Several times I thought he/she had interesting insights/viewpoints. Been missing for 5+ years.

He was having health problems for awhile but I seem to recall Wildcat had been in recent communication with him.

And indeed he did have a unique perspective on the power brokers behind realignment. Who stood to benefit and who stood to lose given certain scenarios.

Kind to be remembered

Boy, looks like some changes in the software and I have forgotten how to use this thing

My main reason for posting was big picture to see Texas A&M in the SEC and to counteract the drones from the B1G and PAC that were none to keen to see it happen. I am old school and believe balance of power is more important that absolute power as too often such power leads to meaningless destruction. As Wildcat can probably attest, I believe in people more than most anything else and we have entered an age where money has overtaken community and the self has overtaken the group.

I like discussion and am at a bit of a loss in this age of trolling. To me discussion, that may take more than just 120 characters, is preferred to mental masturbation. If I learn something from you and you learn something from me, we have both entered into a contract where both side have walked away better from the deal. I must confess hiding behind a computer and not learning anything from interactions is a bit dull and a waste of time.

Not to cause political discussion but right now this country is being torn apart by two sides believing they are right and not having the sense to see they are both wrong. Nobody will win in the end and another country will eventually displace us as we fall behind in squabbles with ourselves. Back to point, sports and competition is fun for me when there is still some honor in the game. Corporations are displacing the real fans inside the stadiums and eventually it will all collapse upon itself. Maybe I feel blessed to have seen back into a different age when it was just more fun and personal.

Attendance is falling and uniformity that can be packaged and sold from campus to campus is killing what makes each place unique unto itself. Eventually it will lose what made it fun and somewhere in some neighborhood kids may play in the streets with each other a new sport that will be the sport of their age. I may not live to see it but it is my sincere hope that is does happen. Life is far too short to not engage each other in a more meaningful way than to make us fear each other or claim superiority by how much we have accumulated in currency and material goods.

It has been far too long since I was last in College Station but I would like to swing by and see all the changes shifting conferences has wrought.

For the TLR crowd

Get out m ore often and don't just live on electronics alone.

KM, I'm a 95% lurker but am glad to see you return here, and hope all is well in your world.

Quote:

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Get out more often and don't just live on electronics alone.

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In the interest of transparency, I'm pretty certain that Mustangs received my text on his flip phone.

aggiehawg said:

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Great to see you, kind gentleman.

Politics aside, do you see further realignment happening in the next decade?

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I said early on realignment was not about expansion but contraction. I think we are done at least till the contracts are up in the early to mid 2020's. Then I think it will be perhaps culling, not adding. Realignment in the 90's was driven by the B1G to prevent obsolescence and the same can be said in the early 2010's. Both times they did not get the Irish and neither got them a real contender to grow their brands across their member schools (Ohio State). If I were a fly on the wall I think many of my observations were correct and will continue to kill the golden goose that was college football.

#1 I said the IRS would eliminate the write off within a decade and it took only 6 years
= No tax write-offs means maybe we reset and pricing gets affordable, but probably not
#2 Kids I grew up with played sports in their neighborhoods, this is quickly vanishing
- When lower middle and upper lower class kids stop playing they don't support when they mature
#3 Corporate dollars have driven the working class out of the live event, it will be too late to change soon
- By the time the bloat at the top figures this out, it will probably be too late
#4 Kids are dropping out and every farmer worth their salt knows where this will lead on future crops
- Crops start with seed, so if you have no seeds planted, there is nothing to grow
#5 Lawyers and the non sports crowd will help the demise, Missouri was an eye opener
- Aside from the early mess, the attendance decline is real and more damaging

Not that I am too smart but history is an excellent teacher and we need only look at Rome in the end when only the 1% of the 1% could afford to attend. Rome may have fallen to the barbarians but it was only after 50 to 150 years of internal decline and denial by those at the top weakened the walls and military that would have eliminated those threats easily a century before.




If I were to peer into a crystal ball.....

ACC was the biggest winner last round when they could easily have been the first to die. They were quite and decisive in how they moved and moved up the ladder where they are less likely to get eaten next time around.

SEC was probably next in they kneecapped the B1G with Missouri, got back to TX with an old friend, and got the wealth to upgrade across the board. Not just football is getting a facelift in the SEC as all the other sports getting a boost as well. It is an unhealthy arms race but on the other hand they have built year round content with enough conference depth to keep the SECN strong.

Big 12 will come out better and may reverse the PAC merger in the future. Pick a smaller Big 12 and a smaller PAC 12 and the streamlined group could partner the way the B1G and PAC used to partner. 2 smaller conferences acting independently but paired when needed for more penetration like the ACC and SEC have done throughout their history.

PAC is struggling short term but they may be a view of the future where college sports demand shrinks resources are diverted elsewhere. Take maybe their 8 best franchises and downsize they build demand and next generation fans for sports they sponsor the way college football did in the 1920's to the 1950's. History os littered with sports that fell out of favor with the masses only to be replaced by new sports that could attract them.

B1G is the biggest loser overall as they are still trying to use expanded footprint to push a single brand or two. Maryland, Rutgers, and sadly Nebraska will be used to mine the past or east coast recruits for Ohio State and Michigan. All that disruption and they still did not add the Irish is karma at work if ever I saw it.



If the NCAA were smart they would clean house and get lean again and pass those savings on to the fans to engage the next generation to fill the seats. They should also work to create a real FBS II from about half of FBS I and create another NCAA championship to let the lesser children have their day in the sun.

FBS I (with 4 team playoff)
12 - 16 team ACC
12 - 16 team B1G
12 - 16 team SEC
6 - 8 team Big 12 + 6 - 8 team PAC

FBS II (with 8 team playoff)
Maybe 8 eight team conferences with current G5's and lower P5's out of their league.

On a side note, I do not revel in the sadness of what the Big 12 became as they were probably #2 heading into the 2010's and I certainly do not wish harm on the lesser schools who were using what they had to work with in CO, IA, KS, MO, NE, and OK. Never should have allowed the B1G and PAC to whisper in their ear with one sided promises but if they were going to split, the B1G was best served using Gee plan (Nebraska + Kansas + Missouri) instead of the Chicago plan (Nebraska + Maryland + Rutgers) as that would put Texas A&M and Oklahoma in the SEC and the leftovers (with clout) in the PAC. Sports as a whole lost even if the current issues in a certain university in the state capitol of Texas have brought some salve to past wounds of their opponents.




May not matter as if we do not start working with each other as a country we will soon be a satellite of out asian overlords and whatever sports they want us to watch.


In closing, Santa Anna was a peenus wrinkle but his tyranny got us Texas and a stronger USA so maybe something bad can lead to something good.