The Athletic: Vanderbilt left behind? It’s unthinkable, except it’s college football

[swagdog]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Actually, the television executive told me, it won’t be the SEC asking Vanderbilt and Mississippi State to leave. The Big Ten won’t try to give Northwestern and Rutgers an “It’s not you, it’s me” speech.

More likely, he said — and this is someone who has been involved in talks that have influenced the direction of college football — those conferences will just be abandoned for something new.

Vanderbilt left behind? It's unthinkable, even for college football

As college football evolves, the thought of being abandoned by TV and big-brand teams is hard to process. Just remember: SEC charter member.

theathletic.com

Goes on to speculate about us getting booted out in the Super League.

Need to put our top 40 athletic budget to work now building sustainable architecture for a future after conferences, otherwise I think we're gonna get Charlie Brown'd.

 

[POTUS]

B-b-b-b-but wE'rE cHaRTeR MembERz!!!!!

 

[HuskyBDawg]

So, he's implying that we would get to play Vanderbilt every year?

 

[johnson86-1]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Actually, the television executive told me, it won’t be the SEC asking Vanderbilt and Mississippi State to leave. The Big Ten won’t try to give Northwestern and Rutgers an “It’s not you, it’s me” speech.

More likely, he said — and this is someone who has been involved in talks that have influenced the direction of college football — those conferences will just be abandoned for something new.

Vanderbilt left behind? It's unthinkable, even for college football

As college football evolves, the thought of being abandoned by TV and big-brand teams is hard to process. Just remember: SEC charter member.

theathletic.com

Goes on to speculate about us getting booted out in the Super League.

Need to put our top 40 athletic budget to work now building sustainable architecture for a future after conferences, otherwise I think we're gonna get Charlie Brown'd.

You don't have to be connected to anybody to see this. If they push further for a super conference, there's no way both Ole Miss and MSU make it unless they just want to make sure they have enough smaller market teams for the blue bloods to maintain healthy winning percentages. Looking at it disinterestedly, if I were part of putting a super conference together I would make Ole Miss and MSU do a reverse auction against each other bidding down the percent of revenue they will take to be included. I'd do the same thing to South Carolina and Clemson. Maybe even Louisville and UK. Only limiting factor is you don't want to piss off enough senators that you generate federal legislation and you don't want to leave enough decent name schools to generate a viable alternative. If you have a league with MSU or Ole Miss, CLemson or USCe, CFU, USF, Cincinnati, Memphis, Texas Tech, NC St., etc, that could end up over time meaningfully eating into your viewership/fandom.

 

[She Mate Me]

If they get too arrogant, they're going to kill the goose with all the golden eggs.

My "give a ****" is waning and I know I'm not alone.

 

[The Cooterpoot]

The only way we won't remain in the SEC is if the SEC no longer exists.

 

[Death Rattle]

So, he's implying that we would get to play Vanderbilt every year?

The SEC and its remaining members would have to add new teams to fill spots left vacant by schools that left for a super conference, similar to what the BIG 12 just went through.

 

[Death Rattle]

If they get too arrogant, they're going to kill the goose with all the golden eggs.

My "give a ****" is waning and I know I'm not alone.

I agree. This seems like a greedy way to kill interest in college football. Kick us to the curb and I won’t give a **** about you anymore, meaning I won’t be watching leagues that I’m not a part of.

 

[Negative Waves]

This is where our lack of marketing has gotten us. We've been competitive in SEC football for the last 13 years, yet our name is still thought of as the bottom of the barrel in the SEC due to our past. Our fanbase is as large as Ole Miss, yet it is us that is mentioned rather than them. Honestly, I agree with She Mate Me. My interest in college football is waning, and if they proceed to an elite league without us, I won't be watching. They're going to end up like NASCAR, stadiums full of empty seats and few eyeballs watching the tv broadcast.

 

[Drebin]

This is where our lack of marketing has gotten us. We've been competitive in SEC football for the last 13 years, yet our name is still thought of as the bottom of the barrel in the SEC due to our past. Our fanbase is as large as Ole Miss, yet it is us that is mentioned rather than them. Honestly, I agree with She Mate Me. My interest in college football is waning, and if they proceed to an elite league without us, I won't be watching. They're going to end up like NASCAR, stadiums full of empty seats and few eyeballs watching the tv broadcast.

It's more than marketing. We've got to spend more. We wear the "we do more with less" badge too proudly, but the reality is we need to change our approach.

 

[Dawgg]

The SEC and its remaining members would have to add new teams to fill spots left vacant by schools that left for a super conference, similar to what the BIG 12 just went through.

Southern Miss and Memphis reading this:

 

[Duke Humphrey]

This is where our lack of marketing has gotten us. We've been competitive in SEC football for the last 13 years, yet our name is still thought of as the bottom of the barrel in the SEC due to our past. Our fanbase is as large as Ole Miss, yet it is us that is mentioned rather than them. Honestly, I agree with She Mate Me. My interest in college football is waning, and if they proceed to an elite league without us, I won't be watching. They're going to end up like NASCAR, stadiums full of empty seats and few eyeballs watching the tv broadcast.

Ive seen this type of article written about a half dozen times in the last month or so, and if we dont make it, UM isnt either.

 

[MSUDC11-2.0]

If they get too arrogant, they're going to kill the goose with all the golden eggs.

My "give a ****" is waning and I know I'm not alone.

I will support MSU forever because I don’t know any other way, but I hate the direction things are going nationally.

People are going to stop caring about a watered down NFL wannabe when they can free up their Saturdays and just watch the actual NFL on Sundays instead.

 

[Dawgg]

They're going to end up like NASCAR, stadiums full of empty seats and few eyeballs watching the tv broadcast.

Ryan McGee alluded to this in an interview or an article that I can't find. He basically likened the shift in college football to the shift in NASCAR chasing after national and mainstream significance that it changed so much, it alienated its core fanbase and that led to its current implosion.

I've never really watched or followed NASCAR outside of just sidewalk/cultural knowledge, so I don't know anything about it, but his description of events sounded eerily familiar.

 

[Dawgg]

I will support MSU forever because I don’t know any other way, but I hate the direction things are going nationally.

That's where I am. Even if this happens and State is left behind and the games stop being nationally televised, I'll still watch the games we play against UAB, North Texas, and MTSU on, I dunno, YouTube Red or HailStatePlus or whatever and/or listen to the games on some radio app/website. If we stop adding suites to the stadium and reduce ticket prices to something resembling the Sun Belt, well that wouldn't be the worst thing either.

 

[RockyDog]

The SEC and its remaining members would have to add new teams to fill spots left vacant by schools that left for a super conference, similar to what the BIG 12 just went through.

I’m not paying to read an article but I would imagine what the article entails is that the SEC and Big Ten would no longer exist and the powers would move on to a super conference leaving us behind.

We would then be forced to develop a mid tier super conference with what’s left.
We aren’t filling DWS to watch MSU compete in the Sun Belt or CUSA.

 

[GloryDawg]

I don't pay any attention to these media hack clowns. The same dumbasses who pick us last in the West every year. The same ones who say we are going to have a losing season every year. They don't know ****. I am not even going to give them a click.

 

[8dog]

Ive seen this type of article written about a half dozen times in the last month or so, and if we dont make it, UM isnt either.

Most of this chatter also glosses over the fact that the PAC 12 did this to themselves.

 

[MississippiTexan]

I watch D1 football because Mississippi State plays in that division. I watch the SEC the most because it's our conference but I will watch pretty much any D1 game if State isn't playing and there isn't a good SEC game on. If we somehow got left out of a top 40 super league, I simply wouldn't watch that super league. I'd just watch whatever league Mississippi State played in, as would would 98% of the fans of the other 90 D1 schools left out.

Heck, it might even be even more fun to watch because State would immediately become championship contenders in that left behind league.

 

[pseudonym]

I don't pay for the Athletic, so I didn't read the article. However, before making a case for Vanderbilt/Mississippi schools being left out, what is the scenario in which the SEC disbands? That would have to happen for this to become an issue, which seems like a remote possibility. Not only is the SEC king, the SEC will be even stronger when the dust settles, and the SEC holds a lot of cards. It seems to me that the SEC would have to lose position in the college football landscape before Alabama, Georgia, etc. decide to leave the SEC to form something new.

Can someone steel man the argument that the SEC would disband to form something new?

 

[peewee.sixpack]

I've never really watched or followed NASCAR outside of just sidewalk/cultural knowledge, so I don't know anything about it, but his description of events sounded eerily familiar.

NASCAR alienated it's fanbase to "Grow the Sport" and they absolutely killed the sport wanting to be elitist. I bet I used to go to 6-8 races a year. It was a great way to have quick weekend get away that was affordable. I bet I haven't been to a race in 15 years now. I used to have season tickets to Daytona Pepsi 400 and Talladega. The good thing was State sucked at football during much of this period I was really in tuned into NASCAR. I could honestly see myself shift from State sports if we became essentially a sunbelt team. I am already loosing interest with the NIL. I know many that are about to the point of saying screw it and focus on other hobbies. For me that would mean more weekends in a tree or wetland chasing critters.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

This won't happen for a long, long time. Non-issue for us for the foreseeable future.

Obviously we should always be trying to get better and build.

 

[IBleedMaroonDawg]

The PR would be terrible if they dropped teams to make a super league. They might not think they would care initially, but they would collectively ostracize many fans and viewers.

If it doesn't matter if they come off of the entitled pricks, they will do it eventually if TV hangs a big enough carrot in front of their face.

 

[Hail State]

I’m not saying I’d be in favor of this, but if they’re dead set on destroying college football why not just do away with conferences all together and negotiate individually with each school? The networks would save a lot of money that way.

 

[greenbean.sixpack]

This is where our lack of marketing has gotten us. We've been competitive in SEC football for the last 13 years, yet our name is still thought of as the bottom of the barrel in the SEC due to our past. Our fanbase is as large as Ole Miss, yet it is us that is mentioned rather than them. Honestly, I agree with She Mate Me. My interest in college football is waning, and if they proceed to an elite league without us, I won't be watching. They're going to end up like NASCAR, stadiums full of empty seats and few eyeballs watching the tv broadcast.

Concur.

Although I do believe this is all click bait stuff and no current SEC team is getting booted, but Ole Miss "out markets" us by a thousand times and has for decades.

If i were Keenum I'd hire a ton of student writers and pay them minimum wage to pump out fluff prices about Starkville and MSU. There are tons of websites, like Outkick, that are looking for free filler. It would give the student a credited article too.

I bet TV exces understand that fan bases like MSU, Kan State, Rutgers, etc., draw eyeballs every Saturday and cutting these fanbases out would hurt overall viewership. As long as the SEC and the Big 10 (20 or whatever its called) remain strong and together, we aren't going anywhere. There's plenty of room and TV time to have 60 or more big time football programs.

 

[mcdawg22]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Actually, the television executive told me, it won’t be the SEC asking Vanderbilt and Mississippi State to leave. The Big Ten won’t try to give Northwestern and Rutgers an “It’s not you, it’s me” speech.

More likely, he said — and this is someone who has been involved in talks that have influenced the direction of college football — those conferences will just be abandoned for something new.

Vanderbilt left behind? It's unthinkable, even for college football

As college football evolves, the thought of being abandoned by TV and big-brand teams is hard to process. Just remember: SEC charter member.

theathletic.com

Goes on to speculate about us getting booted out in the Super League.

Need to put our top 40 athletic budget to work now building sustainable architecture for a future after conferences, otherwise I think we're gonna get Charlie Brown'd.

Wonder who he works for? ESPN, the same company that has been making decisions for the last 10 years that has seen them having to let go of some of their most talented people let go. In the same timeframe the leadership of the SEC has seen dominance both financially and athletically. I think the TV market model is overrated and falling by the wayside. USC has a bigger metro population than the current 14 SEC school cities combined yet the PAC-10 has a garbage TV deal. I’m sure USC games get better ratings than us, but I’m curious how many USC “fans” would buy an ESPN streaming service to watch their games. A lot of the 2 million Mississippians will.

 

[L4Dawg]

I will support MSU forever because I don’t know any other way, but I hate the direction things are going nationally.

People are going to stop caring about a watered down NFL wannabe when they can free up their Saturdays and just watch the actual NFL on Sundays instead.

I've always liked college football better because it was DIFFERENT from the NFL. I don't watch the NFL much at all. It's rapidly becoming the NFL light. I could see myself not caring or watching if it continues to head down the road it's on.

 

[fredgarvin]

If this were to happen, would we ...

1) Accept our relegation or
2) Consider combining athletic programs with Ole Miss to stay in the Super Conference?

 

[L4Dawg]

Most of this chatter also glosses over the fact that the PAC 12 did this to themselves.

The PAC absolutely did it to themselves. Their last two commissioners were absolutely TERRIBLE. Their university presidents are too, when it comes to athletics. The biggest thing was they absolutely BOTCHED the PAC 12 network. The way that was structured was horrendous.

 

[L4Dawg]

Wonder who he works for? ESPN, the same company that has been making decisions for the last 10 years that has seen them having to let go of some of their most talented people let go. In the same timeframe the leadership of the SEC has seen dominance both financially and athletically. I think the TV market model is overrated and falling by the wayside. USC has a bigger metro population than the current 14 SEC school cities combined yet the PAC-10 has a garbage TV deal. I’m sure USC games get better ratings than us, but I’m curious how many USC “fans” would buy an ESPN streaming service to watch their games. A lot of the 2 million Mississippians will.

Actually, it was the PAC thinking that the TV market model was dead is THE main reason they died. The bet big on streaming, and lost.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

Concur.

Although I do believe this is all click bait stuff and no current SEC team is getting booted, but Ole Miss "out markets" us by a thousand times and has for decades.

If i were Keenum I'd hire a ton of student writers and pay them minimum wage to pump out fluff prices about Starkville and MSU. There are tons of websites, like Outkick, that are looking for free filler. It would give the student a credited article too.

I bet TV exces understand that fan bases like MSU, Kan State, Rutgers, etc., draw eyeballs every Saturday and cutting these fanbases out would hurt overall viewership. As long as the SEC and the Big 10 (20 or whatever its called) remain strong and together, we aren't going anywhere. There's plenty of room and TV time to have 60 or more big time football programs.

Instead of being so GD negative, why not enjoy the fact that we made an incredible decision back in the day to help form the SEC, and due to that, we can enjoy some good fortune?

 

[Maroon13]

The way I could imagine the SEC falling apart...

The Big10 out maneuvers the SEC in acquiring national brands all across the nation. The Big 10 obtains a tv deal that pays them well beyond what the sec can offers its members. The Big 10 then poached an SEC school.... dominoes start to fall.

Or .... at some point... TV and individual schools start negotiating outside their conferences. The big $ schools come together to form a new conference.

I really think one of those two scenarios will happen eventually.

 

[mcdawg22]

I agree. This seems like a greedy way to kill interest in college football. Kick us to the curb and I won’t give a **** about you anymore, meaning I won’t be watching leagues that I’m not a part of.

I don’t think college football can glom a lot of casual sports fans to drive revenue up. In my experiences, meeting casual CFB fans, they love the pageantry, tradition, and school rivalries. Turning it into the NFL scholastic league is not going to build the sport. On the flip side losing your State and Iowa’s of the sport is going to significantly drive down interest in those games. In this new super conference model, all the games for all the schools are going to be televised or streamed like they are now right? Do they think the net gain of viewership with the super conference is going to offset the net loss of viewership for the other 30 teams?

 

[greenbean.sixpack]

Instead of being so GD negative, why not enjoy the fact that we made an incredible decision back in the day to help form the SEC, and due to that, we can enjoy some good fortune?

Me thinks you may have replied to the wrong post?

We are 100% staying in the SEC, the above referenced article is just click bait, like the many articles about FSU leaving the ACC. Don't fall for them and certainly don't click on them as that's what they want and need to make money.

 

[Baddog11]

I do wonder if he had the chance to see Missouri football’s end zone seats.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

Me thinks you may have replied to the wrong post?

We are 100% staying in the SEC, the above referenced article is just click bait, like the many articles about FSU leaving the ACC. Don't fall for them and certainly don't click on them as that's what they want and need to make money.

Probably more meant for @Negative Waves, but since you replied and agreed, just hooked onto that one.

 

[greenbean.sixpack]

The big $ schools come together to form a new conference.

Don't we pretty much have this with the SEC and Big 10? About the only big brands not under these two shields are Stanford, FSU, Miami, Clempson, UNC and Virginia. ND ("the" university for a very large religious sect) already has its own network, so there are probably happy.

 

[aTotal360]

Ryan McGee alluded to this in an interview or an article that I can't find. He basically likened the shift in college football to the shift in NASCAR chasing after national and mainstream significance that it changed so much, it alienated its core fanbase and that led to its current implosion.

I've never really watched or followed NASCAR outside of just sidewalk/cultural knowledge, so I don't know anything about it, but his description of events sounded eerily familiar.

The Car of Tomorrow (coupled with Jimmy Johnson's run) ruined NASCAR. Once they standardized all the cars, it took out all the wild variability that made NASCAR awesome. Back in the day, it was almost like March Madness. Upsets would happen and it was awesome. Now, it's the same 6 drivers every week.

 

[615dawg]

I may be a dumbass, but I am a dumbass that can read tea leaves. Its coming. This is our last decade of playing at the highest level of college football.

 

[Dawgg]

Ok, so I was morbidly curious where I really thought State would fall if there really was a "Super League" and how many teams it would have to include for State to make the cut. I went through all 133 FBS teams and tried to honestly think through who would make it for 20, 30, 40, 50, etc. up to 133. I think State could possibly make the cut in a 40 team league and would safely be in a 50 team league.

First batch:

20 Team	30 Team	40 Team	50 Team	60 Team	70 Team
Alabama	Georgia Tech	Arizona	Colorado	California	Baylor
Auburn	Iowa	Arizona State	Duke	Houston	Boston College
Clemson	Miami (FL)	Arkansas	Illinois	Louisville	Cincinnati
Florida	Nebraska	Iowa State	Indiana	Northwestern	Oregon State
Florida State	North Carolina	Kentucky	Kansas	Purdue	TCU
Georgia	Oklahoma State	Minnesota	Kansas State	Rutgers	Tulane
LSU	Texas Tech	Mississippi State	Maryland	Stanford	UCF
Michigan	UCLA	NC State	Missouri	Syracuse	UConn
Michigan State	Virginia	Ole Miss	Pittsburgh	Utah	Wake Forest
Notre Dame	Virginia Tech	West Virginia	South Carolina	Vanderbilt	Washington State
Ohio State
Oklahoma
Oregon
Penn State
Tennessee
Texas
Texas A&M
USC
Washington
Wisconsin