noDucknewby

Gotta admit I'm torn on this one. We bail and the P12 ceases to exist or becomes the new MW. It would also ease the travel burden on the LA schools and that frosts me, especially when they are full members and we wouldn't be, kind of looking like a little brother thing. That said we would get financial security and membership in a conference that's locked in. I agree the number needs to be substantially more than what GK can come up with, but that seems a given at this point. Of course full membership in a reasonable time frame is imperative. I've always felt that the B1G and SEC are each going to wind up with 3-4 teams in the 12-team playoff, so I'm not convinced it's going to be much harder to get to the playoff, just as an automatic bid. I've also felt that eventually the money gap if we stay in the P12 becomes a talent gap and we may find ourselves regularly getting blown out in the first round of the playoff. I have faith in the AD and coaching staff, but I just don't think you beat the bottom line long-term when competing against the Power 2. Sure we could afford to pay DL $10 million if he gets us a championship, but who's to say one of the Power 2 wouldn't offer him twice that. Coaching salaries are only going up after the new TV deals kick in.

Probably should have been more descriptive in my initial post, just wanted to get the "scoop" ha ha. What I find interesting is that our new president is a Big Ten guy. Not saying that in itself means anything, but I do find it quite interesting.

From my Inbox today: Dear University of Oregon community members, I am thrilled and honored to announce that the UO Board of Trustees has named John Karl Scholz as the 19th president of the University of Oregon. He will begin his appointment on July 1, 2023. Karl Scholz is a distinguished economist, professor, and current provost at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. He is an inspiring leader with passion for public higher education. Scholz is deeply committed to the success of students, to the university’s research and liberal arts roots, and its focus on creating societal impact. Incoming President Scholz possesses all the qualities necessary to take the University of Oregon into its next ambitious era. I invite you to tune in to the livestream announcement this morning as we introduce and hear from Incoming President Karl Scholz. Please join us at 11:10 a.m. by visiting this website where you can also read more about the selection. Tune in to the livestream announcement 11:10 a.m. Monday, March 13 The trustees unanimously selected Scholz following a six-month international search process conducted by a 22-member presidential search committee comprised of trustees, students, faculty, staff, and academic and administrative leaders, as well as representatives from higher education and the external community. The presidential search committee members and trustees were impressed by Scholz’s depth of experience as provost and dean of the College of Letters & Science — a college the size of the UO. They appreciated his approachability, commitment to fostering diversity and inclusion, and immense care for students and their success. Scholz personified the qualities that members of the UO community said they valued and hoped to see in the next president. In addition to being an experienced higher education leader, Scholz is a leading economist, national thought leader, and professor whose economics expertise is in household savings, low-wage labor markets, financial barriers to higher education, and bankruptcy laws. He served in two presidential administrations, working in both the U.S. Treasury Department and the Council of Economic Advisors. Scholz has been provost at University of Wisconsin-Madison since August of 2019. Prior to that he served for six years as the dean of the College of Letters & Science. He was also the Nellie June Gray Professor of Economic Policy in the department of economics and served as the director of UW–Madison’s Institute for Research on Poverty for four years. Scholz joined the UW–Madison Economics Department in 1988. From 1990 to 1991 he was a senior staff economist at the Council of Economic Advisors and from 1997 to 1998 he served as deputy assistant secretary for tax analysis at the U.S. Treasury Department. A native of Nebraska, Scholz graduated from Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, and earned his doctorate from Stanford University. Scholz is married to Melissa Scholz, an attorney focused on non-profit law. They have three daughters, one of whom is currently a PhD student at the University of Oregon. I want to thank Patrick Phillips for his leadership as interim president since August 2022 following the departure of former president Michael Schill to take the president’s role at Northwestern University. We could not have asked for a better leader to step into this role for the past six months. Patrick has played a central role in the development of the UO over the last decade, especially in fostering a strategic vision of a university fully committed to its public purpose. We are grateful for his devotion to the University of Oregon. Phillips will return to the UO faculty and continue to lead his biology lab. The board will vote Tuesday and is expected to name current Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Jamie Moffitt as the interim president until Scholz arrives on July 1. I want to thank the presidential search committee members for their thoughtful, discerning, and incredible commitment to this process, as well as the many university and community members who provided input during the process. We are entering an exciting era with an outstanding new leader. Please join me in offering a warm and enthusiastic welcome to Incoming President Karl Scholz. Sincerely, Ginevra Ralph UO Board of Trustees Board Chair

Agree about the night games, I don't much care for them but I guess that's our conference niche so that's how it goes. What I will say is that winning will reduce our night game appearances, especially with the LA traitors headed east. Assuming ESPN gets the linear rights to the P12, they are not going to cede prime kickoff times to Fox to televise USC and UCLA on the west coast without any competition. We win the big games, keep national interest high and we get the best TV times. We can at least control that.

Couldn't agree more. CBS/Dodd have been aggressively promoting the demise of the P12. I basically consume every clickbait I can find right now, but NOT from CBS.

Yes this is obviously where it's headed and if Oregon and Washington aren't playing this card I'd be amazed (although many P12 decisions are head-scratchers I must admit). If we're headed down this road (and I believe we are) then my preference would be for performance based payouts rather than the usual beauty contest criteria used by the media. The cream will rise to the top anyway and if one of the bottom tier teams puts together a playoff run, well good for them and they should be compensated.

Totally agree here, David. The problem with the Pac-12 Network has been distribution, not production quality. The resolution of their broadcast is much better than any of the ESPN/Fox feeds except for their showcase games. Night games on the Pac-12 Network are vastly superior and their commentators are much more knowledgeable about the conference.

Great point about 4K I haven't heard discussed much. Linear 4K content is almost non-existent, while it is readily available with streaming. A 4K action/adventure movie with Vision and Dolby Atmos is amazing on a decent home theatre setup. I would LOVE to have that option for Duck games.

How dare you inject a bit of positivity into my off-season nihilism! Seriously good points all, however I would disagree on the sense of urgency. If the B1G gets a new commissioner prior to the TV deal being finalized, then their realignment "lull" could go by the wayside. Until the GOR is signed there is little stability or unity regardless of affirming statements by conference. You can bet that every AD is working on an exit strategy, and if not then they're not doing their job. That said, my life philosophy has always been to hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. That certainly applies in this case. On another note, I'm not thrilled about Apple TV primarily because it's another subscription I'd have to pay for. I already have Amazon Prime, so that would be my choice for streaming, but that is from my selfish perspective. It's hard to argue with the numbers, there are a lot of iPhones out there.

Completely agree with your take on "sources". That said, the argument he's laid out here makes sense. Once they have USC/UCLA in the fold they'll do everything they can to hang on to them. Assuming the P12 survives this media contract, it could have potentially bought enough time to work it's way back into relevance with the expanded playoff and by adding new teams. That leaves the door open for USC/UCLA to come home during the next contract cycle and you can damn well be sure they would be welcomed with open arms, regardless of their betrayal. Despite their academic posturing, the last thing the B1G wants is a strong and relevant P12. I'll say it again, the first domino falls and the flood gates open. There's no way the B1G lets Oregon/Washington go to the B12. If they wind up with Cal/Stanford that's just icing on the cake.

Best case for us we go to the B1G. I don't like it, but for long-term stability and access to the CFP I still think it's our best option. Worst case would be an Apple TV all streaming deal. I'm on board with some streaming, preferably Amazon but Apple TV? That may work for millennnial hipsters watching futbol, it'd be a deathblow for P12 football. An acceptable scenario would be a short-term TV deal somewhere around what the B12 is getting, mostly linear, some streaming, perhaps 50/50.

Maryland and Rutgers were added in 2014 and their addition was all about getting the NY and DC markets. Much has changed since then, I doubt they'd get the same consideration right now and that may be true of Nebraska as well. Whether or not Oregon-Washington pencils out for the B1G members, it seems there was a real push-back from the university presidents not wanting to be responsible for the death of the P12. That may be naive on their part, the conference death blow may have already been dealt with the departure of the LA schools. If and when the first domino falls, I'm betting the B1G changes their stance about Oregon-Washington. If any of the four corners schools bails and Oregon-Washington are still up for grabs then I think the B1G would much rather take them than see them go to the B12.

Clearly Uncle Phil needs to buy ESPN and the Pac-12 Network and let's just be done with this nonsense!

I've been a hunter since I took my Hunter's Safety Class at 15. When I was in college and lived on campus my firearms stayed at my parents house, when I moved off-campus they came with me. My point being that having a firearm at an off-campus apartment is not illegal. That said I was not a member of the football team where a different set of rules apply. Just because there are no criminal charges against TH does not completely exculpate him from disciplinary action. Cheating on a final exam is not a crime but can still get you expelled or kicked off the football team. I don't know the specifics of the Code of Conduct for the football team, but if TH didn't violate them then he should be reinstated.

From the conference perspective it's safety in numbers. For Oregon it's more like the law of diminishing returns. I just don't see how we get a competitive TV deal as 1/16th of a new megaconference, especially since none of the 6 new members is likely to come from a Power 5 conference. That ship has almost certainly sailed IMHO. The Pac-12 as we know it is done. Not saying the conference won't survive, but nowhere near on par with the B1G or the SEC, probably not the B12 and maybe not even the ACC. If I'm looking out for the conference, I figure out a way to keep Oregon-Washington and the four corners schools in the fold. That probably will require unequal revenue distribution, but I have doubts that the existing members would sign off on that. A performance-based payout for the P12 Championship, CFP and bowl appearances might work though. Bring in new members at 50% on an escalating scale. That may give the conference's top-tier programs enough revenue to keep them from looking elsewhere in the near term. That said, for Oregon the B1G is still the best option IMHO. I hate what's happened to the P12, but my loyalties are to Oregon first.

Too damn many booth reviews, it's ridiculous. Go to a modified challenge system like the NFL. All scoring plays and turnovers automically reviewed, otherwise coaches get two challenges and no loss of challenge or time out if they're right. All challenges should be timed, if there isn't overwhelming evidence to overturn the play in 3 minutes then it stands. No more booth initiated reviews for targeting. If it's not called live on the field then multiple ultra-slow motion replays are not needed. Of course they could do away with some of the TV time outs, but we know that won't happen.

This is a major P12 and Fuskie brush-off, tOSU essentially saying there's no need for us to schedule P12 schools in the future with USC-UCLA in the fold. Bad news for the P12, we could see overall cancellations from the B1G in the near future. Doesn't affect us much at this point, it looks like our next home and home with a B1G team is 2029-30 against MSU. There's virtually no chance the conferences look the same at that point if the P12 still even exists.

The only real source here is Brett McMurphy, though I do believe he is credible. Everyone else is pretty much quoting him and drawing their own conclusions and/or trying to advance their own agenda. This saga reminds me a bit of the Texas/Oklahoma to the P12 article written by Chip Brown in Larry Scott's early tenure. There were dozens of articles essentially saying the same thing, but they were all quoting Chip Brown. Guess what, he was wrong and so was everone else who sourced him. Wilner and Canzano are pretty well connected and like you I don't always agree with them, but they usually have their facts straight IMHO.

Personally I don't think anything has really changed here. If you consider the source, USC and CBS are both down on the P12 and was Turner ever even a serious consideration? Is there cause for concern? Absolutely, but is the situation really different than it was a month ago? Yes this thing is dragging on, but there are a lot of moving parts. We have linear rights, streaming, the P12 Network and expansion all happening (if you believe Wilner) simultaneously. The B12 just renewed their contract with ESPN after already adding four members, a much simpler process. That said, it sure would be nice if they'd just get the damn thing done.

I trust the process. Lanning has a plan and so far it's working. How many of us were familiar with all of DL's original staff hires? Sure Dillingham, Lupoi and Lorig were familiar names, but had anyone ever heard of Locklyn? Adrian Klemm had all kinds of question marks and certainly wasn't considered by most a slam-dunk. Of the the three previously mentioned familiar names I mentioned, two of them have probably underperformed IMHO, yet newcomer Locklyn brings in relative unknowns Irving and Whittington and gives us arguably the best 1-2 punch since James/Barner (Verdell/Dye duo amazing but CJ couldn't stay healthy). Not just being a fan-boy here, DL definitely has room for game day improvement but so far I'd say his ability to assemble a talented staff is as good or better than anyone we've ever had. Looking forward to seeing what Stein, Mehringer, Hampton and Terry can do this year.

Reminds me of when Larry assured us that the P12 Network would be available to everyone, how'd that work out? Secretly hoping we all look like a bunch of Nervous Nellie Chicken Littles when the new deal is announced ha ha.

Talk is cheap, show me the money!

When the B1G put the brakes on expansion and the CFP went to 12 teams that bought us some time, but that window is closing fast. The B12 is nipping at our heels, TV talks are dragging on and the natives are getting restless. Our best chance at long-term survival was probably a merger with the B12, but that ship has most likely sailed. Just about everyone agrees that adding SDSU is a no-brainer so do it now. If adding SMU will salvage the TV deal, then do it now. Just get a short-term deal done now, whatever it takes. Then hopefully we can start being proactive with more expansion for the next round.

Making a case for SMU is one thing, being objective about their value as an expansion candidate is another. It's clear to me that ESPN/Amazon is the driving force in getting them on board because they want a chunk of the DFW market. Sure they have a massive endowment and they are highly rated as an educational institution, but as an addition to an athletic conference do they even move the needle? To me they don't, especially when they would be replacing one of the only true bluebloods the conference had. Not saying there's no upside, but to me this reeks of desperation. Once again we are on our heels playing defense on the goal line. I'm resigned that we'll be adding SDSU and SMU and be lucky to beat the B12 deal which we may not even match, despite what GK says. I like Wilner's take about expansion and TV deal happening in a whirlwind simultaneously, but I don't think that really changes the bottom line much and the longer this thing drags on the greater the chance of the first domino falling with one of the four corners teams leaving.

I'm unfamiliar with that source, but for the sake of argument I'll concede those numbers. That said we are currently guaranteed 9 Power 5 games a year and we almost always have at least 1 Power 5 non-conference opponent. Sure we're able to play teams like Georgia and tOSU, but that's only 1 of 12 games. We're currently playing 9-10 Power 5 opponents annually and just don't see how we match that as an independent. Here's the current independents according to Fox Sport: Independents (FBS) College Football Conference Standings WWW.FOXSPORTS.COM View the Independents (FBS) NCAA college football conference Conference standings and conference rankings. Other than ND there's no team there that has ever made the CFP or has much of a chance to at that. Some also are independent just for football as others have pointed out. If we bailed on the P12, other than OSU how many P12 schools would still be willing to schedule us in football or other sports? Are we anxious to schedule USC and UCLA now that they have bailed? Sure some will because of proximity, but I think we'll have a difficult time coming up with the quality of opponents we currently have. I think that one way or another we'll land on our feet in the expansion roulette, but IMHO it would be very difficult for us to be as relevant as an independent as in a conference.