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Media rights holders most interested in Michigan, OSU, PSU, Wisconsin, UF, UGA, Bama, LSU in SEC-B1G partnership

By Andrew Hughes

Media rights holders prioritize eight SEC and Big Ten teams in a potential conference partnership
Media rights holders prioritize eight SEC and Big Ten teams in a potential conference partnership / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
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CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd reports that the SEC and Big Ten are working on a TV rights partnership after a meeting in Nashville on October 10 between Greg Sankey and Tony Pettiti. Dodd also reports that media rights holders likely covet eight specific teams and markets from the two conferences: Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and LSU.

"The Big Ten and SEC are in preliminary discussions about staging a series of nonconference games with each other that would enhance their primacy and financial dominance over the rest of FBS, sources confirmed to CBS Sports," Dodd wrote. "Teams from FBS' two strongest conferences would play as many as 12 to 16 'challenge' games similar to the nonconference blockbuster matchups in major college basketball, per USA Today, which first reported the discussions.

"For television purposes, media rights holders would probably be interested mostly in the name brands such as Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin, Florida, Georgia, Alabama and LSU, for starters."

Each program mentioned is the flagship program in their state. Most of them have the state name in their university's title. Interestingly enough, though, Wisconsin and Florida are included despite little success in recent years. In the Badgers' case, they haven't won a national championship since 1942.

Texas conspicuously missing from media rights holders' preferred teams list

Wisconsin was listed but not Texas? The Longhorns are one of the six programs with the biggest audience share in the country, along with Michigan, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Alabama, and Georgia.

Considering Texas is the No. 1 team in the country right now, the omission is even more glaring.

Regardless, it's clear that maximizing profits is even more important to the sport than ever before; so much so that the two commissioners from the two "Power 2" conferences are figuring out a way to keep the profits away from private equity and in their own pockets.

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