Agree? Interesting Set of Reasons for San Diego State to Join the Pac-12

[Charles Fischer]

I've seen a few of these, but pulling them all together like this from sources I have not read--seems to make more sense to me.   I am good with adding San Diego State, lukewarm on the rest.  How do YOU feel about adding the Aztecs after you read the short article?  (From the FishDuck Feed)

 

Why Utah opponent San Diego State is viewed as a prime candidate to join the Pac-12

WWW.DESERET.COM

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Could future Utah-SDSU meetings be Pac-12 games?

 

[David Marsh]

If by some crazy circumstances the Cal board can hold onto UCLA and we add SDSU I think the PAC is in solid shape. 

 

Adding SDSU is a solid choice regardless. They will have some growing pains for sure. Utah had some growing pains and they went like 5-7 for like 3 years after joining the PAC and now they are considered favorites to make it to the championship game.

 

Early on SDSU will be fighting Colorado for who is the door mat program but they'll have the chance to rise above that. 

 

The other options are far more difficult to decide. I find myself leaning towards Nevada or UNLV for that second spot if we have to add two schools. Put the PAC actually in Nevada would be nice. I think a boost a resources could make one of those programs respectable. 

 

Then Fresno State would get the nod from me. They aren't in a great market but their football is decent. 

 

Boise State is at the bottom of my list for realistic options. They are good with football but not so much for other sports and they have a tiny market. 

 

Houston would be good but I highly doubt they want to buy the travel time when they are already planning on joining the big-12. 

[noDucknewby]

If we're talking two teams I'm going with SDSU and UNLV.  SDSU seems like a no-brainer and would probably accept B12 if offered, so it would be good to beat them to the punch.  I believe I read that the only reason they aren't a research university is that they're not allowed to be one by the CA education system.

 

Sure UNLV stinks in football, but it looks like they're on the rise with Arroyo and they have a great stadium to play in.  I always thought getting more into the Vegas market made sense, especially with GK's background.  Oh and BTW they are already a research university if my memory serves correct.  This would be be a speculative choice to be sure, but I think it would be a good investment in the future.

 

That would give us the San Diego and Las Vegas markets in exchange for LA.  I'm convinced the Spoiled Children and UCLA are gone, good riddance to them.  Let them struggle for a middle of the pack finish in the B1G while we compete for championships and CFP bids.

[HappyToBeADuck]

Wisdom and caution is the prevailing thought when it comes to conference expansion. And above all else, secrecy. SDSU is an option, maybe SMU. Not sure because we truly dont no the total landscape.

 

It's to quiet out there. The only ones making noise are the BIG And BIG12 commissioners. Not a peep from AD's or school Presidents.

 

John Canzano feels something is close on expansion and media rights but no one is leaking anything.

 

IMHO, the PAC will try and go big and bold, depending on Amazon Prime and ESPN. Amazon is a ruthless competitor that plays rough. They may want to shut ESPN out of West Coast content or at least control it. Consider if Amazon paid the PAC $1 billion annually. Thats $100 million per school.

 

GK strikes me as a go big or go home kind of guy. Time will tell. It took me less than 30 seconds to bring up the Thursday night NFL game. I will gladly take 30 seconds of my time if it keeps us out of the BIG.......

[OhioDuck]

SDSU is a no brainer to me. It should already be done. 

 

It would be great to pull in BYU, but that chance may have passed. 

I would also go along with UNLV, but more on potential. It's a national market and they can be competitive with P5/6 teams at times.

 

 

I'm still hoping for some kind of conference merger. I think with the B1G and SEC obviously looking to create super conferences, a third super conference needs to emerge. PAC and Big 12 are probably the best fits for this. It would be good competitive football and tv markets.

 

BTW, take a look at the TV markets and who really has them. I think the case can be made that product on the field is more important than market. SEC right now is in 4, yes 4 of the top 40 TV markets in the country. But they have one of the top TV ratings because they dominate the football crazy southest.

[Mic]

SDSU?  Sure, it would keep Oregon's profile in the invaluable southern California market (for recruiting), esp if UCLA moves with SC.  And, they play an exciting brand of football.  It's a big cash market, too.

[Tandaian]

At this point SDSU is the best team left not in a power 5 conference or have been invited to one.  Some can argue about SMU, but if we are trying to stay Pac, SDSU is #1.  Also, we need to think about the student population at the university.

 

SMU has less than 7,000 students.  SDSU has over 33,000.  UNLV over 25,000.  Fresno St. over 24,000.  Nevada over 17,000.  I think we need to go with bigger student body.  We need alumni bases to be big because that is how sports stay on top or get on top.

 

Surprisingly, the Pac 12 is on par with the other P5 conferences with average student population.  I don't think they can go with schools with small student population.

[David Marsh]

On 9/19/2022 at 12:38 PM, Mic said:

SDSU?  Sure, it would keep Oregon's profile in the invaluable southern California market (for recruiting), esp if UCLA moves with SC.  And, they play an exciting brand of football.  It's a big cash market, too.

I think Oregon will stay in Southern California regardless. We are recruiting well in states that aren't even in the Pac-12 footprint and that comes when we are relinquished to 7pm start time games. Southern California football fans will all be awake for Pac-12 after dark football and will watch some of it, even if USC and UCLA are in the B1G instead. The Pac-12's struggle these days is getting east coast eyeballs on the west coast product, but that isn't a new problem. 

 

I am sure the Pac-12 will manage to hold onto some of those late night eyeballs in southern California. Maybe not as many as we do now but they won't disappear entirely.