Conference Realignment

Front Office Sports is reporting that the Big Ten and NBC are in discussions with NBC proposing an NFL-like broadcast:

Now, as rights negotiations with the conference near the finish line, NBC is proposing a strategy that calls for back-to-back, prime-time Big Ten and NFL games on Saturday and Sunday nights, said sources.

NBC is pitching a fall Saturday football schedule that includes triple-header coverage of Big Ten games on Fox, CBS, and NBC from early afternoon to night.
The slate would be followed by NBC’s “Sunday Night Football,” the most-watched show in prime time for a record 11 straight years.

If NBC is in the game, then if the Big 12 is the next biggest thing, then does that leave FOX and maybe CBS to bid on the Big 12? I can’t state that I completely keep track of how all these things work, but if NBC is involved and going to supplant FOX, then that seemingly bodes well for the Big 12 I think.

Hell yeah.

https://t.co/065gVaA3GP pic.twitter.com/GkjvjiIWSr

— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) August 3, 2022

Football

GoUpstate’s Sam Albuquerque talks with Miquel Dingle, Jr., Texas Tech commit:

A 6-foot-2, 220-pound second-level defender who can play inside and outside linebacker, drop back into man and zone coverage, who isn’t afraid to plug the gap in the run game and is so fast he posted the best 110-meter hurdles time in the state this year – and fifth-best in the nation.

“He’s got a rare combination of extreme athleticism, intensity, and a love of contact. So when you put all that together, you have a dangerous weapon,” said Byrnes coach Reggie Shaw.

Dingle is No. 9 in the 864Huddle’s Dandy Dozen, a collection of the top Class of 2023 football prospects in the Upstate.

Dave Campbell’s Texas Football’s Mike Craven writes about how the Matador Club is leading the way in NIL compensation for student-athletes.

“I don’t think it is unfair for the players to get something,” Campbell explained. “There is a balance between professionalization of the sport and equity. These guys bring in a tremendous amount of value. The revenue is huge, and coaches are being paid monster salaries.”

There are three pieces to NIL requirements. First, the university can’t be directly involved. All contracts and money must be sourced from the outside donor base. NIL also can’t be used to entice recruits (laughs). Lastly, there must be an exchange of value. A collective can’t pay a player simply to play. That player must do something off the field. At Texas Tech, that means charity work and serving as ambassadors for non-profit organizations in West Texas.

The contracts last a year, and Campbell only sees the figure going up. The Matador Club researched the NIL landscape and determined that $25,000 a year was competitive. As more organized collectives pop up around the country, the group in Lubbock figures that number grows to remain competitive. That’s the new reality in college football – it’s treated like any other market. Success requires money, and fan bases across the country will either find that money or be left behind. Conference realignment tried to leave behind programs such as Texas Tech behind as it shifts towards two mega conferences in the Big 10 and the SEC. Committing this type of money to players and facilities is sure to help the Red Raiders avoid being lost in the shuffle.

“We want to be leaders in NIL to show that players can get some money in their pocket without losing the purity of the game that we all love as college football fans,” Campbell said. “What I got out of college football was much bigger than any dollar amount I could’ve gotten from NIL. The kids are getting a piece of what they’re bringing in, so that’s a little fairer, but there is still an amateurism to the sport because they’re still going to class and learning as young adults.”

I see no lies. And there’s lots more there to check out.