Jon Joseph

Love the graduate school idea. I would expand it in the situation you described to an entire conference proving tuition-free graduate school opportunities. Loyalty in a day and age of players 'jumping ship' should be rewarded.

Amen David, Amen. Trying to build a college roster in a day and age of NIL, cut-throat recruiting, roster tampering, and restrictions on transfers governed only by dates when the transfer portal is open is chaos. Far easier to build a roster in the NFL than in the P5 and G5. Imagine how the Arizona coaching staff and fans feel about 3 of its best players being poached by USC. How about a very good Oregon TE room being hurt by losing a solid TE to USC? It's difficult to not see USC under Riley as the leader in roster tampering. Ask Coach Narduzzi at Pitt Opportunity for the players? I'm all for it but somehow in some way this 'chaos' has to be regulated and with an impotent NCAA there is nobody to provide regulation. IMO, with an 85 scholarship cap coaches should be able to 'cut' players so long, as you so noted David, players can retain their scholarship.

I think it is more likely that ACC teams will be individually picked off by the B1G and the SEC and that the ACC as a conference could disappear or drop to the G5.

However that Michigan team ended up defeating Tim Tebow and Florida, coached by Urban Meyer, in its bowl game sending Lloyd Carr into retirement with a sweet victory. After the back-to-back Ls against App St and Oregon that Michigan team rebounded and played well.

Good stuff. Oregon has played well against B1G teams, but the conference overall has several B1G losses. Utah lost to Penn State in the 2022/23 Rose Bowl. And lost to Ohio State the year prior. Before Coach DeBoer arrived UW was blown out at Michigan. Two seasons ago Oregon State lost at Purdue. Last season WSU did get a heck of a win at Wisconsin. I think it is probably .500 or so conference-wise since 2017. Especially if you do not count victories against USC and UCLA.

And if Utah had last season been in a 12-team playoff it would have had a 1st round bye. Maybe staying at 10 would be the right move?

Now living 'Down South' I can assure you that CFB is close to religious status here compared to viewership and interest on the west coast. The B1G? Many teams supported because of huge graduate let alone student interest. I do believe CAL, Stanford, Oregon, and UW will get a B1G invite but not at a full share like FOX gave the LA schools. The B1G cannot hang SC/UCLA out on a west coast island. But once the Pac-10 media deal is done it's certain that the new Left Coast invitees will not be offered a full share. Then do you abandon OR ST and WSU? Will the payout justify leaving OR ST and Wazzu behind? A 12-team CFB playoff field will soon be here. Might it not be better for the Pac-10 to remain as is and have a better shot at CFB playoff and the coming expanded CBB playoff? A bigger piece of the ultimate, to be determined, Pac-10 pie instead of adding more schools? Will SDSU and SMU be more 'accretive' than the Pac-10 staying as is?

I do not disagree at all with you my friend but at least the football travel will be somewhat limited compared to all other sports. Traveling to the eastern time zone to play Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, and possibly Michigan State will be a witch. Not so much Rutgers, Maryland, Indiana, and Purdon't. The Boilermakers won the west last season and were then mugged in the B1G champ game by Michigan. And in the bowl game, LSU hung 60+ on these boys. The B1G is top-heavy and overrated in football.

Gator hater. I agree. But the tune does tie in so well with CFB headed into the 4th quarter. If Utah wins 1 game next season it best be the opener vs Florida; a team that will likely need a tutorial on how to lift the tray table and fasten a seat belt.

Join in a heartbeat? One would think so but the revenue share will be negotiated by B1G (FOX) and will not be a full share equal to that SC/UCLA will receive. More than the Pac-10 new media deal? Probably but not a whole lot more. Enough to entice Oregon and UW to abandon OR ST and WSU and subject the athletes, especially in CBB and non-revenue sports to absurd travel requirements?

Used by FOX to keep ESPN out of FOX's backyard, the LA market. I don't think football travel will be all that bad going on the road 4 to 5 times a year, perhaps 6 when SC travels to South Bend but for basketball and the non-revenue sports? Brutal.

Great take. I do not disagree but much of the B1G's strategy, including the success of the B1G Network is orchestrated by 'our friends' at FOX. Go to your room, Joel Klatt. A Pac-12 player at and graduate from CU. Now playing for 'the enemy.' Without FOX's input, USC and UCLA do not head east. Hades has no fury like a network scorned by ESPN's OK/TX theft from the B12.

The last member of the Lynyrd Skynyrd Band, Leonard himself, has passed away. RIP. His passing got me thinking about the best rock-and-roll song adopted by college football teams. Here's my take in reverse order. 5. Virginia Tech - Enter Sandman - Metallica - This tune brings down the house when the Hokies enter the stadium. 4. Jump Around - House of Pain - The old stadium at Wisconsin rocks around itself when the fans jump around at the end of the 3rd quarter. 3. Shout - The Isley Brothers - Autzen Stadium also shakes its booty when this classic is played at the end of the 3rd quarter. Does anyone want to Gator? 2. Sweet Home Alabama - Lynyrd Skynyrd - The fans at Alabama games love it when this song breaks out. 1. I Won't Back Down - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Speaking of Gators, see above, Florida fans go nuts when Gainesville-born and raised Tom Petty sings this classic tune at the end of the 3rd quarter. What says you Ducks fans? Have I hit the right notes or am I way off?

Thanks for this post. I doubt that schools like Clemson and FSU would make the B1G cut based on their respective academics. These two schools are AAU member institutions. The ACC has only 5 AAU member schools: Georgia Tech, UNC, Duke, UVA, and Pitt. I think Clemson and FSU would be a better fit in the SEC where they play every season. Clemson vs South Carolina and FSU vs Florida. When the B1G next expands will it look east, as noted Notre Dame would be a no-brainer, or west. How much will FOX pay each new team? I expect Notre Dame would get a full B1G share perhaps funded by NBC. NBC is now a 'junior member' along with CBS in the B1G media deal. I would not expect Oregon to receive an invitation from the B1G before a new B1G commissioner is hired and the Pac-10 finalizes the number of the next media deal.

Wow! Michigan State defeated Florida for the B1G's last basketball tourney championship in 2000! Considering the number of teams the B1G places in the field year after this is not good.

How about 'Too big to fail?' Both schools floundered in football for a decade plus and the UCLA athletic department is deep in red ink. Bailed out by the LA market and by FOX. The B1G may as well be referred to as FOX Inc. Like the SEC should be referred to as ESPN, Inc. Great take, 2002, but I don't think they were smart. I think they were seduced by FOX and by a scheming liar in B1G commish Kevin Warren and by an accident of geography. Would Oregon and UW leapt at a B1G invitation? Probably. But FOX/B1G is not going to expand beyond LA until FOX knows what Oregon and UW will receive under the new media rights deal. If invited, neither Oregon nor UW will receive a full share of B1G media revenue.

The Pac-10 had unequal revenue shares before CU and Utah were added and Larry in 2009, went to equal shares. SC's frustration over this change has been festering since 2009.

Makes sense. FOX needs a return on its LA theft, er, investment.

FOX 'owns' the B1G. No teams will be added to the B1G without the consent of FOX and media money being available at least within shouting distance of SC/UCLA. I doubt that anything realignment-wise will happen before the Pac-10 new media deal is revealed. Part of the delay may well be due to Oregon and UW bargaining for a no-cost exit if invited to join the B1G. For certain, OR ST and WA ST will not receive a B1G invitation. Academically, ASU is likely also out of the mix.

Good take, thanks. I would add CAL especially because of its 'relationship' with UCLA and also ASU if the B1G was OK with the academics. The four schools you mentioned are all AAU member schools. The only B1G school that is not an AAU member is Nebraska. However, Nebraska was an AAU member when it joined the B1G. Today, I don't know if the media money is out there to add more schools to the B1G, at least not at the full share both SC and UCLA are being paid. I do not see anything further happening realignment-wise before the Pac-10 media deal numbers are revealed.

Terrific take. My POV is that FOX was ticked off when ESPN engineered the move of OK/TX to the SEC. FOX countered by engineering the move of SC/UCLA to the B1G and thereby locking ESPN out of the LA market. FOX owns the B1G. ESPN owns the SEC. Both of these entities particularly ESPN are media money tapped out. B1G overrated? I agree with you ND, the B1G is overrated in both CFB and CBB. The B1G just signed a huge media deal based more on location and huge number of alumni/alumnae from B1G schools than on on-field and on-court performance. UCLA that just extended Chip through 2027, has been an after-thought in football since the days of Terry Donahue. I see UCLA being equivalent to Iowa in the B1G. Good but not good enough to move the needle nationally. USC? Defense travels. There is no D in USC. I think SC is going to find it difficult to overtake Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State. I think SC has signed up for a much more difficult path to the expanded CFB playoff. At the close of the 2022 regular season, 6 Pac-12 schools were ranked in the top 25 by the Playoff Committee and only 3 B1G schools. 2 of the B1G schools made the final 4 and both lost. Penn State did win the Rose Bowl, one of the least-watched Rose Bowls in the modern era. The B1G is a top heavy football conference. Michigan played 8 home games in 2022 and will do so again in 2023. Michigan played 3 cupcakes OOC in 2022 and will do so again in 2023. Hopefully when the playoff expands to 12 teams in 2024 strength of schedule and not just losing more than 1 game will matter. The CBB Tournament is rapidly approaching and I expect many overrated B1G teams to again flame out early and often.

Good take but I do not think ESPN (SEC) and FOX (B1G) have any interest in investing any additional money for B12 inventory. ESPN, whose parent Disney is in a cost-cutting mode, will have to come with $70M for Oklahoma and $70M for Texas a year earlier than anticipated. FOX has LA tied up so why San Diego State? ESPN/FOX have Dallas/Fort Worth locked up so why SMU? The B12's Yarmark talks a big game but he has nowhere close to B1G and SEC money to spend.

Thanks for the reply. The Fretita gaming family paid for a very nice football practice facility. (This is the same family that also has contributed generously to Houston.) I think NIL money would be there if the football team, now playing in an NFL stadium close to campus can get turned around and the basketball team, which also plays in an excellent facility on-campus, could return to the days of Tark. When looking at the Las Vegas market you have to look at the Clark County population. Henderson, Summerlin and North Las Vegas are different than Las Vegas in name only. NW Pod - OR, OR ST, UW, WSU CA Pod - CAL, Stanford, Fresno, SDSU West Pod - AZ, ASU, UNLV, Utah East Pod - CU, SMU, UTSA, Tulane The above is 'ceiling-walking' and not likely to happen. But this structure would add numerous large markets, get the conference into Texas, and bring in the defending AAC, CUSA and Mountain West champions.

B12 Commissioner, Yack-Yack Yarmack talks a big game but the reality is he rushed to the market and made a deal with ESPN and FOX for $31.7M per team beginning in 2024. This is not a home run of a deal. I believe GK will match or exceed this deal. And even if a few million short of the B12's $31.7M I do not see any of the 4 corners schools leaving for the B12. GK probably delayed too long but the fact of the matter is that after FOX engineered the USC/UCLA move to the B1G, FOX has no further interest in televising Pac-12 sports. So, one linear broadcaster ESPN is left for GK to negotiate with and ESPN, with parent Disney in a cost-cutting mode, is not going to bid against itself. ESPN orchestrated the move of OK/TX to the SEC and a year earlier than expected will have to step up and pay the two former B12 members a full share; approximately $70M a year. (Former B12 Commissioner, Bob Bowlsby, who added the 4 new B12 teams called out ESPN. We have not heard anything from GK regarding FOX's 'theft' of the LA schools but if not illegal it was certainly unethical on the part of the B1G, B1G Commissioner Kevin Warren, FOX, and the USC, and UCLA administrations. I'd be looking to bring suit against above named entities but being academia this will not happen.) To close a transaction equal to or exceeding the B12 deal GK has to break new ground. He has to convince a tech company to stream college athletic events. And he has to parse lesser inventory, with SC/UCLA gone among a linear traditional broadcaster and a streaming service or two. Additionally, GK has a functionally insolvent network he is attempting to sell or failing such a sale, doing something to get the conference network into the black. Also, he is likely working on a media disbursement plan that if not doling out differing amounts of revenue to different schools will at least likely benefit teams that succeed on the field and the court and bring additional income to the conference. As to the Pac-12 brand I don't believe after the LA schools announced they were leaving the brand could be any worse than it is today. Rumor-mongering regarding the demise of the Pac-10 is rampant in part likely due to consultants representing the B12 and others looking to benefit from the demise of the conference. Numerous entities that cover college football have also jumped on board the rumor mill because after all, what is there to write about before spring practice begins? I trust John Canzano and Jon Wilner both of whom have called out unsourced rumor-mongering and who both believe that the Pac-10 is not going away. All of this speculation will be brought to a close shortly. As a poster noted on Canzano's site yesterday, measure twice, and cut once. You will get zero arguments from me regarding the mismanagement of the conference since even before Larry but the university presidents cannot vote on a deal until one is presented. This too shall pass.

Thank you Happy but the central valley of California and Las Vegas, Clark county, are good-sized media markets. and LV is already home to the football title game and the conference basketball tournaments. I believe the LV large and growing market is far more 'accretive' than OR ST and WA ST.