College sports realignment - Pac 12 implosion

[Sweetgum]

@Peruna1998

ESPN and other outlets are reporting that the ACC is considering reaching out to Stanford and Cal.

That would be really weird for Cal and Stanford to be in the ATLANTIC COAST conference.

[Mwfan1921]

@Peruna1998

Cal and Stanford may hold out for the B10 (though I think the B10 is holding out for the collapse of the ACC…got to get a southern footprint).

I agree this is the Big10’s ambitions. Who knows if it will ever happen though. I could easily construct scenarios where we get down to basically 4 or so D1 conferences: Big 10, SEC, Big 12, ACC.

@txfriendly

But Cal, geez, I’m not sure. They were already struggling to even make interest-only payments of ~$18M/yr on their hundreds of millions in athletic department debt, and that was with significant distributions from the Pac-12. I see no scenario where they would be invited to the B1G at this point, and I don’t think they can afford independence, so they may have to hold their noses and make the best of the MWC in order to at least get $5M/yr until the MWC contract is up in three more years. Truly, they need a Phil Knight-style mega-donor to come along and save them from their predicament.

Wow. Didn’t know this. Quite the pickle…I don’t think Cal has the national brand required to go independent. It’s tough when one is at the dance and everyone is pairing up, watching the number of potential suitors quickly dwindle.

[tsbna44]

That’s not a save. That’s a demotion but it’s like when the big 12 almost collapsed 10 years ago, there was talk of KU …yes basketball power KU…having no home and going to the mountain west.

Let’s be honest - some schools are filler. Oregon St and Washington State, etc. They don’t make a conference. They are not desired. They are filler.

The PAC 10 picking up far less desirable schools is not a save. I’m not even sure they are then next level below.

All this is good for UCONN. I can see the ACC grabbing them to help replace / protect against a departure. They have ‘potential.’

[Mwfan1921]

Totally agree a Pac 12 comprised of ‘filler’ schools would be untenable…no way they could attract the media $/contract they need to be competitive, no way they could attract the NIL dollars they need to be competitive in recruiting.

[tamagotchi]

It would be really weird to split up Cal and Stanford. Wouldn’t that mean no Big Game? Not a sports fan myself, but having attended both of these schools at various times, I do have a sense of the Big Game’s importance.

[lkg4answers]

@txfriendly

But Cal, geez, I’m not sure. They were already struggling to even make interest-only payments of ~$18M/yr on their hundreds of millions in athletic department debt, and that was with significant distributions from the Pac-12.

How much of that debt came from the earthquake retro-fit of their stadium?

Note that the UC Regents is having UCLA pay Berkeley. https://www.si.com/college/ucla/news/uc-regents-approve-ucla-move-from-pac-12-to-big-ten-impose-tax-to-support-cal

The University of California Board of Regents met at the Luskin Conference Center in Westwood on Wednesday for a special meeting to issue a final verdict on UCLA’s move from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten. The school’s conference move alongside USC, which first came to light in late June, was officially upheld by the regents with an 11-5 vote, albeit with some caveats.

The board determined that, while the Bruins will be allowed to continue with their move as planned, they are recommended to agree to mitigation measures involving travel and other issues regarding student-athlete welfare. The board also recommended UCLA pay the Berkeley campus $2 to $5 million annually, depending on the end result of the Pac-12’s ongoing media rights negotiation, to offset Cal’s expected losses and stabilize student-athlete support on its sister campus.

After putting it to a vote in the open session, the ceiling of the “Berkeley Tax” was bumped up to $10 million.

[ucbalumnus]

@Sweetgum

That would be really weird for Cal and Stanford to be in the ATLANTIC COAST conference.

It would also be very annoying with respect to travel to in-conference games (other than against each other). But then UCLA and USC chose more annoying travel when they joined the Big “10”. The ACC does have somewhat scattered locations in the north-south direction, ranging from Syracuse to Miami.

[ucbalumnus]

@tamagotchi

It would be really weird to split up Cal and Stanford. Wouldn’t that mean no Big Game?

Some college teams do or did schedule non-conference rival games (college football schedules typically have three or four non-conference games to go along with eight or nine conference games). For example:

• Colorado versus Colorado State
• Florida versus Florida State
• Georgia versus Georgia Tech
• New Mexico versus New Mexico State
• Notre Dame versus Stanford, USNA, and USC
• USAFA, USMA, USNA play each other each season

[AustenNut]

I’ve read the headlines about the various mergers, but I have nothing meaningful to add. I will say that this thread is a definite education!

I will also say that I’m not a big fan of huge conferences…

[twoinanddone]

@tamagotchi

Wouldn’t that mean no Big Game?

Schools can always play an out of conference rivalry game. CU and CSU play, and used to play labor day weekend in Denver but now are back to playing in their home stadiums. USC and Notre Dame play each other.

In the huge conferences, they no longer play every team every year. They have subdivisions, and play the teams in those groupings.

If Cal and Stanford don’t end up in the same conference, they could schedule one of their non-conference games against the other. Usually those non-conference games are early on the schedule, Aug or Sept, and not Thanksgiving weekend, but not always.

[tamagotchi]

Ok, thanks @twoinanddone and @ucbalumnus for educating me on non-conference rivalry games. As you can see I don’t know much about sports

[sushiritto]

Some rivalry games may or will not survive conference realignment, here’s one example:

Gundy: Bedlam rivalry with Oklahoma is 'history'

[twoinanddone]

Well you asked if they’d go away, and they might or they might not. CU and Nebraska didn’t play for years after they left the big 8 and now they do again because the games bring a fortune to the schools when they do play. They don’t play every year, and of course couldn’t play in the conference-only covid years. I don’t think Neb and Okla continued their rivalry because Okla made more money playing Texas (and Texas schools).

I’d guess Cal-Stanford would be the same. They’d play as non-converence games for a few years, take a break, realize those games are worth a lot of money, and go back to them. Rinse and repeat.

[tsbna44]

I predict CAL will be getting big paydays to be top team’s easy win lackey - like when colleges bring in 1-AA teams.

[Twoin18]

I thought this sounded like a good idea

MysteryMan

[sushiritto]

Cal may have to join the Big Sky Conference with other “notable” D1 schools such as:

Cal Poly SLO, UC Davis, Sacramento State, Idaho & Idaho State, Montana & Montana State, Portland State, Northern AZ, Weber State, Northern CO and Eastern WA.

[YoLo2]

Once Wazzu and Oregon State leave, just have a “PAC 2” where Cal and Stanford play a “The Big Game” every weekend. Think of the excitement and revenue!

[twoinanddone]

@sushiritto

Cal may have to join the Big Sky Conference

I don’t see Cal traveling to Greeley Colorado to play a ‘big game.’

[sushiritto]

@twoinanddone

I don’t see Cal traveling to Greeley Colorado to play a ‘big game.’

I don’t see them traveling to Happy Valley, Columbus or Ann Arbor to get their butts handed to them either. Cal football hasn’t been good for a long time. At least the Big Sky teams are West Coast teams and Cal’s talent level would fit better.

[tsbna44]

This is what I don’t get - when you talk of Cal and Stanford to the ACC - how?

And does it help USC recruiting or Oregon recruiting to know they have to go to Maryland?

Everyone knows the west coast suffers due to the time zone…but at some point, it’s gotta be tough for a kid in Eugene to be in Iowa City, then home, then College Park, then home, then Happy Valley, etc.

I’d hate it.