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CU has rejoined the Big 12 and broken college football - talking out asses continues

If you assume it's unnecessary when you have a revenue gap that can be improved considerably with increased gameday revenue and you are also lacking in the hallmarks of what constitutes a top tier program that commands a seat at the table, sure. If that's where you're coming from, just give up on being more than Iowa State for the entire future of CU football.
Commands a seat at the table? You’re suggesting CU “fakes it till they make it” because there is literally nothing that says adding capacity to be in the top 20 or so of CFB stadiums will lead to an invite. Showing a commitment doesn’t mean ****. The time for that was a decade ago and this university ****ed around and is now finding out.
 
Honestly I think it would be wise for us to have a better idea of how the landscape of college football will be changed before we invest in a massive expansion. Adding 5,000 or so seats to the West side is no big deal, but anything more than that would require an investment that might very well prove to be unwarranted.
The landscape of College Football is a wasteland of bad leadership from the Top down without any real thought to the Players, Fans, or Schools.

Players should be the most important thing in this new world of college football, including what they should get in terms of a Union, Collective Bargaining Agreement, Wage Scale, Salary Cap, Benefits, Etc. Then work forward from there.
Every stupid headline is from ESPN telling us that a room of rich assholes thinks the players should play 16 games and that half of their opportunities should be downgraded and nothing about half the Fans losing big time football and all its history, and how institutions of higher Education should invest millions in Stadiums, everything is upside down
 
I have to jump into this discussion with my proposal for how to save College Football, and it addresses so many of the issues that you all bring up, and I am not naive enough to dispute that this will never happen unless the schools have the balls to take charge and collectively force it to happen.

I was driving home tonight and kept hearing CFP this and CFP that, and realized that my plan is the CFP for the real CFP

Colleges, Fans, and Players fixing college football

The College Football Playoffs, the Networks, the Conferences, and the current Power 2 are all ****ing over the entire country and every college football program, even their own.

The Colleges and Universities need to take back the power and control of College Football
The Fans must demand that a cooperative solution is implemented that supports and solidifies their beloved programs
The Players deserve a system that pays them a solid and fair wage, but that cannot come from the college or university itself

My plan is the Collegiate and University Football League
It is a Hybrid of the Bundesliga, the Green Bay Packers Ownership Model, and the traditions of College Football.

I am with everyone who thinks there should be 64 to 70 Programs in the new College Football League
The CUFL is a Franchise/Program/Club model like the Bundesliga with everyone that will be in the league essentially forming a Professionally Operated Semi-Pro Athletic League of Programs. Each Program has an initial Valuation of $1 BILLION equal to the estimated value of many current programs, and the same value as some of the most valuable MLS Franchises.

These Franchises/Programs/Football Clubs will have the same Ownership Model of 51/25/24

The current College or University will own 51% of the new Entity

A Professional Equity Operator/Partner will be selected from applicants and will pay the School a fee of $250,000,000 to essentially RUN the Football Program in the most innovative, professional, ethical manner possible under the rules of the league

Finally, there will be a Fan Consortium that will own/invest/donate $240,000,000 for the benefit of the program to support, pay off debt, make improvements, and whatever is needed to make the facilities, infrastructure, and program the best it can be in that area.

All the new programs will then pay $10,000,000 into a new entity "College Football League" ($640,000,000) to create the infrastructure, offices, operations, and programming to run the league according to the Bylaws created collectively and to work with the Networks to craft the best possible Media deal for the entire group of teams, likely in the range of $100,000,000+ PER SCHOOL

Additionally, the current CFP will be put into the CFL as essentially its playoffs and Super Bowl

Each Program will be required to pay around $80 MILLION PER YEAR to the School for the purpose of running the Olympic Sports on campus, and allowing them to pay their players via scholarships or stipends.

The players in the CUFL are not going to be traditional College Students, unless they want to be. CUFL Players will be required to take Core Sports Business classes/lessons and will hone their skills in Public Speaking, Finance, Media, Business, Health, Wellness, Nutrition, etc... Approximately 9 Credit Hours per semester, and if they want a full college degree, they can also do that

The CUFL will have a Roster Size for all teams of 85 players and a Salary Structure for the Players that I estimate could be about $29 Million or about $285,000 per player on average. All Players shall have 2-year Contracts, that are renewable with incentives, or they can transfer after two years. Most top players will go to the NFL after two seasons anyway, and there is NO Redshirting, but Medical Year exemptions are possible.

Potential Salary Scale using a base and a bonus
85 Player Roster all with a scholarship ($50k academic stipend and base Salary of $150 k each = $17,000,000
Bonus/Ladder structure Potential - Depth Chart determines Bonus
  • [4] QB = $500k and down $1.1 M
  • [16] OL = $250k and down $2.4 M
  • [13] Safety and CB = $225k and down $2.275 M
  • [11] Edge and LB = $200k and down $1.65 M
  • [16] DL = $175k and down $2.0 M
  • [13] WR = $150k and down $1.3 M
  • [4] TE = $125k and down $300 K
  • [5] RB = $125k and down $375 K
  • [3] Kickers = $75k and down $75 K
TOTAL $11,475,000
AVERAGE [$135,000]

I will post again about how this solves 99% of the problems

GO AHEAD AND CHEW ME UP BOYS



.
Could we get Mtn to edit this down to an executive summary?
 
Could we get Mtn to edit this down to an executive summary?
Simple

Create a new Entity for the COLLEGE FOOTBALL LEAGUE

64 Programs in it, all with the same ownership model and initial valuation of $1 BILLION

SCHOOL owns 51% of the entity by contributing the Football Program and the Lease to the Stadium at a value of $510 Million
NEW Professional Franchise OPERATOR owns 25% and pays the School $250 Million initially to fully run the Program like a Junior NFL Franchise, with a Front Office, Coaching and Support Staff and will acquire and pay the players, and then pays a Royalty-Lease fee each year to fund the rest of the athletic program that remains inside the school.
SUPPORTERS/FANS/BOOSTERS will own 24% and participate in a Stock Collective (like owning Green Bay Packers Stock) and this Group will raise $240 Million that goes to support investments in the program agreed to by the 3 entities via an operating board

64 Team League of Independent Franchises (Each pays $10 Million initial buy-in) to be divided up as the new league sees fit
Likely plays 14-16 Games and the proper amount of teams participate in the CFP, which should be absorbed into this new entity

Level playing field, University Oversight for Brand and Ethics, Professional Operations, Fan Support and Stability, Unified Media Deal, Player Pay Scale, Significant Contribution back to the Schools Olympic Sports Athletic Programs to compensate their athletes at a fair scale, 2-year contracts, free agency after that, Base Pay plus performance bonuses, No NCAA oversight, etc etc etc

Can be duplicated over and over for MBB, WBB, VB, Baseball, etc....
 
Commands a seat at the table? You’re suggesting CU “fakes it till they make it” because there is literally nothing that says adding capacity to be in the top 20 or so of CFB stadiums will lead to an invite. Showing a commitment doesn’t mean ****. The time for that was a decade ago and this university ****ed around and is now finding out.
We've got some things going for us.

Academic prestige is important to many of the Presidents when evaluating a potential new conference member. Home market being big enough to support multiple pro teams is significant. Even the prestige of having athletic success in non-football can be meaningful. Home recruiting grounds can also tilt things in your favor.

But Stanford & Cal beat CU on all those things and they just got left out, so that's not enough and probably not what's going to be most important. It all may even be "nice to have" but not be the overriding factors.

So I have become convinced that football success and passion that make your games EVENTS which always move the needle regionally and also often grab national interest is the key to this.

Coach Prime is a unicorn who has us punching above our weight to a ridiculous degree on media attention, recruiting and broadcast viewership. But his vision and message is about creating an elite, first class operation that continues beyond him. He's giving us a blueprint and keys to the kingdom. CU must leverage this unique opportunity within the short time that CP is holding the window open. If we don't go big right now because we're afraid of the decline that will happen when he's gone, that decline and failure becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

So build Folsom into a showpiece that holds around 70k to establish CU as the biggest program in the Big 12. Have the revenue needed to drive the coaching, staffing, recruiting, marketing and operational support budgets. Or watch him leave some day without capitalizing and then spend the rest of our lives like we did the last 20 in frustration while we tell ourselves that things could be great again if we just can find another McCartney or Sanders. Or, worse, in that period there's a CFB super league established, we get left behind, and all hope of being relevant again is dead.

This is what we're facing.
 
We've got some things going for us.

Academic prestige is important to many of the Presidents when evaluating a potential new conference member. Home market being big enough to support multiple pro teams is significant. Even the prestige of having athletic success in non-football can be meaningful. Home recruiting grounds can also tilt things in your favor.

But Stanford & Cal beat CU on all those things and they just got left out, so that's not enough and probably not what's going to be most important. It all may even be "nice to have" but not be the overriding factors.

So I have become convinced that football success and passion that make your games EVENTS which always move the needle regionally and also often grab national interest is the key to this.

Coach Prime is a unicorn who has us punching above our weight to a ridiculous degree on media attention, recruiting and broadcast viewership. But his vision and message is about creating an elite, first class operation that continues beyond him. He's giving us a blueprint and keys to the kingdom. CU must leverage this unique opportunity within the short time that CP is holding the window open. If we don't go big right now because we're afraid of the decline that will happen when he's gone, that decline and failure becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

So build Folsom into a showpiece that holds around 70k to establish CU as the biggest program in the Big 12. Have the revenue needed to drive the coaching, staffing, recruiting, marketing and operational support budgets. Or watch him leave some day without capitalizing and then spend the rest of our lives like we did the last 20 in frustration while we tell ourselves that things could be great again if we just can find another McCartney or Sanders. Or, worse, in that period there's a CFB super league established, we get left behind, and all hope of being relevant again is dead.

This is what we're facing.
In my scenario for remaking College Football, the Professional Franchise Operator that is part of the team could be SMAC and Coach Prime as the official operators of the program. They would put in $250 Million to be the boss in charge. They would get the Stadium ticket revenues and media revenues to operate the program and will pay the school a Lease-Royalty. With all that in mind, Prime would never leave and would never go to another program because he and his team are the owners of the castle and you would not need to. There really is not necessarily Bigger and Better, because everyone is an equal franchise within a complete league that is playing with real fair play rules. They would essentially Purchase the Franchise Operations from the School or in Partnership with the school and with the direct support of the Fanbase. Yes, other schools may have a bigger stadium and may have other advantages, but there is no longer an artificial advantage created by being in the SEC or the B1G. Colorado Football Club is on equal footing to the Texas A&M Football club with 85 players on a similar salary scale and cap. NIL that is not NIL will not be allowed within this league, otherwise you are a rogue program. You must push for real NIL with real market value. If the Leadership Team of the School-Operator-Fans agree via a real process that Folsom needs to be improved or expanded, then the plans are executed. They are in it together.
 
Investing hundreds of millions in a stadium expansion would be an extremely tough sell for any program not in the SEC or B1G much less CU. The bump in attendance last year was due entirely to Prime and there is no assurance he will stay or that trend will hold up over the long term. Despite the population growth of Colorado, it is still a relatively low-population state and Boulder is close enough to Denver that two large venues would be fighting for similar events (that is assuming the city would allow them in the first place). Construction costs are higher across the board than a few years ago and that is before whatever Boulder can do to slow down the process. The practice facility was built in a far different landscape and wider causes for it are wholly out of control for the relevant stakeholders. There have been decades of mismanagement at CU and that isn’t solved by one coach or a massive construction project.
 
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PROS and CONS of a College Football Restructuring using a Bundesliga-Green Bay Packers Ownership/Operation Model
My proposal is radical in some ways and brutally common sense in other ways
First, Big Time College Football needs to be decoupled from Academic Institutions and not inside them, with a payroll adjacent to professors.
Second, the Schools, the Players, and the Fans need to be the biggest voice in the endeavor and not the people making all the moves and comments right now
Thirdly, the Networks will come along if the product is well managed, properly connected to the traditions of College Football, and competitive.
Additionally, the Conferences should mean nothing at this point beyond them going back to managing regional competition in Olympic Sports

PROS
  • Single Organized Athletic League and Championship for Top College Football Programs that has a LEVEL playing field
  • Players are recognized as essentially Semi-Professional Athletes with Market Value, Collective Bargaining, Salary Scale, and Benefits and are treated as a Partner and not, honestly raw meat.
  • Colleges and Universities retain their Brands and Leverage the resources they have all invested in for many years, but separates an Enterprise operation from the core purposes of an Academic Institution
  • Fans and Boosters can participate, oversee, and encourage proper management and operations of their program, without using public means and under the table shenanigans to have a clean and stable program
  • NO NCAA involvement
  • NO overarching Academic coupling, rather a public-private partnership enterprise that will allow the Football Player to focus on what they want to do for a living, while having access to core education about that specific field and many of its areas including exercise, medical, nutrition, business, public speaking, branding, finance, etc. Also, still have access to additional degrees and opportunities without the burden of pass-fail. Let's be honest, many players are not cut out to be 4-year students or have getting a degree as a priority.
  • NO Conference Middle Men that are creating uneven and unequal rules for funding and opportunities.
  • Program operations are compartmentalized within an entity that can manage and run things in the most professional manner possible, and if there are coaching or staff changes, the University is not on the hook for wasted buyouts or other mistakes.
  • Schools get a fixed Licensing Fee for this new entity, and they get their money first.
  • New Money is put into all member programs thus stabilizing the financial viability and supporting collective programming
  • Player Union and the ability to Maintain 5,440 Top Level Collegiate Football Roster Spots, instead of slashing that number down, which would not seem to benefit the players, or the NFL's farm system.
  • Equal and Fair methods of choosing Playoff Teams and Championship Contenders, no more Committees
  • Better likelihood of getting Congressional Intervention to support the players and all programs rather than demoting programs that have been committed for many years
  • Better chance for collective innovation within a centralized league
  • No More shady NIL deals
  • Controlled Free Agency after every 2-year contract, and other transfer controls that could be agreed upon by everyone

CONS
  • LOW Likelihood of the powers that be allowing it to happen, unless the schools, players, fans, and congress mandate that this is the only way
  • Making sure the Networks and Media agree that this is a strong and viable option
  • Appearance of not having a pure Student-Athlete situation
  • ALLBUFF COMMENTS from Posters that dislike me

Happy Friday everyone!
4Tuds
 
In the filing, ESPN pushes back at FSU’s attempt to make documented agreements part of public records and imply that FSU as well as its attorneys potentially “committed a felony by knowingly disclosing ESPN’s trade secrets.”

247 link
 
It's going to be interesting when FSU lawyers ask ESPN witnesses whether the broadcast rights to FSU football games are worth less to the network than Vanderbilt games.
 
Pate is usually pretty fair and has been a CP supporter. I’d like to hear his rationale for a few of those like TCU and UCF.

I assume he’s just not going to give CU the botd, but I would think he believes CU has a chance to jump to the top 2-3
 
64 teams is too much. To the TV execs its laughable because they dont want to pay Vanderbilt millions for NOTHING in return. Nothing. TV wants a conference of ONLY bluebloods so as to insure there is a marquee matchup every weekend and possibly multiple each day. Because they make their money off of ratings and audiences only tune in for the big games.

If anything, there are far too many D1/FBS/Top level football programs.
 
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64 teams is too much. To the TV execs its laughable because they dont want to pay Vanderbilt millions for NOTHING in return. Nothing. TV wants a conference of ONLY bluebloods so as to insure there is a marquee matchup every weekend and possibly multiple each day. Because they make their money off of ratings and audiences only tune in for the big games.

If anything, there are far too many D1/FBS/Top level football programs.
The TV execs will not get their wish in my opinion.
I could see a lawsuit of epic proportions by any current P5 programs that are just tossed aside and all the people who talk about how those teams can just accept sliding downward into a second division are nuts. Stadium improvements and other massive historical investments and just the current value and investments can not be tossed aside.

If the average P5 College Program is worth $X.XX (Estimated at $500 MILLION), plus being the front door of student recruitment, then say 32 teams are tossed aside and they are permanently damaged. That would be a $50 Billion dollar PLUS lawsuit, not to mention Congress and other things. This is not what Colleges and Universities are supposed to do to each other.

The TV people need to be shown, or they have to prove that they do not have the bandwidth and vision to have a 64-team league that could pay each member over $100 Million each. I do not buy that it would not work, and the idea that they will essentially eliminate higher-level roster spots and jobs and everything is crazy.

The NFL has 333 games and they have a TV deal worth 125.5 Billion for 10 years, or $392 Million Per Team Per Year

A Premier College League with 64 Teams and 13 games each equals 416 games, plus whatever the CFP dreams of, and the hope would be to get something that could pay each of the 64 teams about $120 Million per year. More games are better for overall programming.

FOX and ESPN are interfering with a lot of people's lives and I pray that Congress, the schools, and common sense fixes this fiasco
 
The TV execs will not get their wish in my opinion.
I could see a lawsuit of epic proportions by any current P5 programs that are just tossed aside and all the people who talk about how those teams can just accept sliding downward into a second division are nuts. Stadium improvements and other massive historical investments and just the current value and investments can not be tossed aside.

If the average P5 College Program is worth $X.XX (Estimated at $500 MILLION), plus being the front door of student recruitment, then say 32 teams are tossed aside and they are permanently damaged. That would be a $50 Billion dollar PLUS lawsuit, not to mention Congress and other things. This is not what Colleges and Universities are supposed to do to each other.

The TV people need to be shown, or they have to prove that they do not have the bandwidth and vision to have a 64-team league that could pay each member over $100 Million each. I do not buy that it would not work, and the idea that they will essentially eliminate higher-level roster spots and jobs and everything is crazy.

The NFL has 333 games and they have a TV deal worth 125.5 Billion for 10 years, or $392 Million Per Team Per Year

A Premier College League with 64 Teams and 13 games each equals 416 games, plus whatever the CFP dreams of, and the hope would be to get something that could pay each of the 64 teams about $120 Million per year. More games are better for overall programming.

FOX and ESPN are interfering with a lot of people's lives and I pray that Congress, the schools, and common sense fixes this fiasco

“If audience doesnt tune in TV doesnt pay.“

—The Pac12



The NFL accounts for 90% of the 100 top rated TV events. They deserve the money. College football accounted for five. College football has too much mediocre inventory.

once the contract is up what are those schools gonna sue for?
 
“If audience doesnt tune in TV doesnt pay.“

—The Pac12



The NFL accounts for 90% of the 100 top rated TV events. They deserve the money. College football accounted for five. College football has too much mediocre inventory.

once the contract is up what are those schools gonna sue for?


Which contract?
 
“If audience doesnt tune in TV doesnt pay.“

—The Pac12



The NFL accounts for 90% of the 100 top rated TV events. They deserve the money. College football accounted for five. College football has too much mediocre inventory.

once the contract is up what are those schools gonna sue for?

College football marquee matchups rely on each program being undefeated or only having one, maybe two losses, if the matchup is a bowl game or end of the season. In order for Georgia, LSU, Ohio State, Bama, Michigan, etc to all go 12-0/11-1 every year, half their schedule has to be filled with the likes of Vanderbilt, Miss State, Kentucky, Rutgers, Indiana, Purdue, Northwestern, Maryland, etc.

The B1G has about ten teams considered ratings worthy on their own: Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Oregon, Washington, USC and maybe Iowa.

The SEC probably has about the same: Bama, Georgia, LSU, Florida, Tennessee, Auburn, aTm, Oklahoma, Texas, Ole Miss

So out of 34 teams, there are something like 20 at current that, when matching up with another on the list each and every week, would draw 4m+ (the standard for a well rated CFB game) eyeballs in all likelihood. That's not nearly enough inventory and even if you add Clemson, Notre Dame, UNC, FSU, Miami and maybe even Prime-led CU or Utah, that's 26 and still not enough inventory.

There's also the idea that when you remove two thirds of the P5 CFB fanbases, along with all the G5 fanbases, from having anything to do with those programs and sport, the "give a ****" is going to go way down. College football thrives on the entire country of football fans having a rooting interest because everyone has a
"tribe". College football works in the aggregate and collective, not as a recreation of the NFL where every game is theoretically marquee.
 
Which contract?

👀
I could see a lawsuit of epic proportions by any current P5 programs that are just tossed aside

They get tossed aside at the end of the contract because of a lack of value and or because the two parties couldnt come to terms. The parties can sue each other if the terms of the contract were not met. Suing for not being renewed likely goes nowhere in court.

Or did you mean something different?
 
College football marquee matchups rely on each program being undefeated or only having one, maybe two losses, if the matchup is a bowl game or end of the season. In order for Georgia, LSU, Ohio State, Bama, Michigan, etc to all go 12-0/11-1 every year, half their schedule has to be filled with the likes of Vanderbilt, Miss State, Kentucky, Rutgers, Indiana, Purdue, Northwestern, Maryland, etc.

The B1G has about ten teams considered ratings worthy on their own: Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Oregon, Washington, USC and maybe Iowa.

The SEC probably has about the same: Bama, Georgia, LSU, Florida, Tennessee, Auburn, aTm, Oklahoma, Texas, Ole Miss

So out of 34 teams, there are something like 20 at current that, when matching up with another on the list each and every week, would draw 4m+ (the standard for a well rated CFB game) eyeballs in all likelihood. That's not nearly enough inventory and even if you add Clemson, Notre Dame, UNC, FSU, Miami and maybe even Prime-led CU or Utah, that's 26 and still not enough inventory.

There's also the idea that when you remove two thirds of the P5 CFB fanbases, along with all the G5 fanbases, from having anything to do with those programs and sport, the "give a ****" is going to go way down. College football thrives on the entire country of football fans having a rooting interest because everyone has a
"tribe". College football works in the aggregate and collective, not as a recreation of the NFL where every game is theoretically marquee.

I agree with all of that. A few big regional rivalry games tend to get watched regardless of record.

The reason the SEC and B1G keep expanding is to manufacture matchups in order to entice TV to give them bigger piles of money. TV is already on their way to leaving people and regions behind because those people dont show up in large enough numbers on Saturday. Somewhere, as was the case with the Pac12, the parts that are valued are separated from the ones that arent. USC and UCLA are promoted while Cal and Stanford are left behind.

The problem is the most valuable properties expect the money to go up forever. The TV people know thats not possible as cord cutting continues. My guess is the B1G is the last conference left because the SEC hitched its wagon to ESPN and ESPN is in trouble. Certain SEC programs will not accept B1G schools making $20-40m more a year than they do and they will jump when offered.

What then when there is one power conference left? Those larger properties that talk about caring about an Indiana and a Vanderbilt will step right over their body for a bigger bag of money.

Thats why I think that there will be 30 To 40 valuable properties in a single conference that are left at the end once cord cutting and re-alignment has run its course.
 
While the marquee CFB games are a huge deal for the networks, there's also a ton of value in other games. There's good reason that ESPN bought and expanded bowl games featuring conferences and teams that can't fill more than 25% of the stadium. There's good reason they pay conferences good money to play on Wednesday night. It's not just about the marquee games. CFB delivers volume of programming that outperforms anything else a network could broadcast even when the audience is a shadow of an Ohio State-Michigan game. So I don't think that they're trying to eliminate the Kentucky v Vanderbilt type games. Their interest is in eliminating the Vanderbilt v Western Kentucky type games. And, with that, also increase the volume of matchups like Alabama v Texas so there are always at least enough big brand matchups every Saturday & a couple Friday night games to fill the major time slots.

In short, I think that they want the super D1 for football but without FCS matchups. I could see adding Fall Camp exhibition games against FCS as a preseason practice that got televised and provided a payday to the FCS (i.e., Northern Colorado playing a preseason game at Folsom a week or two before the opener).
 
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