What about Oregon State Baseball team? They have a longer season, play many, many, more games, travel more often and have put Oregon State "on the NCAA map".
Yes. If you have a relationship and trust. Or you'd just say nothing. Because if you said, "we're committed" and bolted in a month, you'd look like a creep.
They're committed until they receive an invitation from the Big Ten. They're not leaving for an invitation from the Not-Big 12, unless the Big Ten takes a few more Pac teams first.
UCLA does have a rich history of track and field. But it hasn't tried very hard the last couple of decades. The Bruins field tremendous athletes occasionally. But the university shows no signs it is committed to building the kind of broad and competitive teams it had in the past.
It should be remembered that the athletic department at UCLA (and USC too) are auxiliary activities meaning they do not normally receive money from the school and are expected to be self-financing. I worked for the UC system, and can tell you from first hand experience that facility and staff at both UCLA and Cal scream at the high volume to the campus Chancellor when a dime of campus funding goes to the athletic department. It's part of the reason Cal's athletic department is in huge financial debt due to the $445 million upgrade of Memorial Stadium. Currently the roughly $18 million interest-only annual payments on the debt consumes 20% of Cal's athletics budget and 15% of the campus structural deficit; principal repayment begins in 2032 when the annual debt payment will rise to about $26 million per year, about $28 million in 2033, about $30 million per year for 2034-2038, and about $37 million per year for 2039-2044. The debt payments are scheduled to continue for 100 years concluding in 2113. In November 2017 the UC Berkeley Chancellor announced the campus would take on the earthquake safety retrofitting expenses part of the renovation; estimated to be approximately 60 percent of the total expenses or $200 million. The remaining expenses - over $133 million - being retained by the athletic department. The Chancellor stated funds would not be taken out of student tuition or tax-payer funds for the campus. It was not ruled out that the money could be taken out of funds for academic departments, and this has caused major anger on campus towards the Athletic Department. I also remember a dean venting at a working luncheon- "Do you know how many electron microscopes I could buy with half of what they're paying the football coaches?!!... Quite a few!"
USC does whatever they do and nobody knows...or cares. UCLA is the worst run althletic department ever. UW has LONG been a self sustaining athletic department. But all that is the perfect reason for a conference to work hard to operate within its revenue. CFB athletic departments are not to be admired. University of Michigan charges the MEDIA HUNDREDS of dollars for parking! These conferences really dont care bout the game at all. Also why would Arizona want to leave? Every decent hoops team with a pulse gets into the tourney.
I think the way the media and certain conferences treat the others is very revealing. And it is obviouls they dream of the day a "national Championship with be for 30-40 teams. WHich really is not a national anything. Want to kill CFB? Just watch it is happening before youir very eyes.
Easy to say they’ll just go heavier on football, but I’m not sure there’s enough money when the gap is $60 million per year. Eventually any good head coach is going to command $10 million per year, the good coordinators are going to be getting $2-3 million each, the other assistants $1 million. Then you have the ever increasing back offices - recruiting and evaluation, social media, etc. And with Title IX, you can’t really cut women’s sports much.
So is the conference really going to want to be known for being at best the #3 conference in football depending on the ongoing battle with the B12, the equivalent of a mid-major in basketball, and reduced to walk-ons for all their men’s Olympic sports? They will certainly have to find a new tagline to replace “Conference of Champions.”
I think it's safe to say that they are committed for the time being. I'm sure they're all keeping their eyes and ears open but mostly that issue will resolve itself I'm sure after the Big 10 does its media deal, and the others figure out what their actual media rights are likely to be. I know a few people in Arizona and the impression I get is that's what they're doing, they have no suicidal urge to jump to the Big 12 if it doesn't show itself to be a really good deal for them. That's just common sense. It's show me the money not show me the rumors. Since we just got a prima facia example of double dealing from USC and UCLA why will we not expect it over again.
John, I love the recognition of the facts of life from the AD about what they need to do to stay competitve, but the reality is they are all AD's of Universities that have a high Justice quotient in the faculty and even other sports. How do you think they will be able to spend what they need to if the faculties and/or student bodies realize that the "fairness/justice spending" is going down?
What about Oregon State Baseball team? They have a longer season, play many, many, more games, travel more often and have put Oregon State "on the NCAA map".
Would ADs honestly say anything other than "they're committed"?
Especially to a journalist?
Yes. If you have a relationship and trust. Or you'd just say nothing. Because if you said, "we're committed" and bolted in a month, you'd look like a creep.
They're committed until they're not committed.
They're committed until they receive an invitation from the Big Ten. They're not leaving for an invitation from the Not-Big 12, unless the Big Ten takes a few more Pac teams first.
UCLA does have a rich history of track and field. But it hasn't tried very hard the last couple of decades. The Bruins field tremendous athletes occasionally. But the university shows no signs it is committed to building the kind of broad and competitive teams it had in the past.
I think they were likely looking at being further de-funded prior to the Big Ten news.
It should be remembered that the athletic department at UCLA (and USC too) are auxiliary activities meaning they do not normally receive money from the school and are expected to be self-financing. I worked for the UC system, and can tell you from first hand experience that facility and staff at both UCLA and Cal scream at the high volume to the campus Chancellor when a dime of campus funding goes to the athletic department. It's part of the reason Cal's athletic department is in huge financial debt due to the $445 million upgrade of Memorial Stadium. Currently the roughly $18 million interest-only annual payments on the debt consumes 20% of Cal's athletics budget and 15% of the campus structural deficit; principal repayment begins in 2032 when the annual debt payment will rise to about $26 million per year, about $28 million in 2033, about $30 million per year for 2034-2038, and about $37 million per year for 2039-2044. The debt payments are scheduled to continue for 100 years concluding in 2113. In November 2017 the UC Berkeley Chancellor announced the campus would take on the earthquake safety retrofitting expenses part of the renovation; estimated to be approximately 60 percent of the total expenses or $200 million. The remaining expenses - over $133 million - being retained by the athletic department. The Chancellor stated funds would not be taken out of student tuition or tax-payer funds for the campus. It was not ruled out that the money could be taken out of funds for academic departments, and this has caused major anger on campus towards the Athletic Department. I also remember a dean venting at a working luncheon- "Do you know how many electron microscopes I could buy with half of what they're paying the football coaches?!!... Quite a few!"
USC does whatever they do and nobody knows...or cares. UCLA is the worst run althletic department ever. UW has LONG been a self sustaining athletic department. But all that is the perfect reason for a conference to work hard to operate within its revenue. CFB athletic departments are not to be admired. University of Michigan charges the MEDIA HUNDREDS of dollars for parking! These conferences really dont care bout the game at all. Also why would Arizona want to leave? Every decent hoops team with a pulse gets into the tourney.
I think the way the media and certain conferences treat the others is very revealing. And it is obviouls they dream of the day a "national Championship with be for 30-40 teams. WHich really is not a national anything. Want to kill CFB? Just watch it is happening before youir very eyes.
Easy to say they’ll just go heavier on football, but I’m not sure there’s enough money when the gap is $60 million per year. Eventually any good head coach is going to command $10 million per year, the good coordinators are going to be getting $2-3 million each, the other assistants $1 million. Then you have the ever increasing back offices - recruiting and evaluation, social media, etc. And with Title IX, you can’t really cut women’s sports much.
So is the conference really going to want to be known for being at best the #3 conference in football depending on the ongoing battle with the B12, the equivalent of a mid-major in basketball, and reduced to walk-ons for all their men’s Olympic sports? They will certainly have to find a new tagline to replace “Conference of Champions.”
I think it's safe to say that they are committed for the time being. I'm sure they're all keeping their eyes and ears open but mostly that issue will resolve itself I'm sure after the Big 10 does its media deal, and the others figure out what their actual media rights are likely to be. I know a few people in Arizona and the impression I get is that's what they're doing, they have no suicidal urge to jump to the Big 12 if it doesn't show itself to be a really good deal for them. That's just common sense. It's show me the money not show me the rumors. Since we just got a prima facia example of double dealing from USC and UCLA why will we not expect it over again.
Jumping for essentially the same money doesn't make sense for anyone. So I'd need to see significant financial advantages.
Absolutely !
That's a lot of milk money.
yes.
John, I love the recognition of the facts of life from the AD about what they need to do to stay competitve, but the reality is they are all AD's of Universities that have a high Justice quotient in the faculty and even other sports. How do you think they will be able to spend what they need to if the faculties and/or student bodies realize that the "fairness/justice spending" is going down?
I think there is going to be a big internal push for student fees at some places.