

In this structure, as Skipper proposes, there would also be a new College Football Playoff format. The ACC needs to figure out a way to get to 16 teams. They kinda have 14.5 because they have half of Notre Dame. Now, you have 16 teams in the Big Ten - great. It’s no longer geographic, though the SEC has a geographic unity. You can have some sense of camaraderie, collegiality, commonality. 16-team conference is a great size for a conference. If you get rid of a lot of the egos, the traditions, fans, this is easy. If the league could somehow afford Notre Dame, and add another team, then it’s viable in the long-term. The same can be said regarding the Big Ten and the additions of USC and UCLA.Īt the moment, there are plenty of road blocks for this vision things are trending in a different direction, away from this hypothetical four-league, 64-team model.Ĭurrently, the ACC sits at 14 full-time members. When Texas and Oklahoma transition to the SEC, that league will have 16 teams. Skipper’s vision for realignment involves four mega-conference, each with 16 teams - for a total of 64. Skipper suggests that for a league to land Notre Dame: it should offer to pay it $80 million to not remain independent. Of course, this is the type of figure that must make the ACC’s head spin - as it works to land Notre Dame, while lapped financially by the Big Ten and SEC. At the least, it’s a strong position to start from in negotiations. That may seem like a ludicrous amount of money, but for now it’s in the realm of possibilities.
John skipper tv#
So they’re gonna say to NBC: “You want us to not join a conference? Pay us a bunch of money.”Īccording to a report from Dennis Dodd at CBS Sports, Notre Dame would remain independent in football if it can find a TV deal that nets $75 million annually. Notre Dame is in a great position of leverage - because every conference would like to have them. As Skipper notes, NBC may have to break its Peacock-themed bank to afford those broadcast rights. However, as the Big Ten gets set to announce a new media rights deal - in the neighborhood of $1 billion - Notre Dame wants more money. The program’s current TV deal with NBC will pay out $22 million for the 2022 season. So they are doing what they should naturally do, which is they’re trying to figure out what they want to do, which is stay Independent. They are the single most valuable entity that is not attached to one of these conferences. Right now, Notre Dame is the wildcard in this whole thing.

It also places Notre Dame at an obvious hinge point for the future of college athletics: shape, size, scope, everything. That independence has created ungodly amounts of cash for Notre Dame. With the exception of the 2020 COVID season, Notre Dame has remained fiercely independent in football.

The conversation touched on a variety of subject matter, including the issues currently facing the ACC and the importance of Notre Dame.Īs one of the most popular brands and teams in college athletics, Notre Dame football holds a lot of the cards. ( Audio via The Dan Le Batard Show and Meadowlark Media) Last week, following ACC media days in Charlotte, Skipper joined The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz to discuss realignment in major college athletics. However, Skipper is also known for his time with ESPN he joined the company in 1997 and served as its president for several years (2012-17). While he described himself as a "careful" user of the substance, he accepted he was not in this instance.ĮSPN named James Pitaro as its new president earlier this month.John Skipper is on the Board of Directors with the DAZN Group and co-founder of Meadowlark Media, along with former ESPN personality Dan Le Batard. Skipper did not name the person who attempted to extort him but said they sold him cocaine and that it was their first deal with one another. I judge that I did a very good job and that it did not get in the way of my work. My use over the past two decades has, in fact, been quite infrequent. "I never allowed to interfere with my work, other than a missed plane and a few canceled morning appointments," Skipper said. He added he never had any issues with alcohol and, when asked, also denied ever using heroin. Skipper said his cocaine use never altered his work performance, and he never used drugs while working. That they could be used without repercussions." I had a point of view that recreational drugs were recreational, that they weren't dangerous.
John skipper professional#
I worked at Rolling Stone for the first 10 years of my professional life. "I grew up wanting to be countercultural. I had a substance abuse problem," Skipper told Miller. He had been the network's president since January 2012. Skipper, 62, revealed he was suffering from a substance addiction in a statement announcing his resignation last December.
