Brad_ATX

Thanks sir. Its a great venue. My season tickets for Austin FC games are in the upper deck, but its right on top of the action. Place gets extremely loud because those overhangs just bounce noise right back on the field. Get over here for a game sometime! P.S. Highly considering going to the WCQ in Nashville vs Canada on Labor Day weekend. Definitely going to the game here in Austin vs Jamiaca.

USA vs Qatar last night. Gold Cup Semifinals.

My God this is brilliant

Somehow 9 games works for the Pac 12 and Big 10. And FYI, Saban has been the one pushing for a 9 game schedule for years. Rest of the conference is to chicken-s*** to do it.

For sure. They play UT every year as a permanent cross pod rival but don't have to be in the same exact pod, so they aren't getting OU too. Allows them to play more traditional SEC members instead of old SWC members, which is what I think their fans want.

The pods allow you to play every team home/away in the conference more frequently with a 9 game schedule. Thats the impetus behind it. Then take the two best record and let em meet in Atlanta.

The NCAA does not control the football playoff. Really, really important to remember here.

No. But you do need something. Even if its YouTube TV, etc. And all of that gets kicked back to ESPN. Not to mention the potential for games on ESPN+

Slive expanded the conference too.

Renegotiations. College football is now more national than ever. Its about selling ads for big games. Live sports are now the #1 thing driving people to sit in front of a tv and have a traditional cable subscription. Now if you add some of these games to a subscription service like ESPN+, the money just grows for the network exponentially. You're looking at 2005 metrics for a media rights and distribution world that has changed dramatically.

I can think of an extra $15M reasons per year that each school would back this happening. OU and UT dont leave the Big 12 and apply for membership without already knowing the vote.

Until otherwise shown, ND will be taken care of by power brokers. They always are.

Texas Tech academics are not that great plus they are in Lubbock. Ever been there? Its a ****hole.

Disagree. There will still likely be room for one big non-conference game each year. Too much money at stake. With that, getting the brand name of ND on the schedule will remain attractive.