Nevada Dawg

Georgia does have a H&H scheduled with UCLA

Absolutely!!! Interestingly, a recent survey suggested that many Dawg fans would welcome an home and home with the Ducks. I think they want to see what Eugene and Autzen are all about.and Dawg fans travel very well.

As a former college professor, I highly value educational achievements. But...I've known many many college grads (and apparently there are many college Presidents out West) that have no where near the common sense you have displayed sir in your post. Great comment! And while on the subject of conference expansion, SMU has , periodically at least , been very competitive on the gridiron. Plus, they reside in that Texas Metroplex and could play to a huge audience in that market if they get their act together. Their addition to the Pac-14, assuming SDSU is also added, seems reasonable under the shaky circumstances the Pac-12 seems to be facing. Got to keep Oregon and Washington to stay reasonably strong however.

While the SDSU football team may not be close at this time to playing for the Natty in football, a case could certainly be made that their football program is also legit and worthy of inclusion in the PAC-12. And this inclusion keeps the SoCal market and probably many players in the PAC-12 network.

Today's semi was one of the best I have seen in several years. As a person who really appreciates good defense in college football, I appreciate the rugged defense that SDSU plays. My reaction to the buzzer beating shot was, "Like a true Aztec shaman, #5 just snatched the beating heart from the chest of the poor FAU Owls." This was a game that I truly hated to see either team lose.

Jon, you are making some very good points as usual. I was reacting more to the title of the thread than monetary issues. But...I don't care if Oregon would do as well or better as a reduced revenue second class citizen. Have some pride and advance the notion that the Duck brand adds meaningfully to the stature of the B1G as justification for a full share of the spoils. Oregon is not Rutgers, Maryland, or Nebraska!! Did the SoCal schools join as reduced revenue partners? You also have to consider what the best of the other three Power Five conferences would command in a Media deal, particularly if they were indeed competitive with the B1G and SEC in major sports. But even with such an arrangement, I would still be deeply saddened with the demise of the Pacific alliance. That was the group that I cut my college football teeth on way back when the Idaho Vandals were still in the league.

I don't want to see the Ducks in the B1G under any circumstances. And given their pedigree in the major men's sports, there is no way they should be like Nebraska and enter as second class citizens. Why suck hind t-t to the Northwesterns, Indianas, and Rutgers of that wretched conference? If the cost of entering is to accept less than other members, I hope the Pacific schools will seriously consider some alliance of the ACC, Big-12, and ACC powers. I'll say one thing: Recent history says such a conference would rule the roost in men's basketball over the SEC and B1G. I think that it would probably be competitive in football with the B1G, but it would probably take some time to break through to seriously challenge the SEC in football.

Very thoughtful and well-delivered article David. I heartily concur!

I trust you are talking about. Josiah Meigs, revolutionary war hero also credited as the founder of the University of Georgia. I am proud to say that I once held a professsorship named for Meigs. The first game ever played in Sanford Stadium was the Yale Bulldogs vs. Georgia, in 1929 if I remember correctly.

I'd say the B1G provides more a lifetime of losing playoff football and mediocre basketball, the latter of which may seem attractive to an historically good program like the Bruins.

I thought it really interesting that three of the final four entrants, FAU, SDSU, and Miami, are newbies having never been there before. In my humble opinion, this is great for college BB. I knew Texas had been once and then learned that this was in the inaugural 1939 tournament which consisted of only 8 teams, Oregon being the winner over Texas I believe. At any rate, a lot of new tams were making noise this year. Great! I don't honestly remember but has Oregon won other Nattys in MBB other that the first one in 39?

Well for some reason, my drag function is not allowing me to select quotes. I have I point of agreement and one informational agreement with Jon Joseph. Point of agreement: I do think Texas could well win this sucker and will be rooting for them today to support a good Longhorn friend. However if I had to bet $1000 on this game, my money would be on UConn. Point of information: Gonzaga is a private university and, as such, privates are usually not compared academically to public universities. But I will say that Georgia is a "Public Ivy," and has been since the late 80s. This is a loose designation for the top 20 public institutions in the country. In the SEC, Florida is also a member of that club, and the league picks up another with the admission of University of Texas.. Vanderbilt would also be in the club were it a public institution.

I have to concur about the SEC and B1G being badly overrated in terms in terms of number of entrants in the Dance this year. I will say that since 2001, the SEC has produced three national champs as compared to 0 for the B1G and Pac-12. And by far, using championships as a measuring stick, the ACC and Big-12 have it all over the other three Power-5 Conferences. Calipari at Kentucky has probably done less with more than any coach of the modern era. I actually think that he is not a bad floor coach. His over entitled 5-stars need to recognize that they are not yet ready for prime time and need to develop beyond their freshman year before jumping to the NBA, where many of them do not stick. I often wonder what Mark Few of Gonzaga could do with these Kentucky classes if he could get a few of them to stick around for three years. Yet I suspect that the delights of Spokane, WA would not be much of an enticement.

Now add the SEC to the major conferences (e.g., B1G, Pac-12) with no teams in a regional final. I also experienced a first over the past 50 years as not one of my bracket's Final Four teams is left standing. My guess now is that the winner of the UConn-Gonzaga game or the Texas Longhorns will be the one's cutting down the nets at the end. I'd like to pick SDSU and I think they are a solid basketball team, particularly after watching them dismantle the Bama express this afternoon. I actually think the Aztecs would have been a real threat to win the Pac-12 this year were they in it. But I don't think that they would match up well against either the Horns or UConn.

I used to be a big UCLA BB fan in the Wooden glory days and even went to LA to see them play several times at the invite of my parents' next door neighbor. My fandom for the BB Bruins has faded. I am actually a bit of a Gonzaga fan and probably will be until the Zags break through and win a Natty. I have been very impressed with Mark Few as a coach and am amazed with what the man has accomplished with the recruits he has been able to attract to Spokane WA. Their comeback rally and win in tonight's game was quite exciting in my opinion.

Well I am a scientist and certainly believe in data, so who am I to quarrel with you? So I won't and project my ignorance on a topic I am not up on. I will still stand on my statement, however, about the relevance of football in the South. Heck, my dearly departed wife, a Texan, argued vehemently with me and was stunned when I pointed out to her that baseball was considered the national pass time among sports. Down South games in which the ball doesn't bounce funny are sports that athletes pursue off-season to stay in shape for football season.

I used the B1g's last title in 2000 as one of my major arguments for the habitual overrepresentation of Big Ten teams in the big dance. While the PAC-12 is not routinely overrepresented there, y'all might not crow too loudly about terrible underrepresentation either. Check the data for the last NCAA Men's basketball champ from the conference. Hint: Unless I am forgetting somebody, it was last century!

A little off topic I suppose and my comment is not meant to be critical, but I can assure you that football will remain relevant in the South for as long as the game is played. I only saw it grow in popularity over the 42 years I lived in Georgia. It is like a second religion. down there. I think that college football gets a real boost in 2024 with the expansion of the playoffs to 12 teams. Given the expected prowess of the Duck football program and likely appearances on a fairly regular basis, it would seem to be an advantage staying "at home" in the PC-12 (or whatever) as opposed to traipsing off to the B1G or elsewhere. Take care of business on the field and the future will be bright I suspect. And with more eyes seeing the Ducks in consequential games, recruiting, particularly nationally, will become easier, even if it takes some years to win the big one: e.g, see Georgia over Kirby Smart's first six years.

IMHO opinion, you have every right Jon to be angry with the defections--I feel the same emotions. If you've followed my infrequent posts, you've seen me say that I consider the B1G the most overrated conference in both football and basketball, and the addition of the SoCal schools will only make it more so I am afraid. In fact, the only BB coach for whom I have a lot of respect is Tom Izzo at Michigan State, and it is his team that is coming closest to showing out in this year's Big Dance. I've seen so many posters on this forum who want to bolt to the B1G--undoubtedly for the money. I hope that the Ducks and that school up North will stand firm in the PAC-10 (hopefully soon to be 12). The media money may not be as good, but if it is even close, I think the advantages of staying home outweigh is disadvantages in the long run.

I've become not at all reluctant to pick against higher seeded B1G teams over decent basketball programs from other conferences. While I did not pick Purdue over FDU, I've begun to shrug over the past 15 years at the large number of upsets of B1G teams. I once had an opportunity to chat with B1G "homer" Clark Kellogg about the overrepresentation of B1G teams in the Men's NCAA BB tournament. He claimed it was warranted because of the competitive balance of the Big Ten. My reply was that with all those teams, wouldn't you expect to see more Final Four entrants and championships (the B!G has not had a men's champion since 2000) My comeback, only slightly overstated, was that what the B1G has in BB is competitive mediocracy. And the many upsets of such teams that I see in my brackets over the years seem to bear this out. While I win few bracket contests that I enter, it is hardly because I underestimated the prowess of B1G teams.

I remember the old days when rooting for Steve Prefontaine was quite the thing, even for those of us who were not Oregonians. I don't follow college track and,so, assumed that the Ducks were still track powerhouses. My how the lofty have slumped it seems, or am I making bad assumptions? Although I knew that my Dawgs (both genders) had come a long way in college track and field, I was flabbergasted to learn that Arkansas had taken the top spot in both mens' and womens' track. That shows my ignorance about the sport I guess, as it is logical to assume that the Hawgs have been building to this point over a period of years. Still can't think of the track meets in Eugene and not think of the Ducks as a powerhouse in this sport. ,What happened?

B1G basketball seems to crap out in the Big Dance just about every year these days. And do you know how long it has been since the B1G actually won an NCAA tournament in men's basketball? Look it up, you'll be shocked.

Thoughtful article in my humble opinion. Other than whoring for dollars, the attraction of the SoCal schools heading to the B1G has always mystified me., Travel issues and its impacts on athletes was the very first thing I thought of. There was also the revulsion of conference betrayal felt by this fan who grew up in California and was a dyed in the wool PAC 8,10,12 guy who unfailingly backed the conference in its intersectional contests. Even after living in the South for 42 years and becoming a Bulldawg guy over the years, I still have a deep fondness for the Westernmost conference. I am going to sound a bit petty here, but I believe marketing concerns was the reason invitations were extended to the SoCal schools, and as the above article suggests, there was no well-articulated plans for the conference's newest members beyond that. The pettiness comes from my hope that the SoCal schools fall on their face. But then again, I have long been a proponent of the view that the B1G is the most overrated conference in America. Thus, the Socal schools may end up faring well there.

When the elders take pride on mentoring the Ducklings you have the beginnings of a winning culture. This does take time and can become self-perpetuating as it has become in Athens. Lanning has seen it there and IMO will be successful at instilling it in Eugene. But as Charles noted, the process takes some time and a little patience on the fans' part.

Yeah SC vs.the Ducks is one game I'd travel for next year.