Jon Joseph

Good take. I note tht Ohio State did not have replacements for Washington when it cancelled the series with UW.

Gold: Stanford, Oregon represent for Pac-12, get favorable Super Regional draws SATURDAYOUTWEST.COM Stanford and Oregon State were the only Pac-12 teams left standing after a regional round that saw 3 other good conference...

Lo and behold! "The B12 continues to wait for the Pac-12 to reveal a new media rights figure to its members before taking the next step in that pursuit." At last an understanding of basic economics. Why would any Pac-10 team bolt to the B12 without knowing what the new media deal will be? What media network would agree to bid for additional B12 football teams without knowing the details of the new media deal? As to the B12's pursuit of Gonzaga, basketball only and UConn: "A developing mystery becomes who would pay for Gonzaga and UConn. It's highly unlikely FOX or ESPN would want to reopen a B12 deal that has yet to begin." The B12 Commissioner has proposed that existing B12 members take a revenue haircut to add these two teams. This is understandably meeting with internal resistance. It is so easy to spend other people's money but when the rubber hits the road? Inside the Big 12's pursuit of Gonzaga, UConn as Brett Yormark aims to increase league's basketball dominance - CBSSports.com WWW.CBSSPORTS.COM Whether Yormark has the support from the rest of the Big 12 remains to be seen

Good update on the Texas Tech Program. Picked to finish 4th in this season's 14 team B12. With Texas Tech faithful sold, Joey McGuire is poised to lead Red Raiders to long-awaited breakthrough - CBSSports.com WWW.CBSSPORTS.COM McGuire led the Red Raiders to their best record in nine years during his debut season in 2022

More like how interested is ESPN/Fox?

This is huge. No team without a Blue Chip Ratio roster won a BCS title or a playoff title to date. Hats off to Dan and crew.

Great take Spartan. I wonder if two more home games even against G5 opponents would not pay the balance of the buyout fees. Ohio State paid UW $500K to cancel out of a 2024/25 H+H. Unless Rob screwed up the buyout I would think that OK St and Baylor could be bought out for less with both being given more time to find a replacement than all-mighty Ohio State gave UW.

Amen. Like not suing Larry Scott for his role in the Comcast cover-up.

Another original, well-sourced take. How about 15 yards for piling on?

Thank you! I am surprised to see TCU ranked so high and where in the heck is Oklahoma? Also surprised to see Utah slightly above UW. But it helps when you play Florida home and home. No wonder Notre Dame is prized as a full-time conference member.

And if you want the playoff field to go to 16 teams in 2026 with the attendant huge payoff why not play game one in the Spring Game versus an FCS opponent with game 2 being played in week 0?

Size goes to size in big business as we again have witnessed today with the PGA, European and Saudi Golf/LIV Tour, agreeing to merge. Saudi 'sports washing' has paid off for The Kingdom. The head of the Saudi 'retirement fund' will be a member of the combined tour's board of directors. It is yet to be determined how LIV members Kopke, Dustin Johnson, and other defectors from the PGA Tour will be integrated back into the combined tours. I believe it is inevitable that at some time in the next decade 'big-time' CFB programs will follow suit and combine into a Super League. ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ On a cheerier golf note, after winning Jack Nicklaus' Memorial Tournament and $3M, Victor Hovland on Monday caddied for an Oklahoma State teammate attempting to qualify for the US Open.

Great take, Thank you. What do the numbers look like for Rutgers, Maryland, Northwestern, Maryland, Indiana, Purdue, and Minnesota? I believe this stat will be the relevant stat when it comes to Fox (CBS, NBC) deciding to pay to bring in Oregon and UW. Streaming entities may well pay the teams on revenue share and not simply a lump sum. Or, a combination of both. And this could well be one issue holding up the new conference media deal. Coincidentally, advertisers on streaming entities could also pay for ad time based on viewership. Like NIKE's deal with Michael Jordan changed the model for income paid to athletes I expect we will see the same streaming sea change coming with the broadcast of college spots.

Spot on. We should be living in a Power 4 world with the B12 having been buried. It was not enough to reject B12 'orphans' the Pac had to brag that these schools were not worthy of being members of the 'Elite Club.' SMH! This is another reason I would like to see the OK ST and Baylor series bought out. These 2 and TX Tech as you so noted Happy are going to be fired up against every Pac team on the schedule.

Yet, not so long ago an AD before Rob convinced Tennessee to play a H+H series with Oregon. TN with a 100,000-seat stadium in Knoxville tripped to Eugene. Auburn plays at CAL this season in the 1st of an H+H series. Bama has an H+H scheduled with Arizona. LSU has an H+H scheduled with CU. AZ is at Mississippi St in a return game. All of these games, even the AZ game, will draw more viewers than Oregon at TX Tech which is being played at the same time Texas plays at Alabama. Look at Pac-10 schedules for the next decade; loaded with H+H versus the SEC. Take care of B12 teams other than Texas and Oklahoma and how does it benefit Oregon in prestige wins and in the number of viewers watching the games? These are 'no win' games for the Ducks. I'd rather cancel the OK St and Baylor games and play 2 more home games against G5 opponents. With the expanded playoff caveat discussed below. I understand your and others' POV when it comes to scheduling but IMO not even trying to play B1G or SEC teams OOC is throwing in the towel. Not scheduling these teams because they don't want to come to Autzen is excuse-making defeatism from a guy making $1M a year. In 2024, we move to a 12-team playoff field. the 6 highest ranked conference champs are in with the top 4 ranked conference champs having a 1st round bye. A 3-loss conference champ will be in the field. And finally, SOS is likely to matter for determining the 6 at-large spots and for seeding. If you are not a conference champ in the top 4 you at least want to be ranked 5 through 8 to secure a 1st round home game. Scheduling in order not to have more than 1 loss in a 4 team playoff field is no longer relevant. I do enjoy this discussion and again, I understand and respect all POVs but a new day is dawning with a 12-team PO field and Oregon needs eyeballs watching if its games are going to be valued at more than $3M as reported in a post up today on BDF.

'The report of my death has been greatly exaggerated.' Mark Twain Even without LA, the Pac-10 has better markets than the B12. Oregon was the 7th most watched team in the country last season. Take out Texas and Oklahoma and a TCU team that made the playoff and a K-State team that won the conference title did not draw close to the eyeballs that watched Oregon play. The Pac-10 media deal will come close to or exceed that of the B12 deal. I don't see any Pac-10 team leaving for the B12 for a few million dollars more a year. What Pac-10 teams want to travel to Orlando and West Virginia for close to the same money? After the deal is announced and the conference's short-term future is solidified the Pac will add the San Diego and Dallas markets at a discount from what the Pac-10 teams will be receiving from the new media deal. I'm sorry, there is No Way that ESPN/Fox has committed to paying $31,7M a year for any 4 P5 teams the B12 decides to invite to the conference. And there is no way any of the 4 Corners schools will take a lesser share than BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF. The B12 without Texas and Oklahoma is not financially powered with this kind of negotiating leverage. 2 B12 teams have made the playoff and one, OK, is leaving after this season. The B12's playoff record is 1-5. 2 Pac-12 teams have made the 4 team playoff field, Oregon and UW. Combined record, 1-2. By any and every metric the 'new B12' is not superior to the Pac-10 when it comes to football, the straw that stirs the drink. Do not underestimate the financial impact that streaming on Apple or Amazon will have. Both tech companies have millions and millions more household contacts than the Pac-12 Network with 13M subscribers. The B12 sans Dallas, where TCU is well behind Texas and A+M in viewership, and the same with Houston in the Houston market, is more of a 'truck-stop' league than the B1G. Don't let the click-bait chicken littles get you down. GK is selling college sports to tech companies that have never broadcast college sports. Fox has laid off key players at its news subsidiary, ESPN has terminated many employees and cut back on the salary of many others. Many B1G games will be streamed on NBC's Peacock which only has 20M subscribers. This is simply the toughest media market to do a deal in the last decade. But a deal will get done and it will not be distant from that of the B12 deal and it will run for at least 1 fewer season giving the conference the opportunity to do a new deal ahead of the B1G and the B12.

Thank you, Alex. USC had a couple of banner recruiting days in the last week and Troy is still behind Oregon in the 2024 recruiting rankings. Going to the B1G will not ipso facto move Trojans recruiting ahead of the recruiting being accomplished by Dan Lanning and his staff. Yes, the B1G has Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State but this means more competition for SC when it comes to recruiting. And on-field competition-wise the B1G also has Rutgers, Northwestern, Maryland, Indiana, and Purdue. Last season LSU hung 60+ on B1G West champ Purdue. And although 1 game was classic, tOSU vs UGA, the B1G went 0-2 in the 2022 playoff. TCU's speed was too much for heavily favored Michigan to handle. And although it is a small sample size I expect that Lanning et al will coach the new players up far better than did Mario.

It's nice to see CBS Sports reporting something positive in regard to the Pac-12. Pac-12 football transfers: Colorado's dynamic duo, DJ Uiagalelei among newcomers set to make instant impact - CBSSports.com WWW.CBSSPORTS.COM Colorado loaded up in the transfer portal, as did Arizona State, but other Pac-12 teams made targeted moves Like the love for DE Burch. ESPN has also weighed in with impact transfers and recruits ranked by team. 6. Oregon - Ranked overall 8 by ESPN in 2023 recruiting (includes transfers.) Expected to contribute immediately - DE Jordan Burch (USCe)/ OL -Junior Angilau (Texas) Will he be healthy enough to make an impact?/ LB - Jestin Jacobs (Iowa)/ DE - M. Uiagalelei. Also mentioned - WR - Trashon Holden (Alabama)/ OL - Ajani Cornelius (Rhode Island)/ DBs - Cole Martin and Roderick Pleasant/ WR - Ashton Cozart Tez Johnson is among other new Oregon players, a glaring miss. Other ranked Pac-12 teams - 5. Colorado/ 9. UCLA/ 20. ASU/ 24. Washington

Gobbly-gook. "I'm told?" Who is doing the telling? My sarcasm is directed at Dodd and most certainly not at you, 2002.

Great take. But I'd say decent and not good money. The Pac will come close to or exceed this number but it's still a race for the Bronze between the ACC, B12, and Pac. The ACC receives $20M a team directly from ESPN but also received $20M for each team from Network distribution in 2022.

Curtis, ESPN is not flush with money and has to come up with $140M for OK/TX a year earlier than expected. Fox has LA tied up. Why would Fox pay even half of $31.7 million, $15.85M x 6 years of the new B12 media deal = $95.1M for more B12 inventory in the Mountain time zone? Why would CU agree to take a lesser revenue share than BYU? The Pac deal if it falls short of the B12 deal will be short by a couple of million if that. I'm reasonably certain that Fox will spend money on expanding the B1G and not the B12. What would be CU's biggest game draw in the B12? At TCU? I'll be surprised if CU's game at TCU this season, even though broadcast as Fox's Big Noon game, will draw 4M plus eyeballs. Oregon or UW versus Michigan, Penn State, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Nebraska will draw 4M plus viewers. CU does not have the market cachet of OR/UW. Definitely not that of Notre Dame and likely not more than UNC if the B1G looks East. Fox has to re-sell the media rights at an @15% markup to cover broadcast costs and make a profit. I don't think Fox can promise any advertiser that CU games in the B12 would draw enough eyeballs to make their investment worthwhile. This is not the media market today that existed even 12 months ago. And ESPN/Fox did not blindly commit to stepping up with the money for 1 to 4 P5 teams the B12 wants to add without doing their own vetting. The B12 has nowhere near that kind of negotiating leverage. Hang in. All this rumor-mongering will pass. Most likely sometime in July. And in 2024, at least one Pac team will be in the playoff, likely with a 1st round bye.

Not doubting you but questioning the source of Deion's comment. As it so happens CU does play in Texas this season, opening at TCU on prime time TV. I expect that games will be played in San Diego at Snap Dragon Stadium and that the conference could schedule neutral-site conference games in LA.

Great thoughts. But again I have to question where the money is coming from. Yarmack's piggy bank is not that fat.

Great post. But CU is about to get a Prime lift-off. 1st game at TCU and 2nd game vs Nebraska are scheduled for prime-time TV. I hope the Buffs game at Oregon will receive national attention and I am close to certain that SC at CU will be a prime-time broadcast.

It may not be ethical but business-wise I don't understand why SDSU does not notify the MW that it is leaving to save millions in the exit fee. Reverse course and there is no way the MW will kick out SDSU and lose the San Diego market.