those of the other major conferences (more on this PR mess later).
• Athletic director Randy Spetman pledged FSU’s commitment to the ACC – on Friday.
• The next day, the Board of Trustees chairman Andy Haggard says that FSU should pick up the phone and listen to the Big 12 if they call.
• A few hours later, coach Jimbo Fisher says that FSU needs to do what’s best for FSU.
• And at 11 p.m. on a Saturday, FSU president Eric Barron is forced to e-mail a statement to media pledging the school’s commitment to the ACC.
• But Barron is forced to defend the school’s commitment to FSU on Monday, this time in a strongly-worded defense of the ACC (and often-critical of the Big 12) in a letter to FSU’s faculty.
• On Wednesday, former FSU star and former BOT member Derrick Brooks says he thought that there had been contact between FSU and the Big 12 … contradicting everything that Barron, Spetman and Haggard have already said.
Dizzy? Think there’s been some miscommunication among the leaders at FSU?
FSU fans and alumni have been firing e-mails at the athletics department and Barron for weeks. The overwhelming majority seems to be in favor of a move to the Big 12.
There are two very important issues as it relates to FSU’s situation. In the near term, FSU surely will be a member of the ACC.
But in the long term, FSU needs more than what the ACC is able to provide financially. That may sound contradictory, but it’s the dilemma that is surely facing Barron and those who are advising him.
Issue 1 is that FSU faces a considerable buyout to leave the ACC – in the neighborhood of $20 million. FSU is already $2.4 million in the hole for the 2012-13 athletics season. And despite a $5 million gift from Al Dunlap, the Seminole Boosters are trying to close the gap on the other $10 million for an indoor practice facility.
Seminole Boosters doesn’t have the spare change to pay the ACC. Yes, the Big 12 could give FSU part of the buyout. But that would likely be in the neighborhood of $5 million.
This issue alone is why I strongly believe that FSU is set in the ACC for the near future, which would be at least 3-5 years.
But the long term could be very different.
Issue 2 is the TV deal, and here’s where things get really interesting. The ACC office sold the deal with its best PR spin, claiming that it would send $17 million to each school. That’s about $4 million more than member schools receive now.
Sounds great. But it ain’t.
Bits and pieces of the deal have been leaked to reporters with well-placed sources. Like many of these TV deals, the ACC’s extension is backloaded. So FSU and the other ACC schools will see paltry increases early in the deal.
And even when the ACC gets to the meat of the contract, nearly 10 years from now, this deal is far behind the likes of the other major conferences and light years behind the SEC.
The TV deal is so bad that there is only one way out for the ACC: improve as a football conference and, yes, expand. That’s the only way to re-negotiate a bad TV deal.
Last year, we had all of the FSU-to-the-SEC talk. This year, it’s the Big 12 chatter. Next year, there will be more expansion discussion. And FSU’s name may be brought up again in the conference shake-up.
But odds are FSU will be in the ACC, and will quietly have to argue for schools (Notre Dame? Rutgers?) that enhance the value of the conference’s TV deal.
Source: Florida State Official Site
Top-ranked Florida State returns home to wrap-up its regular season schedule as the Seminoles welcome No. 13 NC State for a three-game series beginning Thursday, May 17 on Mike Martin Field inside Dick Howser Stadium.Source: Chantrant by Rich
An update on where we are now and what could happen next, written by our undercover insider.
by Seminole Savant
Is there an offseason in college football anymore? Not at Florida State the past few weeks. Just a refresher of what’s happened in less than 14 days:
• FSU administrators announced that there would be a $2.4 million budget deficit that would need to be covered by a reserve fund.
• The ACC signed an extension to its TV deal with ESPN, which was quickly ridiculed for not being as lucrative as those of the other major conferences (more on this PR mess later).
• Athletic director Randy Spetman pledged FSU’s commitment to the ACC – on Friday.
• The next day, the Board of Trustees chairman Andy Haggard says that FSU should pick up the phone and listen to the Big 12 if they call.
• A few hours later, coach Jimbo Fisher says that FSU needs to do what’s best for FSU.
• And at 11 p.m. on a Saturday, FSU president Eric Barron is forced to e-mail a statement to media pledging the school’s commitment to the ACC.
• But Barron is forced to defend the school’s commitment to FSU on Monday, this time in a strongly-worded defense of the ACC (and often-critical of the Big 12) in a letter to FSU’s faculty.
• On Wednesday, former FSU star and former BOT member Derrick Brooks says he thought that there had been contact between FSU and the Big 12 … contradicting everything that Barron, Spetman and Haggard have already said.
Dizzy? Think there’s been some miscommunication among the leaders at FSU?
FSU fans and alumni have been firing e-mails at the athletics department and Barron for weeks. The overwhelming majority seems to be in favor of a move to the Big 12.
There are two very important issues as it relates to FSU’s situation. In the near term, FSU surely will be a member of the ACC.
But in the long term, FSU needs more than what the ACC is able to provide financially.
That may sound contradictory, but it’s the dilemma that is surely facing Barron and those who are advising him.
Issue 1 is that FSU faces a considerable buyout to leave the ACC – in the neighborhood of $20 million. FSU is already $2.4 million in the hole for the 2012-13 athletics season. And despite a $5 million gift from Al Dunlap, the Seminole Boosters are trying to close the gap on the other $10 million for an indoor practice facility.
Seminole Boosters doesn’t have the spare change to pay the ACC. Yes, the Big 12 could give FSU part of the buyout. But that would likely be in the neighborhood of $5 million.
This issue alone is why I strongly believe that FSU is set in the ACC for the near future, which would be at least 3-5 years.
But the long term could be very different.
Issue 2 is the TV deal, and here’s where things get really interesting. The ACC office sold the deal with its best PR spin, claiming that it would send $17 million to each school. That’s about $4 million more than member schools receive now.
Sounds great. But it ain’t.
Bits and pieces of the deal have been leaked to reporters with well-placed sources. Like many of these TV deals, the ACC’s extension is backloaded. So FSU and the other ACC schools will see paltry increases early in the deal.
And even when the ACC gets to the meat of the contract, nearly 10 years from now, this deal is far behind the likes of the other major conferences and light years behind the SEC.
The TV deal is so bad that there is only one way out for the ACC: improve as a football conference and, yes, expand. That’s the only way to re-negotiate a bad TV deal.
Last year, we had all of the FSU-to-the-SEC talk. This year, it’s the Big 12 chatter. Next year, there will be more expansion discussion. And FSU’s name may be brought up again in the conference shake-up.
But odds are FSU will be in the ACC, and will quietly have to argue for schools (Notre Dame? Rutgers?) that enhance the value of the conference’s TV deal.
Source: Tomahawk Nation by Matt Minnick
FSU Basketball Signs Another 7 FooterThis kid is a physical freak: 7'1, 290 pounds of muscle, and a 7'8 wingspan. Pretty raw in terms of basketball skill, but you can teach that. Can't teach size.
Source: ACC Football Blog
This is your ticket -- a free ride to each of the best games in the ACC every week. These are the games that -- if you had the money and the time -- you would want to be at this fall. It’s the ultimate ACC road trip. We’ll start today and go week by week in the ACC schedule looking at the can’t-miss game of the week. In reality, my travel schedule unfolds with the season, and the conference race usually dictates where I wind up.Source: Tallahassee Democrat
The Florida State men's basketball team just got even taller. The Seminoles, who have played in four straight NCAA Tournaments, announced the signing of 7-foot-1 center Michael Ojo on Wednesday. Ojo, originally from Nigeria, weighs 290 pounds and averaged 15 points, 14 rebounds and 5 blocks per gameas a senior at Tennessee Temple High School in Chattanooga, Tenn. He is the third foreign-born post player FSU signed for the 2012-13 season, joining 6-foot-8 forward Robert Gilfchrist (England) and 7-foot-3 forward Boris Bojanovsky (Slovak Republic). FSU will also have three guards arrive on campus for the start of the 2012-13 season: Devon Bookert (Anchorage, Alaska), Montay Brandon (High Point, N.C.) and Aaron Smith (Cincinnati). "We are excited about this group of players and the opportunity that each one of them will have to help our team continue to build on the foundation we already have in place," FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. "Michael fits in well with the high-character type of student-athletes already included in this class. We are going to have patience with this group but they will grow as individuals and their progress will be evident quickly." Ojo earned All-American honors from the National Associate of Christian Athletes as a senior at Tennessee Temple. He was also named to the All-Tournament team at the NACA Tournament in 2012. "Michael has been playing basketball for only a few years and is a dedicated, hard-working young man who has a very high basketball ceiling," said Tennessee Temple High school head coach Randy Lee. "While I don't want to place unrealistic expectations on Michael, he is right now physically talented enough to play in the ACC - he only needs time to develop his understanding of the game of basketball. He has the ability to be a good rebounder and has a very imposing presence in the paint with his 7-foot-8 wingspan. Coach Hamilton and his staff not only have a great history of identifying talented post players but they have the patience to help them develop over time. Florida State and Coach Hamilton's system are perfect fits for Michael and he will be a great addition to the Seminole program."
Source: Yahoo! NCAAF
ACC commissioner John Swofford isn't going to indulge in speculation of Florida State leaving the ACC for the Big 12. Instead, he said he believes FSU and the conference have a good working relationship and he doesn't expect that to change any time soon. "I don't deal in hypotheticals, I deal with what's tangible," Swofford told media Wednesday during the ACC spring meetings in Amelia Island, Fla. "It's what we're doing as a league with the current 12, soon to be 14 membership league, and we're moving ahead on the basis of that full membership." Rumors of Florida State's defection to the Big 12 have been rampant for the past week ever since Chip Brown of Orangebloods.com, laid out the reasons why a move would be beneficial for the Seminoles . Since then, everyone from Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher to members of the board of trustees has weighed in on the move . Wednesday, former linebacker Derrick Brooks told the Tim Brando Show that the Big 12 had reached out to Florida State and not the other way around. "From my understanding, it is the Big 12, you know, wanting to talk to us," Brooks said. "Again that's from my understanding; that appears to be the case." However, Texas athletics director DeLoss Dodds, a member of the Big 12's four-man expansion committee, told the Austin American-Statesman earlier this week "there's no traction" in regards to Florida State joining the Big 12 . "They're a long ways away," Dodds said of Florida State. "There've been no conversations between Florida State and the Big 12." New Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby, who officially takes over on June 15, told USA Today he thought conference expansion would be on the agenda of future conference meetings, but declined to specifically talk Florida State. "Conference realignment will continue to be an issue and one we all have to be vigilant about," Bowlsby told USA Today . "I think the topic of expansion will be on every agenda going forward. But it's on every other conference's agenda going forward, too." - - - "Like" Dr. Saturday on Facebook for football conversations and stuff you won't see on the blog. And follow Dr. Saturday at its new home on Twitter: @YahooDrSaturdaySource: The Tampa Tribune
Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner John Swofford said Wednesday that the possibility of Florida State leaving the league was not brought up "in any formal way" during this week's meetings.Source: Florida State Official Site
Michael Ojo, who earned All-American honors at the National Association of Christian Athletes Tournament in 2012, has signed to attend Florida State University and play basketball for head coach Leonard Hamilton.Source: Florida State Official Site
The breakdown of FSU football players in each class continues as Seminoles.com's Brandon Mellor takes a look at the 19 scholarship juniors entering the 2012 season.Source: Florida State Official Site
The breakdown of FSU football players in each class continues as Seminoles.com's Brandon Mellor takes a look at the 19 scholarship juniors entering the 2012 season.
Source: Bleacher Report NCAAF
And so the dynasty continues!
To test the mettle of how a strong the Florida State Seminoles would play in the fall, I used the best predictor possible—the past. How does FSU plays in big games? Do they fold early like they did against Oklahoma in 2010? Or do they duke it out to the end like the Oklahoma game last year?
EA Sports' NCAA Football 12 utilizes a different football season, but expectations for ACC teams are always low in both the real and virtual world. Since I have to play all these games, it took me longer than expected to complete them.
We can't ever truly predict the future, but at least until fall, it's fun to play pretend.
Let's see how the Seminoles do!
Source: ACC Football Blog
AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. -- ACC commissioner John Swofford weighed in Wednesday on the two hottest topics confronting his league during its annual spring meetings. Florida State and the BCS. Swofford said he has had positive talks with Florida State and reiterated: "It has been and I would anticipate that it will continue to be a very beneficial relationship to both parties, which is what it should be." Whether or not Florida State has a wandering eye toward the Big 12 has dominated recent speculation.Source: Chantrant by Rich
Listen to Derrick Brooks throw some new fuel on the fire, telling Tim Brando that he believes the Big 12 is the one initiating talks with FSU. He also adds a new twist to the story, saying he believes that FSU President Eric Barron would go along with the decision of the school's Board of Trustees. As a former BOT member, who recently stepped down, Brooks certainly has an inside perspective on the matter.
Source: Chantrant by Rich
Listen to Derrick Brooks throw some new fuel on the fire, telling Tim Brando that he believes the Big 12 is the one initiating talks with FSU. He also adds a new twist to the story, saying he believes that FSU President Eric Barron would go along with the decision of the school's Board of Trustees. As a former BOT member, who recently stepped down, Brooks certainly has an inside perspective on the matter.
Source: Yahoo! NCAAF
Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner John Swofford says the possibility of Florida State leaving the league was not brought up during this week's meetings.Source: ACC Football Blog
I’m stealing a page from the Pac-12 playbook and taking a look at the single most important game on the schedule this year for each ACC school. Just how meaningful these games are will obviously change as the season unfolds, but in looking at the schedules and knowing what we do right now, these are the games that will reveal the most or have the biggest impact on the 2012 ACC race. We’ll go in alphabetical order, starting today with Boston College: Most important game: Sept.Source: Tallahassee Democrat
As the Florida State-Big 12 rumors continue to sizzle, ACC Commissioner John Swofford makes his first comments about the saga on Wednesday.
Source: Chopping Block by Coley Harvey
Former Florida State linebacker and former board of trustees member Derrick Brooks in a radio interview Wednesday said the Seminoles were approached by the Big 12; not the other way around. (Getty Images)
If you thought that the Florida State-to-Big-12 rumors were beginning to die down, think again.
This thing just got a whole new life.
**UPDATE, 12:01 p.m. If you follow me on Twitter (if not, you should @os_coleyharvey), you just saw where we found out FSU athletics director Randy Spetman’s thoughts on Derrick Brooks’ comments (that you’ll read down below). Here’s what Spetman said to the reporters at the Amelia Island Ritz-Carlton just as he was leaving the ACC meetings:
“I don’t know where Derrick got that.”
Full disclosure, I had to leave the meetings late last night to attend to some other things. That quote comes from my Orlando Sentinel colleague Matt Murschel, who is there for the final day of the meetings.
***
During an appearance on the Tim Brando Radio Show on Wednesday morning, former FSU linebacker and former board of trustees member Derrick Brooks chimed in with his insight on the potential conference switch. Apparently, contrary to common belief, it appears that the Big 12 reached to FSU. Not the other way around, Brooks said.
“From our understanding, it is the Big 12 wanting to talk to us,” Brooks said. “Again, that is from my understanding that that appears to be the case.”
Brooks ended his time as a trustee last summer.
Reiterating the point that talks have apparently been going on for a while, Brooks added “this is nothing new.”
All this week, FSU officials have spoken about a public desire to stay in the ACC and to continue to call the conference their home. In the very same breath, however, they have been quick to say that it is at least worth exploring their options and seeing if anything else exists on the horizon beyond the ACC.
For now, that means searching out the Big 12.
“It’s no doubt that we’re going to listen,” Brooks said. “It’s no harm in listening to what the pitch is. From our president’s standpoint, he was just attempting to put things out there from his perspective. ‘These are the pros as I see it, and these are the cons as I see it.’
“Hopefully by the Big 12 courting us, it gives the ACC that much more credibility.”
Here’s FSU president Eric Barron’s email that he sent to fans and boosters Monday, affirming his commitment to the ACC and to being desirous of making a well-thought out and balanced decision.
Here also are Brooks’ comments on the radio show, in their entirety.
Near the end of his interview, Brooks added that he didn’t want to make it seem as if FSU’s potential switch from the ACC to the Big 12 was about one sport (football).
“That’s unfair,” Brooks said.
The decision the board of trustees, FSU president Eric Barron and athletics director Randy Spetman face is a multi-pronged one, Brooks said.
Brooks’ comments came one day after new Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby told the USA Today that he believed the conversation of conference realignment would be placed on his conference’s upcoming agendas. He said that the such conversations should be on every conference’s agenda now.
“Conference realignment will continue to be an issue and one we all have to be vigilant about,” Bowlsby said, without mentioning anything about FSU.
Bowlsby officially takes over in his new post June 15.
Below is a video embed of the Brooks interview on the Tim Brando Show from earlier. This comes from the CBS Sports Network:
Source: Tallahassee Democrat
The Florida State-Big 12 saga took another interesting twist Wednesday. Former Seminoles football star and former university Board of Trustees member Derrick Brooks said on national radio that the Big 12 Conference "reached out" to FSU, not the other way around. Brooks was speaking on the Tim Brando show when he made the comments. FSU and Big 12 officials have both denied any contact has taken place. Check back with NoleSports.com for more on this story.
Source: ACC Football Blog
How many more days 'til kickoff?? Florida State and Miami only have themselves to blame for the ACC's image problem. Georgia Tech lured a running back into its 2013 recruiting class. One ESPN executive provided some background on the ACC's latest TV contract. You can expect ACC commish John Swofford to try to portray the deal in a better light today. Former Miami coach Jimmy Johnson has earned his place in the Hall of Fame. Mike Bellamy's career at Clemson has come to a close.Source: Chopping Block by Coley Harvey
Former Florida State linebacker and former board of trustees member Derrick Brooks in a radio interview Wednesday said the Seminoles were approached by the Big 12; not the other way around. (Getty Images)
If you thought that the Florida State-to-Big-12 rumors were beginning to die down, think again.
This thing just got a whole new life.
During an appearance on the Tim Brando Radio Show on Wednesday morning, former FSU linebacker and former board of trustees member Derrick Brooks chimed in with his insight on the potential conference switch. Apparently, contrary to common belief, it appears that the Big 12 reached to FSU. Not the other way around, Brooks said.
“From our understanding, it is the Big 12 wanting to talk to us,” Brooks said. “Again, that is from my understanding that that appears to be the case.”
Brooks ended his time as a trustee last summer.
Reiterating the point that talks have apparently been going on for a while, Brooks added “this is nothing new.”
All this week, FSU officials have spoken about a public desire to stay in the ACC and to continue to call the conference their home. In the very same breath, however, they have been quick to say that it is at least worth exploring their options and seeing if anything else exists on the horizon beyond the ACC.
For now, that means searching out the Big 12.
“It’s no doubt that we’re going to listen,” Brooks said. “It’s no harm in listening to what the pitch is. From our president’s standpoint, he was just attempting to put things out there from his perspective. ‘These are the pros as I see it, and these are the cons as I see it.’
“Hopefully by the Big 12 courting us, it gives the ACC that much more credibility.”
Here’s FSU president Eric Barron’s email that he sent to fans and boosters Monday, affirming his commitment to the ACC and to being desirous of making a well-thought out and balanced decision.
Here also are Brooks’ comments on the radio, in their entirety.
Near the end of his interview, Brooks added that he didn’t want to make it seem as if FSU’s potential switch from the ACC to the Big 12 was about one sport (football).
“That’s unfair,” Brooks said.
The decision the board of trustees, FSU president Eric Barron and athletics director Randy Spetman face is a multi-pronged one, Brooks said.
Brooks’ comments came one day after new Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby told the USA Today that he believed the conversation of conference realignment would be placed on his conference’s upcoming agendas. He said that the such conversations should be on every conference’s agenda now.
“Conference realignment will continue to be an issue and one we all have to be vigilant about,” Bowlsby said, without mentioning anything about FSU.
Bowlsby officially takes over in his new post June 15.
Check back for more.
Source: Chopping Block by Coley Harvey
Former Florida State linebacker and former board of trustees member Derrick Brooks in a radio interview Wednesday said the Seminoles were approached by the Big 12; not the other way around. (Getty Images)
If you thought that the Florida State-to-Big-12 rumors were beginning to die down, think again.
This thing just got a whole new life.
During an appearance on the Tim Brando Radio Show on Wednesday morning, former FSU linebacker and former board of trustees member Derrick Brooks chimed in with his insight on the potential conference switch. Apparently, contrary to common belief, it appears that the Big 12 reached to FSU. Not the other way around, Brooks said.
“From our understanding, this is the Big 12 reaching out to us,” Brooks said, per a tweet from The Tim Brando Show.
Here are Brooks’ comments on the radio, in their entirety.
Near the end of his interview, Brooks added that he didn’t want to make it seem as if FSU’s potential switch from the ACC to the Big 12 was about one sport (football).
“That’s unfair,” Brooks said.
The decision the board of trustees, FSU president Eric Barron and athletics director Randy Spetman face is a multi-pronged one, Brooks said.
Check back for more.
Source: Tomahawk Nation by Bud Elliott
Derrick Brooks, a former Florida State linebacker, eventual NFL Hall Of Famer, and former Florida State trustee said today on Yahoo! sports radio with Tim Brando that as far as he knows, the Big XII actually approached Florida State, and not the other way around. That is contrary to the popular belief of many fans. Here is the tweet by one of the radio show's producers, who also promised to have the audio clip available soon.
Derrick Brooks on The @TimBrando Show said that as far as he knows the Big 12 reached
Source: The Tampa Tribune
Just when you thought it was safe to go back in your conference …
Source: Bleacher Report NCAAF
Murray State and Savannah State will be blowouts (my guess is Vegas will make it +40), and the rest of FSU's schedule should have some blowouts.
But to test the mettle of how a strong FSU team would play in the Fall, I used the best predictor possible--the past. How FSU plays in big games. Do they fold early, like they did against Oklahoma in 2010? Or do they duke it out to the end, like the Oklahoma game last year?
NCAA Football 12 utilizes a different football season, but expectations for ACC teams are always low in both the real and virtual world. Since I have to play all these games, I will get you the second half of the 2012 Seminoles tomorrow.
We can't ever truly predict the future, but at least until Fall it's fun to play pretend.
Let's see how the Seminoles do!
Source: Chopping Block by Coley Harvey
Many of you probably saw this in some form or fashion Tuesday afternoon. But in case you missed it, linked down below is a statement released by ESPN’s senior vice president of college sports programming, Burke Mangus. The hope of the statement was to challenge a few of the misconceptions about the television deal the broadcasting giant reached with the ACC last week, and to quell any confusion about it.
The only problem, some of you have already pointed out, is that the statement doesn’t contain the detailed numbers that may make the explanation even easier. Numbers like, oh, what the specific schools will actually be making year-by-year over the course of the next 15 years?
The thing is, we shouldn’t be surprised that those numbers weren’t there. Neither the ACC nor ESPN will put out figures like that when they involve private institutions (like Miami). And since the deal was struck as a conference-wide deal, wouldn’t hold my breath on a school-by-school breakdown being provided, either.
What the statement does do, though, is help better paint the picture about the backloaded or, as Mangus calls it, “escalating” rights payment schedule. It also tried to better define the third-tier rights portion of the television deal debate that still has many confused. The third-tier portions the ACC and ESPN agreed upon do cover both football and men’s basketball, unlike what has, at times, been said by some during this realignment ordeal.
For the past week-and-a-half, Florida State has been a hot topic of conversation with respect to conference realignment. The Big 12 has been rumored to be a destination spot where the current ACC program has been trying to land.
To check out Mangus’ full statement, go here.
Source: ACC Football Blog
AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. -- The topic of what the ACC has to do to improve its football image has been rehashed over and over, particularly after its BCS bowl losses. But that did not stop Clemson coach Dabo Swinney from weighing in on the topic during the ACC spring meetings. Swinney came to his league's defense after a reporter wondered how he dealt with the perception that the ACC was not a football conference. Then he gave his own twist on what the future looks like in this league, predicting that a national champion would eventually emerge.Source: Bleacher Report NCAAF
Yesterday, after DeLoss Dodds spoke out about Florida State and Big 12 expansion, we reminded people that new commissioner, Bob Bowlsby, was truly needed in the conference. Now, just a day later, Bowlsby is making his presence felt as he declined to comment on FSU but did speak to the expansion race as a whole. Bowlsby understands that realignment and shifting of the conference landscape is going to be a legitimate concern:
"I think the topic of expansion will be on every agenda going forward. But it's on every other conference's agenda going forward, too."
However, the man who has been the athletic director at Stanford since 2006 also understands the uncharted waters that he is currently wading into in the Big 12. Florida State is pressing the issue but wisely, Bowlsby is trying to buy some time before his new conference acts.
"My opinion," he told USA TODAY Sports on Tuesday, "is college athletics would be well served by some period of smooth water and not all of the angst and disorganization that goes with moves from one league to another."
The man is proving his worth here. Proving why he was the right guy for the job as he is prudent in his actions and makes quite the statement with respect to needing a little calm on the landscape.
Make no mistake, Bowlsby is not making a play to the nostalgic college football fan who wishes all of the realignment should stop. No, Bowlsby is doing his job when it comes to assessing the pressing needs of his new league.
As a league the Big 12 has undergone reconstruction two seasons in a row. Losing Nebraska and Colorado after 2010 was a tremendous blow that saw the league re-make itself into a ten team conference that was able to survive. After 2011 the league lost Texas A&M and Missouri, while gaining TCU and West Virginia as replacements.
The conference needs a break.
Not a break as in a respite. No, a break as in a chance to take a step back and assess their current position. The Big 12 has never operated with TCU and West Virginia. While on the field people are expecting both TCU and WVU to make things work relatively seamlessly, expansion is about viewership and bottom lines.
Bowlsby, and the conference, needs some time to figure out their current valuation and if they truly need to add teams in order to improve their standing in the conference pecking order. As Bowlsby puts it:
"It's all about driving value for the member institutions," Bowlsby said. "There is a case to be made for optimal value being driven by the status quo, and there is a case to be made for some form of expansion. And I'm not prejudging or adopting either side of that right now."
He's making the smart play here by not appealing to pause expansion for the sake of pausing it. The conference needs time to look at what it has, what will benefit it the most in the long run and then it can make the next move.
The Big 12 needs to see how much real value, in terms of eyeballs and on-field productions, the Horned Frogs and Mountaineers bring to the league.
With the new postseason coming, will it behoove them to add an additional game? Is their league better served getting the cash from the championship game or giving their teams a better playoff shot in order to rake in the big payday?
Big questions like that warrant a pause. Bolwsby is most certainly on top of his game.
Read more Florida State Football news on BleacherReport.com
Source: Tomahawk Nation by onebarrelrum
Oh the good ol' internets. Where bloggers can have disagreements via twitter over athletic budgetary data compiled by a 3rd party. David Wunderlich, of TeamSpeedKills.com (follow him @year2 and check out his piece on college revenues and profits), posited via twitter yesterday that, based on the USA Today story, FSU athletics were $16 million 'in the hole' or 'in the red.' This prompted me to say, based on the numbers in the story, "nuh uh, FSU over spent by 500k, strike that, over spent by 800K + last year, you are adding the numbers wrong, I'm adding them correctly, come at me bro." In the end, both of us were wrong. Though I'm not sure he is willing to say he agrees with this statement, I hope this article goes a ways in convincing
Source: Tomahawk Nation by Bud Elliott
BH: Big 12 Shouldn't Let Seminoles Slip Through Its FingersAllen Kenney makes some good points.
Source: Tomahawk Nation by jfsu
In light of Bud's excellent discussion about fan travel yesterday, I wanted to add some numbers to the discussion. Some points to be discussed/challenged/investigated/confirmed/refuted are:
A) If FSU moved to the Big 12, it would be more expensive for the average fan (non-student) to travel to away games
2) It would be more expensive/difficult for students to travel to away games
D) The most expensive destinations would likely not be in FSU's division, so fans would only have to travel there for away games about twice in a decade
Lubbock) The most ideal situation for anyone
Source: ACC Football Blog
AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. -- Nothing ratchets up expectations like winning. So it goes that much more is expected out of Virginia coming off a surprising 8-5 season and appearance in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl. Coaches always say it is more difficult maintaining success than rebuilding from the bottom up, so this upcoming season will be a huge test for coach Mike London. "Expectations are always at a point where you want to do well," London said at the ACC spring meetings.Source: The Tampa Tribune
Just when you thought it was safe to go back in your conference …
Source: ACC Football Blog
Three strikes and Clemson running back Mike Bellamy is out. After a short career that was spent mainly in coach Dabo Swinney's doghouse, Bellamy has been ruled academically ineligible and won't return this fall. This is yet another off-field blow for the Tigers, who recently learned that star receiver Sammy Watkins was arrested earlier this month for possession of marijuana and a controlled substance. So far, Swinney hasn't announced any punishment for Watkins, but he has said there will be one.Source: Tallahassee Democrat
USA Today's special report on Tuesday examining spending and revenue for NCAA Division I athletic departments did not reveal any deep, dark secrets concerning Florida State's unsettling financial predicament.
Source: Tallahassee Democrat
Major-college athletics departments increased the amount of money they generate by nearly $190 million in 2011, but they increased their spending by more than $267 million, a USA Today Sports analysis finds.
Source: Tallahassee Democrat
AMELIA ISLAND — One of the hallmarks of the Atlantic Coast Conference is that it traditionally operates with a more genteel approach than some of its more brash brethren in college athletics.
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