I think USC and UCLA will ultimately push for more west coast partners to be included in the B1G once travel costs start piling up. UW and Oregon might not be going now but they will be eventually, and hopefully Cal can hitch a ride. Everyone's thinking it.
So I think the calculus we're seeing is whether the Four Corners schools consider it more valuable to stay put until that time comes or to preemptively jump ship. The equation seems to have tilted in favor of maintaining the PAC for a few more years for the time being.
I expect Pac-12 After Dark viewership to dip, not because the audience is smaller but because the B1G is definitely going to be doing their best to cut into that market. At least half of the LA schools' home games are going to be night games, meaning we'll be seeing a B1G night game in maybe 8 of the 13 weeks of the regular season.
I think the only certainty we can count on is that TV money will decide how all this turns out. FOX and ESPN are calling the shots now. Certainly not individual schools. Not conferences either (unless they happen to want what the TV money wants). The spiraling cost of running a football program has made schools more & more dependant on TV money; Like any addict, getting your next fix becomes all consuming.
Except that Utah, Cal aren't even wanted by the Big 12 (they have BYU) and Stanford is only valuable to the Big Ten if it helps them get Notre Dame. The only valuable schools in the Pac are UW and UO, and both will either be in the Big 12 or Big Ten in three years.
Except that Utah, Cal aren't even wanted by the Big 12 (they have BYU) and Stanford is only valuable to the Big Ten if it helps them get Notre Dame. The only valuable schools in the Pac are UW and UO, and both will either be in the Big 12 or Big Ten in three years.
Except that Utah, Cal aren't even wanted by the Big 12 (they have BYU) and Stanford is only valuable to the Big Ten if it helps them get Notre Dame. The only valuable schools in the Pac are UW and UO, and both will either be in the Big 12 or Big Ten in three years.
So basically no one does anything until the Big 10 decides on further expansion. A lot of this also might be contingent on the ACC and whether or not their top schools can get poached. And all of it depends on Notre Dame.
Can Cal and what remains of the Pac-12 stay together long-term, avoid Big 12 incursion?
I think USC and UCLA will ultimately push for more west coast partners to be included in the B1G once travel costs start piling up. UW and Oregon might not be going now but they will be eventually, and hopefully Cal can hitch a ride. Everyone's thinking it.
So I think the calculus we're seeing is whether the Four Corners schools consider it more valuable to stay put until that time comes or to preemptively jump ship. The equation seems to have tilted in favor of maintaining the PAC for a few more years for the time being.
I expect Pac-12 After Dark viewership to dip, not because the audience is smaller but because the B1G is definitely going to be doing their best to cut into that market. At least half of the LA schools' home games are going to be night games, meaning we'll be seeing a B1G night game in maybe 8 of the 13 weeks of the regular season.
A Pac, ACC, Notre Dame merger would be ideal here. They would cover all time zones and have content all day.
The more that WSU and OSU get optimistic, the less that I feel optimistic for Cal.
Cal. Stanford, Oregon and Washington to Big 10.
WSU, OSU, Arizona, ASU, Colorado, Utah to Big 12.
Done!
I think the only certainty we can count on is that TV money will decide how all this turns out. FOX and ESPN are calling the shots now. Certainly not individual schools. Not conferences either (unless they happen to want what the TV money wants). The spiraling cost of running a football program has made schools more & more dependant on TV money; Like any addict, getting your next fix becomes all consuming.
Except that Utah, Cal aren't even wanted by the Big 12 (they have BYU) and Stanford is only valuable to the Big Ten if it helps them get Notre Dame. The only valuable schools in the Pac are UW and UO, and both will either be in the Big 12 or Big Ten in three years.
Except that Utah, Cal aren't even wanted by the Big 12 (they have BYU) and Stanford is only valuable to the Big Ten if it helps them get Notre Dame. The only valuable schools in the Pac are UW and UO, and both will either be in the Big 12 or Big Ten in three years.
Except that Utah, Cal aren't even wanted by the Big 12 (they have BYU) and Stanford is only valuable to the Big Ten if it helps them get Notre Dame. The only valuable schools in the Pac are UW and UO, and both will either be in the Big 12 or Big Ten in three years.
So basically no one does anything until the Big 10 decides on further expansion. A lot of this also might be contingent on the ACC and whether or not their top schools can get poached. And all of it depends on Notre Dame.
I’m not sure what Knowlton would even say, but I’m itching to hear something, anything from Cal