St Louis market is mostly captured by Illinios.
It’s being reported here that this agreement includes just basketball revenue.
I would disagree with this. If you include the Illinois side of the metro area they might capture about a 1/3 of the market (being generous, maybe even as little as a 1/4). Illini games aren’t shown as part of local broadcasting like Missouri games are.
Nevermind. The story was updated to include Football revenue.
Missouri may be leaving the Big 12.
Apparently that revenue sharing deal had to be ratified by each school’s board of directors–doubt that will happen now. I’d say that’s it for the conference. Ship is sinking, rats swimming as best they can. I’d rather see Clemson, Florida State, or Oklahoma join the SEC, but Missouri could be good, too.
From your mouth to the SEC/Florida State President’s ear…
As bad as FSU has been the last few years, they are still an alpha dog in the ACC football.
Chances are that they will be just another team in the SEC. A Tennessee, South Carolina, or Arkansas type team. Good but nothing special.
My guess is that the SEC really would want Va Tech. A SEC type program that starts penetrating the East Coast juggernaut of households.
Missouri? I live in SE Missouri where the SEC network has already penetrated the Cable systems. I get all the SEC games. But adding Missouri will add the rest of the state.
I don’t agree with that. As an outsider, my opinion on the shakedown of SEC teams would be (football-wise):
Level 1: Alabama
Level 2: LSU, Florida
Level 3: Auburn, UT, UGA
Level 4: Arkansas, South Carolina
Level 5: Ole Miss, MSU, UK
Level 6: Vanderbilt
That’s my perception as a mix of both historic and current status. I would easily put FSU into that Level 2, should they be invited and join. I know the SEC has its diehards, but holy shit that’s insane to put FSU in the same category as USC-East and Arkansas. Mizzou would certainly, in my opinion, slot nicely into that Level 5 category.
TCU to the Big12… odd that they would jump on a “sinking ship”, although I guess they already did that once with the Big East.
Y’know what would make the most sense? Big 12 and Big East create a football-only coalition. Both conferences are no longer viable as football conferences, but they’d each make for a great oversized division.
8-9 teams in the east, 8-9 teams in the midwest and far west. Call it Big America. Teams play every team in their conference, only 1-2 in the other, but they meet for a coalition championship.
It’s football-only, so both stay as-is for basketball and other sports. Since it’s football-only, it’s be easier to bring in Boise and perhaps BYU, which will help if UT/OU/OSU bail for the SEC or the PAC.
Wind up with a coalition champ, ACC, Pac-12, and B1G. 4 teams and you have that playoff all the sportswriters want.
TCU is being invited to join the league. They haven’t agreed, although they sound amenable to the idea.
TCU would at least save some money on travel costs by joining the Big12 rather than the BigEast and that’s no small thing.
I pretty much agree with your levels of the existing SEC teams. But I do not agree that FSU would go into level 2. They have not won the ACC (a much weaker CFB conference) in football since 2005. At best level 3, and possibly level 4.
10 years ago? They would be rivaling Level 1 status.
Somebody finally totted up the travel costs there, apparently.
Except the Big East is now recruiting, among others … Air Force. 
Except that the SEC doesn’t care about households. They are at least 6-8 years away from an SEC Network. They care about ratings and FSU draws higher national ratings than any ACC team and almost all (if not all) SEC teams.
And fifteen years ago, Florida had 0 national championships and Alabama had just won their first in almost 20 years. CFB is cyclical. Let’s remember that the SEC as a conference went from 1980 to 1992 without winning a single national championship.
Are Rice and Houston viable candidates for a Big XII invite? Both are in Texas, and have good academic reps (Rice moreso). I know they don’t bring much in the revenue sports but beggars can’t be choosers.
If every person who ever attended Rice (living or dead) came to one of their football games, they would fill about a third of their stadium.
Shoot, now that TCU is back, bring back SMU as well and call it The SWC 2.0.
Houston, possibly. Rice, no. SMU is a stronger choice.