USC/UCLA leaving Pac12 for Big10?

[WiscoBird]

I'm not sure why the ACC would give FSU a break. By all accounts their GOR is rock solid until 2036. Maybe if we were in the same decade that their current deal expired, it could be possible. Also you'd think ESPN would have some incentive in keeping the ACC happy. Do they really want them in the SEC at $70 million a pop or losing teams to the B1G and Fox?

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FSU has been vocal about leaving, and the ACC knows it can't sit around and wait to die. ABC/ESPN own the SEC TV rights starting in 2024. If they go to the SEC, which they will because FSU is not AAU, ESPN loses nothing in the deal.

Might be nothing, but something to keep an eye on.

 

[Folster]

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FSU has been vocal about leaving, and the ACC knows it can't sit around and wait to die. ABC/ESPN own the SEC TV rights starting in 2024. If they go to the SEC, which they will because FSU is not AAU, ESPN loses nothing in the deal.

Might be nothing, but something to keep an eye on.

I'm not sure how credible that Swaim guy is but paying a $300 million buy out is incredible. Why wouldn't ESPN want to keep FSU in the ACC at $36m per year instead of paying them $70m and risk destabilizing the ACC?

 

[Folster]

The "Nebraska effect" is coming for a lot of these schools changing to "bigger/better" conferences. USC/UCLA will begging the B10 to add more west coast schools after they watch their playoff hopes go up in smoke having to play December road games at Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, etc. And Texas/Oklahoma are going to both be even worse having to add more SEC powers to their regular schedule every year.

And Arizona is getting the worst of the deal. They move into conference where their football team won't be any better, and the their basketball dominance is going to be far less in a much better hoops conference.

Yes, they are all getting more money, but they are all also likely to slide in terms of national relevance... just like good ole Nebraska. The school can count its greenbacks, but I guarantee that a day doesn't go by where the Husker fanbase doesn't regret not staying in its old comfy conference where it ruled the roost.

The track record of schools changing Power 5 conferences is pretty poor. Arkansas, South Carolina and Missouri are annual SEC punching bags. Texas A&M can recruit but hasn't been able to put it together in the SEC. Colorado and Nebraska have become irrelevant in the PAC and Big 10. None of the Big East schools that left for greener pastures in the ACC have done much of anything sans FSU. West Virginia in the BIG 12 has been less than mediocre.

It's almost like smaller conferences built on regional rivalries and shared history and culture was good for the game and better for the schools and fans involved.

 

[TJ]

When it comes to football, UofA has been one of the worst programs in the Pac 12 in recent history. Going to the Big 12 and often playing 2-3 time zones away will likely stifle any potential renaissance the program may be experiencing. More money won't change the outcome as everybody in the Big 12 with better historical programs will have the same amount.

For basketball I see why it is appealing, but I also see downsides of no longer being the premier program in the conference. Losing a direct recruiting connection to CA could also present challenges.

Finally, money isn't everything. Nebraska has a lot more money now in the B1G than they ever did in Big 12.

PAC-12 will be just as good if not better than the Big-12 this season in football and Arizona has a clear path to a bowl game this season. And how do you figure 2-3 time zones will “stifle” anything? I’ll take the additional revenue to fund better facilities and add to NIL pot, which will help recruiting and paying for Better coaches, which is far more impactful than what time zone we’ll be in

 

[Folster]

PAC-12 will be just as good if not better than the Big-12 this season in football and Arizona has a clear path to a bowl game this season. And how do you figure 2-3 time zones will “stifle” anything? I’ll take the additional revenue to fund better facilities and add to NIL pot, which will help recruiting and paying for Better coaches, which is far more impactful than what time zone we’ll be in

Point to one example where a school left its P5 conference for another P5 conference and it worked out well for them.

If pro football teams struggle when they travel across multiple time zones for games then student athletes don't stand a chance.

 

[Lefty]

The Pac-12 is not going to be a P5 conference after this year. It will become a mid-level conference.

 

[Absolute Zero]

PAC-12 will be just as good if not better than the Big-12 this season in football and Arizona has a clear path to a bowl game this season. And how do you figure 2-3 time zones will “stifle” anything? I’ll take the additional revenue to fund better facilities and add to NIL pot, which will help recruiting and paying for Better coaches, which is far more impactful than what time zone we’ll be in

I wonder how many bowl games U of A will make from the Big 12?

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

There’s a major lack of fundamental economic and college athletic realities going on here. It’s really this for both Arizona schools:

1. the Big 12 and around $50M a year or:

2. a Pac-Mountain West bizarro hybrid conference that only broadcasts games on ESPN Ocho for $10M

The Big 10 and SEC ain’t walking through that door. The building is burning and through the BOR AZ has told ASU that they are walking out the fire escape. Up to y’all now or possibly end up with roadies in Laramie and Las Cruces every year.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

I wonder how many bowl games U of A will make from the Big 12?

An extra $40M in the bank is a helluva lot better than the 5th place bowl game the Mountain West gets an invite to.

 

[Folster]

There’s a major lack of fundamental economic and college athletic realities going on here. It’s really this for both Arizona schools:

1. the Big 12 and around $50M a year or:

2. a Pac-Mountain West bizarro hybrid conference that only broadcasts games on ESPN Ocho for $10M

The Big 10 and SEC ain’t walking through that door.

I understand the grass is greener in the Big 12 right now despite your hyperbolic false choices. But history shows us jumping P5 conferences has not worked out well for just about every school that has done it.

But if your choices are to be a cellar dweller in the Big 12 for $32M or be a cellar dweller in the Pac 12 for $20M or whatever it ends up being, then the choice is easy. Might as well make more money if I'm UofA.

Again money does not guarantee success in college football. SDSU, Boise St, BYU, and Fresno State have all had better football programs than UofA over past decade with budgets the fraction of the size.

 

[Folster]

Is UofA going to turn into a Big 12 version of one of the irrelevant SEC/B1G schools that always brags about how great their conference is while posting losing season after losing season. At least the checks will cash, I guess.

 

[WiscoBird]

I'm not sure how credible that Swaim guy is but paying a $300 million buy out is incredible. Why wouldn't ESPN want to keep FSU in the ACC at $36m per year instead of paying them $70m and risk destabilizing the ACC?

Swaim comes off as a jerk but he was dead on the money in regards to the PAC 12. FSU wants out and I'm not sure it's in the SEC,ACC, or ESPN best interests to force them to stay. FSU will be AAU soon and
Miami just got their AAU status. ESPN/SEC run the risk of losing both to the B1G and they are already gone from the ACC. Why not get what you can now and try to survive?

 

[GatorAZ]

An extra $40M in the bank is a helluva lot better than the 5th place bowl game the Mountain West gets an invite to.

The national opinion of Arizona potentially leaving a dying conference is that of a no brainer. The remaining P12 fans and regional guys like Canzano seem like the only faction that’s irked by it. If this was Oregon St it wouldn’t be nearly as big of a story.

 

[GatorAZ]

Is UofA going to turn into a Big 12 version of one of the irrelevant SEC/B1G schools that always brags about how great their conference is while posting losing season after losing season. At least the checks will cash, I guess.

Arizona is always going to be behind the Utah, Oregon and Washington’s of the conference so let’s say the original PAC stays together (which likely won’t happen) minus USC/UCLA. More money seems like a no brainer in that regard.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Is UofA going to turn into a Big 12 version of one of the irrelevant SEC/B1G schools that always brags about how great their conference is while posting losing season after losing season. At least the checks will cash, I guess.

Ah I see now where the spin is going for ASU fans. “Better to be Fresno State than Purdue.”

There’s no administrator in college sports who thinks that by the way. That extra $10-20M a year funds a lot of big ticket items around campus and the added exposure brings a lot more applicants and donors. I do think though that ASU isn’t going to end up having a choice in the matter and the PAC will crumble beneath them forcing a move.

PS - You guys also have that pesky issue of not being any better than the Boise, BYU, and Fresno State’s of the world over the last ten years by the way.

 

[Absolute Zero]

An extra $40M in the bank is a helluva lot better than the 5th place bowl game the Mountain West gets an invite to.

Nice consolation prize I guess for moving from football bottom dwellers in the PAC12 conference to bottom dwellers in the Big12. If you have a good year, maybe you'll get to play in the Armed Forces or Guaranteed Rate Bowl. Awesome. I know the 3rd place Big12 team Texas even made it to the Alamo Bowl, where they promptly lost to Washington, from the PAC 12.

I just think ASU is going to have a better football program than U of A, no matter what the conference alignment situation ends up at. There will probably be several more changes before things get settled for good. Who knows where things will end up. But football will always be football. And ASU will always be better than the U of A.

 

[Absolute Zero]

Ah I see now where the spin is going for ASU fans. “Better to be Fresno State than Purdue.”

There’s no administrator in college sports who thinks that by the way. That extra $10-20M a year funds a lot of big ticket items around campus and the added exposure brings a lot more applicants and donors. I do think though that ASU isn’t going to end up having a choice in the matter and the PAC will crumble beneath them forcing a move.

PS - You guys also have that pesky issue of not being any better than the Boise, BYU, and Fresno State’s of the world over the last ten years by the way.

I follow ASU football for what happens on the field, not in the boardroom. And without conceding the point on who is better between the teams you mention, what really matters is that ASU is better than U of A.

 

[TJ]

Point to one example where a school left its P5 conference for another P5 conference and it worked out well for them.

If pro football teams struggle when they travel across multiple time zones for games then student athletes don't stand a chance.

Football teams struggle when they don’t have financial resources to be competitive. money for NIL, coaches, locker room makeovers, etc are far more important than the time zone the games are in.

 

[TJ]

I wonder how many bowl games U of A will make from the Big 12?

At this rate, it’ll be more than ASU unless Crow/Anderson get their heads out of their assess

 

[Folster]

Ah I see now where the spin is going for ASU fans. “Better to be Fresno State than Purdue.”

There’s no administrator in college sports who thinks that by the way. That extra $10-20M a year funds a lot of big ticket items around campus and the added exposure brings a lot more applicants and donors. I do think though that ASU isn’t going to end up having a choice in the matter and the PAC will crumble beneath them forcing a move.

PS - You guys also have that pesky issue of not being any better than the Boise, BYU, and Fresno State’s of the world over the last ten years by the way.

I don't care about more money for big ticket items around campus. ASU has enough fancy new buildings on campus. These bloated academic institutions already have way too much money yet keep jacking up tuition every year. I want to watch a competitive football program play regional rivals and have a chance to win the conference every so often and get a crack at the playoffs.

 

[TJ]

Nice consolation prize I guess for moving from football bottom dwellers in the PAC12 conference to bottom dwellers in the Big12. If you have a good year, maybe you'll get to play in the Armed Forces or Guaranteed Rate Bowl. Awesome. I know the 3rd place Big12 team Texas even made it to the Alamo Bowl, where they promptly lost to Washington, from the PAC 12.

I just think ASU is going to have a better football program than U of A, no matter what the conference alignment situation ends up at. There will probably be several more changes before things get settled for good. Who knows where things will end up. But football will always be football. And ASU will always be better than the U of A.

UofA has already found a way to be much more competitive in football than ASU from a dollars and cents perspective. UofA going to a more financially viable conference doesn’t help ASU at all. Can’t see how you can say this with any degree of confidence

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

If you guys think ASU on CBS Sports Network at 8pm playing New Mexico State will be able to compete with any Big 12 school with 3x the budget playing on ESPN and Fox I don’t what to tell you.

Fortunately for you guys I’d bet that Crow gets dragged kicking and screaming into the Big12 since he’ll have no other options.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

I don't care about more money for big ticket items around campus. ASU has enough fancy new buildings on campus. These bloated academic institutions already have way too much money yet keep jacking up tuition every year. I want to watch a competitive football program play regional rivals and have a chance to win the conference every so often and get a crack at the playoffs.

You think moving from the WAC to the PAC in ‘78 was a good move? This is basically the same thing.

 

[AZCB34]

You think moving from the WAC to the PAC in ‘78 was a good move? This is basically the same thing.

Different era so, as I see it, i believe the move made sense. Point taken though as it relates to results

 

[Folster]

You think moving from the WAC to the PAC in ‘78 was a good move? This is basically the same thing.

That's a horrible analogy. It's laughable.