Another great article John. OK, again I'm going to be a bit surly in my comment. I'm tired of being in a conference that has weak leadership top to bottom. I'm tired of always taking the high road. Maybe it's a holdover from the hippy era on the coast or AD's that sample the local weed before each meeting. In all seriousness, in my opinion, appearing weak and always opening the door for others...manners is often taken as a sign of weakness by those who are not nice all the time. Like media partners, other conferences, the NCAA. Those that want a competitive edge. Does anybody reading your article believe the SEC, BIG 10, BIG East or BIG 12 would have been nice to USC and UCLA? I don't. And i wouldn't were I making the decisions.
Personally treating USC and UCLA so sweetly makes me sick. It reminds me of a particular political party that always wants to be bipartisan while the other wants to destroy everything in its path or as I like to say bringing a knife to a gunfight. Talk about a cakewalk for USC...contrast that with Cal who gets 4 road games against Oregon, Washington, Utah and UCLA...maybe after another 3-8 season Cal will get smart and give all this up for either a stepped down "student athlete program that is not an oxymoron, or work on getting more Nobel Prizes, something that the other schools could never compete with.
Nice pivot to Novel Prizes from football. Maybe Cal should work on their game day parking problem so the stadium won't be so empty. Guess the Nobel prize winners can't attract much of a crowd. You appear to be upset over your teams on field performance. Just schedule more SAC States & your record will improve. Cal' 67% stadium fill is worst in the PAC. That's not UCLA or USC' Fault. Even Marshawn Lynch goes off over the lack of attendence.
Well the beauty of winning a Nobel Prize is that the winner gets a parking spot for life, but we are running out of spots. I guess CRISPR will never be as exciting as a touchdown, but it makes my diploma worth a lot more than 10 of the 11 remaining schools, so I will give the Trees their due, but the rest of the schools are academic midgets.
I had season tickets for 35 years and parking is not a problem if you know where to go and that is not the reason for the empty stadium. It is the fact that games are now at any time of any day and one cannot plan for a game when the start time says TBD a week before the game, plus as you point out, they stink. Too many other sports choices...Niners, Dubs...we are always having NorCal winners versus places that do not even have pro sports or stinky teams.
I'm the first one to admit we are no longer competitive as we cannot compete with the semi-pro leagues and we probably do not even want to really...I mean look at Oregon, a 2nd rate school that relies on out of state CA students academically but has Phil Knight money or any of the SEC or Big 10 semi pro ESPN/Fox league schools. So doing something smart I hope is in the cards as I think "the times they are 'a changing."
The "midget" schools produce excellent contributors In many fields. Your elitist attitude does not serve you. Absolutes make fools as they say. Just build some parking lots for the games. I am sure your great engineers can figure out how. I remember Berkley in the braless dope smoking 60's and must say I was impressed. Now that was Nobel worthy . LOL
Cal's always had a fair number of non-students on the football team. Marshawn Lynch, DeSean Jackson, Chuck Muncie are good examples. One of the reasons Jeff Tedford got fired was the program had the lowest graduation rate in the nation. Doubtful Muncie passed a single class but he was a star on the team for three years. Got Mike White fired when it was discovered.
Jan 18, 2023·edited Jan 18, 2023Liked by John Canzano
Face it, college is no longer about education or even various sports other than football and the money it generates. I think pundants who say the current reallignment is temporary are right. The future will contain a few schools with massive football (NFL feeder) programs and major media contracts with multi-million dollar coaches along with watered down scholastic requirements and the rest will decide to be happy with reverting to what sports at the college level used to be, or drop football altogether. Frankly, I would like colleges to get back to quality education and sports being for the shear fun of it all. Give me a tailgate party to the Boise State,-Fresno State-Montana State teams of the football world for the shear joy of the game. As my grandson's t-shirt says, "I hope both teams had a good time." Why do we all want to lose sleep over whether or not our team will ever win a national championship? Come on...Man!!!
Does anyone think that if this conference TRIED to screw over the LA schools, that they would actually succeed? They've been trying to be fair for years, and what did we get? Noon starts in September, mid-week games against our in-state rivals. As a Bruin fan, I'm not worried about where the football championship game will be. I'll miss the views of Mt Rainier and the Lake at Husky Stadium and the ride down PCH. Those never disappoint.
Following the WWJD? ethos, I reckon taking the high road is the correct play here. But it's hard, man. Those cats bailed on the PAC, quit the family, whatever you want to call it. Would every other school in the conference have done the same? I'm not so sure. To me it's more like a divorce, where one spouse quits the other to 'trade up' in pursuit of wealth, regardless of the relationships said move will trash. I think it stinks.
What do you mean "not so sure?" Oregon and WA, if you recall, made a plea for a Big10 invite less than 24 hrs after USC announced! Oh, you must have meant every other school in the conference besides those two...
My friend, I wish you and those UCLA and SC fans who are giddy about joining the B1G all the best.
What do I think? It doesn't matter what I think. But how about Carol Folt leads the charge into the Pac-20 and an unequal split in media revenue? Up front, disclosed and discussed with the other P12 leaders?
Add KS, K ST, IA ST, OK ST, TCU, Baylor, Houston, and TX Tech, and perhaps, the Network not only survives but moves into the black. BTW, one heck of a CBB conference.
Revenue all-in invested in the money-ball sports, success playing the $ ball sports, teams played viewership of games, cost of living, etc. all factor into how revenue is divided. After all, in the B1G SC will be getting the same cut as will Northwestern.
This opportunity was never afforded the P-12 leadership or GK.
Glenn, I find your friend's comment curious. I charted the miles from Lincoln, Nebraska, to every Big 12 school the last year the Huskers played there. I then did the same to every Big10 school the first year they joined. Avg distance in Big 12 was 417 miles; in Big 10 was 637 miles. It takes an extra ONE HOUR to fly those 200 miles. Sorry, not exhausting.
Jon, it might surprise you to know I'm not the least bit "giddy" about this. What I've defended here is USC's forward thinking and futuristic business decision on behalf of its football program. They saw the weak position of its conference in the all-important (and getting more so) arms race, its poor leadership (common knowledge), and accepted (note invited, not sought) an invitation to better their future. It'd be hard to find someone here who has followed and embraced the tradition of the Pac 8-10-12 more or longer than this writer. I've watched games in every conference venue (except Utah), met great fans, and been to more Rose Bowls than I can count, even when USC didn't play. I grew up there and loved--absolutely loved--the pageantry of the whole day. Hell, I even have a picture on my wall of me riding a Rose Parade float! I hate losing all that history. But I hated leaving my HS behind, too, yet the change was necessary and beneficial to my growth. So it is for USC. Don't hate them for getting realigned first--your favorite team isn't far behind.
A friend of mine worked in the athletic department at Nebraska and said when they moved to the Big 10 the increased travel took a tremendous toll on the student athlete's which affected their ability to compete. Lincoln, Nebraska is fifteen hundred miles east of LA. Mark my words USC and UCLA are going to regret this move and their records will reflect it!
Years ago I had a friend that volunteered his thoughts at a time when Bill Clinton was going through many scandals, he stated "I don't mind scandals, that means he will probably send a check to all of us to distract us from the scandal. As long as I get mine, I don't care"
In this world there are two types of people, those that think like my prior friend...
I dropped the friendship, as thoughts like that abhor me...
Your response is in line with my friends thinking...
@Scott that was never verified. And if it did happen, one can understand that sort of reaction in the moment. On reflection, I think most if not all of the Pac 10/12/?? would prefer to remain intact. The travel, competitive grind etc. is not going to be pleasant for the SoCal schools - ever, and the financial windfall will not be enough to make it worthwhile. That's my belief and I am sticking to it.
Speaking of never verified (btw, that was reported on every major news outlet), no one has ever released a factual study on either the alleged "Travel Trauma", or "Financial Tradeoff" supposedly facing USC. I read guesses, hearsay, and speculations aplenty, but no substantiated evidence. Unless Bill Walton is your star witness, seems like a lot of spit-balling and punditry to me.
Ask the pros. See the win/loss record for most NBA teams on the road vs home or near home. And college was originally designed to get an education, not to be a minor league for the NFL. Only time will tell how this affects learning.
Jon…you are so correct. As a long-time proud SC Alum, I am in mourning over leaving the PAC. All of my SC buddies are as well. We love the PAC…the PAC is our home….we hate this move. Looking at the 2023 PAC schedule was very difficult knowing that the following year would be filled with Wisconsin, Purdue and Rutgers. This idea that some seem to have that SC is thumbing their nose at the PAC is absurd. College football is being ripped apart by “money.” I wish SC could have said no to the money but that is not the way of the world. Would Phil say no to the B10? Would the Huskies? Once this train starts rolling down the track…..
SJ - see above if you so decide to, to see what would have been IMO, the correct business move to go to the Pac-20, knock off a Power 5 competitor, add inventory, add subscribers to the network and adjust payouts based on a formula acceptable to SC and the other Pac-12/10 brand names.
GK like Larry Scott was an out-of-sport weak hire. But considering the people doing the hiring and the oft-repeated tragic business decisions why would anyone be surprised that GK, a gaming executive, was caught pants down?
SC IMO, had the conference gone to the Pac-20 maybe comes up $5 M short of B1G 'net' revenue and comes much closer to a 'doable' number on the Pac-20 unequal disbursement bottom line.
In Carol Folt's favor, a Jim Delaney/Greg Sankey/ Roy Kramer was not hired to manage the conference.
Jan 18, 2023·edited Jan 19, 2023Liked by John Canzano
It’s the good old boys network. They all will work with each other down the road. HOWEVER for the kids it’s a a terrible move Remember….we must put the players first.
They had nothing to do with the treachery but have to suffer the consequences of travel and all of the headaches that come with it.
I think you get more bees with honey than you do Sh$t. Welcome back to the pac old friends good to see you came back to the fold here is your new media package money it’s the same as the rest.
It's a five-team race... USC, Utah, Oregon, OSU, Washington... the fear is that they'll cannibalize each other playing a nine-game conference schedule. The middle of the conference is going to be better, too... Arizona, Cal, WSU could all be better. Colorado is a rebuild, but interesting... ASU will have a nice start and eight home games.
Can’t help but think of the case of UConn in this situation. They tried to sue everyone who left the Big East for the ACC. Later on when the Big East was falling apart, nobody in the ACC was willing to go to bat for them and they got stuck in limbo. Seems pretty smart of the PAC-12 AD’s not to burn any bridges with USC and UCLA. They may need to cross that bridge to the Big Ten in the future and it’s always helpful to have advocates on your side.
Let's all take a collective deep breath and put aside our school loyalties for a moment. The present makeup of conference alignments in CFB are on their death bed. It doesn't take a genius to see where the sport is headed: the "Haves" (so called Superconference) and the "Have-Nots" (everyone one else). Why? The money it will take to fund a major football program (NIL, travel, player unions/ salaries, insurance, Title IX, larger staffs, etc.) will leave only 40 or 50 schools realistically left to vye for a Natty. It means we'll see a complete upheaval in the present conference alignment. Arguing about what the Pac-12 does, or what USC leaving did, or why they did it, seems silly in light of how temporary all this will be. A new beginning in the history and traditions of CFB is not on the horizon--it's on the doorstep, knocking.
Yeah, that's regurgitating the narrative of every beat writer when SC and Ucla announced departure. The 12 team playoff killed the superconferences from forming, get with the times
Revenue sharing is going to be the big one. There might be parity, but within a conference. And if B1G and SEC schools pay a significantly higher salary than Pac, Big 12, ACC, then it's obvious where the talent will head in complete fashion.
When USC leaves to become the Minnesota of the Big 10, we will also be glad to see the "we paid for it, we deserve it" attitude gone with them. Have you seen the venom heaped on their Saint Riley for daring to not make the playoffs and lose a bowl game? With the exception of a few years under Carroll (when cheating forced them to, among other things, give back a Heisman), they haven't been relevant in football for decades. You are generous saying they are Penn State. They ain't.
Overstatement, Drew. In the last 10 years, USC has had the highest final AP ranking amongst Pac-12 schools for 3 of those.
And your use of decades, as in plural...as in 20 years? That includes most of Carroll's years--a #1 ranking (twice), a #2, #3, and #4. I'd say "relevant", no?
You are petty. You're the friend that loves eating high on the hog but never picks up the check and then gets angry when they're no longer invited to dinner. For the last several decades, Ucla and Usc didn't need to do an even revenue split with the other schools but they did. The other 10 ADs know that they've been mooching off the LA schools in every single TV contract. There is a reason why Klaikoff fought tooth and nail to get the UC Regents to stop Ucla's move and that was to keep the gravy train going. Ucla and Usc are not the problem. It is the rest of you that are the problem.
Another great article John. OK, again I'm going to be a bit surly in my comment. I'm tired of being in a conference that has weak leadership top to bottom. I'm tired of always taking the high road. Maybe it's a holdover from the hippy era on the coast or AD's that sample the local weed before each meeting. In all seriousness, in my opinion, appearing weak and always opening the door for others...manners is often taken as a sign of weakness by those who are not nice all the time. Like media partners, other conferences, the NCAA. Those that want a competitive edge. Does anybody reading your article believe the SEC, BIG 10, BIG East or BIG 12 would have been nice to USC and UCLA? I don't. And i wouldn't were I making the decisions.
Personally treating USC and UCLA so sweetly makes me sick. It reminds me of a particular political party that always wants to be bipartisan while the other wants to destroy everything in its path or as I like to say bringing a knife to a gunfight. Talk about a cakewalk for USC...contrast that with Cal who gets 4 road games against Oregon, Washington, Utah and UCLA...maybe after another 3-8 season Cal will get smart and give all this up for either a stepped down "student athlete program that is not an oxymoron, or work on getting more Nobel Prizes, something that the other schools could never compete with.
Nice pivot to Novel Prizes from football. Maybe Cal should work on their game day parking problem so the stadium won't be so empty. Guess the Nobel prize winners can't attract much of a crowd. You appear to be upset over your teams on field performance. Just schedule more SAC States & your record will improve. Cal' 67% stadium fill is worst in the PAC. That's not UCLA or USC' Fault. Even Marshawn Lynch goes off over the lack of attendence.
Well the beauty of winning a Nobel Prize is that the winner gets a parking spot for life, but we are running out of spots. I guess CRISPR will never be as exciting as a touchdown, but it makes my diploma worth a lot more than 10 of the 11 remaining schools, so I will give the Trees their due, but the rest of the schools are academic midgets.
I had season tickets for 35 years and parking is not a problem if you know where to go and that is not the reason for the empty stadium. It is the fact that games are now at any time of any day and one cannot plan for a game when the start time says TBD a week before the game, plus as you point out, they stink. Too many other sports choices...Niners, Dubs...we are always having NorCal winners versus places that do not even have pro sports or stinky teams.
I'm the first one to admit we are no longer competitive as we cannot compete with the semi-pro leagues and we probably do not even want to really...I mean look at Oregon, a 2nd rate school that relies on out of state CA students academically but has Phil Knight money or any of the SEC or Big 10 semi pro ESPN/Fox league schools. So doing something smart I hope is in the cards as I think "the times they are 'a changing."
The "midget" schools produce excellent contributors In many fields. Your elitist attitude does not serve you. Absolutes make fools as they say. Just build some parking lots for the games. I am sure your great engineers can figure out how. I remember Berkley in the braless dope smoking 60's and must say I was impressed. Now that was Nobel worthy . LOL
Just having some fun as long as we are not speaking of the scandal ridden people at USC :)
I never inhaled....hahahaha
Cal's always had a fair number of non-students on the football team. Marshawn Lynch, DeSean Jackson, Chuck Muncie are good examples. One of the reasons Jeff Tedford got fired was the program had the lowest graduation rate in the nation. Doubtful Muncie passed a single class but he was a star on the team for three years. Got Mike White fired when it was discovered.
Face it, college is no longer about education or even various sports other than football and the money it generates. I think pundants who say the current reallignment is temporary are right. The future will contain a few schools with massive football (NFL feeder) programs and major media contracts with multi-million dollar coaches along with watered down scholastic requirements and the rest will decide to be happy with reverting to what sports at the college level used to be, or drop football altogether. Frankly, I would like colleges to get back to quality education and sports being for the shear fun of it all. Give me a tailgate party to the Boise State,-Fresno State-Montana State teams of the football world for the shear joy of the game. As my grandson's t-shirt says, "I hope both teams had a good time." Why do we all want to lose sleep over whether or not our team will ever win a national championship? Come on...Man!!!
Does anyone think that if this conference TRIED to screw over the LA schools, that they would actually succeed? They've been trying to be fair for years, and what did we get? Noon starts in September, mid-week games against our in-state rivals. As a Bruin fan, I'm not worried about where the football championship game will be. I'll miss the views of Mt Rainier and the Lake at Husky Stadium and the ride down PCH. Those never disappoint.
Well put.
Following the WWJD? ethos, I reckon taking the high road is the correct play here. But it's hard, man. Those cats bailed on the PAC, quit the family, whatever you want to call it. Would every other school in the conference have done the same? I'm not so sure. To me it's more like a divorce, where one spouse quits the other to 'trade up' in pursuit of wealth, regardless of the relationships said move will trash. I think it stinks.
What do you mean "not so sure?" Oregon and WA, if you recall, made a plea for a Big10 invite less than 24 hrs after USC announced! Oh, you must have meant every other school in the conference besides those two...
My friend, I wish you and those UCLA and SC fans who are giddy about joining the B1G all the best.
What do I think? It doesn't matter what I think. But how about Carol Folt leads the charge into the Pac-20 and an unequal split in media revenue? Up front, disclosed and discussed with the other P12 leaders?
Add KS, K ST, IA ST, OK ST, TCU, Baylor, Houston, and TX Tech, and perhaps, the Network not only survives but moves into the black. BTW, one heck of a CBB conference.
Revenue all-in invested in the money-ball sports, success playing the $ ball sports, teams played viewership of games, cost of living, etc. all factor into how revenue is divided. After all, in the B1G SC will be getting the same cut as will Northwestern.
This opportunity was never afforded the P-12 leadership or GK.
But bon voyage.
Glenn, I find your friend's comment curious. I charted the miles from Lincoln, Nebraska, to every Big 12 school the last year the Huskers played there. I then did the same to every Big10 school the first year they joined. Avg distance in Big 12 was 417 miles; in Big 10 was 637 miles. It takes an extra ONE HOUR to fly those 200 miles. Sorry, not exhausting.
Jon, it might surprise you to know I'm not the least bit "giddy" about this. What I've defended here is USC's forward thinking and futuristic business decision on behalf of its football program. They saw the weak position of its conference in the all-important (and getting more so) arms race, its poor leadership (common knowledge), and accepted (note invited, not sought) an invitation to better their future. It'd be hard to find someone here who has followed and embraced the tradition of the Pac 8-10-12 more or longer than this writer. I've watched games in every conference venue (except Utah), met great fans, and been to more Rose Bowls than I can count, even when USC didn't play. I grew up there and loved--absolutely loved--the pageantry of the whole day. Hell, I even have a picture on my wall of me riding a Rose Parade float! I hate losing all that history. But I hated leaving my HS behind, too, yet the change was necessary and beneficial to my growth. So it is for USC. Don't hate them for getting realigned first--your favorite team isn't far behind.
A friend of mine worked in the athletic department at Nebraska and said when they moved to the Big 10 the increased travel took a tremendous toll on the student athlete's which affected their ability to compete. Lincoln, Nebraska is fifteen hundred miles east of LA. Mark my words USC and UCLA are going to regret this move and their records will reflect it!
Boom
Years ago I had a friend that volunteered his thoughts at a time when Bill Clinton was going through many scandals, he stated "I don't mind scandals, that means he will probably send a check to all of us to distract us from the scandal. As long as I get mine, I don't care"
In this world there are two types of people, those that think like my prior friend...
I dropped the friendship, as thoughts like that abhor me...
Your response is in line with my friends thinking...
I see: “SC- it’s your responsibility to save us”
Got it. Doesn’t work that way pal
@Scott that was never verified. And if it did happen, one can understand that sort of reaction in the moment. On reflection, I think most if not all of the Pac 10/12/?? would prefer to remain intact. The travel, competitive grind etc. is not going to be pleasant for the SoCal schools - ever, and the financial windfall will not be enough to make it worthwhile. That's my belief and I am sticking to it.
Speaking of never verified (btw, that was reported on every major news outlet), no one has ever released a factual study on either the alleged "Travel Trauma", or "Financial Tradeoff" supposedly facing USC. I read guesses, hearsay, and speculations aplenty, but no substantiated evidence. Unless Bill Walton is your star witness, seems like a lot of spit-balling and punditry to me.
Ask the pros. See the win/loss record for most NBA teams on the road vs home or near home. And college was originally designed to get an education, not to be a minor league for the NFL. Only time will tell how this affects learning.
I traveled. It sucks
It’s about the kids man. They suffer. Smoke a bowl and lay back. Or take a Vicodin !🙃
And from what one reads UCLA fans most definitely and also a significant number of SC fans are not all-in on the move to the B1G.
The B1G had 3 football teams ranked at the end of 2022. Top to bottom CFB-wise is this a move up for the 2 LA schools?
Jon…you are so correct. As a long-time proud SC Alum, I am in mourning over leaving the PAC. All of my SC buddies are as well. We love the PAC…the PAC is our home….we hate this move. Looking at the 2023 PAC schedule was very difficult knowing that the following year would be filled with Wisconsin, Purdue and Rutgers. This idea that some seem to have that SC is thumbing their nose at the PAC is absurd. College football is being ripped apart by “money.” I wish SC could have said no to the money but that is not the way of the world. Would Phil say no to the B10? Would the Huskies? Once this train starts rolling down the track…..
Bill Walton said it best "California in the midwest" what the actual f are you all thinking.
SJ - see above if you so decide to, to see what would have been IMO, the correct business move to go to the Pac-20, knock off a Power 5 competitor, add inventory, add subscribers to the network and adjust payouts based on a formula acceptable to SC and the other Pac-12/10 brand names.
GK like Larry Scott was an out-of-sport weak hire. But considering the people doing the hiring and the oft-repeated tragic business decisions why would anyone be surprised that GK, a gaming executive, was caught pants down?
SC IMO, had the conference gone to the Pac-20 maybe comes up $5 M short of B1G 'net' revenue and comes much closer to a 'doable' number on the Pac-20 unequal disbursement bottom line.
In Carol Folt's favor, a Jim Delaney/Greg Sankey/ Roy Kramer was not hired to manage the conference.
It’s the good old boys network. They all will work with each other down the road. HOWEVER for the kids it’s a a terrible move Remember….we must put the players first.
They had nothing to do with the treachery but have to suffer the consequences of travel and all of the headaches that come with it.
I hope the PAC 12 can give USC and UCLA a nice good bye by kicking their asses in games! Give them both losing records in conference play.
This.
Don't come crying back to me!
John. Please publish a book
I like the Beavers schedule. Go Beavs!
Very favorable and balanced.
It does bode very well for us to reach the championship... Maybe in the very end of the season be considered for the CFP
I think you get more bees with honey than you do Sh$t. Welcome back to the pac old friends good to see you came back to the fold here is your new media package money it’s the same as the rest.
The PAC is making a nice nest to come home to.
You're right. I would not have been as cordial. But you're right.
Yes but a cynic like me would say the Pac 12 really wants to get someone in the playoff next year, so lets take advantage of USC while we have them.
It's a five-team race... USC, Utah, Oregon, OSU, Washington... the fear is that they'll cannibalize each other playing a nine-game conference schedule. The middle of the conference is going to be better, too... Arizona, Cal, WSU could all be better. Colorado is a rebuild, but interesting... ASU will have a nice start and eight home games.
What about Stanford? Are they not rebuilding due to David Shaw stepping away?
Can’t help but think of the case of UConn in this situation. They tried to sue everyone who left the Big East for the ACC. Later on when the Big East was falling apart, nobody in the ACC was willing to go to bat for them and they got stuck in limbo. Seems pretty smart of the PAC-12 AD’s not to burn any bridges with USC and UCLA. They may need to cross that bridge to the Big Ten in the future and it’s always helpful to have advocates on your side.
I was thinking the same thing, it might not be out of the niceness out of their hearts, but keeping selfish options open in the future
Let's all take a collective deep breath and put aside our school loyalties for a moment. The present makeup of conference alignments in CFB are on their death bed. It doesn't take a genius to see where the sport is headed: the "Haves" (so called Superconference) and the "Have-Nots" (everyone one else). Why? The money it will take to fund a major football program (NIL, travel, player unions/ salaries, insurance, Title IX, larger staffs, etc.) will leave only 40 or 50 schools realistically left to vye for a Natty. It means we'll see a complete upheaval in the present conference alignment. Arguing about what the Pac-12 does, or what USC leaving did, or why they did it, seems silly in light of how temporary all this will be. A new beginning in the history and traditions of CFB is not on the horizon--it's on the doorstep, knocking.
Deep breath is solid advice.
Scott…John ought to get you to be a guest columnist when he goes on vacation. Great take…spot on! The old expression “Read ‘em and weep.”
Yeah, that's regurgitating the narrative of every beat writer when SC and Ucla announced departure. The 12 team playoff killed the superconferences from forming, get with the times
Revenue sharing is going to be the big one. There might be parity, but within a conference. And if B1G and SEC schools pay a significantly higher salary than Pac, Big 12, ACC, then it's obvious where the talent will head in complete fashion.
When USC leaves to become the Minnesota of the Big 10, we will also be glad to see the "we paid for it, we deserve it" attitude gone with them. Have you seen the venom heaped on their Saint Riley for daring to not make the playoffs and lose a bowl game? With the exception of a few years under Carroll (when cheating forced them to, among other things, give back a Heisman), they haven't been relevant in football for decades. You are generous saying they are Penn State. They ain't.
Overstatement, Drew. In the last 10 years, USC has had the highest final AP ranking amongst Pac-12 schools for 3 of those.
And your use of decades, as in plural...as in 20 years? That includes most of Carroll's years--a #1 ranking (twice), a #2, #3, and #4. I'd say "relevant", no?
Scott…nice to see logic and fact being applied to emotional animus.
Well said.
Great column, John. Thank you for speaking honestly about our Southern neighbors and their treachery.
It's really mostly in fun... mostly. :)
You are petty. You're the friend that loves eating high on the hog but never picks up the check and then gets angry when they're no longer invited to dinner. For the last several decades, Ucla and Usc didn't need to do an even revenue split with the other schools but they did. The other 10 ADs know that they've been mooching off the LA schools in every single TV contract. There is a reason why Klaikoff fought tooth and nail to get the UC Regents to stop Ucla's move and that was to keep the gravy train going. Ucla and Usc are not the problem. It is the rest of you that are the problem.