Blast it All You Want, but the Alliance Has Already Accomplished its Mission...From Jon Wilner

[NJDuck]

You all might have already read this article by Jon Wilner on why he believes the Alliance has accomplished its mission.  Read this from another blog sight.  Wanted to share just in case you haven't.

 

Blast it all you want, but the Alliance has already accomplished its mission

WWW.KSL.COM

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A delay in nonconference scheduling is secondary to larger goals.

 

[Jon Joseph]

I like Wilner's overall coverage of the Pac-12. but I cannot possibly disagree more regarding this take and also Wilner's support of the Pac-12 not expanding. (I have expressed my POV on these 2 key issues directly to Jon and have 'discussed' these points, via email, with Jon.)

 

Losing @ $15 to $20M in additional post-expansion playoff dollars in 2023, 2024 and 2025 makes sense? UCLA's athletic department is $60M in the red! How does not expanding the playoff before 2026 make any sense at all for the Pac-12?

 

The B1G is not going to drop to 8 regular season games to help with OOC scheduling. The ACC? How will a game every season vs an ACC team drop dough to the Pac-12's bottom line? In 2021, ACC football drew the fewest eyeballs of any Pac-5 conference.

 

I get GK balking at expansion beyond 2025 without knowing all of the financial details; this makes perfect business sense. But go to a 12 team field and table post-2025 revenue distribution? Table it to a time when a unanimous vote is not required to make any playoff changes. As GK has expressed, the Rose Bowl issue is a 'minor item' that could have been resolved. The ACC cratered expansion because it is stuck with a crummy media deal through 2036, if Notre Dame doesn't join the ACC as a full time football member. With a 12 team playoff there is no reason for ND to join any conference.

 

No P5 conference needs an expanded playoff field more than the Pac-12. IMO, this is another instance where GK says 1 thing in public and then the conference goes in the other direction.  Who are the people running the conference today? I thought Oregon president Schill moving up to a key conference management position would result in a change in the conference's direction? I haven't seen it. And what has GK actually accomplished or changed since he took over from Scott?

 

CFB? You can't stand still and not go backward.

[Charles Fischer]

Mental Health for Teammates?  

What about the mental health of the fans who have driven CRAZY by the stupid moves of those who are supposed to represent our conference?

[Jon Joseph]

On 3/3/2022 at 12:16 PM, Charles Fischer said:

Mental Health for Teammates?  

What about the mental health of the fans who have driven CRAZY by the stupid moves of those who are supposed to represent our conference?

We have met the enemy and they are us.

[DanLduck]

On 3/3/2022 at 9:02 AM, Jon Joseph said:

I like Wilner's overall coverage of the Pac-12. but I cannot possibly disagree more regarding this take and also Wilner's support of the Pac-12 not expanding. (I have expressed my POV on these 2 key issues directly to Jon and have 'discussed' these points, via email, with Jon.)

 

Losing @ $15 to $20M in additional post-expansion playoff dollars in 2023, 2024 and 2025 makes sense? UCLA's athletic department is $60M in the red! How does not expanding the playoff before 2026 make any sense at all for the Pac-12?

 

The B1G is not going to drop to 8 regular season games to help with OOC scheduling. The ACC? How will a game every season vs an ACC team drop dough to the Pac-12's bottom line? In 2021, ACC football drew the fewest eyeballs of any Pac-5 conference.

 

I get GK balking at expansion beyond 2025 without knowing all of the financial details; this makes perfect business sense. But go to a 12 team field and table post-2025 revenue distribution? Table it to a time when a unanimous vote is not required to make any playoff changes. As GK has expressed, the Rose Bowl issue is a 'minor item' that could have been resolved. The ACC cratered expansion because it is stuck with a crummy media deal through 2036, if Notre Dame doesn't join the ACC as a full time football member. With a 12 team playoff there is no reason for ND to join any conference.

 

No P5 conference needs an expanded playoff field more than the Pac-12. IMO, this is another instance where GK says 1 thing in public and then the conference goes in the other direction.  Who are the people running the conference today? I thought Oregon president Schill moving up to a key conference management position would result in a change in the conference's direction? I haven't seen it. And what has GK actually accomplished or changed since he took over from Scott?

 

CFB? You can't stand still and not go backward.

JJ, your points are solid from the perspective that college football is big business and the Pac12 is falling way behind in $$ and national perspective. 

 

Not everyone is ready to give up on the idea of 'student' athelete just yet. Most school leadership is not willing to admit that football is first. It may come to that eventually but what president can admit that out loud.

 

The NIL and transfer portal have given players more power than ever. One of their big concerns is health, especially concussions. More games mean more contact. The movement today is towards fewer plays per game, lessen contact, practice, etc.

 

Until there is some clarity about these issues, adding more games for a playoff is the wrong move.

 

I also don't trust ESPN or the SEC. So voting against them is fine by me.

 

I agree the Pac12 had more to gain with playoff expansion, but the long term health of the game requires some other questions answered first.

[NJDuck]

I wasn't agreeing to what he was saying as well, but wanted others take on this just in case if I was missing something.  I think the PAC12 should have expanded pulling in the Big 12 schools when they had the chance.  That would have been a better deal instead of this Alliance.

[Jon Joseph]

On 3/3/2022 at 4:35 PM, NJDuck said:

I wasn't agreeing to what he was saying as well, but wanted others take on this just in case if I was missing something.  I think the PAC12 should have expanded pulling in the Big 12 schools when they had the chance.  That would have been a better deal instead of this Alliance.

Hello Jack? Love the comment and I do not want to go too far afield; BUT.

 

Coast to Coast Conference

 

Pacific 8 Division - CAL, Oregon, OR ST, Stanford, UCLA, USC, UW, WA ST

 

Big 8 West Division - Arizona, ASU, BYU, CU, Kansas, K ST. OK ST, Utah

 

Big 8 East Division - Baylor, Cincinnati, Houston, Iowa ST, TCU, Texas Tech, UCF, West Virginia. 

 

Would this structure bring in more media money than the Pac-12 standing alone? I do not know. But I sure as heck hope that somewhere, somehow, an Investment Banker is analyzing THIS? Common sense (assuming I have same?) tells me that this kind of structure is the only way the Pac-12 will not be a far distant media 3rd behind the B1G and the SEC. 

 

Frankly, if GK and friends are not investigating this, IMO, it borders on gross business negligence.

[30Duck]

On 3/3/2022 at 2:40 PM, Jon Joseph said:

 

Frankly, if GK and friends are not investigating this, IMO, it borders on gross business negligence.

Sometimes it all just seems like

 

 

[Jon Joseph]

On 3/3/2022 at 6:15 PM, 30Duck said:

Sometimes it all just seems like

 

 

Thank you my friend. But in terms of 'leadership' the Pac-12 'leaders' have left the building.

[idontrollonshobbas]

I was thinking.....

 

 

[Jon Joseph]

On 3/3/2022 at 4:28 PM, DanLduck said:

JJ, your points are solid from the perspective that college football is big business and the Pac12 is falling way behind in $$ and national perspective. 

 

Not everyone is ready to give up on the idea of 'student' athelete just yet. Most school leadership is not willing to admit that football is first. It may come to that eventually but what president can admit that out loud.

 

The NIL and transfer portal have given players more power than ever. One of their big concerns is health, especially concussions. More games mean more contact. The movement today is towards fewer plays per game, lessen contact, practice, etc.

 

Until there is some clarity about these issues, adding more games for a playoff is the wrong move.

 

I also don't trust ESPN or the SEC. So voting against them is fine by me.

 

I agree the Pac12 had more to gain with playoff expansion, but the long term health of the game requires some other questions answered first.

Great comment.

 

I 'get it.' I want so badly for CFB to return to a regional sport played by student-athletes. However, this will not, based on legislative action and court decisions, happen.

 

The long term health of the game has been buried under piles of money. It's every conference for itself and today the Pac-12 is falling way behind the B1G and the SEC. No 'minor league' so-called Alliance can fix 'THIS.' 

 

Especially when the B1G has decided not to drop to 8 conference games and the ACC in CFB, sans Clemson, is a non-entity. Far more eyeballs were on the 2021 Pac-12 champ game than on the ACC champ game. One more OOC game vs an ACC team brings WHAT to the bottom line.?

 

Next season, the Oregon guys going pro will play 17 conference games and if their team advances, another 3 to 4 games. You want to limit contact? I'm all in. Look at the recommendations to shorten the time of CFB games and this can happen now.

 

As I have noted before. we spent decades playing regular season games that ended in ties and we did not stop the clock on 1st downs. There is no reason to stop the clock , except perhaps in the last 2 minutes of a half, after an incompletion. Start the clock when the ball is ready for play.

 

And lots more ideas are out there to shorten the game and the number of hits. One, simply adopt the NFL timing rules. Far fewer plays for the most part, are run in an NFL game than in a CFB game. And NFL games for the most part fit into their allotted broadcast window. 

 

I for one enjoyed the heck out of this season's NFL payoff games; with the exception that due to a terrible coaching decision we did not get to watch Justin Herbert in the post season. Instead, we watched him win MVP in the Pro Bowl.

 

Thanks again for the comment and again, I wish we could go back but it isn't happening.