an academic institution. Then you have the same situation with Florida State. They are behind the other state schools, as well as private schools, in Florida. So, I don`t think either one of them have much to offer, and quite frankly I`m not really sure why the Big Ten would want either one of them either." He started out saying that he thinks the SEC might prefer to add UNC and UVA instead of them. Hilarious!
Clemson & FSU must be hating on Finebaum - think I`m a fan now. He said "Clemson is inferior to South Carolina as
- Thread starter Psycock
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What Finebaum says makes sense when you think about it. The SEC already has a footprint in Florida and South Carolina, they would much rather pick up the states of NC and Virginia than doubling down on Florida and South Carolina.
FSU academics have always been something of a joke. Academically, they are sort of an overgrown Georgia Southern, a teachers college that grew. I don't know that Clemson's academics are all that bad.
FSU academics have always been something of a joke. Academically, they are sort of an overgrown Georgia Southern, a teachers college that grew. I don't know that Clemson's academics are all that bad.
That falls back to the age old argument of footprint vs eyes on games.
There are strong opinions on both sides. I put no stock in Finebaums words as anything other than clickbait. Jmo
There are strong opinions on both sides. I put no stock in Finebaums words as anything other than clickbait. Jmo
Clemson and SC had about the same average number of viewers last season and Clemson got a bump thanks to being in the CFP where the audiences were much higher than their regular season games and the ACCCG. Outside of those games, Clemson was only in the top 5 once, when they played UGA in the kickoff classic game. FSU was in the top 5 once, their game on August 24th against Georgia tech. I think that was the only game on that day.
That said, UNC nor UVA were ever in the top 5 of games watched. I think UNC and UVA bring more than football to the SEC. Both are established top tier academic schools and both are pretty well rounded in athletics outside of football. Most years, Clemson is a one trick pony in sports, same for FSU. Also, picking up UNC and UVA would give the SEC the entire Southeast as its footprint with all states contiguous to each other, the map would be very tidy.
All that is true.
And it's countered by people who ask how many eyeballs are going to watch UVA/UNC vs (insert SEC team) versus Clemson/FSU vs (insert SEC team).
UNC and UVA have a great brand, a better physical footprint, but also doesn't have the eyes interested in watching them. (Maybe the publicity stunt hire at UNC changes that short term?)
The ACC just announced uneven revenue sharing. I think it'll be interesting to see how UNC and UVA stack up when that conference tries to actually calculate how much of a draw each team is.
If the only metric is football, you are probably right. I think the SEC wants to expand the geographic footprint of the conference and will look at all sports and the academics and overall brand of any schools they add, not only football.
I had to Google the one horse pony part. Plus their baseball teams have been good the last few years and softball is pretty good not to mention their mens basketball have been dancing the last 2 years .
Probably true. Someone would probably answer "football is king" or some other such cliche, and point out the revenue generation by football vs bball vs all other sports.
They aren't that bad, across the board they are better than Alabama, Auburn, and Tennessee. I'd put them ahead of 2/3 to 3/4 of the SEC. Finebaum is just mouthing off to be outrageous which is what he does.
As much as it pains me, I have to disagree. Look at Bama, Auburn and Tennessee in all of the major sports, they are all good, especially Tennessee. All three are currently ranked in the top 10 in basketball and all three are ranked in baseball with Tennessee at #2. Auburn's football program has been down for a while now but they will be back soon. They have been recruiting well and Freeze is a good coach.
I think the discussion is about academics. Alabama just doesn't have enough college ready kids in STEM majors so they will give an SC kid significant financial aid just to fill the seats with kids who can graduate and become employees for companies the state has recruited with financial incentives. Some of these SC kids are ones who didn't get into Clemson.
Oh, I thought you were talking athletics. Auburn is a lot like South Carolina in that about 50% of students are out of state, Tennessee is about 33% and Alabama is almost 60%. Clemson has about 40% out of state students. All of these schools give financial incentives for out of state kids to attend. The states of Alabama and South Carolina are very similar in many ways when it comes to education.
UGA, on the other hand, has about 80% in state students and UF is about the same. Texas is about 90% in state.
Finebaum is the SEC’s Ron Morris. He trolls fans as his show is built on callers. The more controversial the show, the more viewers / listeners. He admits this in his book. I wouldn’t put much stock into anything good or bad he says. He’s always trolling someone so you have to keep that in perspective.
The reality is; in today's media world that is driven by social media and internet, all of the so called "sports journalists" are focused on click count. They have to do whatever it takes and say or write whatever it takes to generate reaction and clicks from viewers/listeners/readers.