Georgia State? LOL
Even Georgia Tech doesn't command the Atlanta market, UGA owns that, even if they're an hour away in Athens.
I agree 100%. But that has been the AAC’s snake oil since Day One. Other than rural based East Carolina (which has no fans other than students and alumni) the AAC lie has been that being IN a city = being SIGNIFICANT IN that city.
There isn’t a city in the AAC where the AAC team is in the top 5 most popular college teams.
If that's so, looks like the Big 12 was right to accuse ESPN for being behind Texas and Oklahoma's moves.
Well, yes, ESPN so an opportunity and ran with. Understand what the Big 12 2.0 was. Texas and Oklahoma engineered at deal where some TV games were held back, meaning an unequal revenue sharing system. Unique in all of college sports. So the teams that could leave Big 12 1.0 (Nebraska, TAMU, Colorado, and MIzzou) did so. Thus they created the Big 12 2.0 with eight field fillers. The idea was to settle the matter between themselves at least 9 years out of 10.
Didn’t work, mainly because the best want to compete in better conferences, to see if they really are the best and to improve. You don’t get that playing the Little 8. Also didn’t work for ESPN, because the Longhorn Network is losing $$ by the buckets full, because it turns out that one pushover football game, three pushover basketball games, minor sports and reruns of Texas victories from 35 years ago is not compelling programming
So ESPN saw a way to make the SEC better (it owns 100% of the SEC rights, shares the Big 12 with Fox) and to get out of the Longhorn Network. Texas and Oklahoma saw a way to get out of the disaster that has been the Big 12 2.0.
Thus is born the Big 12 3.0. Twelve teams united in the knowledge that no other conference wants them.