Posts Tagged ‘PAC 12’

The Demise of the PAC12. The Future of the Mountain West

Posted: August 6, 2023 in Uncategorized
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Well, well, well. As I stated August, 2022 (read my SDSU, Big 12 and PAC 12 Implosion piece) when the Bruins and Trojans accepted the invitation to join the Big 10, the PAC 12 was two schools away from complete collapse. The time has arrived. Surprisingly, not initially at my insistence of Oregon and Washington causing the rupture, rather Colorado and Arizona triggered the crumble of the once power 5 conference.

The flight of the Ducks and run of the Huskies to the Big 10 was long anticipated by yours truly. Now the Big 10 has four schools in the treasured fourth window (Pacific time) of college football (sorry, basketball has no influence in any of the August, 2022 forward movement). Two schools to four schools doubles options and flexibility surrounding scheduling on Saturday . . . and Friday (!). Yes, the Big 10 media contract insists on Friday night games. Guess which four newbies will shoulder the dreaded, unnatural Friday night exposure?

The wait-for-me exit of Arizona State and Utah to the Big 12 was their only viable option. The Big 10 wanted nothing to do with either school. Staying with the now four remaining schools was the equivalent of eating under cooked chicken and wondering why your were vomiting for days after. However, Brett Yormark’s long standing desire to provide the Big 12 with a fourth window of linear TV (to those of you wondering, linear TV is normal TV. You know, pre-app and similar broadcast platforms) remains unfulfilled. Will Mr. Yormark shy away from his stated West coast desire or is another addition or two possible?

Concerning the remains of the once vaunted PAC 12, I present to you the chalk outline of Stanford, Cal, Washington State and Oregon State. Bow your head. Pray. You recovered? Here we go.

Stanford has enough money (the root and cause of all realignment movement) to hit the Notre Dame independent road. Cal does not. Both schools are woefully short on football centered alumni (they don’t care. Shhh). The idea floated by certain commentators and wishful thinkers that the Big 10 is interested in either school is, dare I say, poppycock. Yes, harsh language for harsh idiotic ideas. Both schools feature a yawn of recent achievement in the land of football. Cal is sub .500 the last ten years while Stanford is sub .500 three of the last four years. Both results are dismal in the eyes of Midwest decision makers. Cal has no other option other than to join the Mountain West, no matter how distasteful the idea. God forbid, joining a conference with six schools featuring the word “State” in their title. The horror. If Stanford dips their toe in the water of independence, I predict a BYU experience at best. Stanford has zero national appeal and marginal regional appeal (I’m generous. Candidly, they have no appeal outside the Bay area). Joining the Mountain West provides stability as opposed to the who-knows-what-will-happen journey of life without conference affiliation.

Washington State and Oregon State generate no interest with any of the remaining Power Four conferences. Pullman (population 33,000 ) and Corvallis (population 60,000) are small towns surrounded by smaller towns in the middle of nowhere. Traveling to and from is a pain. Both schools are perfectly suited for the Mountain West. The Cougars and Beavers offer a football upgrade for the Mountain West which is most welcome. Basketball, not so much.

Finally, the remaining PAC 12 schools are staring geography in the face. Distance matters. As does a lack of outside interest, athletic departments with budget deficits and nowhere else to go. Welcome to the Mountain West!

SDSU, Big-12 and PAC-12 Implosion

Posted: August 27, 2022 in Uncategorized
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Where to begin?

The Big-10 is the beginning, the end and whatever religious chant you want to invoke. No incense, though. Makes me sneeze.

Reading the agreement, $7.5 billion seems the minimum for B10 schools. I assume/forecast/know that the B10 will invite two more schools. Thus, the large end of the contract drifts towards $10 billion. Stop for a moment. Whether $7.5 billion or $10 billion, we speak of an astronomical, beyond the stratosphere, amount of money connected to college football. Couple theses billions of dollars with NIL money, and many a B10 athlete is sitting on a pile of money. Good for them.

The four participants: B10, FOX, CBS and NBC all deserve applause. The B10 commissioner, Kevin Warren, is a forward thinking man. Demanding a triple play of B10 games beginning at noon (Eastern Standard Time), followed by 3:30 p.m. and culminating at 7:00 p.m., or in Mr. Warren’s words “owning windows”, makes the contract groundbreaking. Of course, a new level of alcoholism will blossom as many a college football fan will revel in potentially 10.5 hours of football each and every Saturday from September through early December (bowl games are another conversation). A friend owns a beer store in suburban Philadelphia. He expects sales to increase and impress. Bottoms up and wallets empty.

NBC joining the parade was a surprise. Wed to Notre Dame football was/is smart, but far too confining in the media world of college football. Do know that N.D.’s agreement to accept a raise of $60 million per year was not an extension of the NBC contract, rather a butt pat for a job well done. Anticipate the Irish scheduling more and more B10 games at the expense of their pseudo relationship with the ACC. Please note, I speak solely through the voice of football.

CBS momentarily two-times the SEC (oh, the fury). CBS choosing not to renew their contract with the SEC was mind numbing, yet ultimately acceptable in light of their B10 inclusion. Imagine the indignation of the SEC nation at the reality of continuing Saturday 2022 and 2023 broadcast time with the floozy CBS! Concubine! Yet, SEC fans will tune into CBS until the bitter end.

FOX owns approximately 60% of the the B10 Network. Now they own so much more. FOX on Saturdays, with plenty of B10 games to offer, will receive the majority of love and cash from viewers, media and advertisers. L.A. kids wearing not only USC and UCLA gear will adorn themselves in Ohio State and Michigan shirts, hats, apps, shoes and whatever else is floated via algorithm. Southern California will become more and more confused.

Returning to the spurned SEC, fear not. The entity is angry and seeks revenge. The B10 better than southern football? Never! CBS dating, promising, sending flowers since 1996 suddenly turns away? Die, you bastard! ABC/ESPN (remember, one is the other) now pays $300 million annually to assuage the tender feelings of SEC football. SEC, baby, you remain beautiful, yet furious. A southern woman spurned feels no end of rage until she says otherwise. The ACC beware. The SEC will hunt your ranks for additions. Clemson and Florida State are the two most likely to receive invites. Perhaps others as well. Those of you who wield the shield of grant of rights agreement need to embrace “out of court settlement”. We speak of money, not pride, not tradition. The ACC may be as brittle as the Big-12 and PAC-12. Finally, will the SEC go bold and copy the B10’s coast to coast presence? The ACC is the portal to the east. How far west? Beyond Texas? Beyond Arizona?

The term “Power Five” must be removed from the lexicon of college football. The Two is now the standard. The B10 and SEC far outdistance the ACC, B12 and P12. Along with The Two, how about the Trailing Three?

The P12 is teetering on the edge of extinction. I know, who would have thought? Yet, USC and UCLA bolting for the B10 is the stuff of legend which will ultimately lead to the collapse of the P12. Candidly, I assumed Oregon would couple with USC, however, the southern California media market dwarfs the Eugene media landscape. Who knew? USC will compete in the B10. UCLA will join Rutgers and Indiana at the bottom. By the way, the UC system demanding an explanation from the Bruins regarding their P12 departure is truly stupid. Money, people. Money. Next objection? Speaking of cash and the P12, the annual pay received by USC and UCLA via the B10 is an amount only dreamed of by P12 schools.

The inevitable exit of Oregon and Washington implodes the P12. Both schools exit long before any other combination of P12 schools. To where, I know not. B10? B12? The ACC in a desperate move to remain on par with the B10 and SEC? I give marginal consideration to both Arizona schools joining the B12. Arizona has the academic aura, but not the football machine. Arizona State provides the opposite. I discount the conversation about Stanford and Cal (especially) receiving an invite from the B10. Utah and Colorado joining the B12 makes sense, yet both media markets are limited, but in the case of Utah, joining BYU in the B12 captures the vast TV market of the state of Utah. Yes, a smart ass comment. The two most likely what-the-hell-happened survivors are Oregon State and Washington State. Their respective egotistical nightmare scenario is nowhere else to go but the Mountain West. Trauma! Emergency response!

And now, what about San Diego State University? My beloved Aztecs. If George Kliavkoff, P12 commissioner and Larry Scott doppelganger of do nothing, but look busy, casts his net before further B12 expansion invites are delivered, the Aztecs join the P12. A big “if” given the B12’s Brett Yormark efforts to keep the conference within sight of the B10 and SEC. Is a Mr. Yormark issued invite possible? Yes. The Aztecs possess the last and final presence in the southern California college football media market. If the B12 wants a West Coast team or if the P12 wants to retain a kinda-sorta L.A. market, SDSU provides the opportunity. Snapdragon stadium offers a cherry on top to any conference considering the Aztecs. So does a 7-2 mark against P12 schools dating back to 2016. If both conferences pass on the Aztecs, life goes on in the Mountain West. With the Beavers and Cougars along for the ride.