Charles Fischer

(Below is the article by John Canzano) The remaining Pac-12 Conference members have finalized the terms of their Grant of Rights, sources tell me. That contract includes a variety of elements that all 10 schools needed to agree on — and it appears they have. Among other items, the Grant of Rights includes what sponsorships are Pac-12 centralized vs. left for individual campuses to sell, what sets of rights the conference can sell, and how the revenue will be split among the 10 member schools. Even shares? Postseason incentives? “Over the last few months,” a member of the Pac-12 CEO Group told me, “we have negotiated all of these issues and the Grant of Rights is ready to go.” The length of the contract will be dictated by the length of the Pac-12’s yet-to-be-finalized media-rights deal. But I’m told all 10 schools are ready to sign the Grant of Rights once the media deal is concluded to their satisfaction. A few things while we wait: • When will the Pac-12’s media rights deal be done? I thought it would get done by last Thanksgiving. Then, by Christmas. Then, by March. The Pac-12 presidents and chancellors are now being careful to preserve the “late spring/early summer” timeline they reset a couple of months ago. Summer officially begins on June 21 — in 12 days. • What about San Diego State’s timeline? The Aztecs are viewed as a strong expansion possibility. If they want to join the Pac-12 for the 2024 football season, the Aztecs have until June 30 to inform the Mountain West Conference they’re leaving. If they miss that deadline the $17 million MWC exit fee doubles to $34 million. A Pac-12 source told me last week: “We can’t really control their deadline. Need to get our deals done so we can tell them what they’d get.” I suppose San Diego State could just inform the MWC they’re leaving on June 30 and figure the details out later. The Pac-12 could also invite the Aztecs without the media deal fully completed, but I find it hard to believe SDSU would commit without knowing what the offer is. San Diego State is being very patient. SDSU is being told by the Pac-12 that the conference “feels good” about the impending media deal and is just “trying to wrap things up,” per an Aztecs source. Stay tuned on this front. • What do you make of Colorado’s Board of Regents meeting this week? The sad souls out there rooting for the demise of the Pac-12 saw “legal advice on a specific matter — athletics matter at CU Boulder” on Tuesday’s meeting agenda and jumped to a lot of conclusions. Apparently the “matter” was not a move to the Big 12. “It was just a status update on the Pac-12 media rights negotiations,” an involved source told me. Those same regents now have added a “special board meeting” scheduled for Friday. • What about other Pac-12 members? Washington State also has a Board of Regents meeting scheduled for Friday. The Cougars are knee-deep in an athletic department budget crisis. The agenda for that meeting outlined department revenue, expenses, and the plan to bring the budget in line during the next fiscal year. But it was “Action Item No. 4” that jumped off the page to me. It would give WSU President Kirk Schulz the authority to “execute contracts or other agreements related to the University’s athletic media rights.” Schulz isn’t just a member of the Pac-12’s CEO Group, he’s particularly tuned in as a member of the executive committee along with Washington president Ana Mari Cauce and Stanford president Marc Tessier-Lavigne. Schulz currently only has signatory authority on matters up to $5 million. Beyond that, he needs to consult with WSU’s regents. Resolution No. 230609-684 would give Schulz authority to sign deals in excess of that cap. “It is highly likely business necessities will dictate that the execution of said contracts or agreements will need to occur on an expedited basis, a necessity difficult for the Board of Regents to manage as a body,” the request noted. I don’t want to make too much of one action item, but this is definitely an important step toward putting ink to paper. • How do conference media-rights deals get finalized? Bob Thompson, the retired Fox Sports Networks president, was on the other side of the table the last time the Pac-12 sold its media rights. Thompson told me on Wednesday that he didn’t remember individual schools having to consult with their regents. “Basically, we told the conference they were responsible for acquiring the necessary grant of rights approvals from the schools and to represent that they had those approvals,” he said. “How and when they did that I have no idea.” I asked around. Each campus has a different process. Private schools, such as Stanford, have different protocols than public schools. Some of the universities have already granted signatory rights to their presidents and chancellors. Others, like Oregon, are going through a change of leadership. It’s working with an interim president until July 1, when John Karl Scholz takes office. Said one Pac-12 CEO Group member: “Each campus is doing whatever it needs to do to be ready to approve when the time comes.”

Agreed. So many "hate Oregon more than they love Oregon State."

It is a joy often unappreciated by us Oregon fans, because as we bask in the glow of a victory...we are not appreciating how much frustration it causes Beaver and Husky fans.

Some great observations here by the press corps...

The question in the title was posed to Beaver fans on one of their forums and below are the responses. If you are unsure of what "FTD" means, just complete the statement of "_uck the Ducks." (I often had to add punctuation and complete sentences because....they ARE Beavers, after all.) "I'm pulling for Oral Roberts." "Hell No. F_ck the ucks." "Just never thought Oral Roberts Baseball's success would be important to me, but it is... Go Golden Eagles!!" "We should pull for PAC teams. But I’d rather have a colonoscopy than see any uck success. Go ORU!!!" "While I certainly wasn't rooting for the ducks to win their regional, them making the Supers I could stomach because we needed some Pac-12 teams to advance. I don't think I can stomach seeing them in Omaha so go ORU. I'll definitely root for Stanford though." "Stanford chill but FTD." "Have to say I'm looking forward to what golden eagles can do to a a small group of ducks. Eagles have talons, ducks have big mouths and poop slugs." "This shouldn’t be difficult… hell to the NO! Never. Go Stanford, never Oregon. There’s so much OSU hate on the duck board. They don’t like us, we don’t like them. I’m so grateful they’ve beaten us 1 time out of the last 9 matchups. It’s making this fluke of a run a little more tolerable." "About to go online and buy an Oral Roberts Baseball shirt to wear this weekend. As always FTd!!" "Not even a dilemma for me. FTd Go ORU!" "ORU pulls a Kent State at PK…….FTd!!" "I can’t believe I’ve found a worthy adversary to match up with my hole hatred." At an Oregon-Oregon State Baseball Game...

A pretty good quote in there... Oregon Baseball: Ducks vs. Oral Roberts among best Super Regionals DUCKSWIRE.USATODAY.COM Oregon vs. Oral Roberts is quickly picking up steam as one of the most intriguing Super Regional matchups in the nation this weekend.

I expect to have a few comments on Friday, but it is nice to learn additional items about Oregon's opponent. Oregon Baseball: FAQ’s and answers for Duck fans ahead of world series DUCKSWIRE.USATODAY.COM The Ducks are 2 wins away from the College World Series. Are you just tuning in? Welcome. We’ve got answers to all your questions.

The article about this Blue Chip ratio on 247 had the following quote... "Oregon is consistently moving up in the blue-chip ratio. After not making the list in 2019, the Ducks jumped to 40% in 2020, to 56% in 2021, to 60% in 2022, and to 67% in 2023. Head coach Dan Lanning has continued to increase Oregon's success in the blue-chip ratio, as the Ducks have 14 commitments in the 2024 class, with 11 of them being four-star recruits. For the 2023 blue-chip ratio class, Oregon is one of two Pac-12 teams in the top-16, with USC joining at 52%. By 2024, Oregon will be the only Pac-12 program in the blue-chip ratio as the SEC and Big 10 will combine for 12-of-16 teams."

Look...I don't know how he does it. His recruiting rankings are so-so, and he did not bring much in through the portal this year, so... It is truly a miracle coaching achievement in Corvallis.

My question has been...."DJ can't make it with Clemson talent, but he's going to do it at Oregon State?"

Some of us feel that it was his Cristobal's inability to develop that talent? Ty might be an example if he comes through this fall...

Can the Manning Academy help him pass-backwards better?

The full article referred to in the tweet in the article above, is below. This is a HUGE statistic, and Oregon having 67% of the roster at 4/5-Star is unheard of. It is evident looking at the rankings, that Oregon is knocking on the door to being in the complete-elite. Get from 67% to 75%, and we will be there. I think Dan will do that over the next two years.... Blue-Chip Ratio 2023: The 16 teams who can actually win a national title 247SPORTS.COM How much talent does it take to win the national championship in college football? And which of the teams in 2023 are most set to deliver on that promise? Unveiling the 2023 Blue-Chip Ratio.

Epic post. Copy and save it, as you can certainly use it again many times in the future!

Well, they missed on some big ones. Clemson and Miami had home regionals for the ACC and got bounced. The SEC is good, but over-rated....again. Auburn should never have been hosting as they got bounced, and SEC powers Vanderbilt and Arkansas got beat on their home fields. It is great that of eight Super-Regionals....two of them are on the West Coast, and are Pac-12 teams in Oregon and Stanford. If Coach Waz keeps up the recruiting...the Ducks could be a regular name there!

In an interview with Coach Waz...he was an assistant for Horton the last time we were in the Super-Regional in 2012, and he recalled how extra bleachers were brought in to double the audience size at PK Park! He said it will be rocking! My only worry? We rely on freshman pitchers, and this is going to be a huge crowd for them, not against them like in Nashville. The nerves and adrenalin could create a few-too-many walks?

Brandon Baker's father, Gary Baker, was a good defensive tackle at Oregon. I am hoping the family ties prevail! Fun article Alex!

Want tickets? Want information about both teams? Great stuff online, an incredible page set up by the UO Athletic Department for this once-in-a-dozen-years event! In the link on that page to the stats? It showed us that SEVEN of Oregon starters are batting over .300? That's insane!

This is a REALLY, REALLY good idea. Talk about building a streaming audience! Great stuff.

So it is official, as we will be on ESPNU, to-be-announced at 5:00 PM Friday, 6:00 PM on Saturday. (Sunday TBD if needed) Let's Pack PK! The first Super-Regional for Oregon in ELEVEN years! Eight super regional hosts and game times announced for the 2023 NCAA Division I baseball championship WWW.NCAA.COM The eight super regional hosts were announced today by the NCAA Division I Baseball Committee.

It seems I have to post this nearly every week, but Oregon's global fan base is over 5 million, larger than Alabama, Georgia, USC, Texas A&M, and you see all the rest in the article below. I also believe that since the Pac-12 Network has not been available to the majority of Oregon fans in all sports--that once we have a streaming source for all sports--our actual audience watching will double over the next five years and we will get the revenue flow from whatever conference we go with at that time. The Oregon Brand is strong, we'll be fine. Top college football fan bases. Where is Ohio State? | Buckeyes Wire BUCKEYESWIRE.USATODAY.COM The top 16 fan bases in college football make up 50% of all fans. Here’s how it breaks down with Ohio State looking massive. #GoBucks

Sounds like a smoke-screen to me, because, as you pointed out--Prime can recruit there now. Oregon has EIGHT recruits from Texas between the 2023 class, and 2024 thus far.