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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Don't come crying back to me!
John. Please publish a book
I like the Beavers schedule. Go Beavs!
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.
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.
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.
Great column, John. Thank you for speaking honestly about our Southern neighbors and their treachery.
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.