USC/UCLA leaving Pac12 for Big10?

AZCB34

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It must be nice to live in a world of absolutes.
Exactly what else do you want him to say? I’m not trying to defend him but you and I both know these guys will say one thing at the front counter and something completely different in the back room.

Fact in the current environment, we need the PAC to stay in existence because there will be an automatic playoff bid for the conference, at least in the short term.
 

Folster

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No power 5 conference/team would ever agree to something like this. Not saying it isn’t interesting but no possible way this would ever happen in a bazillion years

Agreed.
 

SeattleCardinal

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Fact in the current environment, we need the PAC to stay in existence because there will be an automatic playoff bid for the conference, at least in the short term.

But if the conference does go away, or it becomes a drastically diminished conference without a bid, ASU needs to be positioned to join a major conference (e.g., Big 12). I don’t have a ton of confidence in ASU’s administration to manage through that and not go down with the ship, but I am slightly more optimistic about the Pac-12’s future (media deal) than I was a few weeks ago.
 

Mainstreet

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But if the conference does go away, or it becomes a drastically diminished conference without a bid, ASU needs to be positioned to join a major conference (e.g., Big 12). I don’t have a ton of confidence in ASU’s administration to manage through that and not go down with the ship, but I am slightly more optimistic about the Pac-12’s future (media deal) than I was a few weeks ago.

If ASU hasn't thoroughly explored the situation, they have been caught with their pants down.
 

Mainstreet

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Define “plums”.

There are some prunes the PAC is sniffing around.

Exactly what else do you want him to say? I’m not trying to defend him but you and I both know these guys will say one thing at the front counter and something completely different in the back room.

Fact in the current environment, we need the PAC to stay in existence because there will be an automatic playoff bid for the conference, at least in the short term.

Sometimes it's better to say nothing if you don't have something to say.
 

AZCB34

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If ASU hasn't thoroughly explored the situation, they have been caught with their pants down.
Exactly and I believe they are constantly monitoring the situation and quietly exploring options. In the meantime, they are trying to present a unified front for the continuation of the conference.

While there is still time, I doubt a new TV deal is in place before SDSUs buyout accelerates.
 

ajcardfan

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BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF officially join the Big 12 on July 1.
Ah, missed that. PAC 12 is pretty screwed really. I predict au and ASU wind up splitting. Nationally, the rivalry isn't even on the charts. Au has a national basketball brand. ASU has nothing comparable.
 

AZCB34

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Not in market size. But you need more than SDS and at least Boise can provide good competition.
SMU was part of the convo earlier this year. They would probably be more desirable than Boise State?

I think it is now clear the TV must be a. close to being done and b. SDSU must be ok with what they have been told about it?
 

AZCB34

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Ah, missed that. PAC 12 is pretty screwed really. I predict au and ASU wind up splitting. Nationally, the rivalry isn't even on the charts. Au has a national basketball brand. ASU has nothing comparable.
I could see them splitting up but I am not sure I think that is likely. Pretty much everything is all about football so I am not sure basketball is enough to move the needle for U of A. Who the hell knows though.

I am not sure the PAC can weather any more significant departures before the conference splits up. And while I don’t want to see that happen until such time that a PAC automatic bid to the playoff disappears, I think ASU has better be proactive rather than reactive to find their landing spot
 

SeattleCardinal

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FWIW, Paul Finebaum is not optimistic about the Pac 12's future, on a radio appearance in SEC country.

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media
 

Dback Jon

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FWIW, Paul Finebaum is not optimistic about the Pac 12's future, on a radio appearance in SEC country.

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media
1) Finebaum always has hot takes to stir the pot
2) Finebaum knows little outside his SEC bubble
3) He twice predicted that the Big 12 was going to fold




Conferences don't disappear. Not with the autobid at stake. And not a conference that has Autonomy status.
 

Ouchie-Z-Clown

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But if the conference does go away, or it becomes a drastically diminished conference without a bid, ASU needs to be positioned to join a major conference (e.g., Big 12). I don’t have a ton of confidence in ASU’s administration to manage through that and not go down with the ship, but I am slightly more optimistic about the Pac-12’s future (media deal) than I was a few weeks ago.
I’m not sure ASU is a rosy target for the big conferences despite being in a big tv market. They’ve just never consistently lived up to the what could be mark.
 

Folster

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I’m not sure ASU is a rosy target for the big conferences despite being in a big tv market. They’ve just never consistently lived up to the what could be mark.

I could see ASU being a B1G target if they were to go all in on a western division. The valley is packed with midwest B1G alumni which is something that the conference looks at closely.

Phoenix is a large TV market and a connector to the LA a schools. A PAC BIG merger would have made a lot of sense with the Rose Bowl being the championship game.
 

AZCB34

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I could see ASU being a B1G target if they were to go all in on a western division. The valley is packed with midwest B1G alumni which is something that the conference looks at closely.

Phoenix is a large TV market and a connector to the LA a schools. A PAC BIG merger would have made a lot of sense with the Rose Bowl being the championship game.
Not sure exactly your thought process but Big 10 is doing away with divisions so they aren’t compelled to create some sort of western divisional structure.

I do think ASU has some appeal to the B1G. Maybe not enough to move the needle where it needs to be to add them but there is appeal for the exact reason you mention…large TV market riddled with B1G alumni.
 

AZCB34

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I’m not sure ASU is a rosy target for the big conferences despite being in a big tv market. They’ve just never consistently lived up to the what could be mark.
None of the big conferences really give a crap about ASU winning games…at least I don’t think they do. All that matters is can they trap the local TV market enough to boost the TV money.

Every conference needs a Rutgers or Vanderbilt or whatever. They need teams that can take a beating, play just well enough not to hurt the strength of schedule and won’t be a roadblock to the top conference programs.

I wonder if the question for us fans is what do we really hope for in all this? Not that it really matters because, much like politics, the leaders and decision makers of college football don’t give a flying fornication about what the fans want
 

MaoTosiFanClub

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There’s been countless statements as to why the Big 10 if they expand west would be more intrigued by UW and Oregon than the Arizona schools. It’s about eyeballs more than size of market. And nobody watches the Arizona schools in football. Ratings and interest are mediocre at best. Like Ohio State and Notre Dame probably have more viewers in Phoenix than ASU or UofA.
 

SeattleCardinal

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Not sure exactly your thought process but Big 10 is doing away with divisions so they aren’t compelled to create some sort of western divisional structure.

I do think ASU has some appeal to the B1G. Maybe not enough to move the needle where it needs to be to add them but there is appeal for the exact reason you mention…large TV market riddled with B1G alumni.
I agree that there is not enough here to move the needle for ASU, but I suppose that a western pod of 5 or 6 schools would be useful from a travel costs perspective, especially for non-revenue sports. And while it's debatable how much the B1G really cares about this, it has in fact never accepted an institution that is not AAU-accredited (Nebraska lost its AAU status after being invited). And ASU is now AAU, like UW, Arizona, and Oregon are. There are definitely a lot of B1G-focused eyeballs in the large Phoenix television market.
 

MaoTosiFanClub

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I agree that there is not enough here to move the needle for ASU, but I suppose that a western pod of 5 or 6 schools would be useful from a travel costs perspective, especially for non-revenue sports. And while it's debatable how much the B1G really cares about this, it has in fact never accepted an institution that is not AAU-accredited (Nebraska lost its AAU status after being invited). And ASU is now AAU, like UW, Arizona, and Oregon are. There are definitely a lot of B1G-focused eyeballs in the large Phoenix television market.
If the B1G adds four more west coast teams they’ll be UW, Oregon for obvious reasons. Then Stanford/Cal because the expansion will require a couple easier wins and said schools offer the academic prestige and Bay Area footprint to make the school presidents happy.

The only life raft for the Arizona schools is the Big 12. Robbins gets this, Michael Crow is delusional.
 
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