This goes back nearly 50 years at this point. Whenever ESPN became a thing, the ONE thing that they absolutely knew was that they needed College Football. The Big 10 and Pac-10 were already tied into the Rose Bowl and national broadcasts. Oklahoma and Nebraska from the Big 8 were also nationwide. So where did that leave the fledgling network? The SEC. So E!SPiN hitched its wagon to that beleaguered conference, and they promoted it and promoted it and promoted it. And they always WILL promote it. Because that's their bellcow. But NIL and the portal have destroyed E!SPIN's football hegemony. The B1G and PAC programs have ALWAYS had more money than the SEC. BUT they (mostly) followed the rules. The current CFP runs through ESECPN until the end of the 2031-2032 season. In the current expansion negotiations, the B1G doesn't even need to take the hard line. They just need to wrestle control of the CFP from ESECPN. Which they can and will do.
The entire State of Alabama only has two billionaires, and both of them are Auburn supporters. NO ONE in the SEC can outspend Ohio State, or the Cheaters up North, or Oregon, or Washington, or USC, or even freaking INDIANA. They can't even outspend Northwestern or Purdue. Even Rutgers and Maryland can basically spend with any SEC school except UT and aTm.
OKAY. I'm rambling. My bad.
