HappyToBeADuck

NJ Duck thanks for finding and posting this next update on SDSU and the MWC. Sure appreciate the time and effort you and P Duck put into posting. 12Duck72, you are spot on that the MWC should reject SDSU offer for a 30 day extension. In SDSU's defense, well it doesn't hurt to ask. In response to your question, how long do you hold onto a dying conference? I would ask why do you or any other Forum members feel the PAC is dying? Is it: Just because we lost the LA TV Market or don't have a new media rights deal in place? Or is it something else? Not diagreeing with you just really want to hear that side of the arguement. Its a great discussion point...... IMHO, You know every other conference has survived, to this point, without usc and ucla as members......and the PAC will too. The PAC will send a team to the CFP every year while usc has diminshed their odds and ucla now has no shot at a CFP appearamce. UA, ASU, Colorado, CAL, WSU and OSU's chances to get to yhe PAC Title game greatly improved with usc and ucla departing. Thats a good thing. The BIG12 took the UT/OU loss in stride, took the PAC merger decline in stride and then added 4 new members. They will survive and prosper. They will send a team to the CFP every year while OU and UT diminished their chances. Another question I have in response to for alot of us, you pull the trigger sooner rather than later when the chaos happens..... What chaos is happening and what would pulling the trigger mean? Oregon has not been invited to the BIG presently or in the future. If FOX or the BIG wanted the Ducks they would be moving now. What would you have the Ducks or PAC members do if the trigger was pulled? My opinion is that sticking together, digging in their heels and making solid business decisions is the PAC's best course of action. Their will be a media rights deal because the PAC provides after 6 pm football content. That has value to the networks/streamers because football is profitable. Broadcasting live football games is very profitable. I agree thst 2 conferences and 1 network want all the money and control. The only thing stopping them is they dont have Clemson, UNC, FSU, UNC, UW, Oregon and the kingpin, Notre Dame. Those schools now control the future of college football. Their decisions to chase the money may very well break CF as we now know it. Looking forward to all the answers and comments. Its a great day to be a Duck and I am bery happy about it. Have a great saturday.....

This great Forum certainly has many varied opinions on PAC expansion. Different viewpoints and opinions make for good discussions. At this point one guess is as good as another. Excited for SDSU announcing their intent to leave the MWC. They have taken the steps and invested the money to position themselves to move to a P-5 Conference. I hope they land in the PAC. Presense and perception matter. 4 & 5 star athletes will drive down from the LA Basin to be on the sidelines when the Ducks play SDSU. Unfortuneately that will not happen every year.... AU, ASU and Utah made the jump to P5 and SDSU can too. Their football brand will grow and they will get their share of SoCal stars. Good things will happen for the PAC and SDSU. A trip to San Diego in October/November will be a treat for Duck fans as we fill the Snapdragon. As for SMU.....not much chatter about SMU after GK's visit. So who knows that status...... How a school is perceived today is not how they will be perceived as a PAC Member. If SMU is 7-3 and Oregon, Utah or UW come to town, DFW will be rocking and Texas football fans will watch. They will... Oregon draws the 8 to 10 year old fans who dream of playing for the Ducks. Some of those youngsters will fall in love with SMU, too..... Honestly, SMU has no chance or very slim, at a CFP invite in their present situation. Their die hard fans support them. In the PAC, they can build their program with $30 million annually. Much more than they receive now. They have a shot at a CFP appearance. Texas fans will watch and support SMU if that happens. Especially when UT and TA&M are not in the CFP. Georgia, Bama and LSU are not going to roll over for UT or OU. The biggest plus with SMU is it adds TV inventory in the central time zone. The PAC needs inventory to sell to their Media partners. 6 teams in the PST and 4 in the MST is not enough inventory. I know we all love our Ducks but the PAC does not have a lot of glamour games to broadcast. Fresh matchups and a PAC broadcast at 2 central, noon pacific could be appealing. SMU at OSU at 5 pst and 7 cst wont have a lot of Texas game competition. Texans will watch. None of the PAC or BIG 12 games will be able to compete against a 5 pm pacific, 8 pm eastern if tOSU is playing usc. Or Bama vs Texas. Those games are big time. The PAC would need to schedule with vision and smarts. Dont go head to head. Football is regional so make the most of those matchups. Sometime before week zero in 2024 the PAC will have a media package in place and maybe a few new teams to showcase. But one thing is certain, the Ducks will be fielding back to back top 10 recruiting classes and NFL ready portal transfers. The kind of team that can go deep in the CFP and bring home $60 million plus in playoff money....... And hopefully a Natty.......

I travel the country providing training for one on one, face to face sales. So many of my customers, when they find out i am from Oregon mention that they love the Ducks ... However, they also mention that they often cannot get the games. If OBD's arent on linear they cannot be seen. Or seen with ease. So 2 things on this: First, Charles is right, the Ducks potential audience is much bigger than it presently is. Linear is not getting the job done for the Ducks. Again, linear, though easy and convenient, is not getting the Ducks the exposure they need. Second, with financially broke espn announcing they are moving to streaming, well get prepared for the changes at hand. Like it or not. ESPN is making a strictly business decision to survive, just like FOX did to capture the LA market. So, I propose these questions to the Forum: If espn in fact does not want to handle the PAC's Tier 1 Media rights then what linear company is available? Or what linear company is stepping up at this time? If its not linear then is the only option streaming? Like it or not, and i dont like it, the cord is being cut enough to force changes. Strictly business decisions are being made because the consumer is saying enough to cable. If a linear network had captured the PAC's Tier One Media rights the deal would be done and announced. Its cookie cutter business as usual. But their is no linear deal, at least not yet . The PAC Conference is not dealing from a position of strength. But that is an entirely different topic. My wife, today, told me she is cutting the cord on her $362 a month cable/internet package. She said she can get internet and the streaming entities we want for $135 a month. If i want sports i can pick a streamer or go to a sports bar. No king of the castle here! I said really honey. She fired off a censored statement in Italian and then said. Lover, its strictly a business decision......... I feel confident somebody, soon, will make a good business decision for the PAC.

Great discussion topic with lots of possibilities. And great comments above. Just a few thoughts on this: I have a lifetime of business acumen, hunches and gut feelings wrapped up into my 50 year business career. My gut leads me to believe that no expansion will happen in BIG or SEC until the full effect of streaming is felt over the next 5 to 7 years. No one knows how much money the big streamers will pay for CF. The PAC may very well pioneer this next media move. Could be great or could be a bust. If streamers can make it go with the PAC, imagine what they can do with the BIG or SEC? FOX, broke espn and the networks have left it wide open for the streamers to shape the future. Their pockets are deep. Just depends on how committed they are to sports programming. I believe the hold up for the PAC is the groundwork and foundation is being laid out now . Complicated and time consuming. Personally, and no disrespect but i am more concerned about the PAC expansion than the BIG expansion. The BIG effectively damaged the value of the PAC and may have set the PAC on the road to extinction. As a fan, Fox has lost me come week zero 2024. I am not a negative person but it takes real leadership to dig out of a situation like this. The PAC presidents chose Death Sentence Larry and stood by and watched as he drove the conference off a cliff. Most of those leaders are still on board. However, they wouldnt be united if their wasnt some good money on the horizon in these negotiations. Time and patience is the PAC's ally

Thanks NJ Duck for posting the article. As Charles noted its early, very early in the process. But also, very exciting. DL and staff are killing it in recruiting. To stay in the Top 10 they will need to reel in a few 5☆ and 7 or 8 more 4☆ players. IMHO, the players recognize that the 12 team CFP allows Oregon and other schools a shot. No need to sit at Georgia, Bama or tOSU for 2 years behind a 5☆ when you can compete and play at Oregon and get to the CFP. GO DL, GO STAFF, GO DUCKS!

Thanks for this particular article Charles because the CFP future will be here in a blink of an eye. IMHO, the selection committee is already conditioned to SEC favoritism. They have placed 2 SEC teams in the final 4 before. Leaving out champs from the PAC and ACC. That's 50% of the CFP participants! There is no reason to believe that the 50% ratio wont continue. The committee is conditioned toward the BIG, too. tOSU has been invited even when they werent the BIG chanps. WIth the Michigan resurgence, Penn State revival and the arrival of every year, preseason nationsl champ, USC the BIG will make their case for 4 teams, too. Two thoughts on this: First, the blue chip ratio arguement he makes for some teams doesnt pass the litmus test. UT, USC and OU are packed with blue chips yet they have not won their own conference for a few years. They lost to teams filled with 3 star players. In fairness, Utah took down our Ducks and usc to become PAC Champs with less blue chippers on their roster. The Trojans didnt deserve a CFP invite and their loss to Tulane proved that. Coaching, both in game and player development should be rewarded... Second, Non SEC and BIG teams need to win those head to head games. On field results matter. Utah needs to beat Florida. Scoreboard matters to the committee. Oregon has been lacking in their chances against the SEC. Yes, they did beat tOSU in the shoe to earn a seat at the table. But CFP deserving teams don't lose to AU, ASU, CAL and OSU. On field results matter............. The main reason the CFP is expanding to 12 is for big paydays. It also quiets down the noise from the PAC, ACC, BIG12 And G5 conference. They now have 4 seats at the table. So put up or shut up...... It is reasonable to think the SEC, BIG and ND will hold the other 8 spots. The CFP bias is already in place with 4 and will remain in place with 12. This will remain in place until the non chosen win those head to head matchups against the chosen.

Thanks Rufus for the link....... Personally the biggest mistake the remaining PAC 10 leadership groups and all the commishes made....... NOT LISTENING to usc and ucla's complaints about their feelings about the equal revenue sharing plan. Supposedly, they generates 40% of the media value and wanted a larger %. I dont blame them.... They were told to pound sand and thus the PAC lost their media value. . WSU, OSU and Arizona contribute very little to the media value. They are great contributors to the landscape but not to the media value I wonder who is pounding sand now?

Thanks JJ for posting this information. I just continue to shake my head as thos all unfolds... The PAC Conference leadership has done a great job of digging their own financial grave with some poor decisions. Repeated poor decisions. Now, on the surface only with no sources, it appears that the networks want to lowball the PAC and thus shovel the dirt in the grave. What a mess this is. Each achool may need help from their top boosters to pay this debt(s). Dont know about you forum members but i donate to charities that have a proven track record of fiscal responsibility. Dont see much of that in PAC leadetship. Wishing the best for all the remaining PAC schools to get this debt handled.

Welcome back P Duck. Great to see you back posting info and articles. Best wishes on yoir complete recovery. Hope the Ducks pitching staff has enough juice left in their arms to lead the team to victory and on to the College World Series. ORU is a fierce competitor and wont go down easily. This is the game that all the players have dreamed about playing in their entire lives. GO DUCKS!

Neither team knows the meaning of quit or give up. After all the months and all the games played, it boils down to a 1 game season for one of these teams. Both games have been fun to watch and agonizing, too! Whichever team has the most juice left in their pitching staff will be headed to Omaha....... GO DUCKS!

So proud of the entire Duck baseball team, coaches and players alike. The singular focus to win is stong in this amazing group. One more win and off to the College World Series. Sweet....... ORU will bring their best, again, tonight. They are fierce competitors to say the least. Another great team effort by the Ducks will be needed and 110% fan support ro bring this to a Duck victory. So glad the huskies are busy building their considerable academic prowess......... GO DUCKS!

P Duck, fight the fight one hour at a time and get well soon. In 2020 COVID took me to the edge and bedridden for 7 months. But each day saw improvement one breath at a time. It will get better..... OBDF Nation is with you along with our thoughts and prayers. GO P DUCK............

Go Ducks...... This is so exciting for the players, school and fans. Bye the way, unnamed sources say that rhe huskies and beavers arent playing thus weekend. Guess academic prowess cant get you to a super regional. Also, congrats to Stanford. Hope both schools make it to Omaha.

The silence from GK and the conference is deafening. If in fact, the GOR has been signed, you would think that GK would make an official announcement. Or the Presidents would make an announcement. But nothing, just the sound of crickets as you approach them. WTH? The articles say sources but dont name the source. How professional is that? Because their is NO OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT FROM GK, well chances are this didnt happen. Can anyone provide the article where ESPN officially said they sid not want the PAC Tier 1 Rights?

As the landscape of college football continues to change, so will OOCG scheduling. 2 thoughts on this: First: We cannot expect Oregon to win the PAC title every year. A 2 loss PAC runner up is not a lock for a CFP invite. The SEC and BIG will fight for 5 or 6 invites each year. There is no advantage to playing a top 10 program OOC. None....If you lose, you put the team in a must win out situation. So be careful in scheduling..... The prize should be a CFP invite every year for the top 2 PAC teams Second: As the landscape changes to 2 super conferences those 2 giants could shut everyone out on OOCG. At that point they can and will make their own rules. They can have their own playoffs. Oregon most likely would be a part of one of those 2 conferences. But their is no guarantee to that. We could have another division in football. And 4 and 5 star athletes will not be coming to the B league. Many people are involved in making the long term CF decisions. Ask yourself, who of those decision makers care about the PAC?

Well we could consider a couple of factors into all this social media chatter...... 1. The PAC and its fans should not be suprised by the animosity aimed ay thrm from the BIG 12. The PAC tried to poach UT and OU and that failed. Then when the BIG 12 needed a lifeline the PAC spurned them. How do feel when you are rejected. 2. CU may have been opposed to the conference approving GK to see if CSU was a good fit. Maybe some feelongs of not being valued? 3. The road to the CFP will be easier thru the BIG 12. UO, Utes, little puppies and Beavers will be difficult to get thru. Just a few thoughts....

This is very exciting.......young, developing talent at OBD's athletic department. Not sure what sort of NIL agreement is in place for the baseball players. But a trip tp Omaha would require some pay raises. If not, the SEC could come knocking with cash... What a great problem to have GO DUCKS...........

Thank you for taking the time to create this positive football article about OBD's. With all the unknown's swirling around about media rights and expansion this timely article was refreshing. As long as the talented O Line jells, creating both running lanes and top level pass protection the 2023 offense will create nightmarrs for opposing DC's. When DC's load the box to stop the run, receivers like Johnson and Franklin will feast in single coveage. Both players possess the skills to keep the chains moving or take it to the house. I agree that both players should emerge as stars in 2023. This is exciting for all Duck fans. On the flip side, during the spring game, the D secondary showed tight coverage. All the receivers had to work hard for their catches and yards. The open field tackling was encouraging. Yet the covered receivers made catches. The on field future is bright and that is a topic I am excited to ponder. GO DUCKS......

For me, one of lifes simpliest joys and pleasures is laying my head on my pillow with double thoughts. One thought is hetting a good nights sleep with 3 or less bathroom visits. The other thought is the joy of a husky loss in any sport. Sweet! This week I will be in husky country. One win over DPU and i can invite my husky friends to a Super Regional. GO DUCKS.........

The Ducks definitely have a good chance to advance. As mentioned above, if the young arms keep the games close anything can happen with aluminum bats. The Duck batting lineup is a hitting machine and is capable of producing enough runs to advance this team to the super regionals All thecopponents in this regional ar3 capable butVandy will be as tough as it gets for our Ducks. Go Ducks......

If for some reason, the 4 teams that get a first round bye DON'T get any first round money then the CFP will be pushed to 16 teams. Georgia, Bama, tOSU and that 4th team will want their $20 mil for a first round game. The other 8 teams wont want to share their money with 4 teams with a bye. So economics and greed will get this to 16 teams fairly fast. So much will change very quickly as all this unfolds. Whoever makes the best moves in the next 5-6 years will control the landscape. However this unfolds the Ducks will come out okay as long as their is a clear path to the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Go Ducks.........

Once OU and Texas head to the SEC (big mistake) and usc and ucla head to the BIG ( double big mistake for ucla because they will not climb over tOSU, Penn State or Michigan for a CFP invite) OOC scheduling could become very difficult. It will take a few years for a better look at the OOC games landscape. i too would love to see big name schools come to Autzen. Bringing big name schools to Autzen appears to be a challenge for Mullens. The Ducks are extremely difficult at home and too much of a risk for the top teams. But those games may no longer be in the Ducks best interest. As much as the games against Georgia, LSU and Auburn raised the Ducks profile, the losses carried the weight of the Ducks " just don't belong with the big boys" all season long. Those are must win games and not worth the risk of a loss. It's creates a negative narrative in the media. Yes the win against tOSU vaulted the Ducks to #3 and they stayed there until the ASU game. Then it all came apart. One or two P-5 opponents at home is sufficient enough to build a resume. The goal is to be no less than 12-1 after the PAC title game. Then be healthy and win their first CFP game, then the quarterfinal and get to the semis. That is a $50-$60 million dollar payday. An early season, for no reason loss to a power house team could keep the Ducks out of the CFP. There would be no room for error after that. No 10-2 PAC team will make the expanded CFP, unless they win the PAC Title. A 3rd or 4th place, 10-2 SEC team will get an at large invite before a 10-2 PAC team The PAC needs 2 teams in the CFP, every year. OOC scheduling is critical to achieve this goal. Both teams need to enter the PAC Title game 11-1. The 11-2 loser may not get a CFP invite. Why schedule a top 10 school for early games? I hope we never play Georgia, Bama, LSU or tOSU again unless its in the,semis or Natty. I dont like where college football is headed. However, as a fan i cannot change any of it. So it is reaching the point of co along to get along.

As with anything worth while their will be pros and cons. It's always easier to find reasons to not take a risk or make a change. All the concerns posted are very valid and would need to be worked out. However the pros are compelling. IMHO, The travel situation is not like usc or ucla. They are a 2 team traveling show on an island. Traveling away every other week. It may have been a good financial move by Fox to capture the LA market. However, not so good for the athletes and fans. As JJ laid out, there would be a 12 team conference and a 16 team conference. Not much travel would be necessary. In football a schedule could be created for just 1 interconference trip a year. Six schools go east and six go west. The TV ratings would be high. The games would draw east and west coast fans. More eyeballs for TV. (Basketball could have conference challenge matchups one week out of the year. Maybe one year in Vegas the next year Charlotte or Atlanta.) This type of merger would provide at least 5 teams who could make the top 12 annually. Clemson, FSU, Utah, UW and Oregon would challenge for CFP appearances. This would put pressure on the SEC and BIG in their quest to put 3 or 4 teams annually into the CFP. I cannot understate that any school who gets to the semifinals will have earned $50 to $60 million win or lose. The 4th game for the Natty will bring another $30 million plus. This is ridiculous money and the ACC and PAC should consider creating a situation that cannot be ignored by the networks, SEC and big. Create a situation where you can dictate some of the terms. Not be dictated to. 28 teams with coastal viewers and 5 heavy weight members will be a force. Also, fans will watch what they want, when they want and how they want. Just televise your best Tier 1 games and viewers will watch. I watch noon est, 9 pst kickoffs every Saturday. Why wouldn't i watch 2 ACC teams? Especially if it mattered to the Ducks..... It only takes 8 teams to agree to break up the ACC and espn would have to scramble. I would love to see FSU, UNC, Clemson and MIami join in an AP Conference with Oregon, Utah and UW. That is football clout with leverage. Of course if ifs and buts,were candy and nuts, then everday would be Christmas.......

JJ, thanks for that great post. A joint merger between the ACC/PAC would solidify their place at the table This combined conference preserves rivalries, offers 9:00 am pst to 11:00 pm pst Power 5 games to broadcast and would provide some new games of interest. Without out of the box thinking their will be a 2 super conference entity that dominates and dictates the landscape by the mid 20 thirties. Both you and Charles have been warning about this scenario! Looking to the future requires forward thinking. With proper planning and scheduling the AP could provide quality matchups that could rival Fox's Big Noon Kickoff and compete head to head with Fox' Prime Time Saturday evening games. What would be more compelling to watch? Purdue vs ucla or UNC vs WA? USC / Northwestern or Utah vs FSU MIch/USC or Clemson vs Oregon Ucla vs Iowa or SMU vs Wake fricken Or when the SEC plays 4 cupcake OOC games the AP could field at least 1 or 2 quality matchups. Question is...... Are their enough or any out of the box forward thinkers who will lead and shape their collective future? Or will they let the SEC and BIG shape that future for them? It's time the ACC and PAC make some counter moves. As they say, lead, follow or get out of the way. GO DUCKS!!!!!!!!

JJ, as you know business and economics can be like wind and water. The linear business model of broadcasting College Football is solid, dense and deep. Proven, time tested and is the water. Sometimes the economics can be like a powerful storm with diastrous winds. The winds of economics are currently blowing against the PAC. Uncertainty about future conditions can be a gale force wind blowing against you. These negotiations are in a storm Which way the wind is blowing is the prevailing wind that settles this issue. Sometimes we just have to ride out the storm.