bobby dodds ghost
Damn Good Rat
- Joined
- Jun 5, 2002
- Messages
- 1,492
FROM "THE STATE":
Clemson AD sees expansion as a good thing
TERRY DON PHILLIPS knows a thing or three about conference expansion. He's all for it.
"I might have a built-in bias because I saw what it did for Arkansas. I saw what it did for Oklahoma State," says Phillips, Clemson's first-year athletics director. "In both places, it's been a very positive experience for the total sports program. And I don't see any difference here."
"Here" would be the Atlantic Coast Conference, which reportedly will begin this week to consider expansion from its current base of nine schools to either 10 or 12. The University of Miami appears to be the leading candidate to jump to the ACC, with fellow Big East Conference members Boston College and Syracuse to possibly follow.
Any expansion requires the approval of seven conference members, and it appears the league is one vote short. Duke, North Carolina and N.C. State are opposed. Those schools reportedly hold to the belief that the ACC has thrived as one of the nation's top leagues because of its intimacy and its history.
"Being a newcomer into the league, I don't see the down side to it (expansion) because I haven't grown up traditionally in the league," Phillips says. "They want to maintain the league in its present structure because of tradition. I'm not sure that's the best reason (to oppose expansion), but I can understand and respect it."
Phillips is well aware of why the ACC would expand, just as the Southeastern Conference went from 10 to 12 schools in 1990 when he was an associate athletics director at Arkansas, and the Big Eight Conference became the Big 12 in 1994 when he was the athletics director at Oklahoma State. The reasons for expansion are threefold:
• Money.
Money.
And, did we mention, money?
When it comes to TV coverage, the business of big-time college sports is all about positioning oneself in the market. By adding schools, a conference brings in additional TV viewing areas. In the ACC's case, Miami, Boston and upstate New York would expand TV coverage of football and basketball from primarily a regional product to one that covers the eastern United States. The idea is to make a bigger pie since there will be more slices. Thus, each school's slice will produce more revenue. The problem with that theory is that the ACC's current TV contract for basketball runs through 2011. Football's TV contract expires at the end of the 2005 season, at which time big money could be realized with the additional three schools.
Then there is the prospect of a championship game in football. The payout to each Big 12 school's athletics department for the 2002 championship game in football was approximately $600,000. The SEC payout for a similar game was between $700,000 and $800,000. The ACC estimates a $10 million to $12 million intake for a championship game, spilt 12 ways.
"That funds a couple of other sports," Phillips says. "So, you can't discount that."
With nine teams in one division, the ACC does not play a championship game in football. With 10 teams, a two-division setup would have to be worked out because the four North Carolina schools do not want to be broken up. But with 12 schools, the Big Four could operate as one of three divisions in all sports. The two division winners with the best overall record could play a football championship game.
"Division structure energizes interest," Phillips says.
More than all that, Phillips says expansion forces each member institution to elevate its program. He says Arkansas competed quite well in the old Southwest Conference without having to "push the envelope with regard to infrastructure."
As a result, Phillips says Arkansas fell behind other schools in terms of facilities and funding.
"When we went to the Southeastern Conference, the competition was so enhanced it really challenged Arkansas to get a lot better than we were," he says. "Then we saw what we had to do at Oklahoma State so we could compete in the Big 12 Conference."
At Clemson, Phillips says the athletics department is pushing forward during difficult economic times. He believes adding Miami, Boston College and Syracuse to the ACC will force Clemson to compete at a higher level.
And that, Phillips says, is a good thing.
Clemson AD sees expansion as a good thing
TERRY DON PHILLIPS knows a thing or three about conference expansion. He's all for it.
"I might have a built-in bias because I saw what it did for Arkansas. I saw what it did for Oklahoma State," says Phillips, Clemson's first-year athletics director. "In both places, it's been a very positive experience for the total sports program. And I don't see any difference here."
"Here" would be the Atlantic Coast Conference, which reportedly will begin this week to consider expansion from its current base of nine schools to either 10 or 12. The University of Miami appears to be the leading candidate to jump to the ACC, with fellow Big East Conference members Boston College and Syracuse to possibly follow.
Any expansion requires the approval of seven conference members, and it appears the league is one vote short. Duke, North Carolina and N.C. State are opposed. Those schools reportedly hold to the belief that the ACC has thrived as one of the nation's top leagues because of its intimacy and its history.
"Being a newcomer into the league, I don't see the down side to it (expansion) because I haven't grown up traditionally in the league," Phillips says. "They want to maintain the league in its present structure because of tradition. I'm not sure that's the best reason (to oppose expansion), but I can understand and respect it."
Phillips is well aware of why the ACC would expand, just as the Southeastern Conference went from 10 to 12 schools in 1990 when he was an associate athletics director at Arkansas, and the Big Eight Conference became the Big 12 in 1994 when he was the athletics director at Oklahoma State. The reasons for expansion are threefold:
• Money.
Money.
And, did we mention, money?
When it comes to TV coverage, the business of big-time college sports is all about positioning oneself in the market. By adding schools, a conference brings in additional TV viewing areas. In the ACC's case, Miami, Boston and upstate New York would expand TV coverage of football and basketball from primarily a regional product to one that covers the eastern United States. The idea is to make a bigger pie since there will be more slices. Thus, each school's slice will produce more revenue. The problem with that theory is that the ACC's current TV contract for basketball runs through 2011. Football's TV contract expires at the end of the 2005 season, at which time big money could be realized with the additional three schools.
Then there is the prospect of a championship game in football. The payout to each Big 12 school's athletics department for the 2002 championship game in football was approximately $600,000. The SEC payout for a similar game was between $700,000 and $800,000. The ACC estimates a $10 million to $12 million intake for a championship game, spilt 12 ways.
"That funds a couple of other sports," Phillips says. "So, you can't discount that."
With nine teams in one division, the ACC does not play a championship game in football. With 10 teams, a two-division setup would have to be worked out because the four North Carolina schools do not want to be broken up. But with 12 schools, the Big Four could operate as one of three divisions in all sports. The two division winners with the best overall record could play a football championship game.
"Division structure energizes interest," Phillips says.
More than all that, Phillips says expansion forces each member institution to elevate its program. He says Arkansas competed quite well in the old Southwest Conference without having to "push the envelope with regard to infrastructure."
As a result, Phillips says Arkansas fell behind other schools in terms of facilities and funding.
"When we went to the Southeastern Conference, the competition was so enhanced it really challenged Arkansas to get a lot better than we were," he says. "Then we saw what we had to do at Oklahoma State so we could compete in the Big 12 Conference."
At Clemson, Phillips says the athletics department is pushing forward during difficult economic times. He believes adding Miami, Boston College and Syracuse to the ACC will force Clemson to compete at a higher level.
And that, Phillips says, is a good thing.