Big East Commissioner Val Ackerman talks Fox TV deal, postseason tournaments, realignment, & Gavitt Games
Val Ackerman shared her insights on some of the most important questions facing the Big East today.
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Val Ackerman State of BE Commentary
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Streaming is inevitable, just can't have it be like what the Pac 12 was negotiating with putting everything on Apple TV Plus. That's one reason the conference collapsed.
Fortunately it sounds like the Big East's priority will be having the main package on Fox/FS1 (or another large network), which is the most important thing. Might suck for fans having to pay a subscription for the lesser games but I believe every major conference does this through a Network, ESPN+, etc
Fortunately it sounds like the Big East's priority will be having the main package on Fox/FS1 (or another large network), which is the most important thing. Might suck for fans having to pay a subscription for the lesser games but I believe every major conference does this through a Network, ESPN+, etc
She sounds like a dinosaur. She mentioned geography 3-4x when no other major conference is letting that slow them down. Imagine this conference without Creighton? They are over 1,200 miles from the league’s headquarters and over 500 miles from the closest school, but it has worked out beautifully for both Creighton and the league.
The fact that the league isn’t even looking at other teams — according to her — is pure negligence. I have zero faith in this leadership.
Ultimately, ESPN makes the most sense for the league. ESPN has the best streaming infrastructure and there are more natural pairings with the ACC than we will ever see with the Big Ten.
The fact that the league isn’t even looking at other teams — according to her — is pure negligence. I have zero faith in this leadership.
Ultimately, ESPN makes the most sense for the league. ESPN has the best streaming infrastructure and there are more natural pairings with the ACC than we will ever see with the Big Ten.
Reading between the lines it sounds like the presidents don't want Gonzaga (and whatever travel partners they'd require). Ultimately the schools will override the commissioner as we saw with the Big 12 in regards to UConn.
There's 0% odds they haven't discussed expansion, she's said in the past they were discussing it. For now it's clear they don't want to expand.
Disagree about the ACC vs the Big Ten. The ACC is like the old Big East that everyone is trying to leave (and will the second they can). The Big Ten is super stable and a bigger brand.
I read the interview and thought it was solid. It's just an interview with an Xavier outlet so I wouldn't expect her to show all their cards. Let's see how things play out.
Good post. And I am far from an Ackerman supporter.
Hitching our wagon to the ACC -- in any capacity -- would be insane. In 2-5 years, the Big 10 can have UNC, UVA, Miami, and Florida State, plus a scheduling alliance with Notre Dame. Outside of Duke, I'm not sure what basketball program we would really care about playing. The Big 12 & Big 10 are better conferences basketball-wise, and more stable.
ESPN is also in decline. Disney may be selling parts (or all) of it, and FS1 is actually in more households than ESPN at this point. Being closely aligned with Fox makes more sense.
I think what she said about realignment is fair. Gonzaga is the one school that would make total sense in terms of getting to 22 conference games per year. But do we really want to lose our flexibility in scheduling so we can play Dayton or St Louis 2x a year? The round-robin adds to our basketball brand, and losing it would have to be for home run additions only. The Zags seem a lot more interested in joining the Big 12 anyway.
ESPN is also in decline. Disney may be selling parts (or all) of it, and FS1 is actually in more households than ESPN at this point. Being closely aligned with Fox makes more sense.
I think what she said about realignment is fair. Gonzaga is the one school that would make total sense in terms of getting to 22 conference games per year. But do we really want to lose our flexibility in scheduling so we can play Dayton or St Louis 2x a year? The round-robin adds to our basketball brand, and losing it would have to be for home run additions only. The Zags seem a lot more interested in joining the Big 12 anyway.
The universe of potential expansion candidates includes Syracuse, BC and Wake Forest once football realignment finally settles. I’m ok with waiting to assess options when the ACC falls apart in a few years. Downside scenario is adding Dayton and/or St. Louis while losing UConn and missing out on the Zags. Plus I like the open strategic flirtation with the Big Ten.
Big East is the third most stable conference in America. It could be much worse.
Big East is the third most stable conference in America. It could be much worse.
I was willing to sacrifice for the better of the conference adding uconn back. We’d have to be on absolute life support for me to want to bring Syracuse back. Let them freeze to death.
I think the nice thing is that we don't *need* to replace UCONN. If they leave, why not just go back to a 10 team conference and give every team 2 OOC games back? The $ for the contract will be divided by less schools (and presumably more money for each school -- this is assuming UCONN would leave after a new deal).
I'd rather just wait out the Duke/Wake/Syracuse/Boston College crowd. if UCONN does ultimately leave, I'd be okay with Dayton.
Couldn’t we just beat them once a year and instead let them watch from the outside wishing they were as relevant as they used to be? I can’t express how much I’ve enjoyed the last 8 or so years not having upstate NY look like Halloween weekend all year long.
SJU losses stick to my craw to a fault. But the conference has re-opened the floodgates allowing UConn back. Playing Cuse home and home is cool too, but rather schedule better P5 teams for that.
Same. Despite not being in the same conference, they remain our biggest rival in my view.
If they are locked out of joining the only two viable football conferences, there’s no way for them to trade up by leave the BE for football pursuits. Eventually this all stops. ACC GOR is the only thing preventing this from happening already.
I don't think Syracuse would come back anytime soon because their football is worth something. Not worth a lot and their ceiling would be the Big 12, but significantly more than UConn. Most likely they'll keep chasing the football dream and their basketball decline will accelerate. Bad for their fans but good for us. Maybe they'd be interested a decade after that once their football becomes totally irrelevant like UConn's, but not right away.
IMO schools like Boston College and Wake Forest have a better shot at joining the Big East, and if we're not targeting Gonzaga then we need to wait and see what happens with the ACC.
IMO schools like Boston College and Wake Forest have a better shot at joining the Big East, and if we're not targeting Gonzaga then we need to wait and see what happens with the ACC.
You are definitely right on the Gonzaga sentiment. However, I feel it’s the commissioner’s job to sell that to the league presidents and also to Gonzaga. I can’t think of a conference admission that has mutually benefited the school and conference more than Creighton to the Big East — and they are basically on an island apart from the rest of the conference in terms of proximity. Gonzaga might even be a more natural fit than Creighton.
Short term - the ACC is loaded with former Big East teams and better regional matchups than the Big Ten. Plus Duke pairs better with the Big East’s major teams (and Gonzaga) than any Big Ten school. You can probably add Syracuse and UNC to that as well.
ESPN also has the SEC. That’s the most stable conference in the country…an SEC - Big East challenge would be comparable to the Big Ten. Kentucky-St. John’s (Cal v Pitino) Texas-Marquette (Shaka), Oklahoma-Creighton, Alabama-Nova, Arkansas-UConn would all be huge games.
Long Term- The Big East and the ACC will be forced to merge when the big football schools leave the ACC. The Frankenstein conference would probably look something like this:
Duke Stanford
BC Cal
Ga Tech SMU
Wake Oregon State
Syracuse Washington State
Uconn Louisville
Rutgers Creighton
Vanderbilt Memphis
St. John’s Xavier
Gtown Marquette
Villanova Gonzaga
That’s a two-division private school-heavy basketball-first conference with okay football.
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Personally I've been in favor of Gonzaga but the fact that the Big 12 didn't add them after a year of rumors (plus being much more geographically aligned) tells me there are massive roadblocks. I get the sense it may not work financially for one/all parties, and I don't want the Big East making a western division to accommodate them. The other western basketball options just aren't very good.
I'm not against ESPN, ideally I'd like them to get some content, but Fox has been a very good partner and may have more influence than ESPN in regards to conference realignment. I'd be fine with either/both but am against making Amazon, Apple, or NBC our primary partner. This interview indicates we'll stick with a company like Fox, fortunately.
As for the ACC there's a new rumor every week that Clemson, FSU or UNC are on the verge of leaving. By the time we'd start a challenge half the teams would be SMU, Cal, Stanford, and likely teams like USF and Tulane. I think Big Ten is the best partner in the country, which we'd only get through Fox. SEC would be second or maybe third after the Big 12. ACC dead last now that the Pac is gone. The merging scenario you mentioned is a possibility but I don't think likely.
I don’t think losing FSU, Miami, and Clemson hurts the basketball much.
Plus, you have to imagine that Rutgers, Northwestern, and Vandy should be coming available at the same time as the ACC starts losing members in droves to the Big Ten and SEC. Those 3 teams offer nothing to their current conferences.
Adding Gonzaga to the Big 12 as the lone non-football school doesn’t make a ton of sense to me right now from either side. The Big 12 did enough this year to be able to be patient until the ACC crumbles.
Duke not settling as king as Daniel Jones peering the NFL fantasy football lineups
You left off their best basketball program (UNC), who will almost certainly be leaving and were one of 3 schools (along with FSU and Clemson) to vote against the recent additions. Also UVA will be taken, another recent National Champion. Then there's a very good chance Duke will be taken, Louisville goes to the Big 12, etc.
As soon as teams start leaving it'll be left with teams like Wake, BC, Cal and SMU...and adding teams like USF and Tulane. I mentioned on here months ago that the ACC would go the national football route by adding SMU, and that's already happened.
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