The conference realignment murmurs have grown into flat out paranoia (“a mass exodus”) in many circles, as programs wonder what their future is. At stake, a spot with the “have’s” at the college football table, a place where dishes are passed around with $75M checks under them. Syracuse’s ACC revenue is significant, and many could argue is the reason for any and all advancements athletically on the Hill over the last decade. But it’s not nearly what the SEC and Big Ten could bring.
If the ACC can continue to survive, the Orange are in a fine place. There are schools geographically similar (Boston College, Pitt), and many that are in the same strata of the sports world. Duke and North Carolina are basketball first, like Syracuse. If run correctly, SU football should be able to compete with Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, NC State, Wake Forest, and Louisville most years.
But if college football ever becomes just a two-tower sport there’s massive concern. The SEC will never have any interest in Syracuse. And now there’s reason to believe the Big Ten will ignore the Orange as well. Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren did not sidestep the idea of further expansion, and actually confirmed the league’s future “may include” adding even more schools. But there are only a select few that could “add value.”
The Action Network’s Brett McMurphy says SU is not on the list of schools on the Big Ten’s radar.
“The schools being considered by the Big Ten, sources told Action Network, are Notre Dame, Oregon, Washington, Stanford, Cal, Miami and Florida State.” – Brett McMurphy
Clobbering in the City: #3 Notre Dame Beats Up On #12 Syracuse at Yankee StadiumNotre Dame is Notre Dame, a massive national brand with incredible tradition.
Oregon is one of the most successful football programs of the last 20 years.
Washington brings Seattle.
Stanford and Cal carry the Bay Area, a top 5 media market.
Miami and Florida State are down, but have national recognition in the third most populated state.
This is not surprising, but it’s still alarming that SU isn’t getting a sniff. But why would it? Syracuse chose an awful decade to be terrible at football (although it’s directly correlated to playing up in the ACC). The Big Ten considers Rutgers its New York City market. And these moves aren’t made with hoops in mind. Warren stated the Big Ten’s satisfaction in having the three biggest media markets locked up: NYC, Chicago, and now L.A.
There’s plenty of reason to believe SU has reached out to the Big Ten and gauged (begged) their interest.
“Literally every Power Five conference school not in the SEC has reached out to the Big Ten,” a source said about schools wanting to join the conference. - The Action Network
At the moment, massive realignment into two megaconferences would be bad for SU. Very bad. There’s no interest from the Big Ten, and that would be crushing if the ACC ever evaporates.
