CLC Names Top Selling Universities and Manufacturers for Third Quarter of Fiscal Year 2013-14

CLC Names Top Selling Universities and Manufacturers for Third Quarter of Fiscal Year 2013-14

1. Alabama	26. Texas Tech	51. Georgia Tech
2. Texas	27. Arizona State	52. Connecticut
3. Michigan	28. Washington	53. Colorado
4. Notre Dame	29. Arizona	54. Rutgers
5. Georgia	30. Virginia Tech	55. East Carolina
6. Florida	31. Oregon State	56. Montana
7. LSU	32. Illinois	57. Fresno State
8. Kentucky	33. Duke	58. Vanderbilt
9. Texas A&M	34. Syracuse	59. UCF
10. Florida State	35. UCLA	60. Boston College
11. Auburn	36. Miami	61. Northwestern
12. Nebraska	37. Minnesota	62. Wyoming
13. Oklahoma	38. Purdue	63. U.S. Military Academy
14. North Carolina	39. Mississippi	64. Georgetown
15. Arkansas	40. Stanford	65. Nevada
16. Tennessee	41. Utah	66. Louisiana-Lafayette
17. South Carolina	42. Washington State	67. New Mexico
18. Wisconsin	43. California	68. South Florida
19. Penn State	44. Boise State	69. Colorado State
20. West Virginia	45. TCU	70. Memphis
21. Missouri	46. Maryland	71. Montana State
22. Kansas	47. Cincinnati	72. Texas State
23. Clemson	48. Virginia	73. Marshall
24. Oklahoma State	49. BYU	74. Wake Forest
25. Louisville	50. Pittsburgh	75. Temple

Declaration will be exlamation point

Nice name, loved 'StratoSPEAR' more, but still nice.


Declaration will be exlamation point


"You can bet there will be frenzy in Campbell Stadium on Nov. 29 when Osceola throws down the spear at midfield before the Florida-Florida State football game.
And piggybacking on that excitement, the city of Tallahassee will throw down a second spear just a few hundred yards away.
By November — possibly on the weekend of the UF-FSU game — officials will unveil the steel-glass-and-light sculpture called "Declaration," in a newly constructed roundabout at the intersection of Gaines Street and Woodward Avenue.
The sculpture will be a 20-foot tall, inverted steel cage cone, hung with colored glass panels and featuring 13 beams of light. The pointed cone, with a center shaft of light, is meant to resemble a spear like Osceola's and a punctuation mark.
"This will be an exclamation point," said Kenneth Von Roenn, who designed the sculpture. "It marks the union of the university and the community in a celebration of what Gaines Street is all about."
Von Roenn is a nationally famous glass artist and architect, who last summer became director of FSU's Master Craftsman program, which is constructing "Declaration." The Master Craftsman program, part of FSU's College of Visual Arts, Theatre and Dance, is a hands-on student experience in the "confluence of art and entrepreneurship." Students help produce murals, statues, graphics, furniture and art for the university and public. In a bit of kismet, the Master Craftsman studio is adjacent to the Gaines Street roundabout where "Declaration" will be erected.
The sculpture and roundabout are the final flourishes of a Gaines Street revitalization that has been constructed in three phases over five years. The project took a one-time, four-lane industrial corridor and converted it to a two-lane, landscaped, pedestrian-friendly street, which has attracted new restaurants, stores and apartment complexes.
The final leg of remodeling, from Woodward Avenue to Lake Bradford Road, has been closed to traffic since early May. But that leg will be complete by the third week in August — if not sooner — in time for the opening of the university school year.
The concrete pad for the sculpture was poured in the roundabout last week. Construction on the sculpture will begin in September.
The steel cage will be constructed in the back lot of the Master Craftsman studio. It is expected to take six weeks to complete the cage, which will be lifted by a crane onto the roundabout. Von Roenn's students and artisans will erect a curtain around the sculpture, as they hang the glass.
The glass will be illuminated by a dozen 12-inch-diameter lights encircling the sculpture; a 24-inch-diameter beam will project into the sky from the center of the sculpture. The roundabout will be landscaped.
The city is paying the $200,000 construction cost, as well as the estimated $500 annual bill for the sculpture's energy efficient LED lights. The Gaines Street reconstruction, which cost $15 million, was overseen by the Community Redevelopment Agency.
In late October or November, perhaps to coincide with the UF-FSU game, there will be an unveiling ceremony.
"We are very excited about ('Declaration')," CRA Director Roxanne Manning said. "It is the finishing touch to the Gaines Street district. It is unique and I believe people will really appreciate it when it's completed."
The project elicited much criticism and conversation when it was announced in May. Some predicted the lights would distract drivers in the roundabout. Others denounced the centerpiece light — whose beam will be visible from miles away — as "light pollution" and questioned its safety for aircraft. Still others, of course, questioned government spending on public art projects.
Von Roenn and city officials shrug off the criticism. Von Roenn said the tapering shape of the sculpture won't obstruct drivers' vision in the roundabout. He said the Federal Aviation Agency has approved the project, saying it presents no hazard to aircraft. Von Roenn said the sculpture will provide no more "light pollution" than a fast food restaurant.
But Von Roenn welcomes the controversy because it shows the community is paying attention to public art.
"Anytime you can stimulate a conversation, I think that's healthy," Von Roenn said. "I think it's important for the community to weigh in. There always will be people who have a different opinion; there will also be people moved by (the art)."
Von Roenn, 66, is an ardent proponent of public art.
A 1970 graduate of FSU, where he was a scholarship diver on the swim team, he has spent 40 years as an artist and architect. Before returning to Tallahassee, he was president of Glassworks in his native Louisville, which produced more than 1,000 art and architecture projects worldwide. Among other things, Von Roenn designed the world's largest glass sculpture, which sits atop the Wachovia Bank headquarters in Charlotte. He also designed a glass sculpture walkway in downtown Louisville.
Von Roenn designed "Declaration" as a celebration of Gaines Street revitalization, intending it to punctuate the west end of the makeover as the new Cascades Park punctuates the east end — and to signify the point where FSU joins the city. He said public artworks, such as "Declaration," provide "identity, meaning and pride and bring a community together."
"It's not unlike rallying around FSU football: Public art brings an aesthetic that is relevant to a community and makes everyone's life richer," Von Roenn said. "People need to experience art in their everyday lives rather than having to transport themselves to a museum. Public art belongs to the public and its sole reason to be there is to make people's lives richer."
Tallahassee has more than 170 pieces of public art, according to a survey conducted last year by the Council on Culture & Arts. The inventory ranges from murals, busts and stained glass to nearly 90 sculptures. In some ways, "Declaration" replaces one of the city's most striking public sculptures: "Quark." The 70-foot tall, blue-painted steel sculpture spent nearly six years in Doug Burnette Park on Gaines Street, before the artist who loaned it to the city removed it last winter.
Though opinions varied on "Quark" — as they no doubt will for "Declaration" — it never went unnoticed.
"Public art injects energy into our neighborhoods," said Amanda Thompson, COCA's Education and Exhibitions Director. "Large-scale pieces like ("Declaration" and "Quark") create a sense of place and become local landmarks. So much has been invested into Gaines Street's revitalization and this piece will help define a unique brand for the area."

Champions Campaign: FSU Football Renovations

FSU announced a $250 Million athletic campaign today.  The message was, first impressions matter.  I have mixed thoughts on this whole topic.  I love FSU is being aggressive and looking to raise money.  I want Jimbo to have solid facilities.  I find it idiotic that just a month or two ago, FSU shoved a new logo down the fanbase preverbal throat and now is saying 'sure 92% of you hate the new logo and how we didn't bother to ask you what your thoughts were....but give us cash so we can put it all over the place.' 

Standard FSU leadership move, but when you hire rednecks with no qualifications to handle multi-million $$$ deals (Monk B.), this is the kind of BS you get.  FSU would hire a high school grad to perform brain surgery if that guy regularly BBQ'd with some of the big boosters and connected folks.

Still, I hope FSU succeeds....but it ticked off much of it's fan base, so who knows.

Regarding the changes, I am mixed.  Normally, in the past, I have always been impressed with the general look of new facilities done by the athletic department.  This recent surge is more a mixed bag.  Nothing horrible, outside the logo, but a good amount is just kind of.....not impressive.

Overall:

Love:  The new end zone (see pics below.  Awesome facility, would love to see the tarp around the whole stadium.  SHADE equals MANY more fans attending), the Indoor Practice Facility (just AWESOME, well done...only wish the roof was Garnett like other nearby facilities),  Jimbo's new office (great size, wood in-lay, etc).


Don't care for:  Architecture of new players dorm (it is just ugly, should of stayed with FSU's standard arch, classic look.  Not sure what this is), Heisman display (looks cheap), logo everywhere (we get it Monk, you want to win this logo war at all costs....it is still ugly), general look of most of graphics, walls, etc.....everything looks kind of dark and just lacks style.  Little natural light in the facilities is part of that.




Champions Campaign: FSU Football Renovations

FSU has found its wallet is as important as talent.

FSU has found its wallet is as important as talent.


"Jimbo Fisher was only kidding, but the image he conjured during a press conference before Florida State’s spring practices commenced was colorful and plenty accurate.

When asked about the challenges of moving forward with a program that has aspirations of national contention every year, Fisher likened himself to his children, who seem to spend the majority of their time around him looking for something other than fatherly advice.

“They go to mom a lot, but they come to me for money,” Fisher said to big laughs.

Fisher plays that role when he speaks with FSU athletic director Stan Wilcox. It takes more than fine athletes to satisfy the appetite of big winners. There have to be facilities fit for the most exclusive country club — Oregon has a barbershop in its football building — donors willing to wield platinum checkbooks, and a support system capable of helping players with their classwork and the normal rigors of college life. The list doesn’t end. And neither do Fisher’s requests.

“I always have something for them, I promise you,” Fisher says.

It’s hard to believe Fisher would have to draw up a wish list at Florida State, but the Seminole program is not yet on a par with some of college football’s aristocracy, despite last year’s national championship and the Bowden heyday, which included 14 straight years of double-digit wins and top-five finishes, and two national titles. FSU is just now reaching parity with the best of the best in terms of facilities and has finally begun to mobilize its donor base to fund the program on a level that’s in line with its competitors.

Despite its huge success during the late ’80s and ’90s, Florida State is not found on the rolls of college football’s most tradition-bound programs. It didn’t start playing ball until 1947 and wasn’t even thought about beyond the state lines until Bowden took over in ’76. Without generations of alumni and donors to draw upon, and with a location that makes it hard for fans to come for games and stay, FSU has had to move quickly to create an infrastructure congruent with that of its competition. Doing that leads to wins, but it also convinces Fisher that Tallahassee is the place to stay long-term and end annual rumors that he is a candidate for whatever top job (say, Texas) happens to open.

“I think we have been behind,” says senior associate AD Monk Bonasorte, who was a standout defensive player for Bowden from 1977-80. “The facilities we’ve added have helped us.”

Last year, the Noles opened an indoor practice facility. By the start of this season, they will have new locker, meeting and office space. It all matters, even the ability to practice inside, which doesn’t seem to mean much in Florida. Snow and cold aren’t the issues in Tallahassee, but freak late summer and fall rainstorms are. So are hours of lightning that can prevent outdoor work. The new team amenities need no explanation, other than to say that premium high school recruits are savvy enough to know whether lockers are made of cherry or mahogany. There’s no barbershop planned, but it isn’t 78 degrees in mid-March in Eugene, Ore., either.

“Every day, other institutions are continually improving their facilities,” Wilcox says. “That’s what we have to work at on an annual basis.”

When Fisher approaches Wilcox or any other administrator with his wish list, he does so knowing that everything he wants is necessary. Remember that he fell out of the Nick Saban coaching tree, so his requests are made to create a climate that will allow him to compete with the Alabama sideline cyclone, and not just for esoteric reasons. Saban has set the template, and Fisher is following it. “If you’re sitting still, someone is going past you,” Fisher says.

One of the keys to the fundraising efforts that have supported the facility growth is the re-engagement of Bowden, who remains a living legend in the state, despite the program’s struggles during his final four seasons. Bowden’s decision to step out of the limelight during Fisher’s first few years was generous, but Bowden has moved back into the public consciousness and has been helpful in the school’s identifying some previously untapped resources and enticing them to endow the program.

The one thing that even Bowden can’t overcome is Tallahassee. Nestled in Northwest Florida, about 20 miles from the Georgia border, the state capital isn’t easily reached by most of the state. Further, because it isn’t home to much industry or many business headquarters, there isn’t a hospitality infrastructure that can accommodate thousands of fans who want to stay for home football weekends. It may sound ridiculous, but this is the first year in several that the Noles sold out their season ticket allotment. And that’s as much due to the arrivals of Clemson, Florida and Notre Dame as it is to the residual excitement of last year’s national title or to the growing affection for the program.

It is a testament to Bowden’s charisma that the Seminoles were able to sustain such overwhelming success for so long without the same tradition or facilities as the schools against which they competed for recruits. Personality went a long way at the end of last century. These days, brick and mortar — not to mention funky uniforms — are what draw top talent, and Florida State has taken the necessary steps to make sure that big-time recruits have no reason to look elsewhere. That also goes for Fisher, whose new contract, announced right before the title game win over Auburn, is worth $4.015 million annually and makes him one of the top 10-15 highest-paid coaches in the country. As long as he has the ability to mine the fertile Florida talent vein with the same facilities as do his rivals — and gets paid like a CEO — he will stick around. And Florida State will continue to win big.

“Different people take different jobs for different reasons, and you would hope the success Jimbo has here and the opportunities he has to win are enough,” Bonasorte says. “Coaches want to win. At Florida State, with the availability of recruiting and the kids you can bring in, you should be able to win.”

Even with all of that, Fisher’s going to keep asking for more. And Wilcox had better have his wallet at the ready.

This is going to get pretty expensive."

Which Teams Could Afford to Be in a College Football Super Division?

Which Teams Could Afford to Be in a College Football Super Division?

"Imagine you get the news that the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Big Ten, the Big 12, the Pac-12 and the Southeastern Conference are breaking away from the NCAA to form a new top division of college football—what happens next?

After the shock and awe subsides, the nation will try and figure out which programs are in the new “super division” and which are left out in the cold.  This will not be decided by tradition, prestige or on-field performance—no, instead membership will be limited to those programs with the deepest pockets.
Think about it this way: Why are the power-five conferences threatening to split with the NCAA if it does not agree to restructure?
What they want is autonomy, or enough control to make their own decisions.  Here’s what SEC commissioner Mike Slive had to say about it to Paul Myerberg from USA Today:

We seek to support the educational needs of our student-athletes through the provisions of scholarships linked to the cost of attendance rather than the historic model of tuition, room and board, fees and books.

Though this is only one reason, it’s a great starting point and it highlights the problem with the FBS: Half of the division can financially afford to do things differently—or buy autonomy—while the other half cannot.
 So at the very least, schools will have to be able to afford the cost of full attendance to be in the new division.  According to Jon Solomon of CBS Sports, the average NCAA gap between an athletic scholarship and the actual cost of attending college is $3,500 per year.
This means that for a college football team with 120 players on its roster, it would cost $420,000 per year—on top of all of its other expenses—to fund this single rudimentary goal.
How many of the 128 FBS programs can afford it?
To answer this, we’ve utilized the U.S. Department of Education’s Equity in Athletics Data Analysis Cutting Tool to calculate which football programs have an excess of funds to work with.
It’s simple: Football revenue less football expenses equal a “gain” or a “loss.”
The figures provided in this analysis are for the 2012-13 fiscal year and, as a bonus, the data includes every FBS program except Navy and Air Force.  This means that private institutions such as USC, Notre Dame and Vanderbilt (often left out of finance databases) are included.f
According to numbers, 74 of the 128 programs (or 58 percent) could afford the extra $420,000 required to fund the football portion of full attendance.
To illustrate, Virginia Tech reported $38.6 million in football revenue and $24.5 million in football expenses in 2012-13.  This earned the Hokies an excess totaling $14 million.  After paying the $420,000, the football program would still have $13.6 million remaining.
 In this case, “afford” is a relative term because where Alabama’s football coffers would have a cool $46 million in “profit” left after a set stipend to its athletes, Wake Forest would have only $700,000.
Add in that the $420,000 is only a starting point for additional costs—what about medical insurance, guaranteed four-year deals, a share of the merchandise licensing windfall, etc.—and you get the picture:  It’s not an apples-to-apples comparison.
Here’s a look at what FBS football programs—not entire athletic departments—would have left in the excess column if they paid the additional cost of full attendance.  
 
40 Million Plus
There are only eight programs in this group and it’s no surprise that half of them hail from the SEC.  The balance come from the Big 12, Big Ten and independent Notre Dame; the ACC has no representatives here.  The excess for each is listed in millions of dollars.
Texas (81.3), Michigan (57.9), Georgia (50.8), Florida (48.6), LSU (48), Alabama (46.6), Notre Dame (45.5) and Oklahoma (44.6).
This group represents less than one percent of the total FBS membership. 
 
25 to 40 Million
The second tier consists of four SEC members, five Big Ten members and two programs from the Pac-12—the ACC is, again, out of the picture.
Auburn (38.3), Ohio State (37.7), Texas A&M (35.3), Nebraska (34), Iowa (33.7), Oregon (32.5), Washington (32.1), Arkansas (31.2), Penn State (29.6), Tennessee (27) and Michigan State (26.8).

15 to 25 Million
The ACC finally gets in the game in the third income bracket with three members.  The balance of this group consists of two programs from the SEC, four from the Pac-12 and two from the Big 12.
South Carolina (23.8), Clemson (20.8), USC (20.3), Florida State (19.2), Texas Tech (18.8), Oklahoma State (18.4), Wisconsin (18.4), Oregon State (16.3), Ole Miss (15.5), Arizona State (15.2), North Carolina (15.1) and UCLA (15).

10 to 15 Million
This group consists of two Big Ten members, four Pac-12 teams, two Big 12 programs, four ACC members and three SEC programs.
Minnesota (14.7), Cal (14.1), Kansas State (14.1), Iowa State (14), Washington State (13.8), Virginia Tech (13.6), NC State (12.9), Utah (12.8), Illinois (12.2), Kentucky (11.8), Georgia Tech (11.2), Missouri (11), Colorado (10.3), Syracuse (10.1) and Mississippi State (10.1).
 
Five to Nine Million
This bracket is significant because it includes the first program that is not a member of a power-five conference other than Notre Dame.  That team is Boise State from the Mountain West. 
West Virginia (9.7), Indiana (8), Northwestern (8), Arizona (7.8), Stanford (7.7), Kansas (6.1), Boise State (5.6) and Baylor (5.5).

One to Four Million
Not only does this group offer a few surprises—Miami (Fla.), North Texas and Troy—but it is also the level where financial solvency becomes a real question mark.  In other words, can these programs really afford to be in a super division?
Miami Fla. (4.8), Maryland (4.8), Duke (4.4), Louisville (4.4), USF (3.8), BYU (3.7), Boston College (2.8), Army (2.7), UTEP (2.6), Purdue (2.1), Troy (1.9) and North Texas (1.2).

Less than One Million
Based on the numbers, these programs can barely afford to pay the full cost of attendance to its football athletes.  The amount left over for each, after paying the stipend, is listed in hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Vanderbilt (929), TCU (845), Wake Forest (669), Fresno State (566), Eastern Michigan (420), Wyoming (401), Marshall (256) and Florida Atlantic (141).

Notable Exceptions
Here are some surprising names from the list of 54 FBS programs that didn’t report enough income to pay the average full cost of attendance.  Unless otherwise noted, the shortfall is listed for each in hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Pitt (208), Virginia (354), Cincinnati (420), Rutgers (420), Northern Illinois (420), Central Florida (784) and UConn (2.9 million).

The Bigger Picture
While we know that 74 FBS programs could afford super-division membership at a $420,000 minimum investment, let's take a look at how the number drops by increasing the annual funds necessary.

FBS Teams That Could Afford Super Division Membership

	FBS	ACC	B10	B12	P12	SEC	OTHER
420K	74	12	13	10	12	14	13
1M	66	11	13	9	12	13	8
5M	54	7	11	9	12	13	2
10M	46	7	9	6	10	13	1
15M	31	3	7	4	6	10	1

Bleacher Report Original Research

Raising the requirement to $5 million would mean that only 42 percent of the FBS could afford to join the new division; at $10 million the number would dip down to 36 percent.
The power-five conference that stands to lose the most is the ACC, which would lose 42 percent of its membership if schools needed $5 million annually to meet increased financial obligations.
The most bullet-proof league is of course the SEC, which would lose only Vanderbilt based on the 2012-13 figures.
The non-power-five conference with the most solvent football members is Conference USA, with Marshall, FAU, UTEP and North Texas all reporting an excess in 2012-13.
Regardless of the specific numbers, it’s clear that only half of the current FBS programs could afford to pay the cost of full attendance and still have money left over for other new expenditures associated with a split.
Perhaps the million dollar question isn’t IF there will be a new division in college football, but which programs have enough money to enroll. "

Review clears distinguished FSU professor

Review clears distinguished FSU professor

"It wouldn’t be accurate to say that Florida State University professor Greg Erickson feels vindicated. That might imply that Erickson thought there was a possibility there could be any other outcome.
Erickson, a biologist who is one of the nation’s leading paleontologists, had his research challenged last December in a front-page story in the New York Times. The article featured claims by Nathan Myhrvold, an eccentric multimillionaire and former chief technology officer at Microsoft, and his recently published paper disputing research work done by an international group that Erickson led.
A team at FSU assembled by Gary Ostrander, vice president of the Office of Research, reviewed articles in prominent publications such as Nature that Myhrvold had taken issue with and determined there were no flaws in Erickson’s team’s work.
“There was no scientific misconduct whatsoever so I wasn’t surprised by the outcome. I don’t think any of my professional colleagues who know me thought there was any kernel of truth to the allegations,” Erickson said"

"Myhrvold could not be reached for comment. A firm that represents him, Intellectual Ventures, declined to comment. But a spokeswoman for the company said that Myhrvold believes that two publications, Nature and Anatomical Record, are conducting their own investigations of Erickson’s team’s work.
Erickson said he does not believe that is true, and that the publications rely on scientists to review other scientists’ work.
Research methods change as advances in technology provide scientists with better, more sophisticated tools. The original work Myhrvold challenged is two decades old, Erickson said.
“It’s like looking at the Wright brothers’ plane and criticizing them for not using carbon fiber,” he said."

Michael Buchler: Don’t tilt search in Thrasher’s favor

"When T.K. Wetherell became FSU’s president, many in Tallahassee similarly predicted that a former legislator would help direct more money to Florida State. It didn’t happen under Wetherell’s tenure, and I’m not sure why we should believe that Thrasher would fare better."

I have said this over and over.  Those that claim these politicians will bring in $$$ always ignore the FACT that it isn't accurate.  It is just a BS excuse to legitimize unethical hiring practices.

"There are indeed lingering problems with this search, but the origin of these problems goes far beyond Thrasher to a governor who has used Board of Trustees seats as rewards for his political supporters, regardless of whether they have experience in academia. In turn, the Board of Trustees has (surprise!) appointed a ridiculously large search advisory committee that includes far more political toadies than faculty or students."

Another point worth repeating.

If John Thrasher TRULY loves FSU, he would take himself out of consideration. 


Michael Buchler: Don’t tilt search in Thrasher’s favor


"In Sunday’s editorial, the Democrat’s Editorial Board suggested following former search consultant Bill Funk’s advice and giving state Sen. John Thrasher an up-or-down vote before proceeding with the search. This is a terrible idea for a variety of reasons.
• That isn’t how academic searches are run. We don’t give preferential treatment to one candidate, regardless of political standing or donation size. Ethics matter at a university.
• The members of the Editorial Board claim that there is still only one strong candidate. Oh, really? First, how on earth can they describe Thrasher as a “strong candidate” while simultaneously acknowledging that he has no experience either in academia or in running anything remotely close to a major university?
Second, they seem to have forgotten that we live in an open-records state and that the best candidates predictably apply at the last minute. With a Sept. 2 deadline, how can anyone bemoan the lack of good candidates on July 20? That’s absurd. The absence of a deadline in version 1.0 of this search and the surprising call to interview Thrasher only weeks after the search commenced were two convincing signs that the fix was in. Proposing that the Presidential Search Advisory Committee should ignore the deadline they (finally!) set is asking to return to a rigged process. I find it extraordinary that any journalist would publicly ask the PSAC to ignore its own guidelines and run a slanted search.
• If there are no suitable candidates (perhaps because of Thrasher’s alleged influence) when the PSAC meets after Sept. 2, committee members who are doing their jobs should re-open the search with a new application deadline. As our new search consultant pointed out, this has happened before (including at the University of Florida), and it doesn’t pose a problem. However, such actions are completely inappropriate before the application deadline.
• Although this is less important to me than the principle of conducting a fair and open search, I’m quite skeptical of assurances that Thrasher will secure better funding for FSU.
When T.K. Wetherell became FSU’s president, many in Tallahassee similarly predicted that a former legislator would help direct more money to Florida State. It didn’t happen under Wetherell’s tenure, and I’m not sure why we should believe that Thrasher would fare better.
Yes, Thrasher has generously given his own money to FSU and has steered state funds toward creating FSU’s College of Medicine.
However, he also repeatedly voted or lobbied (in at least 2008, 2011 and 2012) against bills that would have directed millions of dollars of new revenue toward higher education. Apparently Thrasher doesn’t believe in public funding of higher education in Florida. Why would he change his tune as FSU’s president? And why would anyone expect the legislators to join him in singing this new refrain?
Sen. Thrasher should not receive preferential treatment, and I’m truly shocked that the Democrat would make such an irresponsible suggestion — especially because this ill-considered idea led to the faculty’s vote of no confidence in our previous search consultant.
There are indeed lingering problems with this search, but the origin of these problems goes far beyond Thrasher to a governor who has used Board of Trustees seats as rewards for his political supporters, regardless of whether they have experience in academia. In turn, the Board of Trustees has (surprise!) appointed a ridiculously large search advisory committee that includes far more political toadies than faculty or students.
We on the faculty have raised our collective voices repeatedly, exposing cronyism and insisting on a president with academic qualifications. The Democrat, on the other hand, is encouraging the PSAC to ignore the only rules that might actually lead to hiring a qualified president.
If this is your best idea, please stop trying to help.
Michael Buchler is an associate professor at the Florida State University College of Music and a member of the Faculty Senate. In May, he co-authored both the Faculty Senate no-confidence resolution on Bill Funk and the resolution that called for a president with academic credentials. Contact him at mbuchler@fsu.edu."


Our Opinion: Deal with Thrasher


"Hire a new headhunter, listen to faculty concerns, get more student representatives involved, extend the application deadline until September.
Those issues are merely window dressing in the search for a new president for Florida State University. Because the truth is, the process will be compromised as long as John Thrasher is the elephant in the room.
Mr. Thrasher, 70, is the powerful state senator and former House speaker who has been using that power in an all-out push to land the top job at FSU. He was rumored to be a candidate soon after then-FSU President Eric Barron announced his departure for Penn State, and he became the leading candidate before he even formally applied for the job.
There are three ways this can end:
• Mr. Thrasher can withdraw his name from consideration.
• The search committee can heed the recommendation of its original consultant and make a fast decision on Mr. Thrasher.
• FSU can continue the search process, ignoring the opinion of many that, in the words of the original consultant, it is trying to “concoct a ‘competitive process.’ ”
None of those three options promises a happy ending.
As it stands, FSU is hoping an all-new search — featuring a new headhunting firm and a new application deadline — will attract a new field of candidates. We have our doubts. As long as there is a perception that Mr. Thrasher has the inside track, qualified applicants will shy away. Indeed, that already has happened.
Mr. Thrasher certainly is under no obligation to withdraw, though doing so would remove the concerns over his lack of an academic background as well as a lack of experience running anything resembling a major state university. It also would no doubt open the door to the kind of candidates one would expect to be interested in such a prestigious post. And Mr. Thrasher doesn’t have to be president to remain influential at FSU.
Then again, Mr. Thrasher’s withdrawing from consideration might deprive FSU of a great president. There is no doubting his love of FSU. He has been chairman of the FSU Board of Trustees, and in the Legislature, he has helped steer millions to his alma mater. FSU’s med school building is named after him.
The FSU Board of Trustees hopes to have three strong candidates from which to choose, but in reality, there still is only one. The members of the FSU search committee should heed the recommendation of Bill Funk, the original headhunter, to interview Mr. Thrasher and make a decision on whether he is the leader they want.
If they demand a strong academic background or if they want a president who will see a long-term vision through to fruition, they may want to say, “Thanks, but no thanks.” If they want a president who can strengthen FSU through the halls of power, they may want to say, “You’re the one.”
There will be pain, regardless.
If Mr. Thrasher becomes president, he certainly will face bitterness from students and faculty who have opposed his candidacy. If Mr. Thrasher is rejected, then the next president justifiably might have a few concerns. Mr. Thrasher was a key part of George W. Bush’s re-election campaign in 2004. He was chairman of the Republican Party of Florida. He is the chairman of Gov. Rick Scott’s re-election campaign. He has letters of support from such people as current state Senate president Don Gaetz. You don’t want to be dealing with bad feelings in addition to politics.
This is an unfortunate situation in which FSU’s reputation is at stake and nobody really wins.
FSU has some important decisions to make. It should make perhaps the biggest one now and deal with John Thrasher’s candidacy once and for all."

For half, STEM degrees lead to other jobs

This is very pertinent to FSU and state of Florida funding.  Interesting discussion.

Census data provides some detail, and also raises questions about whether there's a U.S. shortage of STEM workers

"The truth, when it comes to computer employment data, is almost always ugly.
For instance, among people with college degrees in computer-related disciplines, men are paid more than women ($90,354 vs. $78,859, on average), and African American workers are more likely to be unemployed than white or Asian workers.
The unemployment rate among "computer workers" with at least a bachelor's degree was 2.6% for people categorized as white, and 5.3% for people categorized as black or African American, according to U.S. Census data.

 

Men also make up about 75% of all computer workers.
These data points are from a U.S. Census Bureau report released earlier this month on what happens to people who graduate from college with degrees in STEM disciplines -- science, technology, engineering or math. The report, based on 2012 American Community Survey data, found many educated, well-paid people who hold STEM degrees but do not have jobs in one of those fields.

Computer worker unemployment

Demographic	Rate
Asian	2.1
Men	2.5
White	2.6
Women	3.2
Hispanic	3.6
Black	5.3
ALL	2.7

Civilian workers age 25-64 holding at least a bachelor's degree. Source: U.S. Census Bureau 2012 American Community Survey

The Census Bureau reports that only 26% of people with any type of four-year STEM degree are working in a STEM field. For those with a degree specifically in computer science, math or statistics, the figure is 49%, nearly the same for engineering degrees.
What happens to the other STEM trained people? They aren't stocking shelves at Walmart. The largest numbers work as managers at non-STEM businesses (22.5%) or are pursuing careers in education (17.7%), business/finance (13.2%) and office support (11.5%).
But the report's overarching finding -- that 74% of those who have a bachelor's degree in science, technology, engineering and math are not employed in STEM occupations -- comes with an unmentioned political question that may be the ugliest of them all: Is there a shortage of STEM-trained professionals or not?
Some research suggests that there may be an oversupply of STEM professionals. An Economic Policy Institute study last year found that the supply of STEM graduates exceeds the number hired each year by a ratio of nearly 2-to-1, depending on field of study. In engineering, colleges historically produce about 50% more graduates than are hired into engineering jobs, the study found.

Unemployment for computer/math/stats degree holders

Demographic	Rate
Men	3.3
Women	3.8
White	3.0
Black	6.8
Asian	3.5
Hispanic	4.1
ALL	3.5

Civilian workers age 25-64. Source: U.S. Census Bureau 2012 American Community Survey

One of study's authors, Lindsay Lowell, director of policy studies at the Institute for the Study of International Migration at Georgetown University, said the Census findings are consistent with the EPI study.
"The unemployment in STEM is low now, but wage growth in most STEM occupations has been pretty flat for many years and employment growth has only recently shown any bounce," said Lowell.
Most people with STEM educations who work "in non-STEM jobs are simply not utilizing the skills they were trained to use," said Lowell.
Jonathan T. Rothwell, a fellow at The Brookings Institution, doesn't believe that the Census study captures the role that STEM-trained workers play. Many STEM majors end up working in some kind of managerial capacity because "that's the natural outgrowth of success in their field," he said.
Rothwell points out that Google's co-founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, would both be classified as non-STEM managers by the Census, even though both are STEM-trained. And while STEM-specific managers such as CIOs would be counted as working in STEM occupations, CEOs would not.
Rothwell doesn't believe that there is an oversupply of STEM workers. In fact, he argues that there are shortages in some areas and criticizes the Census data as too narrow.
Michael Teitelbaum, a senior research associate at the Labor and Worklife Program at Harvard Law School, said the Census report adds another source of "compelling evidence" that "there is no credible evidence of generalized shortages in the STEM workforce."
Even in the industries from which the most vocal shortage claims come -- the computer, math and statistics fields -- "the Census Bureau report concludes that only about one-half of bachelor's graduates in these fields actually are employed in STEM occupations," he said.
Teitelbaum did acknowledge that "some specific occupations, at specific points in time, in specific geographic areas, have more-than-average difficulty in recruitment" but, he explained, "that is always the case in labor markets." His recent book, Falling Behind, Boom Bust and the Global Race for Scientific Talent (Princeton, 2014), finds a history of industry calls for more STEM workers leading to an oversupply.
Stan Sorscher, labor representative at the Society for Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA), a union representing over 24,000 scientists, engineers and other professionals in the aerospace industry, said there are three factors that discourage people from pursuing long-term STEM careers.
The first is age discrimination, particularly in software occupations. Second is the number of contingent positions and third is the use of foreign workers holding H-1B visas, who tend to take entry-level or near-entry-level jobs and thereby make it difficult for people who want to start out in a STEM field, he said.
Sorscher, who has a Ph.D. in physics, said that said that STEM careers are "osmotic," in the sense that almost any career path out of STEM is one-way.
"You may have many career options from a STEM job, but it's very difficult to change jobs into a STEM occupation." Any time not in the field is career-limiting, he explained.
"Each time an employer announces layoffs or offshores work," Sorscher said, "in the turmoil, a certain fraction of the STEM workforce will move into other occupations."

What a funny dance this FSU search has become

What a funny dance this FSU search has become


"It's rare when you actually get to see the proverbial elephant in the room live and in person, even if not visible to the naked eye. It's even rarer when you see the elephant dance.

But from the moment we asked Florida State University interim President Garnett Stokes if she'd like the top job, say, permanently. I could have sworn I saw the elephant walk in.

You see, I suspect that Stokes – whose Twitter handle is @ProvostStokes – also likes her regular job as provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, the university's chief academic officer, and a post she has held since 2011.

Furthermore, it seems to me, that Stokes is exactly the type of candidate with exactly the academic and management chops that many faculty, students and alumni would like to see take over for Eric Barron, now at the helm at Penn State University, on a longer term basis. That is, someone who has the background to lead FSU to higher academic standards, a top 25 national ranking, and so on.

I don't want you to misunderstand. Stokes answered our question professionally and as forthrightly as could be expected, under the circumstances, given the uninvited pachyderm.

She talked about the need to stay focused on the job at hand, keeping the academic momentum going in the right direction. She talked about what an exciting time it is right now at Florida State. She talked about making sure the university was prepared for its capital campaign. She talked about her commitment to helping FSU become a top 25 academic institution.

Interim FSU President Stokes shares a laugh with football legend Bobby Bowden before presenting him with an honorary doctorate earlier this year. Asked about the role of athletics during her interview with the editorial board, Stokes talked about the athlete as a student, but also gave us a sincere "Go Noles!" (Photo: Mike Ewen/Tallahassee Democrat)

She talked about everything but herself and her interest in the job for nearly a full minute before getting to the question, well, more or less.

Next she talked about how much she has enjoyed being interim president, what a wonderful opportunity it has been. Somewhere about 90 seconds into answering the question, she further equivocated, saying she will give it serious thought as the Sept. 2 deadline for applying approaches.

Here is a link to her answer to the question: http://www.tallahassee.com/videos/news/local/fsu-news/2014/07/22/13010635/

As I sat there watching this consummate academic professional dance with the elephant, it occurred to me that outside our editorial board meeting room, other potential candidates were doing the same dance. Only without a video camera and note-jotting journalists in a semi-circle watching.

So I decided to state what I thought was the obvious and ask – ever so politely – if she would clarify (read: really answer our question).

I think she came closer to answering the question this time. I'll give you the highlights, but feel free to watch it first and come back:

 

"I'm going to focus on what I am doing right now and consider whether it is in my best interest and the university's best interest to be a candidate," she replied. "And I'm really not thinking about that yet."

But what she said next fascinated me.

"Especially with the noise surrounding the presidential search, it seems important to me that we let that process take place and I keep my focus on getting ready for the capital campaign, and really make sure we allocate our preeminence dollars toward our top 25 proposal."

The noise? No doubt the elephant had to fidget at that.

"I do enjoy the leadership role at FSU. I'll just see how things going over the next few weeks."

I think she was satisfied that she had explained her position well. And she had. The problem was me. I decided to name the elephant and explain why I asked the question. I suggested that she is the exact type of candidate some are saying won't step up because, - drum roll, please - Sen. John Thrasher was a candidate.

And really for the first time, I thought I saw interim President Stokes squirm just a bit. But only for a second, if that.

"What I would say is any search in a sunshine state like Florida is going to reveal its finest candidates at the very end," she replied. "Whether or not there is someone already in the picture that's made an announcement.

Then she she smiled. And we moved on.

This time, I saw the elephant squirm"

Florida State president says school addressing sexual assaults

Florida State president says school addressing sexual assaults

"Florida State is not waiting for the federal government to complete an investigation into the university's responses to sexual assaults before it adds additional experts to the staff and adopts a new model for making students aware of their responsibilities for maintaining a safe campus.
Garnett Stokes, FSU's interim president, said Monday that the university is in the process of hiring a Title IX director and two sexual violence prevention coordinators before the fall term begins in five weeks.

 

FSU is one of 66 colleges and universities as of July 9 identified by the Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights as officially under investigation for possible Title IX violations.
The university faced the glare of the national spotlight last fall when James Winston, FSU's Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback, was named in a sexual assault complaint. He was never charged.
Stokes, addressing the Tallahassee Democrat editorial board for the first time since she replaced Eric Barron on April 2 as FSU's leader, made it very clear how she feels about sexual violence. "From my perspective," Stokes said, "one sexual assault is too many."
The university has formed several committees to assess its response to sexual violence, and it is preparing to make changes that could take effect next month, Stokes said.
"We are getting a training module that we will use for our freshmen and intend to extend that to he the entire campus," she said.
Neena Chaudhry, senior counsel and director of Equal Opportunities in Athletics at the National Women's Law Center in Washington, D.C., described the efforts under way at FSU as "a step in the right direction."
"Nationwide, we are certainly seeing a number of institutions that need to do a better job of addressing sexual assaults and harassment. There's been a real increased awareness of students across the country who are really elevating this issue," she said. "I think many people need to do a better job. The law hasn't changed, but I think we're seeing that too many schools don't have proper polities and procedures in place."
Stokes said FSU has had a comprehensive approach for responding to sexual violence. The Office of Civil Rights in 2013 issued a public letter addressing sexual assaults on campus, and President Obama has given the issue a high profile.

 

FSU's latest efforts are in response to the federal government, Stokes said.

"I wouldn't want to say it's all about trying to meet the guidelines coming out of the White House at this point. For me, for our campus, it's about making sure we're doing the right thing for our campus and our students," Stokes said. "Making sure we know what best practices are is pretty critical."
FSU's film school is working with student government to produce a short movie that addresses bystander responsibilities when sexual assaults are taking place. Stokes cited that as one example of the university trying to become a national leader in addressing a problem that extends far beyond campus borders."

Teel Time: ACC commissioner John Swofford on player safety, bowl revenue

Good news on the bowl distribution 'tweak'....of course, who knows what that tweak is, but at least it is admitting it is a problem.  I just hope we stop seeing successful football teams losing money.  It sends a very loud message to the conference.  Perhaps this new tweak has full addressed this.  We will soon find out.

The bowl revenue gap per team per year is approx. $1 Million against the other Power 5 and David Teel did his very best to excuse it away.  It is a loss for the ACC and for Swofford.  Teels mindset is reflective of the ACC overall which is just a real loser mentality.  Just happy to be here.  It screams 'Big East.' 

The ACC should expect better and it should clearly see this was a case of Swofford asleep at the wheel.  Stop making excuses for him ACC. 

I fear the day we have similar comments when an ACC Network proves to not provide major revenue like the other Power 5 see.



Teel Time: ACC commissioner John Swofford on player safety, bowl revenue


"The remainder of my interview with Swofford focused on postseason football revenue and bowl pairings. At the 2013 Kickoff, Swofford said he expected the conference to adjust its bowl distributions to ease the ticket and travel expenses that often burdened participating schools, so I asked if that had indeed occurred.
“We have tweaked it, both for our championship game and for bowls,” he said. “And we’ve adjusted the ticket allotment, too. So all of that has been (changed) since last year, to the benefit of the participating schools. … We don’t want teams financially penalized by their success.”
Swofford confirmed that the disparity in the ACC’s $27.5 Orange Bowl payout and the $40 million the other power five conferences receive from their respective contract bowls is due to opponent. While the Sugar (SEC vs. Big 12) and Rose (Pacific 12 vs. Big Ten) have league champions on both sides of their game, the Orange has the ACC against the highest-ranked available non-champion from the SEC or Big Ten, or Notre Dame.
“That’s the distinct difference in those three bowls,” Swofford said, “and yet our payout from the Orange Bowl is going to be more than we received from the BCS. So it’s a terrific deal for us.”
While the Sugar and Rose payouts are 45 percent larger than the Orange, the $12.5 million disparity calculates to a modest $892,000 for each of the ACC’s 14 football members."

Which Football School Has the Most Alums in NYC?

Which Football School Has the Most Alums in NYC?

"Since no college football powerhouses reside in the five boroughs (sorry, Fordham Rams), we set out to determine which non-local football school has the biggest alumni contingent in the city. Among the 30 schools surveyed, Penn State was tops with 23,000 alumni in the metro New York area, according to their alumni association. Michigan, one of Penn State's Big Ten rivals, fared well, too, with 12,592. Meanwhile, the Southeastern Conference, whose teams dominate on the field, has few schools with a significant number of alumni. This disparity is also reflected in TV ratings. Six of the top 10-rated games in the New York market last season were Big Ten games while only one of the top 10 featured an SEC team.

The alumni numbers may signal why college football isn't a priority in the city—after all, traditional basketball mecca Georgetown has six times as many alumni in the area as Alabama, the No. 1 football team in the land.

But there are still plenty of college football-obsessed alumni to make Saturdays in New York an event. "If you want to see the popularity of college football in New York, all you need you to do is make your way from bar to bar on a Saturday afternoon," said New Meadowlands Stadium CEO Mark Lamping, who is in charge of scheduling college games at the new stadium. "You move from block to block and there are SEC fans, Big 10 fans, Pac-10 fans."

The Meadowlands can expect a few more fans, as well. Three of the schools with high alumni figures—Penn State, Southern California and Notre Dame—will play there in the next four years. "

 

 

Saturday's Loudest Cheers

Here is a sampling of some big football programs' alumni in metro New York City, according to their respective alumni associations.

College	Alumni
Alabama	2,000
Auburn	1,336
Florida	8,400
Florida State	7,950
Georgia	3,085
LSU	2,100
Michigan	12,592
Nebraska	3,171
North Carolina	10,300
College	Alumni
Notre Dame	3,040
Ohio State	4,600
Oklahoma	1,975
Penn State	23,000
Southern California	7,000
Stanford	9,058
Texas	7,180
Utah	3,600
West Virginia	732

Dedicated channel is final frontier for ACC

Interesting read.  Happy to read anything from ACC media on 'media day.'  This makes some decent counter points to criticism, but some is just excuse.  FSU fans noted the subpar production value of the event and many noted it was stark:

"You want the most perfect visual example of the lack of understanding of how important football is to the ACC?


on some Between Two Ferns type of stuff."

I don't know if basketball media day is equivalent or not, but again, the ACC has to start showing football matters....that it is the big leagues, it feels time and time again that it falls short in doing this.

Similar feelings on the network points....some valid, but I just get the vibe that ACC media is setting the stage to excuse Swofford when he fails.  It doesn't matter....he brings in the money or he doesn't.

A fail will be a fail and it will have consequences in the future no matter how ACC media tries to paint it.

Again, this just gives off the vibe the ACC is trying to prep everyone for being the weakest of the Power 5 and this is a problem.  If the ACC added weak northern teams for their markets and we can't monetize those markets....why add them?  That is a business fail.

I understand it might take a year or two more to make this work, IF POSSIBLE, but I don't get warm fuzzies, and I don't think the ACC media does either.


Dedicated channel is final frontier for ACC

"The Atlantic Coast Conference wrapped up their annual "Kickoff" media event in Greensboro with a new sense of swagger, eschewing the typical fluffy marketing points meant to prop up the brand. Florida State had their BCS National Championship hardware and reigning Heisman Trophy winning quarterback providing tangible results. The Seminoles are legitimate candidates to repeat and Clemson represents a viable opportunity for two conference teams to make the new College Football Playoff.

There was a record amount of credentialed media for ACC Kickoff, including close to 20 different radio shows. Realignment no longer cast a shadow over the proceedings, with the conference fully entrenched in the "Power 5" and ongoing NCAA autonomy discussions. Commissioner John Swofford was at ease during his "State of the ACC" on Sunday, pleased with where the ACC is positioned going into the next chapter of college athletics. Even the local coaches put up with our selfie shenanigans.
But some folks couldn't leave well enough alone. They couldn't be chill and enjoy the laid back atmosphere provided by the Grandover Resort, which is a welcome break for some national media types who make the trip following the insanity of SEC media days. No, they had to compare the two events and conferences.





Laken Litman        ✔ @LakenLitman Follow

RT @ForTheWin: The media hotel lobby perfectly illustrates the difference between ACC and SEC: http://usat.ly/WnlNUS 

In fairness, the image does a good job highlighting how low key the ACC media event is compared to the SEC. However, is having a lobby filled with crazy fans for a non-event specifically designed to help the media create preview content for the upcoming season something every conference strives to duplicate? Not really.
The SEC has skewed the perception of what is acceptable for other conferences to the point where otherwise intelligent members of the media resort to saying illogical things on social media.

Pete Thamel         ✔ @SIPeteThamel Follow

ACC needs to move media day to NYC/Bristol from Greensboro. ESPN basically mocking them by rolling through SEC coaches today.

5:49 PM - 21 Jul 2014

For starters, SEC coaches were doing their annual carwash for ESPN. The same carwash will happen for ACC coaches next week. Secondly, did Thamel forget the SEC media event took place in Hoover, Alabama? The location didn't stop anyone from covering it over the span of four days. Thamel's attempt to troll was devoid of any rational thought. Besides, ESPN is doing what any good content machine would do by ramping up their promotion for the new SEC Network.
The SEC, in partnership with ESPN, hopes to create a new revenue stream with that channel. It's the same concept the Big Ten implemented on their own years ago, which has given them a license to print money thanks to cable/satellite subscriber rates. The channel partnership with ESPN is something the ACC hopes to replicate soon in order to keep up with the football Joneses, but right now the ACC is in wait-and-see mode as ESPN works through launching the SEC Network.
If Swofford is Link from "The Legend of Zelda," the ACC channel would be his Master Sword. The commissioner already has his shield, arrows and bombs in the form of third tier rights, Florida State being "back" and Notre Dame's partial membership. But that channel is the final piece of equipment needed to finally defeat the ACC's ongoing perception woes.
Unfortunately for Swofford, the commissioner has two issues to work through before the ACC hits your channel guide. Both are out of his control.
The SEC Network has signed agreements with Comcast, AT&T, Dish Network and Cox. Time Warner Cable and DirecTV are considered forgone conclusions to sign similar deals before the start of the football season. ESPN will no doubt look at this as a roaring success, but are they confident a similar rollout can be achieved with the ACC? The footprint isn't as rabid as the SEC base and providers will have to stomach another another dollar-per-subscriber to the overall bill.
"Some of it is wait and see because ESPN's primary focus has been getting the SEC channel off the ground," Swofford explain to 99.9FM The Fan. "It's not dormant in terms of our conversations with ESPN. As we've said from the beginning it will probably be two to three year process to make a determination for if and when we go that route."
And that gets us to the other issue face a potential ACC channel. Internet and mobile are disrupting the way we watch television. Throw in the consolidation of distributors and it's impossible to predict how sports fans will consume media in the next five years.
"While we're going through this exercise, that world can change," Swofford conceded. "We need to make our own decision, along with our partner ESPN, for what's best for the longer term future."
Potential government intervention that would allow à la carte options, where viewers could customize their cable/satellite channels, could also negatively impact these conference specific channels in terms of how much money they'd generate. The WWE recently launched their own streaming network in February, bypassing cable and satellite, for $9.99 a month. The WWE's stated goal was 1 million subscribers by the end of 2014. According to reports, the network currently has over 650,000. Go ahead and do the math. It's not bad, but the WWE would be making more off the millions of subscribers who passively pay for it in their cable/satellite bill.
However, the WWE is banking on audiences cutting the cord the same way some have done with Netflix and Hulu. It could very well be the future of how we consume media, but it's not there yet. To the conference's credit, they recognize the shifting television landscape and have made sure every ACC game will be available on some sort of platform. They've also made the Digital Network adaptive to social media trends and is available on devices like AppleTV and Roku.
All of that is great for fans, but every conference's goal is to make money off their product. So how does the ACC take care of the bottom line? If anyone figures that out, Swofford is ready to take your meeting."

According to the #ESPNCFB Power Index, @FSU_Football has the best chance to finish the regular season undefeated

ACC Network info

 Great insight.

I still say Swofford forcing Raycom in on the TV contract stinks on ice and the fact the ACC, and what little media it has, didn't seem to give a damn shows how far behind it is the other P5 conferences (which are loaded with fans who would be screaming bloody murder).

That said, this is worth noting...


Re: Comcast gives the SEC $1.40 per Subscriber .... Reply



tdclemsontiger
7/21/2014

 "Your analysis about the rights is inaccurate. I good bit inaccurate actually.

Problem #1. Raycom (formerly Jefferson Pilot) does not own any of the original rights to the ACC's content. All of the original rights were signed to ESPN from the original TV contract of 2010. Raycom syndicates its games from ESPN. This is no different that what ESPN does with its other content. For example, ESPN also syndicated SEC content to Fox and I believe Comcast. (Maybe others, but those are the only two I can name right off hand.)

Problem #2. Signing the Tier 3 to ESPN was/is not specifically a hindrance to starting a network. It would be, if the ACC intended to start an up an independent network with another partner, a la Fox and the Big Ten. However, if the ACC follows the SEC model, partnering with ESPN for a spinoff channel, then it's not a problem, because the Tier 3 content would have to be signed over to ESPN anyway.

Selling the Tier 3 rights in and of itself is also not a specific problem, unless you want to follow the Big 12 method of retaining the rights for each school. That method hasn't proved to be particularly fruitful, except in the case of Texas.

Problem #3. The rights do not have to be reacquired from ESPN to start a network. Clearly, if the ACC gets a network, it's going to be through ESPN. This means, ESPN will need all the rights (i.e. Tiers 2 & 3) to start the network. Well, as soon as the rights are reacquired from Raycom/Fox, they will be with ESPN. Here's how it works:

The ACC originally sold the rights to ESPN. ESPN syndicated content with Raycom, and Raycom syndicated with Fox, so you have this sequence:

ACC ---> ESPN ---> Raycom ---> Fox.

To reacquire the rights, they have to flow back in the same way they went out. That means is goes from Fox, back to Raycom, back to ESPN.

ESPN <--- Raycom <--- Fox.

Well, once the rights get back to ESPN, that's it. ESPN would then have all the rights back, so they could then start the network. What you are suggesting is an extra step. You are suggesting that once ESPN reacquires the rights, the ACC has to buy back the rights from ESPN......and then turn right around and sell them back to ESPN:

ACC <--- ESPN <--- Raycom <--- Fox
|-------------^

That's a redundant step. It would make no logical sense for the ACC to buy back the rights from ESPN, then turn around and sell them back to ESPN a second time. What will actually happen is Raycom would buy back from Fox, and the ESPN would by back from Raycom. On paper, the ACC would never actually touch the rights. Now, the ACC will obviously have to compensate ESPN for the expense of repurchasing from Raycom, but that's it. In other words, ESPN won't actually spend any money on reacquiring the rights.

The key to all of this is reacquiring the rights from Raycom. However, that's not dissimilar to what the SEC had to do. As I said, ESPN had syndication deals with Fox and Comcast to syndicate SEC games. ESPN had to buy back those rights (at the SEC's expense). The difference is that those deals only had about 2-3 years remaining, whereas the Raycom deal has about 9-10. The length of the Raycom contract is the biggest issue. "

ACC CON game...

So lots of talk about John Swofford's not so fast talk about the lack of an ACC Network and the revenue that one would hope came with it.

Sadly, there is no progress on the matter.  Instead, Swofford has, as one internet poster noted:

"Leave it to the ACC to change the definition of conference network. "

IE, Swofford is attempting to sell to the ACC fan base that the ACC throwing up free content on the internet is the equivalent of the B1G network or the SEC network.

Fortunately for him, the ACC fan base is so tepid, many will actually buy his BS.

If any of these other networks outside the ACC start to net $5-$15 million per year per team over the ACC, look for N.C. and Va schools to start looking to leave in 5-10 years.

BS will only hold this conference together for so long.


DeCock: ACC TV network makes sense, but no slam dunk

"Has the time come for an ACC Network, an actual channel dedicated to the conference?
The easy answer is yes. There has never been a better time to start a sports network of any kind. Live sports moves the broadcast needle like nothing else. Demand among advertisers has never been higher. The increasingly astronomic rights fees broadcasters are paying reflect that.
Yet there are other considerations for the ACC, which is why the conference has taken a surprisingly equivocal tone about its television future – which will be decided alongside ESPN, which holds the conference’s rights through 2027, and could take another two or three years to shake out." "Even a successful conference-specific channel always requires a tradeoff between exposure (on ESPN and other mass-market networks) and money (subscriber fees). For the ACC, that means weighing the reach of the so-called ACC Network, the rebranded Raycom syndication, against the financial benefits of an actual ACC Network. The relative success of ESPN’s newly launched SEC Network will have a lot to say about the direction the ACC goes."

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/07/20/5056281/decock-acc-tv-network-makes-sense.html#.U8zwh-kg_IU#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/07/20/5056281/decock-acc-tv-network-makes-sense.html#.U8zwh-kg_IU#storylink=cpy

ACC Network will be syndicated in 90 million homes

"The ACC does not have its own standalone cable sports network, but that does not appear to be getting in the way of spreading the ACC brand across the country. On the eve of the ACC Football Kickoff, the ACC released a statement claiming the conference will have football games airing in an estimated 90 million homes this fall."

"With the growth being shown by these numbers and with the Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC dabbling to various degrees of success with their own respective networks, could an actual, standalone ACC Network still be on the way? The idea has been out there for a while now, and the model and framework is now in place with ESPN launching the SEC Network, assuming ESPN would be the broadcast partner for an actual ACC Network. Having a network would likely lead to a financial boost to the ACC, helping it catch up with other power conferences, and if a Division IV split comes of age, then having its own network may be in the ACC’s best interests for years to come.
Swofford may be asked about the idea when he opens the ACC Football Kickoff in Greensboro, North Carolina on Sunday, especially with the buzz surrounding the launch of the SEC Network. The question is whether the demand for 24-hour coverage of the ACC is there the way it is for the SEC. It may not be, but if the ACC were to launch its own network it would likely be able to boast some quality television markets at launch, including New York, Boston and Atlanta.
If you are an ACC fan, would you want to see an ACC Network made available, or is the syndicated coverage enough to satisfy your ACC football needs?"