The PAC 12 (and the B1G) Weigh In

ESPN’s Heather Dinich quotes the PAC 12 Commissioner:

“I consider the PAC-12 an exclusive club with a high barrier to entry. We love the schools and teams we have today. We’re not actively seeking to poach any teams from any conference, but we’d be foolish not to listen if schools call us.”

[pardon the non-link]

The old landscape has dramatically changed. We and OU just took a bulldozer to the old landscaping—and then did some donuts in the yard…

 

Lol chop !

if the Pac 12 is not aggressively proactive, they are stoopid

Waiting for the girls to call you is the dumbest strategy I can think of, good grief

they should grab BYU and Boise St for starters …

 

Hell, they should also at least buy North Dakota St a drink and see where it goes.

they need teams near their time zone

 

IMHO, The PAC should look hard at:

BYU
Texas Tech
OSU
TCU
Boise State
KU???

 

I’d also love it if the PAC took in Hawaii. But it’s not the great away game trips they’re after. It’s the TV sets and $$$.

 

BA,

I enjoy your posts, but that is the worst idea I've seen so far.

That would be like the current Big XII grabbing Texas Wesleyan & Texas Lutheran. NOBODY is going to take BYU, now and or ever. Boise State has one great win in its history and parlayed that into a media darling.

Sorry to go West Mall, but the least religious conference among the P5 would offer two predominately Mormon schools?

 

no problem Sabre ... just spit balling here

 

If I was Pac-12 I'd be all over
1. BYU
2. TTU
3. TCU
4. KU
5. OSU
6. ISU

then take 4 that say yes, and tell Cal and Stanford that the days of no religious schools are over.

 

One very big issue with BYU is that they won't play games on Sundays. Obviously, this can mess with the basketball and baseball schedules, as well as conference tournaments.

Despite all this, I think BYU has the potential to add enormous value. They've got a built-in market of millions nationwide, even world wide. On the field, and court, they're solid, though usually nothing too special. Good but not great. Certainly good enough for a PAC conference that will soon either expand or be left in the dust.

As far as "religious" schools go, BYU is definitely that. TCU, well...

 

Here's a link to the original story:

Pac-12 not seeking new schools, but would listen

 

Chop,

TCU is Christian

 

I would agree.

Although they're about as "religious" as SMU or USC (both Methodist, or former-Methodist, schools). In fact, USC is a fine example of the PAC already allowing a religious-affiliated (though not all that "religious") school in their club.

(Looks like USC split from the Methodist church in the 1950s. But they were in the PAC as a Methodist school prior to that time.)

 

More speculation from the West Coast:

Could Oklahoma and Texas joining the SEC spur Pac-12 expansion?


One pundit's raw speculation, guess, dream ... about how all this shakes out. (from link above)

This guy assumes a continuation of the "conference model" still roughly based on geography--just with expanded conferences. Also, his "Big 16" wouldn't be a power conference, whatever that comes to mean. I think OSU gets the PAC invite before Boise, and probably before BYU. I like how he has the PAC scooping up Tech and TCU.

 

https://fishduck.com/2021/07/expand-contract-or-kiss-big-time-pac-12-football-goodbye/

"Regarding concerns the Pac-12 powers-that-be (PTB) might have over Baylor’s and TCU’s religious connections, these two schools today are far more secular than BYU and Notre Dame. TCU brings along the massive Dallas/Ft. Worth media market. Baylor brings along outstanding athletics in many the non-CFB men’s and women’ sports."

"Baylor, Oklahoma State, TCU and Texas Tech would hardly be the lowest ranked academic institutions in the Pac-12."

 

Rumors/Buzz that the BIG has been receptive to Oklahoma State's overtures directed towards the North.



Other buzz is that the BIG may try to poach West Virginia (away from the ACC--which many thought was a shoe-in for the Mountaineers).

While Pac-12 evaluates expansion candidates, Big Ten is doing the same

Big Ten expansion rumors are picking up leftovers from the Big 12

"A rumor that Kansas had a call set with the Big Ten was mildly entertaining while it lasted, but that was debunked by multiple media outlets over the weekend."

 

Here's a different take that ut1969 found.

(this one is coming from a Buckeye perspective):

 

Coulda fooled me.

 

wow -- the wild ideas out there are fast and furious ...

 

More B1G / Big 10 speculation.

Exploring Big Ten's best expansion plans for building a superconference

 

The latest this morning from Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports: not big news, but rather, a wet blanket on any big ideas about any imminent big expansion of the B1G.

Report: Little talk of Big Ten expansion, but Pac-12 agreement possible

"Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports said Monday there is very little interest from the Big Ten currently to explore its options to expand. The rumors that Ohio State and Michigan could be lured away by a Super Conference pitch is also false, as they are on secure footing inside the Big Ten."

According to Wetzel, from the B1G's standpoint, the most to look for is a "potential scheduling agreement with the Pac-12." B1G whoopie.

The author leaves a little wiggle room with this gem: "Expansion might be in the cards if the Big 12 folds completely, as the remaining eight schools will need a place to go." Do ya think, ya B1G genius...

Bottom line according to Wetzel: the B1G is moving slow, is confident UM and aOSU won't jump ship, and absent ND (or somehow USC), they're not jumping at the opportunity to add anybody--not yet...

 

I guarantee that the Pac12, B1G, ACC, and AAC are all talking about expansion... and feverishly. Of course they're going to deny such actions to varying degrees so as to not reveal their cards and tip anyone off. I'm not aware of too many poker players who reveal their cards in the middle of betting. Deals are being made left and right quietly, behind closed doors right now. We, and the egomaniacal sports media, won't find out about it until the deals are done.

 

Obviously, any conference would be wise to be talking with potential targets and keeping their options open.

The B1G seems to be way too stuck on their AAU requirement, it could really hold them back. Above all, they must keep the Buckeyes and Wolverines in the fold. Without those two, the whole conference folds or is relegated to irrelevancy.

 

More speculation from Columbus: Buckeye media urging a merger of the B1G and ACC (with ND) to counter the expansive SEC. That would create the 2nd "super league." Some folks up there are freaking out about the possibility of aOSU and UM bolting for the SEC; others think it's a dumb idea that would never happen...

In any event, the B1G's outdated requirement that member schools be in the AAU is likely to be the first casualty of the latest re-shuffling.

Rob Oller: Ohio State needs Big Ten to be creative facing SEC advantage

 

Agree. Call it the "Big ACC" with 29 teams + ND. Maybe grab one more like WVU to make it 30?

 

The ACC has more waste than the BigTen. Neither has a commissioner with a clue. The BigTen needs to bring Delany back and become proactive. Jettison Rutgers & Maryland, grab UVA, UNC, NCSU, Clemson, FSU, WVU, and possibly Wake & Duke from the ACC to have their super conference. Give ND one chance and then walk.

Delany made a run at UNC & UVA as a package, but UNC wouldn't move without Duke, so Delany grabbed Rutgers & Maryland to get contract credit for all the TVs in NYC, Baltimore, & DC. That TV deal is now gone.

 

So much in play. The B1G should proactively grab the top football schools in the ACC and ND, or if they can’t cherry pick, then do the full blown merger and presto—the second super conference is born. Bout time for the B1G to ditch their stringent AAU requirement.

Rutgers delivering the NYC media market is laughable. NYC is by far the largest market, but it’s a pro sports market. However, it’s such an enormous market, that even with a relatively light per-capita interest in college football, it’s still the media grand prize—or close to it. And as far as college football fans go, I’d be surprised if Notre Dame didn’t lead the way in greater NYC (with a comfortable margin). Rutgers probably isn’t even in the top 3 for the NYC media market. A lot of New York bandwagon types with no college allegiance are probably Bama or aOSU fans right about now. Wherever Notre Dame football goes, that conference will survive.

 

No doubt about it, but read carefully what Delany did to the TV people. It was never who follows who, or where the fans are, or who watches, but rather how many TVs there are in that market. A real commissioner can negotiate things like that. Delany knew nobody in NYC followed Rutgers, and the vast majority couldn't even tell you where the school is.

Delany walked in and took the TV people's virginity and they never got kissed or waltzed around the ballroom. Again, a REAL commissioner can do things like that, which is why I said the BigTen needs to bring him back to oversee this expansion.

 

Some (fairly) recent discussions regarding USC in all this:

USC's big choice: Big Ten, independent, Pac-12, or wait and see?

How an 18-team Big Ten could work in college football realignment world

Some of the talk centers around the concept of the B1G cherry picking USC and some other PAC schools (namely those in California to lock down the LA, SF, OC, and SD tv markets). USC bolting all the way to the SEC isn't out of the question--crazy things are happening now...

As long as the B1G keeps Ohio State and Michigan, they remain in a strong position.

The PAC-12, on the other hand, is in real danger of falling apart. USC could act like UT in our Big-12 heyday and really throw their weight around to gain big concessions--they seem to have that much leverage and a brand on par with peers like ND, UT, Bama, Ohio State, Michigan, and maybe 1-2 others. Out West, it's USC then a huge drop off.



They'll likely be invited to multiple parties in this realignment.

 

I think USC only joins an Eastern Conference if they have friends join with them. Stanford, UCLA to start. I'd think UW would be a target too by the B1G as it's a top 10 Public school and solid athletic program. It also has the Seattle market all to itself.

If the Pac12 disintegrates which I still think is unlikely, schools that would be left out are WSU, OSU, Utah, UA, ASU. Cal and Colorado could potentially sneak in given their combination of academic/athletics.