The Pete Bevacqua Thread

[OrlaNDomer]

Sorry, but this is bizzarro land. We're talking Clemson and FSU here.

Doesn't have to be 1:1, but I'm sure it would be more lucrative for NBC to pay just Clemson/FSU than pay for an entire conference. They need content to fill timeslots, but they don't actually need a whole conference, they've just been forced to pay for the slop to get the cream.

 

[tecateparty]

Then you run into a very real issue with trying to build a 12 game schedule on the fly and probably get stuck playing 4+ G5 teams in 2027.

Respectfully, playing ACC teams in 2025 and beyond feels very much the same as playing G5 teams.

 

[Katzenboyer]

According to ISD, they're not expecting anything major to be announced at tomorrow's news conference.

 

[OrlaNDomer]

Respectfully, playing ACC teams in 2025 and beyond feels very much the same as playing G5 teams.

Why respectfully?

 

[ACamp1900]

The sour grapes thing is damned if you do,… if they had taken a pop tarts invite they narrative would have been ‘it’s the independence bowl!!! lol at ND!’

 

[NDVirginia19]

The problem is that the poptarts bowl is such an unserious joke of a game that it debases the teams that play in it. Fun atmosphere if it’s two 7-5 teams, but a slap in the face to teams that are CFP worthy.

 

[tecateparty]

According to ISD, they're not expecting anything major to be announced at tomorrow's news conference.

Don't really see the point of it then

 

[IRISHDODGER]

Equivocated for 50 seconds before saying the interesting thing "5th grade musical chairs" - better persuasion is open with musical chairs, blather for 50 seconds and close with musical chairs. Only ND fans are still listening after the first 50 seconds of blathering.

Only ND fans are listening to the entire interview anyways. Hence, the clips that are cut up & put out where just the “musical chairs 5th grade birthda party” is focused on b/c that’s the part that will circulate and maybe go viral

 

[stlnd01]

The problem is that the poptarts bowl is such an unserious joke of a game that it debases the teams that play in it. Fun atmosphere if it’s two 7-5 teams, but a slap in the face to teams that are CFP worthy.

Exactly. If we could have played Texas or Vandy in the Gator Bowl, maybe that would be worth considering.
But no one is in the mood for breakfast pastry hijinks at this point.

 

[IRISHDODGER]

The problem is that the poptarts bowl is such an unserious joke of a game that it debases the teams that play in it. Fun atmosphere if it’s two 7-5 teams, but a slap in the face to teams that are CFP worthy.

Exactly! UGA fans getting on their high horse about losing CCG & dropping out of CFP in 2023 but still played their bowl. They leave out the part that their bowl was a NY6 bowl against a lame duck team w/ no QB. When they sign up for the Pop Tarts Bowl, I’ll admit I‘m wrong.

 

[OrlaNDomer]

Pop Tarts Bowl and all bowls in Orlando are terrible. Orlando has a lot more to offer than people realize, but the Citrus Bowl is a dump in a bad part of town. I'm hoping with the Jags playing next season here they'll at least clean up the surrounding areas and figure out parking.

 

[Katzenboyer]

Don't really see the point of it then

It's done every year after ND's season ends, apparently.

 

[FOTY977]

The problem is that the poptarts bowl is such an unserious joke of a game that it debases the teams that play in it. Fun atmosphere if it’s two 7-5 teams, but a slap in the face to teams that are CFP worthy.

Add in the layer of the post-game ceremony where a religious-affiliated university (likely Notre Dame) would get to sacrifice a sentient mascot to “Mouth Heaven” and then feast on that mascot’s body. I don’t consider myself one of the “holier than thous”, but that is NOT a good look and a pretty damn disrespectful.

 

[greyhammer90]

It's done every year after ND's season ends, apparently.

If true I think it's a bad move. I hate it when orgs do something that makes no sense under the circumstances just because it's what has been previously done. Unless you have some announcement, announcing a press conference right now looks like you are holding court to further complain. The time to do that has been the last 24 hours. Press/pundits/fans have been generally as supportive as you could ask for (considering we're ND and everyone hates us) with basically everyone agreeing either the result or the process was suspect and that we have some legitimate complaints. Filling up the airwaves tomorrow with further headlines of "ND AD says system is unjust" is going to hurt the cause and public opinion more than help.

 

[thekid33]

One thing I do know for an absolute fact is that basically all of the ACC coaches want out of the ND scheduling agreement and loathe playing ND. They are being forced to do it because the league needed the TV inventory but they think it adds a loss and that the matchup is all downside in the current 12 team CFP era. So I doubt people are signing up for October and November games on a whim short of being told by the conference that they have to. It's no different than Lincoln Riley's logic of "I already play 9 Big Ten games why do I have to play another OOC with a 75%+ chance of losing when Indiana schedules three cupcakes?"

So where we are at is that we hate it and they hate. Good, let's divorce.

Now, what happens after the divorce?

Logistically, as much as I had fun trying to dream up an association of independents that's not going to happen.

And, once we divorce the ACC we lost any small leverage we may have had to get a similar deal with the B1G (forget the SEC at this point).

So, if we want to have a competitive football schedule we realistically should join the B1G as a full-time member in every sport.

At this point, the arguments for independency in football are basically moot, especially if you join the B1G. You are now playing a national schedule. Yes, there are no teams in the south. But, there are teams in the West, Mid-West, and Middle-Atlantic. You can schedule a random SEC team or ACC team (Auburn, Clemson, etc.) out of conference to hit that region.

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

The biggest consequence of all has nothing to do with NIL, The Portal, coaching salaries, etc. Once realignment was over and everyone had picked apart the PAC 12, that was going to be the straw that broke the current system. Yesterday was now the end of bowl structure as we know it.

The dissolving of the Pac 12 should not have been allowed to happen. The ACC is likely next. The Big Ten and SEC will take what they want, leave the rest, and the Big 12 might clean up the scraps. At that point, 5 became 3 and a super league is the next step. The G5 are going to be on their own and any ACC schools that don't get picked up are out in the cold.

 

[OrlaNDomer]

So where we are at is that we hate it and they hate. Good, let's divorce.

Now, what happens after the divorce?

Logistically, as much as I had fun trying to dream up an association of independents that's not going to happen.

And, once we divorce the ACC we lost any small leverage we may have had to get a similar deal with the B1G (forget the SEC at this point).

So, if we want to have a competitive football schedule we realistically should join the B1G as a full-time member in every sport.

Maybe you are right, but I wouldn't join the Big 10 without exhausting every possibility to remain independent but also keep a high level schedule.

ND did it before and it can be done again. Find 12 ADs who aren't afraid to schedule us and sign-up long-term deals.

 

[NDWarrior]

It really feels like even the most cursory peek behind the curtain will reveal some next level collusion between ESPN and the SEC (and to a lesser extent the useful idiots in the ACC). And god I hope someone starts poking around there and burns this whole thing to the ground, because what a fucking sham this has all become.

Pete at least made it clear that the ACC is treading in dangerous waters here and we aren't going to just sit down and take their bullshit anymore.

Edit - but dear god someone please bring up why a sitting AD of a university that stands to profit from a fellow conference member making the field doesn't have to recuse themselves from the process of picking the teams in the playoff. It doesn't make any sense, and someone needs to start banging that fucking drum.

A bit of a conspiracy theory but it sure does seem that the former Baylor AD and CFP Chair, was suddenly put on leave of absence at a very crucial time in the CFP rankings - only a few weeks into the Tuesday rankings - which gave new SEC AR AD and new CFP chair plenty of time to maneuver the transition from: Miami and ND being miles apart towards being consecutively ranked on final ranking Sunday; and to get AL moved one spot ahead of ND.

One thing I remember about the few Tuesday CFP rankings shows that still included him is that he was pro ND and had logical comments re: why the committee had ND and Miami firmly separated (ND much higher) in the rankings.

Then it's like he and this line of thinking are shut down conveniently at a perfect time to change direction.

To me, the whole thing sounds strange:

- They keep mentioning the sideline altercation which if true sounds like anger management issues, however, this incident was 1.5 months prior to his suspension and already known
- The Reddit rumor is that Rhoades was having an affair with a (local school) Midway ISD Elementary School Principal (SBE), but again, it seems like that was already known and the University and CFP were looking the other way

It seems very convenient to suspend him when they did in terms of changing the Chair's influence and the direction of the CFP.
Obviously, can't be proved, but smells fishy to me...

 

[DillonHall]

He doesn't need to be public about this. Let the AD fight the battles necessary and let Freeman focus on coaching, recruiting, the portal, etc.

I agree, this is higher than the head coach. It’s a problem that has to be addressed at the administrative level. Pete is doing his job by being the face of the ND response

 

[KMac151993]

If true I think it's a bad move. I hate it when orgs do something that makes no sense under the circumstances just because it's what has been previously done. Unless you have some announcement, announcing a press conference right now looks like you are holding court to further complain. The time to do that has been the last 24 hours. Press/pundits/fans have been generally as supportive as you could ask for (considering we're ND and everyone hates us) with basically everyone agreeing either the result or the process was suspect and that we have some legitimate complaints. Filling up the airwaves tomorrow with further headlines of "ND AD says system is unjust" is going to hurt the cause and public opinion more than help.

I don't think there is anything wrong with a state of the program after each season which is par for the course for what ND does. I think message boards expect some big announcement when in reality it is just business as usual but just drawing a lot more eyes than normal.

 

[thekid33]

Maybe you are right, but I wouldn't join the Big 10 without exhausting every possibility to remain independent but also keep a high level schedule.

ND did it before and it can be done again. Find 12 ADs who aren't afraid to schedule us and sign-up long-term deals.

Even if there were 12 that you could find, and I agree that you probably could, the big problem is that with the conferences being so bloated they would all want to play us earlier in the season.

 

[pumpdog20]

Having been to Duke, UNC, Wake Forest and NC State games - only NC State sells their stadium without ND on the schedule. Every other team has $100-$200 season tickets that only sell out if ND is coming to town. Their football atmosphere is terrible. Coaches may not like a reminder of how bush league they are but ADs like the $$ not just of the contract but the cheeks in seats and ability to bundle shitty tickets with ND to pretend they sold something that year. Look at the empty ACC CCG stadium in Charlotte with Duke and UVA - basketball schools first.

Because I'm bored, I did the attendance research for the ACC for the last 5 years for teams we played on the road:

2021
FSU: 57,073 avg; ND game 68,316... vs Miami was 71,917
VT: 57,579 avg: ND game 65,632... UNC was also a sell out
Vir: 41,415 avg: ND game 48,584

2022
UNC: 47,420 avg; ND game 50,500... Pitt & NC ST also sell outs
Syr: 39,998 avg; ND game 49,861

2023
NCST: sells out all their games
Duke: 22,502 avg; ND game 40,768
Lou: 49,947 avg; ND game 59,081... Kentucky was 59,225
Clemson: sells out all their games

2024
Ironically no ACC away games for ND

 

[sfk324]

Because I'm bored, I did the attendance research for the ACC for the last 5 years for teams we played on the road:

2021
FSU: 57,073 avg; ND game 68,316... vs Miami was 71,917
VT: 57,579 avg: ND game 65,632... UNC was also a sell out
Vir: 41,415 avg: ND game 48,584

2022
UNC: 47,420 avg; ND game 50,500... Pitt & NC ST also sell outs
Syr: 39,998 avg; ND game 49,861

2023
NCST: sells out all their games
Duke: 22,502 avg; ND game 40,768
Lou: 49,947 avg; ND game 59,081... Kentucky was 59,225
Clemson: sells out all their games

2024
Ironically no ACC away games for ND

Because Ga Tech moved their home game to a bigger stadium.

 

[OrlaNDomer]

I'm just floating ideas at this point, but what if we gave the Big 10 6 games a year instead of 5 like we do the ACC, but they have to take our other sports.
Pool A - Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State
Pool B - Oregon, USC, Washington
Pool C - Nebraska, UCLA, Iowa
Pool D - Illinois, Indiana, Purdue
Pool E - Northwestern, Minnesota, Wisconsin
Pool F - Rutgers, Maryland, Michigan State

 

[sfk324]

I'm just floating ideas at this point, but what if we gave the Big 10 6 games a year instead of 5 like we do the ACC, but they have to take our other sports.
Pool A - Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State
Pool B - Oregon, USC, Washington
Pool C - Nebraska, UCLA, Iowa
Pool D - Illinois, Indiana, Purdue
Pool E - Northwestern, Minnesota, Wisconsin
Pool F - Rutgers, Maryland, Michigan State

The Big 10 isn't giving us a partial deal. They were clear about it in 2012 and there is no reason to think that would change now that there are two legitimate conferences and a bunch of garbage.

 

[RDU Irish]

Only ND fans are listening to the entire interview anyways. Hence, the clips that are cut up & put out where just the “musical chairs 5th grade birthda party” is focused on b/c that’s the part that will circulate and maybe go viral

Which is why you lead with it immediately after the question - what is said after that is irrelevant. Saying witty shit sixty seconds after everyone is done listening is Low T beta boy shit.

 

[ab2cmiller]

Maybe you are right, but I wouldn't join the Big 10 without exhausting every possibility to remain independent but also keep a high level schedule.

ND did it before and it can be done again. Find 12 ADs who aren't afraid to schedule us and sign-up long-term deals.

Jack tried to keep us independent as long as he could.

He did the ACC tie-in to keep us independent in football but allow us to have a reasonable schedule as it was getting harder and harder to schedule.

The items that contributed to the problems back 15 years ago have only gotten worse. So no, I don't believe we can do it again unless we want half of our schedule be group of 5 teams.

 

[RDU Irish]

Because I'm bored, I did the attendance research for the ACC for the last 5 years for teams we played on the road:

2021
FSU: 57,073 avg; ND game 68,316... vs Miami was 71,917
VT: 57,579 avg: ND game 65,632... UNC was also a sell out
Vir: 41,415 avg: ND game 48,584

2022
UNC: 47,420 avg; ND game 50,500... Pitt & NC ST also sell outs
Syr: 39,998 avg; ND game 49,861

2023
NCST: sells out all their games
Duke: 22,502 avg; ND game 40,768
Lou: 49,947 avg; ND game 59,081... Kentucky was 59,225
Clemson: sells out all their games

2024
Ironically no ACC away games for ND

Tickets sold and cheeks in seats are totally different numbers for the basketball schools. Bundle ND with a couple other games and you bump your tickets sold but those other two tickets end up in the garbage. I've been to plenty of Wake Forest, Duke and UNC "sell outs" with crap tons of empty seats even playing ND. Don't even get me going on the pre-game.

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

Organize a mini "Frozen Four" for this month and January.

ND invites BYU, Vanderbilt and Texas. Winner of the two games play in a final "bowl" or whatever you want to call it.

 

[pumpdog20]

Tickets sold and cheeks in seats are totally different numbers for the basketball schools. Bundle ND with a couple other games and you bump your tickets sold but those other two tickets end up in the garbage. I've been to plenty of Wake Forest, Duke and UNC "sell outs" with crap tons of empty seats even playing ND. Don't even get me going on the pre-game.

No argument, i was just proving your comment with numbers. Also, I simply went with the attendance recorded by ESPN for each game. A lot of the duke games had less than 20k as the recorded number. Not sure if that's is tickets sold or butts in seats, but it was reported as attendance.