26 Comments
Jul 11, 2022Liked by John Canzano

Not sure if it is real or not, but Sankey coming out and saying that the SEC staying at 16 could be a fairly big deal. If, as they said, college football nationwide is good for the SEC and for the game as a whole, maybe we have a chance to grab a couple of teams (SMU for Texas and SDSU for SoCal?) and then go for a great streaming deal along with trying to get creative to keep money coming in with some sort of ACC alliance, and continue to keep the Pac12 somewhat relevant and alive. Sankey also said 8 teams, all at large could be acceptable. Seems that gives us as much of a chance to make the playoffs as we have now. Probably a bit pollyanna but it may be our best option for now.

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I love the idea of keeping the Pac 12 at 12, adding SMU and SDSU. If four Big 12 teams wanted to join the party, that would be a POWER conference.

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Jul 12, 2022Liked by John Canzano

You know in business/economics if your extravagant overhead and expenses generate great revenue, but still produces deficits, plan B is to lower overhead expenses, which will reduce revenue, but can actually generate a profit. If you don't adapt, you go bankrupt and no longer have a product.

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Jul 12, 2022·edited Jul 12, 2022Liked by John Canzano

John - I’m curious on your thoughts in regards to looking toward the future and trends vs. just immediate dollars. Obviously the ability to earn revenue is critical but shouldn’t the Pac 12 (10) look strategically at the future. Recruiting California is king but football participation levels continue to decline in the state and opening up a Texas and other states seems to make sense. I would have loved to see Houston last year and perhaps one additional Texas school. Maybe SMU is the play today and a UTSA in the future (I know UTSA is not prime time ready today athletic or academically) As San Antonio is one of the fastest growing cities in the country, fertile recruiting grounds and a large Spanish demographic. Today the schools are not worth 30 million but you could approach about a lesser share and get in. That investment could blossom in ten years.

If they do nothing and stick to ten haven’t we seen that movie before ? Big 12 before Texas and Oklahoma bolted. Great companies see trends and the future. SDSU makes sense for the same reasons. It seems time to approach Gonzaga and someone else for hoops. I think their baseball team made the NCAA tournament as well. Look forward

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Jul 12, 2022Liked by John Canzano

Regarding UCLA: I think the Bruins will recruit better and can also pay assistants more money in the Big 10. They weren’t winning even division championships in the PAC so it can’t get much worse. They will need a new head coach though to get them to the promised land.

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Any additional info on the rumor SMU might become a target of the Pac 10?

It plays in a beautiful setting about 1 mile from my home, although attending daytime September games there is like sitting in an oven.

When TCU joined the Big 12, the Fort Worth community really rallied behind the program. I think the same could happen in Dallas and Dallas is a huge TV market.

Further, SMU has some extremely well heeled boosters who would likely take the steps necessary to make SMU competitive.

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Unless ESPN is willing to overpay for the Pac-10 TV rights, which I doubt, I would look for other partnerships. They already have the SEC and ACC to air on ESPN/ABC, plus several G5s for their other channels. There's no way they would really value or promote the Pac-10 for anything other than filler content in the 10:30pm ET window. The rest of the games would probably be relegated to ESPN+.

FOX probably won't be interested now that the Big Ten has its West Coast foothold.

It's been said that CBS and NBC are interested in the Big Ten. Seems unlikely both will end up getting a piece, so I'd definitely reach out to whichever one does not. Maybe TBS/TNT would have some interest?

I'd be looking for a partner that would value the content, promote it and make sure it gets the widest distribution possible in the best time windows. That's not going to be ESPN. I might even be willing to take a little less money for better exposure.

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Hey John. I remember you during your Bee days in Fresno. I worked on and off at the Bee as well for many years. Nice to see you out on your own.

I see Fresno and SDSU being a good fit for the Pac12, esp on geographical and regional basis. Fresno travels well and San Diego is a great market. Fresno is the only Div1 in the entire valley. What are the chance the Pac12 invites Fresno, Boise, SDSU and maybe Nev or UNLV? I've always hoped that Fresno would make that jump into a power conference. They will be legit this year in football. Probably close to the best in the Pac12 if they were a member. Wouldn't be surprised to see them knock USC off.

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I have asked this before, but how much of the revenue from an athletic department actually get transferred to a university's general fund? In fact, how many institutions support a portion of their athletic department's budget from the general fund? Of the 100+ Div I FBS schools, how many do not break even across their total sports' department budget?

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deletedJul 11, 2022·edited Jul 12, 2022
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deletedJul 11, 2022·edited Jul 11, 2022
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