New Conference re-alignment thread

[Saulbadguy]

The old one has AIDS.

Anyways, Chip Brown from Orangebloods.com reports OU may apply to the Pac-12 by the end of the month.

Oklahoma will apply for membership to the Pac-12 before the end of the month, and Oklahoma State is expected to follow suit, a source close to OU's administration told Orangebloods.com.

Even though Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott said Friday the Pac-12 was not interested in expansion at this time, OU's board of regents is fed up with the instability in the Big 12, the source said.

The OU board of regents will meet within two weeks to formalize plans to apply for membership to the Pac-12, the source said.

Messages left Sunday night with OU athletic director Joe Castiglione and Oklahoma State athletic director Mike Holder were not immediately returned.

If OU follows through with what appears to be a unanimous sentiment on the seven-member Oklahoma board of regents to leave the Big 12, realignment in college athletics could be heating back up. OU's application would be matched by an application from Oklahoma State, the source said, even though OSU president Burns Hargis and mega-booster Boone Pickens both voiced their support for the Big 12 last Thursday.

There is differing sentiment about if the Pac-12 presidents and chancellors are ready to expand again after bringing in Colorado and Utah last year and landing $3 billion TV contracts from Fox and ESPN. Colorado president Bruce Benson told reporters last week CU would be opposed to any expansion that might bring about east and west divisions in the Pac-12.

Currently, there are north and south divisions in the Pac-12. If OU and OSU were to join, Larry Scott would have to get creative.

Scott's orginal plan last summer was to bring in Colorado, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State and put them in an eastern division with Arizona and Arizona State. The old Pac-8 schools (USC, UCLA, Cal, Stanford, Oregon, Oregon State, Washington and Washington State) were to be in the west division.

Colorado made the move in June 2010, but when Texas A&M was not on board to go west, the Big 12 came back together with the help of its television partners (ABC/ESPN and Fox).

If Oklahoma and Oklahoma State were accepted into the Pac-12, there would undoubtedly be a hope by Larry Scott that Texas would join the league. But Texas sources have indicated UT is determined to hang onto the Longhorn Network, which would not be permissible in the Pac-12 in its current form.

Texas sources continue to indicate to Orangebloods.com that if the Big 12 falls apart, the Longhorns would consider "all options."

Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe held an emergency conference call 10 days ago with league presidents excluding Oklahoma, Texas and Texas A&M and asked the other league presidents to "work on Texas" because Beebe didn't think the Pac-12 would take Oklahoma without Texas.

Now, it appears OU is willing to take its chances with the Pac-12 with or without Texas.

There seemed to be a temporary pause in any possible shifting of the college athletics' landscape when Baylor led a charge to tie up Texas A&M's move to the Southeastern Conference in legal red tape. BU refused to waive its right to sue the SEC over A&M's departure from the Big 12, and the SEC said it would not admit Texas A&M until it had been cleared of any potential lawsuits.

Baylor, Kansas and Iowa State have indicated they will not waive their right to sue the SEC.

It's unclear if an application by OU to the Pac-12 would draw the same threats of litigation against the Pac-12 from those Big 12 schools.

Stay tuned.

[MarkDavis'Haircut]

Originally Posted by Pablo

Combing thru some tweets and the Alex Smith ute fanbase are some delusional ****s. These guys are like Kentucky fans of the west. But kentucky has actually won stuff, maybe iowa states little bro? Had no idea what we were in for but if it brings more trolling opportunities I'll gladly take it.

Utah will now move on to the Big 12 and just run that conference ����*♂️

— Terrell Burgess (@TiTaniumT98) August 5, 2023

Just remember when you see Utah fans talking about how they’re going to walk into the Big 12 and dominate it, this is who we’re dealing with. pic.twitter.com/B65yDe1QL6

— qǝlɐɔ (@EMAWCaleb) August 5, 2023

This #Utah fan is sick to his stomach at the thought of having to play in any of those crappy #Big12 towns. pic.twitter.com/s4iPfL0YbV

— Message Board Geniuses (@BoardGeniuses) July 28, 2023

BYU should have blocked them

[BryanBusby]

USC bolting from the PAC12 was a killer for that conference.

Big12 got some good gets.

[Pasta Little Brioni]

Why would you be shocked people don't respect or happy about joining the Big Dumpster fire?

[Pablo]

Originally Posted by Pasta Little Brother

Why would you be shocked people don't respect or happy about joining the Big Dumpster fire?

utah's national brand is on par with mu. They've done nothing and don't really matter to most people, so I don't know why they think they're above it?

[Chief Pagan]

Originally Posted by Coach

I think protected rivalries will be the thing going forward. For instance, they will have KSU play KU, ISU, and 2 other teams (Colorado? Oklahoma State?) home/away.

So that's 8 games there and fill in the remaining with other teams that will alternate home/away every year. Of course, this is just spitballin, but I can see an angle like this.

If it's a 16 team conference, I suppose so. If the BB was 18 or 20, not sure I believe that ever happening, I would think you would only play once.

As a Jayhawk, I don't really care about regional rivalries. (What KSU rivalry?) I would rather have a chance to play twice against the teams in contention for the conference title that's just as likely to be Baylor or Arizona.

Oh well. Glad it was the PAC12 that disintegrated not the Big12.

[Pablo]

KU welcoming Utah into The Phog:

[displacedinMN]

Originally Posted by Pablo

KU welcoming Utah into The Phog:

I am ok with this

[displacedinMN]

With all of this....it sounds like the BIG 10 has a plan in place for the future.
and the others are playing catch up.


BIG should add FSU and ND. FSU brings in money from cable systems in FLA. ND brings a name.

Remaining Pac 10 and Mountain west combine.

[displacedinMN]

Decent read

Spoiler!

One of the most unintentionally and patently absurd moments in sports history took place two years ago this month in response to a thunderclap that shook college sports.

In a panic move to news that Big 12 standard-bearers Texas and Oklahoma were bolting for the SEC, commissioners from the Big Ten, Pac-12 and ACC announced a partnership in solidarity that became known as the "Alliance." The triumvirate professed a desire for stability in a fast-changing climate.

Except, the three conference leaders failed to put whatever they agreed to in writing.

"It's about trust," ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips said that day. "We've looked each other in the eye."

That declaration was laugh-out-loud naive, knowing what we knew then and even more so now.

Two years later …

The Big Ten has effectively killed the Pac-12.

The ACC is facing a crisis with nervous and agitated Florida State officials openly discussing defection.

The last vestiges of a Pollyanna notion of tradition and geography providing order in college sports have been sandblasted from existence by the seductive power of TV money. The cannibalism between major conferences has turned the entire enterprise into a real-life game of "Survivor."

It's as if industry leaders are using Gordon Gekko's words as their compass: Greed is good.

The Big Ten (soon-to-be 18) severely wounded the Pac-12 by poaching USC and UCLA last summer. The Big Ten went back for seconds on Friday with the Pac-12 clinging to survival after Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State and Utah shifted their allegiance to the Big 12.

Oregon and Washington wisely accepted the Big Ten's life preserver as the ship sank and will join the league in 2024.

The driving force behind this chaos is money, of course. Those in leadership positions are using three Fs to guide decision-making: Football, Footprint and Finances.

Modern media rights deals have soared so astronomically that if TV executives tell conferences to jump, they'll ask if they should jump off one foot or two.

The gap between the rich (Big Ten and SEC) and less rich (everyone else) has grown so wide in revenue distribution that greed and envy have created a game of musical chairs with schools swapping conferences.

The University of Minnesota provides a snapshot of that changing financial landscape. In the past decade, the rise of revenue from media rights deals and Big Ten profit-sharing distributions for bowl games and NCAA tournament appearances in the Gophers athletic department budget has been dramatic.

In 2012 the Gophers reported $25.3 million from those sources, which amounted to 30.3% of total revenue. For 2022, that number was $60.8 million and accounted for 45%.

ESPN projects annual distribution to increase to about $70 million for Big Ten schools that receive a full share under new TV pacts and expanded football playoffs.

Only the SEC resides in that neighborhood financially, leaving other conferences feeling as if they are racing Usain Bolt while carrying a sofa. The financial disparity sparked a rather remarkable edict from Florida State President Richard McCullough, who told his board of trustees that receiving $30 million less annually than the SEC and Big Ten in distribution creates an "existential crisis."

"I believe FSU will have to, at some point, consider very seriously leaving the ACC unless there were a radical change to the revenue distribution," McCullough said.

I have been a proponent of Big Ten expansion primarily because of the novelty and excitement that comes with adding schools with brand names. But it's hard not to feel a little dismayed at how much has changed so quickly and what has been lost in the process.

Long-standing rivalries have ceased. The Big Ten's Midwest footprint now stretches from sea to shining sea, making team travel exponentially more complicated and expensive for schools and time-consuming for student-athletes.

Anyone who doubts that student-athletes will experience more challenges in balancing school and sports in the new Big Ten is being blinded by dollar signs.

It also feels crass to shrug with complete disregard at the destruction of an entire conference. The Pac-12 created its own demise with a series of missteps, and now what becomes of its remaining members is anyone's guess.

Fans will need a flowchart to keep track of and remember all the changes in conference makeup. To think, at some point, Rutgers will play Oregon in a Big Ten football game.

Strange times, indeed. And only the naive believe expansion will stop here at 18 schools.

[MarkDavis'Haircut]

Originally Posted by displacedinMN

Decent read

Spoiler!

One of the most unintentionally and patently absurd moments in sports history took place two years ago this month in response to a thunderclap that shook college sports.

In a panic move to news that Big 12 standard-bearers Texas and Oklahoma were bolting for the SEC, commissioners from the Big Ten, Pac-12 and ACC announced a partnership in solidarity that became known as the "Alliance." The triumvirate professed a desire for stability in a fast-changing climate.

Except, the three conference leaders failed to put whatever they agreed to in writing.

"It's about trust," ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips said that day. "We've looked each other in the eye."

That declaration was laugh-out-loud naive, knowing what we knew then and even more so now.

Two years later …

The Big Ten has effectively killed the Pac-12.

The ACC is facing a crisis with nervous and agitated Florida State officials openly discussing defection.

The last vestiges of a Pollyanna notion of tradition and geography providing order in college sports have been sandblasted from existence by the seductive power of TV money. The cannibalism between major conferences has turned the entire enterprise into a real-life game of "Survivor."

It's as if industry leaders are using Gordon Gekko's words as their compass: Greed is good.

The Big Ten (soon-to-be 18) severely wounded the Pac-12 by poaching USC and UCLA last summer. The Big Ten went back for seconds on Friday with the Pac-12 clinging to survival after Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State and Utah shifted their allegiance to the Big 12.

Oregon and Washington wisely accepted the Big Ten's life preserver as the ship sank and will join the league in 2024.

The driving force behind this chaos is money, of course. Those in leadership positions are using three Fs to guide decision-making: Football, Footprint and Finances.

Modern media rights deals have soared so astronomically that if TV executives tell conferences to jump, they'll ask if they should jump off one foot or two.

The gap between the rich (Big Ten and SEC) and less rich (everyone else) has grown so wide in revenue distribution that greed and envy have created a game of musical chairs with schools swapping conferences.

The University of Minnesota provides a snapshot of that changing financial landscape. In the past decade, the rise of revenue from media rights deals and Big Ten profit-sharing distributions for bowl games and NCAA tournament appearances in the Gophers athletic department budget has been dramatic.

In 2012 the Gophers reported $25.3 million from those sources, which amounted to 30.3% of total revenue. For 2022, that number was $60.8 million and accounted for 45%.

ESPN projects annual distribution to increase to about $70 million for Big Ten schools that receive a full share under new TV pacts and expanded football playoffs.

Only the SEC resides in that neighborhood financially, leaving other conferences feeling as if they are racing Usain Bolt while carrying a sofa. The financial disparity sparked a rather remarkable edict from Florida State President Richard McCullough, who told his board of trustees that receiving $30 million less annually than the SEC and Big Ten in distribution creates an "existential crisis."

"I believe FSU will have to, at some point, consider very seriously leaving the ACC unless there were a radical change to the revenue distribution," McCullough said.

I have been a proponent of Big Ten expansion primarily because of the novelty and excitement that comes with adding schools with brand names. But it's hard not to feel a little dismayed at how much has changed so quickly and what has been lost in the process.

Long-standing rivalries have ceased. The Big Ten's Midwest footprint now stretches from sea to shining sea, making team travel exponentially more complicated and expensive for schools and time-consuming for student-athletes.

Anyone who doubts that student-athletes will experience more challenges in balancing school and sports in the new Big Ten is being blinded by dollar signs.

It also feels crass to shrug with complete disregard at the destruction of an entire conference. The Pac-12 created its own demise with a series of missteps, and now what becomes of its remaining members is anyone's guess.

Fans will need a flowchart to keep track of and remember all the changes in conference makeup. To think, at some point, Rutgers will play Oregon in a Big Ten football game.

Strange times, indeed. And only the naive believe expansion will stop here at 18 schools.

It is like nations. Nations don't have friends or alliances. They have interests.

[MarkDavis'Haircut]

Originally Posted by Pablo

utah's national brand is on par with mu. They've done nothing and don't really matter to most people, so I don't know why they think they're above it?

To be fair, Utah has actually won BCS bowl games.

[Rams Fan]

Originally Posted by MarkDavis'Haircut

I like softball a lot. It is a great sport.

But these players need to understand reality. The schools left because the difference in media money would make the schools couldn't compete with the big boys in the long run. They didn't leave on a lark. They left for smart, financial reasons.

And I am tired of everyone citing mental health and people rolling over because of it. It is an excuse at this point. Good grief, student athletes have it easy compared to what their age group went through decades ago.

And the players can stay close to home. Transfer to a Big Sky school. Or the WCC. But then they would complain because they wouldn't receive the same benefits as at a power five school.

I agree, but there's still substantial disadvantages with the new alignment geographically.

Let's use Oregon as an example.

For football, this re-alignment doesn't do much in terms of travel. May want to fly out Thursday night instead of Friday to have more time to adjust to time zones, but overall a non-factor.

Every other sport is at a disadvantage though. How are road trips going to work for every other sport? Do those teams just stay in the Midwest or East for 2 weeks? Or do they travel mid-week to go across the country before coming back on the weekend?

[BWillie]

I can't wait until Oregon comes into Iowa City in November and is confused about why they got beat 10 to 3 and couldn't score 55 points.

[Rams Fan]

Originally Posted by BWillie

I can't wait until Oregon comes into Iowa City in November and is confused about why they got beat 10 to 3 and couldn't score 55 points.

They beat Ohio St. in Columbus in 2021.

[displacedinMN]

Originally Posted by Rams Fan

They beat Ohio St. in Columbus in 2021.

Not in November.

Started thinking about bowl possibilities again. It will be interesting to see what the new bowl affiliations will be after this period

I believe the big ten is in charge of bowl selection


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