ACC GOR & FSU note

FSU, that resides in an state that by law can't hide legal documents for public institutions ("sunshine laws") has long hid the ACC's GOR.  It was actually signed by FSU in a way that doesn't not meet that law, according to some.

Just a side note to that whole issue below.


https://floridastate.forums.rivals.com/threads/my-current-attempts-to-obtain-a-copy-of-the-gor.27558/

We too often discuss the GoR without having any idea what it actually says. I don't know if FSU has tried to hide it by not actually getting a copy, but it's worth a try to obtain it. I figured some here would be interested so I will continue to post the correspondence in this post with edits and dates of edits for reference. If someone thinks it's worth pinning, that's fine. If not, that's fine. I posted this in the TCCL, too because I knew we could keep a civil discourse, but let's try to keep this one civil, too, even with those posters with whom we disagree on this issue.

I sent this today, 7/21/15:

Hello, I am not a member of the press, so you may not be the right person to whom this should be directed. Please confirm by reply email if you are. If you are not, please let me know and let me know who is. I am copying Carolyn Egan to ensure the General Counsel's office has notice of this request.

This request is being made pursuant to Section 119.07 and all related statutes, constitutional provisions and/or administrative rules.

I would like to obtain a copy of the contract or agreement ("the Agreement") signed or otherwise agreed to by Florida State University ("FSU") or its agents and the Atlantic Coast Conference ("ACC") and/or its individual member institutions in 2013, as well as any amendments to that document. If it helps in identifying this document, it has at times been referenced as the Grant of Rights Agreement and you can see this news link discussing the agreement - http://www.cbssports.com/collegefoo...r/22116192/acc-approving-grant-of-rights-deal. Please note I am identifying the document based on its purpose and effect. I am not suggesting it is titled as I describe it and my failure to identify it by title when I do not have a copy should not cause any delay in complying with this request. If you have any doubt as to identity of the document to which I reference, please let me know and we will get it clear.

I would also like to obtain copies of any and all notes, correspondence, memoranda or other written materials relied upon by FSU in entering into the Agreement. If no such materials exist, I would just like that confirmed.

Finally, if there are any contracts, agreements or other documents showing any other agreements between FSU and the ACC and/or any and/or all of its member institutions containing additional agreed to terms which form the rights and responsibilities of the various parties under the Agreement, I would like copies of those, also.

Thank you in advance for your prompt consideration and response to this statutory request. Compliance by mailing physical documents to my work address at **** , Tallahassee, Florida 32301 or by emailing .pdfs is sufficient.

Sincerely,

[Allnoles]

____________________________________________________________________

Ok, I decided as long as we are at this, we may as well find out what exists as to the ND Agreement. Too many claim there is some long term agreement to have ND join. I would like to know if there is any basis whatsover for that claim.

Sent this am, 7/22/15 -

Hello, I am not a member of the press, so you may not be the right person to whom this should be directed. Please confirm by reply email if you are. If you are not, please let me know and let me know who is. I am copying Carolyn Egan to ensure the General Counsel's office has notice of this request.

This request is being made pursuant to Section 119.07 and all related statutes, constitutional provisions and/or administrative rules.

I would like to obtain a copy of the contract or agreement entered in 2012 between the Atlantic Coast Conference ("ACC") and/or its member institutions and the University of Notre Dame ("ND"). I will refer to this as the "ND Agreement" herein, but my titling of the document is for reference only and should not limit FSU's response solely to documents with that as an official title. This request includes any amendments to the ND Agreement. If there is an confusion as to what I refer, you can see this link for a news story on the deal - http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/id/8369070/notre-dame-sports-football-hockey-acc. If there are still any questions as to what I refer, please let me know immediately and we will get it cleared up.

I would also like to obtain copies of any and all notes, correspondence, memoranda or other written materials relied upon by FSU in voting for the ND Agreement as an ACC member institution. If no such materials exist, I would just like that confirmed.

I would also like to obtain copies of any and all notes, correspondence, memoranda or other written materials generated by any FSU agent or employee (whether internally within FSU or sent to anyone outside of FSU) in discussing, evaluating, analyzing or otherwise considering the ND Agreement, before or after the vote as an ACC member institution. If no such materials exist, I would just like that confirmed.

Finally, if there are any contracts, agreements or other documents showing any other agreements between ND and the ACC and/or any and/or all of its member institutions containing additional agreed to terms which form the rights and responsibilities of the various parties under the ND Agreement, I would like copies of those, also.

Thank you in advance for your prompt consideration and response to this statutory request. Compliance by mailing physical documents to my work address at ***, Tallahassee, Florida 32301 or by emailing .pdfs is sufficient.

Sincerely,

[Allnoles]

___________________________________________________________________________

Response to both is the same for now, am 7/22/15 -

Mr. ***,

This is to confirm that we have received your public records request. It has been provided to the General Counsel’s office for processing, per our normal protocol. We will be in touch.

Regards,
Browning

1 AllNoles, Jul 21, 2015

Last edited: Jul 22, 2015

https://floridastate.forums.rivals.com/threads/grant-of-rights-agreement-details.128406/page-10

I did not pursue the ACC/ESPN side of things. I could have made it really ugly given the legal issues involved, and it would even be fun to take the depos of the folks involved, but the more I thought about it, the more I thought it would ultimately hurt the school badly just to satisfy intellectual curiosity. I chose not to do that. I will say it is interesting to me that the GoR (we call it that but it's just the conference membership agreement of which the GoR is a small, but critical, part) does not seem to have any obligations back from the conference to the member schools in terms of what is expected in any ACC/ESPN deal. In other words, I don't see any basis to claim breach of the ACC contract based on failure to meet some minimal standard with the media issues. In fact, the term ACCNetwork is not even in the ACC contract FSU signed.

369 AllNoles, Today at 11:28 AM (9/19/19)

FSU & Splash Mountain

https://floridastate.forums.rivals.com/threads/splash-mountain.265237/

So totally off topic from our team but just thought I’d share for anyone that didn’t know. I was recently at Disney world for my daughters 5th birthday and she could hardly get enough of the ride, splash mountain. After about the third time through I thought I heard something say either “go FSU” or just “FSU” inside one of the caves. I didn’t give it much thought, however when I got back home I read where an engineer that worked at Disney and helped with splash mountain graduated from FSU and designed a gopher to drop from above and say FSU! Just thought it was pretty cool.


Where The FSU Gopher is Located

The Splash Mountain FSU gopher is located in the cavern scene, the last scene before the water log reaches the incline for the big drop. The specific gopher seems to be the one that pops out of the ceiling when the water log is approaching Brer Fox and Brer Rabbit. The next time you are on the ride, pay attention to the gopher and see if you can hear it say “FSU”.

You can also hear the gopher say FSU on many of the videos of the ride that are posted on the internet. Just pay attention toward the end of the cavern portion of the ride and you will hear the gopher say FSU rather clearly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=22&v=HyYurgf_6u4

Conference revenue discussion

https://csnbbs.com/thread-852698.html

why are ACC schools trailing so much in total revenue?

Is it in the ticket sales? Not really.
ACC teams aren't among the top in ticket sales, but many of them can hang with the likes of Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan State and Florida.

The average ticket sales for the top 60 teams is $22.8M; the ACC average (for the public schools) is $20.8M -- a difference of only $2M.

Is it in the donations? No again.
There are a couple of top 10 teams in the donations category, and several ACC schools do well here.

The average donations for the top 60 teams is $25.5M; the ACC average (for the public schools) is $25.5M -- ACC teams are slightly ahead of the average, in fact.

No, it's the rights and licensing!
The average rights and licensing revenue for the top 60 teams is $46.6M; the ACC average (for the public schools) is $37.7M -- an $8.9M gap!

Auburn gets about $24 million more than Clemson.
Kentucky gets $31 million more than Louisville.
That's CRAZY!

Keep in mind that a big chunk of this is TV revenue, though there is some radio, apparel, etc. mixed in as well. The ACC Network should make up most of the average gap; individual schools will need to negotiate better-paying apparel deals, etc. on their own.

For data tables, click here.



Okay, so you've accounted for roughly 11 million out of a 43 million dollar gap. Where you are fouling up is on your averages for the top 60 teams. The SEC places 10 or 11 of their 14 within the top 20. So by expanding your averages to prove your point you mitigate the higher numbers of the SEC and Big 10 by averaging the top 60 schools. That's a nice trick but it is a fundamentally flawed method.

I'm sorry Mark, I really like a lot of your stuff, but this one is either totally naive, or the biggest gloss I've read in quite sometime. You easily eliminated 20 million of the 43 million dollar gap with the averages which deflated SEC numbers (mostly top 20) to make ACC numbers (mostly below the 40th position) look better. And by averaging only the ACC public schools (about half of the conference) you even elevate the ACC numbers more.

I'm not sure what this exercise is good for as it doesn't alter the reality, nor does it even explain, the very real differences.

And another big error in math that is glossed is that you averaged ticket costs, but you didn't account for a massive difference in venue size and actual attendance. 77,500 (average attendance in the SEC) x the ticket price is a lot more than 49,900 (average attendance in the ACC). And by averaging the ticket costs of the top 60 you again mitigate the costs of tickets for the top 20. Ditto on the donations.


You are still missing my point Mark. I agree with your comparisons on rights and licensing. But that accounts for 9 million. What I saw as flawed were donation and ticket sales comparisons. There's even more disparity there. But you can't take an average of the top 60 because the preponderance of ACC schools (even the public schools) is in the lower third and the preponderance of the SEC schools is in the top 1/3rd. You compare the ACC's deficit to the average. You can't do that because your totals drag the average way down. You can average the ACC schools and compare them to the average SEC school's ticket prices, or even donations, if you want a fair comparison. Or you can do that with regard to any of the other conferences. But you drastically reduce your actual deficits by comparing the ACC to an average which already includes your deficient numbers.

That's a methodology problem for both ticket prices because the top 20 schools get much more for them, and for donations again where he top 20 schools demand much higher required donations before you can even purchase tickets. On the lower third the skewing downward is even greater than say what Virginia Tech might receive. Some schools practically give away end zone and upper deck tickets. In the SEC even those sell for full price and require donations for the right to purchase them.

Yes there is a big difference in licensing contract totals. But the difference that separates the SEC from the Big 10 is in donation and ticket sales where we average 11,000 more in attendance per home game and where outside of Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State we have larger venues and therefore more ticket sales.

So I'm not taking exception to your main point, but rather against you saying that ticket sales (not prices per se) and donations do play a very significant role in the total revenue picture. And then even after that ticket prices from the lower 1/3rd compared to the ticket average of all 60 will be nowhere near as significant as compared to the top 1/3rd which after all is why there is such a great disparity. Taking that approach reduces gap by 50% for schools in the lower 1/3rd. So a 2 million dollar gap is probably a 6 million dollar gap from the top 1/3rd instead of a 2 million gap from the average of all 60.

There is 43 million to account for. So take away the difference in TV revenue alone (40.9 for the SEC - 28 for the ACC = ~ 13 million.

Licensing revenue difference= 9 million

Ticket sales in actuality (not against the average)= ~6 million

Thats 28 million right there. Donations will account for a good bit more.

But let's return to the ticket sales for a moment. The average for college football (attendance wise) is probably 60,000 which is 17,500 below the SEC average which if multiplied by the ticket prices x the number of games (SEC Ticket $75 x 4, other P school $75 x .5 G5 or less ($60 x 3)) = $300 + 37.5 + 180= $517.50 x 17,500= 9 million plus that is just plain missing from your math.

So the average SEC school using SEC pricing on only the 17500 in attendance which is over the attendance average of all P5 schools accounts for 9 million more than how you calculated the ticket differential and we haven't even given the SEC their full ticket price for the 60,000 figured at the average for all P5 schools. That would likely account for a few million more. Let's say 3 million.

Add that in and you are a lot closer to the 43 million dollar difference.

Best Tailgating

Nice find by https://accfootballrx.blogspot.com/

http://newarena.com/ncaaf/the-30-best-tailgating-schools-in-college-football/

https://accfootballrx.blogspot.com/2019/09/best-tailgating-2019.html

27. Florida State
Tallahassee is a wonderland of cocktails, beer bongs, barbecue, and scantily clad women. In short, there are few atmospheres better within the ACC footprint. Of course, the atmosphere is better when FSU is nationally relevant. All the same, one will have fun at Florida State when looking to throw a couple back before the contest begins.

College Town, Athletic Endowment, Booster Org update from Jerry Kutz

https://floridastate.forums.rivals.com/threads/so-how-much-of-this-downfall-do-we-place-on-andy-miller.263817/page-2#post-4552124

Just want to let you know I just posted a new Podcast about College Town on the Seminole Boosters new website http://unconqueredmagazine.com/ today.

It answers many of your questions about the project, its profitablility, and how it was funded that are being debated in this thread.

The most relevant listen is that CollegeTown is an investment of the endowed scholarship fund and can't be spent for anything other than scholarships.

Much of the land on which CollegeTown is built was donated by DeVoe and Shirley Moore to the scholarship endowment. Rather than sell what was blighted land for a few sheckles, Seminole Boosters built CollegeTown which has appreciated greatly (maybe by more than $50 million). So, if the decision is ever made to sell CT, the proceeds of the sale would have to go into the scholarship endowment fund as those proceeds would be earnings on the endowment funds invested. They could not be used to build a facility.

Jimbo was told this a number of times but I don't think he ever really heard it or believed it.

The investment committee who manages the scholarship endowment fund would not choose to invest in a building like the IPF or the FOF as those facilities do not generate earnings. If they earned 5 percent or more, the investment managers would consider them. There are people on this thread who say Jimbo wanted us to invest in those facilities, which would help football generate more money, and they are correct. That was how he viewed it. But that's not how it works from a bonding standpoint. Those facilities earn zero dollars, have interest payments of millions of dollars a year, and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to maintain once built.

When I was an employee of Seminole Boosters, the Boosters and I told this story over and over, including on Warchant podcast, but its hard to reach all 350,000 alumni at any one time so its not hard to understand why not everyone hears this message.

When people donate money to the scholarship fund, now over $60 million, that money is invested in stocks, bonds, real estate by the scholarship investment committee (professional fund managers) and only the interest on that endowment can be spent and only to pay for scholarships (which the donor restricts when funding). We look to earn about 5 percent on the endowment, which funds $3 million of the annual cost of scholarships (about $10 million annually).

The investment committee reviews a lot of different real estate investments and chose CollegeTown because it pays the endowment a guraranteed rate of I think 7 percent.

There's a lot of information on the podcast... but the one thing you cannot quantify about this project is what it has done to the value of the land in that part of town, which Seminole Boosters also owns and uses as as donor parking lots, for athletic housing etc ... Since those assets have appreciated significantly in value and are not investments of the endowment, they are now serving as a backstop or a "reserve fund" and could be liquidated when there is a shortfall in the athletics budget.

The new Seminole Boosters website is FREE for anyone to enjoy and a means by which Seminole Boosters can provide information like this about themselves and their projects on a more regular basis. My company, The Osceola, produces the content for www.UnconqueredMagazine.com as well as www.theosceola.com

While you are there, you can check out the first podcast we produced about the FSU Athletic Association with David Coburn and previous Seminole Booster Chairman Doug Russell which also answers questions about who the Boosters are, what its structure is, and what their role has been in raising money and now will be moving forward.

As so many of you have said, Seminole Boosters raise money but during Andy Miller's career has no control of how the athletic director chooses to distribute it. But that's changing under the new structure. The Booster President (Andy) will now have a seat at the athletic director's senior staff table, where ideas originate. The Seminole Booster Chairman (Doug last year and Bob Davis this year) will have a seat on the five man voting committee of the FSU Athletic Association. The AD who has always served on Booster executive committes, where Booster project and funding ideas originate, are now required to attend those meetings.

Each month we'll do another podcast on topics we think are relevant to our donors and need extra explanation beyond the interest or frequency of traditional media in an effort to connect with fans in a fragmented communications world.

Hope this helps.

 

Jerry Kutz is Publisher and Owner of the Osceola. He retired as Sr. Vice President of Seminole Boosters in 2019 where he was in charge of special projects including the $350 million Champions Campaign for FSU Athletics, renovations to Doak Campbell Stadium including the Champions Club. email: jkutz@theosceola.com Cell: (850) 508-8690

76 Jerry Kutz, 

Forbes most valuable college football teams

https://www.forbes.com/sites/chriss...-most-valuable-clemson-texas-am/#7502ebb8a2e7

#FSU at #17 on this list for most valuable college football team per @Forbes. Interesting that the Seminoles are the only ACC team in the top 25. The SEC had 10 and the BIG 10 had seven teams. pic.twitter.com/1ybASaM2Vy

— GeneWilliams (@WarchantGene) September 12, 2019

 Rank     School                      Revenue        Profit
   1      Texas A&M (SEC)               147            94  
   2      Texas (Big 12)                147            92  
   3      Michigan (Big Ten)            139            83  
   4      Oklahoma (Big 12)             129            81  
   5      Notre Dame (Independent)      120            76  
   6      Ohio State (Big Ten)          132            75  
   7      Georgia (SEC)                 125            74  
   8      LSU (SEC)                     114            73  
   9      Florida (SEC)                 117            69  
  10      Auburn (SEC)                  117            65  
  11      Alabama (SEC)                 134            61  
  12      Tennessee (SEC)               113            59  
  13      Oregon (Pac-12)                96            56  
  14      Penn State (Big Ten)          104            54  
  15      South Carolina (SEC)           95            53  
  16      Arkansas (SEC)                 95            53  
  17      USC (Pac-12)                   93            52  
  18      Wisconsin (Big Ten)            86            48  
  19      Nebraska (Big Ten)             91            46  
  20      Iowa (Big Ten)                 89            44  
  21      Michigan State (Big Ten)       87            44  
  22      Washington (Pac-12)            92            43  
  23      Mississippi (SEC)              84            43  
  24      Florida State (ACC)            96            40  
  25      Clemson (ACC)                  77            27   

ESPN 150 greatest teams in college football’s 150 year history

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/page/CFB150teams/the-150-greatest-teams-college-football-150-year-history

ESPN 150 greatest teams in college football’s 150 year history

12. ‘99 FSU (12-0)

29. ‘13 FSU (13-0)

73. ‘93 FSU (12-1)

88. ‘87 FSU (11-1)

— TaReef KnockOut 👊🏾 (@TaReefKnockOut) September 10, 2019

FSU sport site statistic

Largest @247Sports team sites for Aug 2019 ($ data final): 1) Ohio St. 2) Michigan 3) Auburn 4) UGA 5) UNC 6) Alabama 7) Texas 8) UF 9) Tennessee 10) S. Carolina 11) PSU 12) FSU 13) Miami 14) ND 15) LSU 16) Nebraska 17) USC 18) Arkansas 19) TAMU 20) Washington ...

— Shannon B. Terry (@sbterry247) September 10, 2019

FSU makes another huge jump in US News rankings

https://floridastate.forums.rivals.com/threads/eric-barron-john-thrasher.264055/

Another illustration of the crazy excellence going on at FSU is the rise compared to others. Since 2013, only 6 universities have risen 20 or more spots.
Here they are:

Florida - 20 (Good for them. BTW, in 2013 they were 54th. About where we are today.)
NC State - 22
Arizona St - 22
Buffalo - 27
UMass - 33
FLORIDA STATE - FORTY

https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2019/09/09/fsu-supercedes-top-25-lands-no-18-spot-u-s-news-and-world-report-best-colleges-2020-guide/2236595001/

Florida State University has eclipsed its goal of becoming one of the country’s coveted Top 25 public institutions, landing No. 18 in U.S. News and World Report’s “Best Colleges 2020” guidebook.

The much-anticipated rankings were released at 12:01 a.m. Monday.

Last year, FSU moved up seven spots to No. 26. This year’s jump is the greatest single-year increase in university history.

The No. 18 post means FSU has climbed 25 spots under the leadership of FSU President John Thrasher and Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Sally McRorie, since placing No. 43 in 2016.

Since 2014, no other institution ranked in the Top 50 has jumped more spots than Florida State.

The U.S. News ranking also places FSU 57th among all national universities, public and private. That’s an increase from 70th last year.

Florida State’s rise was sparked by its designation — along with that of the University of Florida – as a preeminent university by the state legislature in 2013. Since then, the University of South Florida also has that distinction.

Since fiscal year 2013-14, FSU has received $61.9 million in preeminence funding from the state, in addition to performance funding.

In addition, the university last year surpassed its $1-billion fundraising campaign, raising $1,158,665,865.

Part of that money has been reinvested in hiring new faculty and programs that have led FSU to have the highest four-year-graduation rate in the State University System at 72 percent.

“Florida State University moved up in the rankings this year due to large improvements in graduation rate performance and faculty resources, as well as improvements in academic reputation,” said Robert Morse, chief data strategist at U.S. News.

Raising the bar – again

Thrasher said FSU has requested the Board of Governors to continue to support the university in critical areas of faculty hiring and student success endeavors.

He now wants to target FSU reaching the Top 15, which he believes is doable, and then shooting for the Top 10.

But that will take a commitment from the governor and lawmakers to further invest in FSU.

“We’ve got a budget request to help us maybe get to the Top 15,” he said, adding that it’s important to set high goals. “We can’t stop here. We want to continue to be successful. The reason is, it’s not just about Florida State. It’s about the University of Florida, they are aspiring to be in the Top 5 and I think they will get there.

Return on investment

Thrasher and McRorie both said the rise in the national rankings is a “validation” of the return on investment from the state and of FSU alumni and other donors.

She pointed out that one-third of students enrolled are first in their families to attend a college or university and one-third are Pell Grant recipients.

FSU Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Sally McRorie (Photo: Bill Lax/FSU Photography)

“Every student who comes here can succeed at the same level,” she said. “To me, that is the most important thing we are able to accomplish.”

While reaching the Top 20 is a validation of the university’s national prominence, Florida State says its sole focus isn’t ratings.

McRorie points to the university’s emphasis on student success as the primary factor in FSU's rapid rise in the rankings.

Examples of the student-centered focus includes:

• FSU hired 125 new faculty last fall to improve class size and research. As a result, more than 50 percent of FSU’s classes are smaller than 20 students.
• Florida State’s four-year graduation rate of 72 percent ranks among the Top 10 public universities in the country and is No. 1 in Florida.
• FSU’s average six-year graduation rate increased to 80.5 percent, up 3 percentage points in three years.
• FSU outperformed its predicted graduation rate by 13 percentage points. The university ranks No. 11 among public universities when comparing the actual graduation rate against the predicted rate, which U.S. News calculates based on the university’s resources and student profile.
• Florida State moved up five spots to No. 17 among public universities for graduation rate of Pell Grant students.
• FSU also moved up in peer assessment ratings, a survey of the nation’s presidents, provosts and enrollment managers.
• FSU continued to improve its student-faculty ratio 21-to-1.
• Florida State also rose one spot to No. 7 in the undergraduate alumni giving metric.

Contact senior writer Byron Dobson at bdobson@tallahassee.com or on Twitter @byrondobson.

Complete ratings

For more on U.S. News and World Report's “Best Colleges 2020” guidebook, visit: https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges

Top 20 rankings for Public Schools

1. University of California-Los Angeles
2. University of California-Berkeley
3. University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
4. University of Virginia
5. Georgia Institute of Technology (tie)
6. University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (tie)
7. University of California-Santa Barbara (tie)
8. University of Florida (tie)
9. University of California-Irvine
10. University of California-San Diego
11. University of California-Davis
12. College of William and Mary
13. University of Wisconsin-Madison
14. University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign (tie)
15. University of Texas-Austin (tie)
16. University of Georgia
17. Ohio State University-Columbus
18. Florida State University (tie)
19. Pennsylvania State University-University Park (tie)
20. Purdue University-West Lafayette (tie)
21. University of Pittsburgh (tie)

Source: 2020 U.S. News and World Report

FSU makes another massive jump in US News rankings. Amazing. #FSU

#18 in Top Public Schools (tie)
#57 in National Universities (tie)

— TCBnole (@TCBnole) September 9, 2019

https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/top-public


https://news.fsu.edu/news/university-news/2019/09/09/florida-state-university-joins-nations-top-20/

U.S. News & World Report determines its national university rankings based on these factors: graduation and retention rates (22 percent); expert opinion, i.e. peer assessment (20 percent); faculty resources (20 percent); student excellence (10 percent); financial resources (10 percent); graduation rate performance (8 percent); social mobility (5 percent); and alumni giving (5 percent).


10 Duke
15 Notre Dame
27 Wake Forest
28 UVA
29 Georgia Tech
29 UNC-ch
37 Boston College
54 Syracuse
57 FSU
57 Miami
57 Pittsburgh
70 Clemson
74 Virginia Tech
84 NC State
192 Louisville

ACC Network Update

Great reporting from https://accfootballrx.blogspot.com/


https://accfootballrx.blogspot.com/2019/09/updated-accn-subs-compared-to-secn.html

With the addition of Cox Communications, here's where the ACC Network stands in terms of subscribers with the ACCN channel available to them:

Distributor	subs*
DirectTV	18.7
Charter/Spectrum	15.8
Dish Network	9.6
Verizon/FiOS	5.7
Altice/Optimum	4.6
Sling TV	2.4
Hulu TV	2
YouTube TV	1
PlayStation Vue	0.8
Cox	4.5
Total Subs	65.1 M

Here's how that compares to the SEC Network at launch:

Distributor	subs*
Dish Network	14
AT&T Uverse	5.7
Cox Comm.	6
Comcast	21.7
Time Warner*	11.4
DirecTV	20.2
Mediacom	0.95
Verizon Fios	5.2
Total Subs.	85 M

* NOTE: all subscriber numbers are in millions.

Biggest reason for the higher number: SECN had Comcast, ACCN still doesn't.

On the other hand, if/when the ACCN does get Comcast on board, the number will jump from 65.1 million to 87.2 million - at which point the ACC would be ahead of the SEC in its first year.

https://awfulannouncing.com/ncaa/acc-network-carriage-deal-cox.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

This deal means ACC Network could reach as many as 52 million subscribers altogether now.

The last few weeks have seen some very good news for the new ACC Network on the carriage front, with deals with Charter, Dish/Sling TV, and now Cox. ESPN announced Wednesday that Cox has signed on to carry the network:

The addition of Cox’s subscribers here also means that ACC Network now has deals with companies that collectively cover around 52 million potential subscribers (not all subscribers to a company will automatically get ACC Network, as that depends on the company’s package deals and where ACC Network is placed), putting them close to the estimates for the more-established Big Ten Network and SEC Network (55 and 59 million respectively). And that further adds to optimism about the network and what it can mean for the conference.

https://accfootballrx.blogspot.com/2019/08/update-accn-subscribers.html

Here's your updated TV providers/subscription numbers for the ACC Network as of 8/30/2019:

Distributor	Renewal	subs*
DirectTV	signed	18.7
Charter/Spectrum	signed	15.8
Dish Network	signed	9.6
Verizon/FiOS	signed	5.7
Altice/Optimum	signed	4.6
Sling TV	signed	2.4
Hulu TV	signed	2.0
YouTube TV	signed	1.0
PlayStation Vue	signed	0.8
TOTAL SIGNED UP		60.6
ATT Uverse	2019	3.7
Comcast	2022	22.1
Cox	?	4.5
ATT TV Now	?	1.5
Frontier	?	1.3
Mediacom	?	0.8
Windstream	?	0.4
RCN	?	0.3
Cable ONE	?	0.3
TOTAL NOT SIGNED UP		34.9

As you can see, over 60 million have access to the ACCN already. The only holdout of real significance (in the ACC footprint) is Comcast/Xfinity.

https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/barry-jackson/article234548272.html

The Atlantic Coast Conference’s new television network was supposed to create more exposure for the league’s athletic programs.

Instead, most of South Florida and the nation have been left in the dark.

Barring a last minute agreement between ESPN and South Florida’s two biggest cable operators, most of South Florida will be unable to watch either of the Hurricanes’ next two games on television — Saturday at North Carolina and Sept. 14 at home against Bethune Cookman.

ESPN, which distributes and operates ACC Network, has been unable to strike carriage agreements with Comcast/Xfinity and AT&T Uverse, the primary cable distributors in South Florida. ESPN spokeswoman Kerri Potts said negotiations are ongoing with both.

Comcast spokesman John Demming declined to say anything on the matter beyond the obvious: “We don’t have an agreement.”

An executive with one of those two cable companies, who asked not to be quoted because he did not want to inflame the situation, said ESPN is asking for “a significant amount of money” from cable operators to carry the new channel - more than what some cable operators believe is justified.

That executive said his company asked ESPN to place ACC Network on a sports tier — requiring extra payment from only viewers that want the channel — but ESPN refused.

That executive also pointed out that most of the games on ACC Network were either available on free television last season or through ESPN plus, a video streaming subscription service.

Potts, responding to all of that, said: “We’ve successfully completed numerous distribution agreements based upon market rates. I remind you that we have multiple national providers distributing ACCN. All residents across Florida have a minimum of five separate options to subscribe to ACCN (DirecTV, DISH, YouTube TV, Hulu Live TV and Sony Playstation Vue).”

Google Fiber, Optimum and Fios also have deals with ACC Network.

ACC Network launched Aug. 22 with availability in about 37 million of the nation’s 120 million TV households. That’s comparable to the initial penetration of several conference networks in previous launches, but the problem is that several ACC hubs, including South Florida and Atlanta, have hundreds of thousands of homes without access to the channel.

And also keep this in mind: You will be unable to watch ACC Network games through Watch ESPN or on a computer or handheld device unless your TV service has a deal for ACC Network, per an ESPN spokesperson.

UM athletic director Blake James (through Twitter) and coach Manny Diaz (through a video message) have encouraged people to contact their cable operators to implore them to add ACC Network.

To this point, viewer pressure hasn’t worked.

James, asked if he’s frustrated about ACC Network not being available in more homes locally, said: “The immediate and long term benefits of the ACC Network are significant to the University of Miami. Similar to the launch of other networks, some providers are late to the game and that’s the case here in South Florida.

“With that said, and unlike in previous network launches, there are numerous national providers that carry ACCN. Fans have the ability to switch to DirectTV, Dish, YouTube TV, Hulu Plus or PlayStation Vue immediately to access not only football and basketball but all of our sports and programming that ACCN features. At the end of the day, all providers have the ability to carry ACCN and it’s unfortunate that some, especially Comcast and AT&T U-verse here in South Florida, have not yet signed up to provide ACCN to its customers.”

.@accnetwork reaches roughly 48 million subscribers with new deals https://t.co/a5ftqGBicb

— CollegeAD (@collegead) August 30, 2019

Athletic Department Power Index: Atlantic Coast Conference

https://www.athleticdirectoru.com/articles/athletic-department-power-index-acc/





https://csnbbs.com/thread-881936.html

Comparing the football success rank in the article with the average Sagarin rating over the past 10 years:

School...........Author....Sagarin (10yr)

Clemson...........1...........1
Florida St..........2...........2
Notre Dame......3...........3
Miami...............4..........5
Va Tech.............5..........4
Louisville...........6..........7
UNC.................7..........9
NC State...........8.........10
Virginia.............9.........15
Ga Tech...........10..........6
Syracuse..........10........13
Pitt..................12.........8
Duke................13........12
BC...................14........11
Wake................15........14

So the OP author basically pushed down GT and Pitt so he could inflate UNC, NC State and UVA. Old ACC bias. He also pushed BC down 3 spots, while elevating Syracuse 3 spots. So correction: basketball school bias!

Review of FSU Athletic missteps (updated)

OMG...they mean this literally, don’t they? pic.twitter.com/VLW8DanlPJ

— Jean Valjameis (@JeanValjameis) September 2, 2019

FSU athletics misfires history.html


https://247sports.com/college/florida-state/Board/36/Contents/Social-Media-Department--131236688/

TOP 10 EVENTS I’M GLAD FSU FOOTBALL’S TWITTER ACCOUNT WAS NOT AROUND FOR

FSU’s Football Account made another gaffe on Twitter this weekend. This time, the tweet was up for around an hour before enough backlash finally caused them to delete something yet again. With the final season of Game of Thrones set to premier, FSU Football tweeted this.

Of course, fans of all teams were there to point and laugh at yet another social media blunder. In fairness, at least this time, it was just a poorly done edit and not the greatest Civil Rights leader of all time wearing a Florida State glove while doing the tomahawk chop. Very fortunate, I know.

You don’t have to be a graphic design or social media expert to realize that FSU Football’s Social Media Team and Graphic Designers aren’t much of a priority these days. We’ve broken it down on this website before. (You can read a few thoughts on that here.)

Yesterday’s blunder got me thinking, though. I’m glad that Twitter is a relatively new app. I’m also glad that Florida State Football’s creative team hasn’t been around for very long. This team can’t even handle MLK Day or the premier of Game of Thrones. Could you imagine their tweets/edits/takes for important historical events?

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, I PRESENT TO YOU: THE TOP 10 EVENTS I’M GLAD FSU’S FOOTBALL ACCOUNT WASN’T AROUND FOR.

#10 THE OJ SIMPSON TRIAL

The trial of the century captivated the nation. Racial tensions were high and so many people had such strong opinions on what did or did not happen. We’re thankful that FSU’s Football account wasn’t around to put Garnet and Gold gloves on OJ during the trial.

#9 THE FALL OF THE BERLIN WALL

In 1987, Ronald Reagn told Mikhail Gorbachev to, “Tear down this wall.” Five years later, the wall was down. East and West Berlin were no longer separated. I am sure the last thing we needed to see was a Florida State tomahawk in Berlin.

#8 BRUTUS STABBING JULIUS CAESAR

Et tu, FSU? Perhaps the greatest betrayal in recorded history would have been the most (im)perfect moment for FSU to let recruits know how loyal they are.

#7 MOON LANDING

You conspiracy theorists can stay out of this one. “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for Seminole Nation.” Could you imagine the cheesy photoshop that we’d have gotten with this one?

#6 VICTORY (OVER JAPAN) DAY

One of the most celebrated images of WW2 was the image of World War II was the image of the Sailor kissing his wife after returning from war. One has to wonder how they’d have tried to make such an iconic moment about FSU.

#5 SIGNING OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

One of the most important events in our nation’s history. The moment we declared our independence from Great Britain was monumental for America. Would it have surprised you to see FSU’s Football Account use this as a recruiting pitch?

#4 JFK’S ASSASSINATION

One of the most tragic days in the history of our country was the day that John F. Kennedy was killed. The outrage would have been off the charts if FSU’s Social Media team would have been around to post after this awful event.

#3 THE WRIGHT BROTHERS’ INVENTION OF THE AIRPLANE

I can only imagine the awful edit we’d have gotten had Twitter existed for this event. The only thing I question here is whether the punch line would be as cheesy as the image.

#2 THE SAILING (AND SINKING) OF THE TITANIC

I can see this playing out perfectly in my mind. The “unsinkable ship” is making its maiden voyage across the Atlantic. FSU’s creative design team thinks, “We’ve finally got a home run of an idea.” They tweet this image along with a caption that says, “Set your sails with FSU and you’ll never sink.” Five days later, the first edition of It be your own tweets is born.

#1 THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST

It’s Easter Week, so the relevance here is paramount. (I’m also a little worried that FSU’s Football account may do this now that I’m typing it out.) With the ever-present need to social media accounts to be on the cutting edge of what’s current, this would have been a disaster in the making. Three days earlier, the Savior of the World had just died. Moods are at an all time low. Jesus rises from the dead and FSU sees the chance to capitalize on the positive momentum, certainly offending everyone and going viral again for the worst of reasons.

If FSU Football's Twitter account commemorates any of these events by doing edits similar to the ones you've seen here, I refuse to be held responsible. If anything, I see this article as a good thing for you to tag @FSUFootball in so that they won't make that mistake. Awareness is everything.

https://247sports.com/college/florida-state/Board/36/Contents/FSU-football-Tweets-deletes-cringeworthy-Game-of-Thrones-edit-131194924/

I’m just gonna say it, @FSUPresThrasher and @CoachTaggart PLEASE for the sake of all that is holy, fix the FSU social media issues. It’s time for major changes. This is embarrassing.

— Jade 🍢🔥 (@JadeSeminole) April 14, 2019

Just spit balling, but thinking out loud here:

https://floridastate.forums.rivals.com/threads/does-anyone-know-what-fsu-football-social-media-was-doing-here.252337/

That post was removed and the account has not posted anything since. The person running it has gotten in trouble before( if it still is the same lady)

That post was removed and the account has not posted anything since. The person running it has gotten in trouble before( if it still is the same lady)


McExcuse me!?!?! FSU fixes mistake




https://floridastate.forums.rivals.com/threads/booster-decline-trends.250065/page-2

My issue has always been FSU athletics (non boosters) has been a mess:

*Horrible AD hires. Mostly because many outside of athletics (ie presidents, trustees, etc) want to control it. The last pro who was a fit was Dave Hart and the insiders were pissed they couldn't control things. FSU has to start hiring professionals. Too many want the power to move games to Jax, etc. Hire an experienced AD.

*PR goofs. MLK, Logo change (keep staring you will like it), sending out players to the media after Bowden's tenure instead of an AD, etc, etc, etc. FSU has just had too many goofs that make it look incompetent.

*Trad Ignition. You don't sell your traditions in the middle of the night, for a tiny amount of money (yes, it was tiny, look at the numbers folks), hide from the fan base who made the decision and then claim we are a family. This was a world class blunder. I have no problem whore yourself out a bit. Money is needed. But don't do it on the cheap Number 1. And own up to who made the decision #2.

*FSU APR falling to dead last in P5 (or near it). Yes Jimbo was a mess at the end. There has to be a support structure not ust the head coach.

*FSU has kept the ACC alive for how many years over the last 20 plus years. FSU seems to have 0 voice or is just 'yes' men. Dave Hart was the last AD that had any voice or weight in the ACC (he helped get Miami in ACC). Before and since FSU seems to be taken for granted. Not to mention officiating

There are more examples, but it simply feels like for many years, FSU is the opposite of a well oiled machine. When you combine that with the worst season in 40 years....ugh. If you are winning you can excuse away the mistakes, but throw it all together and it hints at FSU being on the wrong path. Tough to throw good money after bad when you see this. If I saw Dave Hart level leadership (not perfect, but competent), I wouldn't blink twice. But I just am losing the connection I once had.

Conversely, I have always given to academics and FSU has done amazing in this area. All FSU supporters should consider academics as a charity.

67 Sawyer55, Saturday at 8:21 AM

Last edited: Saturday at 9:29 AM

*MLK mistake.  

247

Florida State's MLK Day graphic drawing jeers
ByBRAD CRAWFORD 2 hours ago
28

Florida State's graphics department has seen better days.

The Seminoles' official recruiting account on Twitter missed the mark with its Martin Luther King Jr. image on Monday, a tweet that drew universal jeers across the social network. Many college football programs posted tributes to MLK, but few were as bold as FSU's decision to photoshop the civil rights activist with Nike receiving gloves.

The graphic shows King with the phrase DO SOMETHING across the middle. The caption, "If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way" lies underneath.


The image, shown below, was deleted soon after it was published.(Photo: Florida State Athletics)

"Do Something" is the hashtag Seminoles coach Willie Taggart has been using to promote FSU's 2019 signing class. It's awfully strange (and in poor taste) to try and tie one of the most influential figures of the 20th century into a recruiting graphic and the public let the university hear it.

King, the leader of the civil rights movement for more than a decade, fought for equality and tried combating racial inequities as Baptist minister from the South. His teachings have stood the test of time and his day, Jan. 21, was recognized as a federal holiday by then-President Ronald Reagan in 1986.

pic.twitter.com/WEa95hAoqs

— Seminoles Recruiting (@FSU_Recruiting) January 21, 2019

FSU’s apology for a tweet with a graphic including Martin Luther King with a Nike glove photoshopped onto his hand. https://t.co/shJmAGIEel https://t.co/yx8PzOj1W3

— Yahoo Sports College Football (@YahooSportsCFB) January 21, 2019

Well that didn't go over well: https://t.co/75EmFF4mUa (h/t: /u/mrpibbandredvines) pic.twitter.com/GM8f9mzlO2

— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) January 21, 2019

*Not ensuring that FSU plays a cupcake prior to every UF game.  

In 2018, FSU playing BC this year before UF was beyond idiotic.  Is the ACC forcing this or does FSU not even think of this issue?  UF played a cupcake.  UF was the better team regardless, but you maximize your situation if you are smart.  UF was smart, FSU was not.

*Not hiring an experienced AD.

FSU's last 3 ADs had no experience in big time college football.  Spetman was from out west.  Had 0 knowledge of big time southern football.  Wilcox was a basketball guy from Duke.   Literally the polar opposite of FSU's culture.  Coburn is connected in Tallahassee and gets the culture.  But he has zero experience in college athletics (I have seen one of it's speeches.  I know first hand it did not go over way with a head coach at FSU.  It was not impressive).

*Moving a game to Jacksonville (Boise State).

This was dumb for many reasons.  One, you took away a game from season ticket holders (7 to 6).  Two, this was the same city that snub FSU for a bowl game a few years back.  Three, you remove an interesting game from one of the most boring schedules in years (coming off a 5-7 season).  Good luck with season tix sales FSU.

Love John Thrasher (this was his move), but this was dumb and really wasn't your place to make this move.  Given the state of the football program, it looks even worse.

*Weak Negotiators.

FSU has a history of getting worked on negotiations.  Will add examples over time:

https://allthingsfsu.blogspot.com/2018/08/more-data-on-fsus-weak-negotiating.html

*NON FOOTBALL:  Put the students on the floor in basketball.

FSU's basket atmosphere is a mess and it is because FSU's athletic department has no guts to even try to fix the stale atmosphere.  You cannot blame it on the basketball team anymore.  Or students not showing.

https://allthingsfsu.blogspot.com/2018/11/fsu-basketball-issue-hint-fsu-admin-put.html

https://allthingsfsu.blogspot.com/2018/01/fsu-athletic-dept-fails-to-create-good.html

*NON FOOTBALL:  Full week off 2 different weeks prior to ACC Schedule.

FSU's basket had 2 full weeks without a game prior to Christmas.  11/11-11/19 & 12/8-12/17.  Sub optimal.  Not sure how egregious a mistake, but an issue.

*FSU's Hiring Culture

http://allthingsfsu.blogspot.com/2019/01/fsu-booster-notes-fsus-culture-impacts.html