After Larry Scott and George K, Teresa Gould is a refreshing leader for the conference. There's an opportunity for 'America's Teams' with Dennis Miller and the expanding CW sports platform that's hungry for viewership. At this point, I might be a little disappointed if the Big12 offers membership to stop the CW from Manifest Destiny. lolz
If college football starts to inhabit Sundays, I'm sure the NFL wouldn't mind leveraging that precedent to start scheduling NFL games on Saturdays, which they haven't done during the regular seasons in deference to CFB. I don't think that's a war CFB would be wise to provoke.
Let's face it. the highest level of CFB, is no longer the virginal amateur alternative to the NFL, it's NFL lite, and frankly has less structure and rules to encourage parity than the NFL and more just naked, "I can buy a better team than you" craven-ness, I'll watch the Beavers any time they're on, but the "rooting for laundry effect" has dampened my enthusiasm, and I will not be watching any B1G or SEC games. Eff em and the networks they rode in on.
Mike, the NFL already competes with College football on Saturdays during bowl season in December. I doubt the impact of college games on Sundays would be impactful in general NFL viewership. Roger Goodell probably could care less.
To be clear, I'm not the one who thinks the NFL would care about us playing games on Sundays. I just think the idea would be bad because it would destroy attendance :-)
There is a significant difference between multiple/most Sundays throughout the season, which I agree, would not be good on a number of fronts (although we successfully play and broadcast basketball and baseball on Sundays), and say just on Labor Day weekend Sunday, which is a good idea and opportunity.
Oh sure, I'd be mostly fine with that. CFB has already staked its claim for Labor Day Sunday, since that's before the NFL season starts. I wouldn't be surprised to see more games on that Sunday in the coming years.
Chuck, something tells me the CW doesn’t give a rat's ass about what the NFL thinks or does. They are going to be disruptive to legacy media with the Pac12 and all power to them in doing so.
I'm just predicting what the consequence of going into the cave and poking the bear might be. One thing leads to another. CW probably doesn't care about that and, frankly, neither do I. I'd be happy to see the NFL scheduling regular season games on Saturday and cannabalizing B1G and SEC ratings.
The Big 10 and the SEC now rule college football. I am a Pac-12 guy, and Duck lover. Sorry Chuck, if you will not watch the Big Boys this year. Hope your Beavs can win the Pac-2. You better pray they can beat WSU, or they will finish last in their new power league!
You shouldn't be sorry about my choice of what I will or won't watch. I won't be missing anything that has any meaning to me and there are plenty of other entertainment choices Oh, and I will be watching the big boys. It's called the NFL. Ftd, and the BFD and the SEC.
You know I was referring to the Big Boys of College Football. You said no SEC for you, did you change your mind? Football revenue powers all college sports, and huge tv deals make it happen. I was told by some Beavers that they would stop crying about the new Pac-2. I never did believe them. Will you watch the civil war in Corvallis? Hope the Beavs show up....
Perhaps I wasn't clear. I said, Ftd, i.e., F the ducks...and also the same for the conference they went to and the SEC too), If you want to accuse me of crying do it in a more direct manner instead of concocting a weasily, backhanded inference to that effect. What I like is that no matter how much of Phil's money the winged toilet seats spend buying players, they'll still under perform as well as sufferfrom the increasingly poor decisions of Dan Lanning.
I don't care about the exhibition game on Sept 14, or anything remotely involving Knight School. Go troll someone else with the tired schmuck schtick.
The networks that own the NFL also own the CFB P4. So no chance they are going to war with themselves. What do the other networks who are locked out of the NFL have to lose? I don't think it will do well, but we really won't know until someone gives it a try.
Maybe your Beavers and the Cougs can play all their games on Sunday. With the new power of their Pac-2 league, I am sure some network would pick up their games. Or, they could try Fridays or Wednesdays. As Mr. Canzano stated, the Cougs and Beavs would play at 12 midnight if they could.
1975 WSU grad here. We went to 1-3 games a year from the early 90's through 2019. For much of that time, we drove 6-7 hours to reach Martin Stadium. Honestly, the games were an excuse to get together with family and friends. That became harder to do as the television networks withheld game times until the week of the game. My friends and family work or have other things going on in their lives. They cannot plan to come to Pullman with a week's notice. Even though I now live less than an hour from Pullman, I doubt I would drive to the stadium for game on Sunday.
As long as I brought up game times/dates - a few years ago I attended a OSU - WSU on a Thursday Halloween night. Can you imagine that someone from the Pac-12 thought that was good planning. it was fun - lots of costumes. It was not heavily attended.
A Duck game in Autzen on Halloween was always a fun time! You did not know who was really there. Some people could really be themselves. An old lady walked up to me and I did not know who she was. She was very happy, as she knew me and I was only in Duck gear with no costume. She was only 30 or so, but her costume really fooled me. Only remember a few Halloween games in Eugene, but they were all super!
But if that happens to be Seattle vs SF for first place in the division, or vs Green Bay or Dallas, what then?
Flexing start times can be done, though it creates a lot of issues, but flexing game dates based on how the seasons of a variety of teams is going to chase ratings, would be a logistic disaster.
The idea of playing on Sunday rather than Friday or Saturday would defeat the purpose of being on a network such as the CW and their “100,000,000 viewers” because 98% of their “100,000,000 viewers will be watching the NFL.
I may be getting ahead of things, but here goes. I fully realize the FOOTBALL is driving everything, including television, in college sports right now, but what about the other Pac12 sports? While the Pac12 network was not the greatest, we were able to see the Beavers in Soccer, Gymnastics, Basketball, Baseball, etc. on the network. Are any sports other than football going to be televised? While being able to get all of the football games on television is great, what are the Pac12 plans for the rest of the sports?
I wondered about Sunday college baseball... in part, because The CW has the ability to put games on in some areas, but not the entire country. Oregon State could be on The CW stations in the Pacific Time Zone. The ACC baseball teams could be on the Eastern Time Zone cities. Big 12 baseball in the South?
So, Football=CW Men's Basketball=WCC Womens Basketball=WCC. That still leave Baseball; Softball; Men's Soccer; Women's Soccer; Wrestling; Volleyball and Gymnastics that we have got through the Pac12 Network in the past. Things like this are where the Pac12 is falling down. The Soccer teams are play now. Volleyball begins soon. But there has been no announcement about any television, Pac12 or OSU Livestream for these sports. And another example. I just went to the OSU vs Seattle U Soccer match today. There were about a dozen OSU fans at the game. This was with nothing from the Athletic department for advertising. Nothing from the Alumni Association. What I see is the OSU focusing on Football and not paying any attention to the other OSU fall sports. Come on OSU.
Yes it was in Seattle. When the Beavers play football, basketball or baseball in Seattle those games are always publicized. For this match crickets. Have you ever been to an away football game? The Alumni Association always has a tailgate party for OSU fans. Have you seen the hype that OSU puts into the baseball team going to Omaha? The Beaver Soccer team is ranked 4th in the preseason polls. Seattle U is ranked 23rd. While I would not say that the same level of an event needed to be done OSU should always be hyping any OSU event no matter where it is. At this time in the history of OSU spots nothing should be overlooked.
Comparing a meaningless exhibition game to a football game or the College World Series and expecting the alumni association to send personnel on the road to staff a picnic that might draw 20 fans, is a bit of a stretch.
There is a volunteer Alumni group here in Seattle. I have participated in their events and assist with the events. My point is that OSU cannot let any opportunity go by. If OSU wants to only put out effort for football, men's/women's basketball and baseball then cancel the other sports and save the money.
You Beavs better hope that you can find a new league to play in. The Pac-2 with WSU and OSU is sinking faster than the Titanic. Money talks and crying Beaver bull _____ does not walk very far. Get some good teams, and fix Gill coliseum before Ralph Miller comes back. Make sure to extend Mr. Tinkle in basketball again!
Maybe it’s because there are so many trolls in social media, but I don’t see anything looking like WSU/OSU as America’s teams. All we seem to get are at best “feel bad for you guys” and at worst the ever popular “have fun in the Mountain West”. I hope they are planning something big with marketing when the season starts
I subscribe to The Athletic, and I can tell you that reader comments in all the articles about the collapse of the Pac were overwhelmingly in favor of the Beavs and Cougs. It wasn't just "I feel bad for them." It was, "They are my new favorite teams! I will root for them every game. I hope they take it to the departing members." Granted, the emotion has largely worn off, and due to a lack of PR and media blitz by OSU and WSU, they may never get that momentum back. But for a while in this off-season, they were definitely America's Teams.
I agree 100%. Whild Gould seems to be better than the last two commissioners the Pac12 needs to do more branding. And all of this behind the scenes stuff is what got the Pac12 to where it is. The constant "don't worry we are working behind the scenes" stuff gets tiresome. It is time to put something out the everybody can see.
OSU and WSU are now the underdogs. And America loves an underdog. That is how I interpret the 'America's Team' branding. The Dallas Cowboys were not underdogs, and why when they were branded America's Team by Pat Summerall, everyone outside of the Dallas/Ft Worth area rolled their eyes.
I have seen this idea of college football programming on Sunday afternoons. I am not sure that is a great idea for the CW and other networks that don't have NFL programming. That is some tough competition for the football fan eyeballs. I doubt there are many college football fans who are not also into the NFL
As long as the football Beavers were not on at same time as Seattle on Sundays, they might be able to sell some tv rights. Now, they just need to find some teams to play on any given Sunday. Maybe some Wacky WCC teams who want to join the all new mighty Pac-2 , would be a good start. Too bad the 2024 schedule is set....
"Said Gould: “Given the circumstances that we’re in, not only do I think we need to be bold, aggressive, and open-minded, but part of that is that we’re in a situation right now where we can take some risks and do things differently.”"
I would just modify that by changing "we can take some risks" to "right now we need to take some risks." Personally, I think OSU/WSU admin and fans need to give Gould a LOT of latitude. Discomfort for a couple years is a small price to pay for what could be better days ahead if her risk taking calculations are accurate. We sat on our butts too long already, let her try something different.
I just hope that by waiting too long we don't paint ourselves into a corner and make a merger with the MWC - the sensible move at this point, IMHO - that much tougher to facilitate.
There is no time limit to joining the MWC. They will wait forever for that to happen as it is a huge plus for their programs. There is no need for OSU / WSU to rush anything. Play it out and see what happens. The MWC will always be there. They aren't going anywhere. But the PAC12 might need some of their schools to fill out a new conference. I have offered ideas for merging the ACC, B12, PAC12 with some MWC and AAC schools into a new 2nd tier league.
Once the B12 and ACC figure out they are not in the future plans of the SEC and B1G, that opportunity will open up. We will see.
The MWC TV contract expires after the 2025-26 season. They will be negotiating a new one in the next year. They want to negotiate from a position of strength. If we are going to partner with them, better for us, and them to announce this partnership while negotiations are underway, so we can get the possible TV deal.
I seriously would like to know your perspective on why would a merger with the MWC, which would be a downgrade for OSU/WSU, be a sensible move? I don't see joining the G5 a good move for OSU/WSU.
Because we can no longer compete financially with the top tier of college football and would be financially irresponsible to attempt to do so.
WSU and us are only the first of lower-profile P4 teams that will be kicked out (for the lack of a better term) from their current leagues as the powerhouses like Alabama, Georgia and Michigan continue to flex their financial muscles.
Again, it's just my opinion. Other's mileage may vary.
As a Duck I hesitate to comment on Canzano articles about the state of OSU and WSU athletics; “not my monkey, not my circus.” However, your comments today are just too spot on for me to not at least acknowledge them as well thought out and constructive to the subject at hand. Well done !
Truth. What has happened to the Beavs and Cougs will also happen to Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, Boston College, Syracuse, Illinois, Northwestern, Minnesota, Kansas State, Iowa State, and a dozen more schools within the decade.
And agreed there is an inflection point where keeping up with the Jones’s is no longer responsible for all but say, forty schools. The balance of P4 type schools will need to rebuild their value prop, cater to the student athlete with smaller amounts of money, more emphasis on education. This is why I think rebuilding the PAC is actually the best option. Make a truly exceptional western states conference (but with a dip into Texas). Over the medium term, with the right teams in the right markets, it is my personal belief that it can equate to a B12 type league. AND also draw back some of our historic members, e.g., Arizona, Arizona State, California, Stanford, and even potentially UCLA.
"to Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, Boston College, Syracuse, Illinois, Northwestern, Minnesota, Kansas State, Iowa State" - note that these are all in the Eastern & Central time zones. And if they must reform as Conference (Eastern) USA on steroids, will do so centered in the east, just as the ACC & BIG XII (XVI) are. At best, OSU & WSU will be the Stanford/Cal of that day, on the western fringe, except with no substantial local market.
The teams that are and will be on a plane with OSU & WSU then as now are the better 2/3 of the Mt West. UCLA (located in LA, as their coach has noted), isn't any more interested in Corvallis & Pullman than they are Fresno, Boise, & Laramie.
I don’t think I follow your point. Yes, the teams I noted are central and eastern time zone. Yes, I think a reconstituted PAC would have MWC, AAC schools, along with potential remnants of an ACC fallout. No, I don’t agree that Wazzu or the Beavs are poor markets.
They are small and remote markets. Size is what matters in media matters, not quality. If everyone in Corvallis & Pullman tune in, it is still a small fraction relative to Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, and are located MUCH further away.
See my comment above. I agree with you. There will be some lower level B1G and SEC teams kicked out of their conferences in the future. A new mid-tier Div1 league will form from the remnants of the P5
Yeesh. I get the "any port in a storm" type of mentality, but Sunday games would DECIMATE attendance in Pullman (which is already going to suffer because of the opponents on the schedule).
Yes, there is very little interest at this point to watch MW teams. I can only picture how empty Martin Stadium will be the Saturday after Thanksgiving for Wyoming
I think CW and its leadership might be savvy enough to schedule Sunday games, intermittently, and at times that are advantageous. Certainly, those left behind at the altar will be willing participants. CW wants/needs eyeballs for their newest CFB product. WSU and OSU also still (rightly) upset. Together, CW and Pac12 are going to find ways to find the spotlight.
I wish we had had something like Gould, OR Nevarez, instead of Hansen, Scott, and Kliavkoff; we would probably be in a much better position. But what's done can't be undone.
I like recognizing the dual need to be aggressive and patient at the same time, but the overly patient route blew up both the end of the Scott regime and the entirety of the Kliavkoff era, and got us where we are today. Admittedly, the presidents bear a lot of responsibility for that, passing up a good solution while hoping for a better one that was never going to materialize on multiple occasions.
"Fighting" for what some people think they are entitled to is a popular battle cry for some, but taking that tact also alienates and antagonizes people in entities we need to do business with. I'd much rather see getting started on building a better program/product that will be upwardly attractive and marketable instead of winding up in an even worse place (combination of WCC & Independent) than the Mt West, based on the fanciful idea that a lot of other programs will come running to a lesser place than they currently are in, eager to throw money away.
This demographic is probably also hoping Santa Claus will expand his schedule to make 4 deliveries a year because it would be nice if he did.
OSU and WSU should try and get some of their football games on tv at "off times," as I suggested last year. If these schools do not get busy soon, the all new, mighty, Pac-2 that they rule, will dissolve in summer of 2025 or is it 2026? Whichever, football and basketball are the largest revenue sports, and the Beavs and Cougs sure need some more income to fuel all their sports going forward.
I get that the networks pay big money (or, in this case, at least some money) to telecast these games and have to find times when viewers will want to watch. But the networks and the schools also need to be considerate of the fans attending the games by settling on days and times that make sense to home fans well in advance. Especially when more than a few fans have to travel many hours to get there and back home.
The network has no incentive at all to set convenient kickoff times for any games other than its top attractions. The more inconvenient they make it, the few fans attend and the more watch the games on TV. Which is exactly what they want.
I like her. I really would like to see a rebuild of the PAC and show everyone we can do this regardless of the situation and the media pushing against us.
If we should get into the BIG-12, then I see two divisions and we would have back the schools that left to the BIG-12.
I believe she will do a great job in keeping the A D’s on board and hopefully both Presidents and it will be a great future for OSU and WSU.
After Larry Scott and George K, Teresa Gould is a refreshing leader for the conference. There's an opportunity for 'America's Teams' with Dennis Miller and the expanding CW sports platform that's hungry for viewership. At this point, I might be a little disappointed if the Big12 offers membership to stop the CW from Manifest Destiny. lolz
Curious to see what happens with the CW.
I would for sure watch Pac12 games Sunday afternoons over the NFL. Bring on Sunday bbq w/ America’s teams!
If college football starts to inhabit Sundays, I'm sure the NFL wouldn't mind leveraging that precedent to start scheduling NFL games on Saturdays, which they haven't done during the regular seasons in deference to CFB. I don't think that's a war CFB would be wise to provoke.
Let's face it. the highest level of CFB, is no longer the virginal amateur alternative to the NFL, it's NFL lite, and frankly has less structure and rules to encourage parity than the NFL and more just naked, "I can buy a better team than you" craven-ness, I'll watch the Beavers any time they're on, but the "rooting for laundry effect" has dampened my enthusiasm, and I will not be watching any B1G or SEC games. Eff em and the networks they rode in on.
Only idiots take on the NFL. The Olympics won't even attempt it.
At least someone understands the laws of physics.
I'm firmly against having our games on Sundays, but I also doubt the NFL would see WSU/OSU games as a shot across the bow from CFB at large.
Mike, the NFL already competes with College football on Saturdays during bowl season in December. I doubt the impact of college games on Sundays would be impactful in general NFL viewership. Roger Goodell probably could care less.
To be clear, I'm not the one who thinks the NFL would care about us playing games on Sundays. I just think the idea would be bad because it would destroy attendance :-)
There is a significant difference between multiple/most Sundays throughout the season, which I agree, would not be good on a number of fronts (although we successfully play and broadcast basketball and baseball on Sundays), and say just on Labor Day weekend Sunday, which is a good idea and opportunity.
Oh sure, I'd be mostly fine with that. CFB has already staked its claim for Labor Day Sunday, since that's before the NFL season starts. I wouldn't be surprised to see more games on that Sunday in the coming years.
Chuck, something tells me the CW doesn’t give a rat's ass about what the NFL thinks or does. They are going to be disruptive to legacy media with the Pac12 and all power to them in doing so.
The Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 ... look it up.
Very interesting.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sports_Broadcasting_Act_of_1961
I'm just predicting what the consequence of going into the cave and poking the bear might be. One thing leads to another. CW probably doesn't care about that and, frankly, neither do I. I'd be happy to see the NFL scheduling regular season games on Saturday and cannabalizing B1G and SEC ratings.
The Big 10 and the SEC now rule college football. I am a Pac-12 guy, and Duck lover. Sorry Chuck, if you will not watch the Big Boys this year. Hope your Beavs can win the Pac-2. You better pray they can beat WSU, or they will finish last in their new power league!
You shouldn't be sorry about my choice of what I will or won't watch. I won't be missing anything that has any meaning to me and there are plenty of other entertainment choices Oh, and I will be watching the big boys. It's called the NFL. Ftd, and the BFD and the SEC.
You know I was referring to the Big Boys of College Football. You said no SEC for you, did you change your mind? Football revenue powers all college sports, and huge tv deals make it happen. I was told by some Beavers that they would stop crying about the new Pac-2. I never did believe them. Will you watch the civil war in Corvallis? Hope the Beavs show up....
Perhaps I wasn't clear. I said, Ftd, i.e., F the ducks...and also the same for the conference they went to and the SEC too), If you want to accuse me of crying do it in a more direct manner instead of concocting a weasily, backhanded inference to that effect. What I like is that no matter how much of Phil's money the winged toilet seats spend buying players, they'll still under perform as well as sufferfrom the increasingly poor decisions of Dan Lanning.
I don't care about the exhibition game on Sept 14, or anything remotely involving Knight School. Go troll someone else with the tired schmuck schtick.
The Ducks with the Big Boys of CFB. We've seen what happens:
0-2
0-11 v #1 ranked teams
Biggest bowl choke in CFB history
It's a reputation that's been earned!
The networks that own the NFL also own the CFB P4. So no chance they are going to war with themselves. What do the other networks who are locked out of the NFL have to lose? I don't think it will do well, but we really won't know until someone gives it a try.
Maybe your Beavers and the Cougs can play all their games on Sunday. With the new power of their Pac-2 league, I am sure some network would pick up their games. Or, they could try Fridays or Wednesdays. As Mr. Canzano stated, the Cougs and Beavs would play at 12 midnight if they could.
1975 WSU grad here. We went to 1-3 games a year from the early 90's through 2019. For much of that time, we drove 6-7 hours to reach Martin Stadium. Honestly, the games were an excuse to get together with family and friends. That became harder to do as the television networks withheld game times until the week of the game. My friends and family work or have other things going on in their lives. They cannot plan to come to Pullman with a week's notice. Even though I now live less than an hour from Pullman, I doubt I would drive to the stadium for game on Sunday.
As long as I brought up game times/dates - a few years ago I attended a OSU - WSU on a Thursday Halloween night. Can you imagine that someone from the Pac-12 thought that was good planning. it was fun - lots of costumes. It was not heavily attended.
Have to be careful getting too creative.
A Duck game in Autzen on Halloween was always a fun time! You did not know who was really there. Some people could really be themselves. An old lady walked up to me and I did not know who she was. She was very happy, as she knew me and I was only in Duck gear with no costume. She was only 30 or so, but her costume really fooled me. Only remember a few Halloween games in Eugene, but they were all super!
That would be an interesting head to head Sunday matchup, esp if the OSU/WSU game was going up against a last place Seattle Seahawk time slot.
You're also going against Red Zone, a more formidable TV opponent than the Seahawks.
But if that happens to be Seattle vs SF for first place in the division, or vs Green Bay or Dallas, what then?
Flexing start times can be done, though it creates a lot of issues, but flexing game dates based on how the seasons of a variety of teams is going to chase ratings, would be a logistic disaster.
The idea of playing on Sunday rather than Friday or Saturday would defeat the purpose of being on a network such as the CW and their “100,000,000 viewers” because 98% of their “100,000,000 viewers will be watching the NFL.
I may be getting ahead of things, but here goes. I fully realize the FOOTBALL is driving everything, including television, in college sports right now, but what about the other Pac12 sports? While the Pac12 network was not the greatest, we were able to see the Beavers in Soccer, Gymnastics, Basketball, Baseball, etc. on the network. Are any sports other than football going to be televised? While being able to get all of the football games on television is great, what are the Pac12 plans for the rest of the sports?
Given their national profile in baseball, it would be nice if OSU baseball games would find their way on to The CW.
I wondered about Sunday college baseball... in part, because The CW has the ability to put games on in some areas, but not the entire country. Oregon State could be on The CW stations in the Pacific Time Zone. The ACC baseball teams could be on the Eastern Time Zone cities. Big 12 baseball in the South?
Why not the country? What prevents national games?
Basketball will be a part of the WCC's television deal. Beyond that, ? (Welcome back, OSU Live [constantly buffering] Stream).
So, Football=CW Men's Basketball=WCC Womens Basketball=WCC. That still leave Baseball; Softball; Men's Soccer; Women's Soccer; Wrestling; Volleyball and Gymnastics that we have got through the Pac12 Network in the past. Things like this are where the Pac12 is falling down. The Soccer teams are play now. Volleyball begins soon. But there has been no announcement about any television, Pac12 or OSU Livestream for these sports. And another example. I just went to the OSU vs Seattle U Soccer match today. There were about a dozen OSU fans at the game. This was with nothing from the Athletic department for advertising. Nothing from the Alumni Association. What I see is the OSU focusing on Football and not paying any attention to the other OSU fall sports. Come on OSU.
Wasn't the soccer game at Seattle U? Why would OSU be hyping a Seattle U home game?
Yes it was in Seattle. When the Beavers play football, basketball or baseball in Seattle those games are always publicized. For this match crickets. Have you ever been to an away football game? The Alumni Association always has a tailgate party for OSU fans. Have you seen the hype that OSU puts into the baseball team going to Omaha? The Beaver Soccer team is ranked 4th in the preseason polls. Seattle U is ranked 23rd. While I would not say that the same level of an event needed to be done OSU should always be hyping any OSU event no matter where it is. At this time in the history of OSU spots nothing should be overlooked.
Comparing a meaningless exhibition game to a football game or the College World Series and expecting the alumni association to send personnel on the road to staff a picnic that might draw 20 fans, is a bit of a stretch.
You seemed to have made the game OK.
There is a volunteer Alumni group here in Seattle. I have participated in their events and assist with the events. My point is that OSU cannot let any opportunity go by. If OSU wants to only put out effort for football, men's/women's basketball and baseball then cancel the other sports and save the money.
You Beavs better hope that you can find a new league to play in. The Pac-2 with WSU and OSU is sinking faster than the Titanic. Money talks and crying Beaver bull _____ does not walk very far. Get some good teams, and fix Gill coliseum before Ralph Miller comes back. Make sure to extend Mr. Tinkle in basketball again!
And people continue to wonder why duck fans are universally despised.
This is the time for Gould to take some risks, especially in the unsettled world of college football. I like her style.
Agree.
Maybe it’s because there are so many trolls in social media, but I don’t see anything looking like WSU/OSU as America’s teams. All we seem to get are at best “feel bad for you guys” and at worst the ever popular “have fun in the Mountain West”. I hope they are planning something big with marketing when the season starts
I subscribe to The Athletic, and I can tell you that reader comments in all the articles about the collapse of the Pac were overwhelmingly in favor of the Beavs and Cougs. It wasn't just "I feel bad for them." It was, "They are my new favorite teams! I will root for them every game. I hope they take it to the departing members." Granted, the emotion has largely worn off, and due to a lack of PR and media blitz by OSU and WSU, they may never get that momentum back. But for a while in this off-season, they were definitely America's Teams.
I agree 100%. Whild Gould seems to be better than the last two commissioners the Pac12 needs to do more branding. And all of this behind the scenes stuff is what got the Pac12 to where it is. The constant "don't worry we are working behind the scenes" stuff gets tiresome. It is time to put something out the everybody can see.
OSU and WSU are now the underdogs. And America loves an underdog. That is how I interpret the 'America's Team' branding. The Dallas Cowboys were not underdogs, and why when they were branded America's Team by Pat Summerall, everyone outside of the Dallas/Ft Worth area rolled their eyes.
I have seen this idea of college football programming on Sunday afternoons. I am not sure that is a great idea for the CW and other networks that don't have NFL programming. That is some tough competition for the football fan eyeballs. I doubt there are many college football fans who are not also into the NFL
Count me as one who couldn't care less about the NFL (or NBA).
Trouble is, the 1% isn't a needle mover for the media businesses that are making an investment in search of the other 99%.
The only major league sport I watch is baseball and I do that in person. I gave up watching NBA and NFL years ago.
As long as the football Beavers were not on at same time as Seattle on Sundays, they might be able to sell some tv rights. Now, they just need to find some teams to play on any given Sunday. Maybe some Wacky WCC teams who want to join the all new mighty Pac-2 , would be a good start. Too bad the 2024 schedule is set....
"Said Gould: “Given the circumstances that we’re in, not only do I think we need to be bold, aggressive, and open-minded, but part of that is that we’re in a situation right now where we can take some risks and do things differently.”"
I would just modify that by changing "we can take some risks" to "right now we need to take some risks." Personally, I think OSU/WSU admin and fans need to give Gould a LOT of latitude. Discomfort for a couple years is a small price to pay for what could be better days ahead if her risk taking calculations are accurate. We sat on our butts too long already, let her try something different.
I just hope that by waiting too long we don't paint ourselves into a corner and make a merger with the MWC - the sensible move at this point, IMHO - that much tougher to facilitate.
There is no time limit to joining the MWC. They will wait forever for that to happen as it is a huge plus for their programs. There is no need for OSU / WSU to rush anything. Play it out and see what happens. The MWC will always be there. They aren't going anywhere. But the PAC12 might need some of their schools to fill out a new conference. I have offered ideas for merging the ACC, B12, PAC12 with some MWC and AAC schools into a new 2nd tier league.
Once the B12 and ACC figure out they are not in the future plans of the SEC and B1G, that opportunity will open up. We will see.
The MWC TV contract expires after the 2025-26 season. They will be negotiating a new one in the next year. They want to negotiate from a position of strength. If we are going to partner with them, better for us, and them to announce this partnership while negotiations are underway, so we can get the possible TV deal.
I seriously would like to know your perspective on why would a merger with the MWC, which would be a downgrade for OSU/WSU, be a sensible move? I don't see joining the G5 a good move for OSU/WSU.
Because we can no longer compete financially with the top tier of college football and would be financially irresponsible to attempt to do so.
WSU and us are only the first of lower-profile P4 teams that will be kicked out (for the lack of a better term) from their current leagues as the powerhouses like Alabama, Georgia and Michigan continue to flex their financial muscles.
Again, it's just my opinion. Other's mileage may vary.
Mr. Flash,
As a Duck I hesitate to comment on Canzano articles about the state of OSU and WSU athletics; “not my monkey, not my circus.” However, your comments today are just too spot on for me to not at least acknowledge them as well thought out and constructive to the subject at hand. Well done !
Truth. What has happened to the Beavs and Cougs will also happen to Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, Boston College, Syracuse, Illinois, Northwestern, Minnesota, Kansas State, Iowa State, and a dozen more schools within the decade.
And agreed there is an inflection point where keeping up with the Jones’s is no longer responsible for all but say, forty schools. The balance of P4 type schools will need to rebuild their value prop, cater to the student athlete with smaller amounts of money, more emphasis on education. This is why I think rebuilding the PAC is actually the best option. Make a truly exceptional western states conference (but with a dip into Texas). Over the medium term, with the right teams in the right markets, it is my personal belief that it can equate to a B12 type league. AND also draw back some of our historic members, e.g., Arizona, Arizona State, California, Stanford, and even potentially UCLA.
"to Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, Boston College, Syracuse, Illinois, Northwestern, Minnesota, Kansas State, Iowa State" - note that these are all in the Eastern & Central time zones. And if they must reform as Conference (Eastern) USA on steroids, will do so centered in the east, just as the ACC & BIG XII (XVI) are. At best, OSU & WSU will be the Stanford/Cal of that day, on the western fringe, except with no substantial local market.
The teams that are and will be on a plane with OSU & WSU then as now are the better 2/3 of the Mt West. UCLA (located in LA, as their coach has noted), isn't any more interested in Corvallis & Pullman than they are Fresno, Boise, & Laramie.
I don’t think I follow your point. Yes, the teams I noted are central and eastern time zone. Yes, I think a reconstituted PAC would have MWC, AAC schools, along with potential remnants of an ACC fallout. No, I don’t agree that Wazzu or the Beavs are poor markets.
They are small and remote markets. Size is what matters in media matters, not quality. If everyone in Corvallis & Pullman tune in, it is still a small fraction relative to Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, and are located MUCH further away.
See my comment above. I agree with you. There will be some lower level B1G and SEC teams kicked out of their conferences in the future. A new mid-tier Div1 league will form from the remnants of the P5
Games on Sunday is a very bad idea. NFL is King.
Yeesh. I get the "any port in a storm" type of mentality, but Sunday games would DECIMATE attendance in Pullman (which is already going to suffer because of the opponents on the schedule).
Yes, there is very little interest at this point to watch MW teams. I can only picture how empty Martin Stadium will be the Saturday after Thanksgiving for Wyoming
Probably no more empty than it would be for Stanford, ASU, Colorado, Arizona or Cal.
I think CW and its leadership might be savvy enough to schedule Sunday games, intermittently, and at times that are advantageous. Certainly, those left behind at the altar will be willing participants. CW wants/needs eyeballs for their newest CFB product. WSU and OSU also still (rightly) upset. Together, CW and Pac12 are going to find ways to find the spotlight.
Great job, John & Jon, at a great interview.
I wish we had had something like Gould, OR Nevarez, instead of Hansen, Scott, and Kliavkoff; we would probably be in a much better position. But what's done can't be undone.
I like recognizing the dual need to be aggressive and patient at the same time, but the overly patient route blew up both the end of the Scott regime and the entirety of the Kliavkoff era, and got us where we are today. Admittedly, the presidents bear a lot of responsibility for that, passing up a good solution while hoping for a better one that was never going to materialize on multiple occasions.
"Fighting" for what some people think they are entitled to is a popular battle cry for some, but taking that tact also alienates and antagonizes people in entities we need to do business with. I'd much rather see getting started on building a better program/product that will be upwardly attractive and marketable instead of winding up in an even worse place (combination of WCC & Independent) than the Mt West, based on the fanciful idea that a lot of other programs will come running to a lesser place than they currently are in, eager to throw money away.
This demographic is probably also hoping Santa Claus will expand his schedule to make 4 deliveries a year because it would be nice if he did.
OSU and WSU should try and get some of their football games on tv at "off times," as I suggested last year. If these schools do not get busy soon, the all new, mighty, Pac-2 that they rule, will dissolve in summer of 2025 or is it 2026? Whichever, football and basketball are the largest revenue sports, and the Beavs and Cougs sure need some more income to fuel all their sports going forward.
I am not certain of the success of college football games on TV on Sundays during the Fall.
Maybe?
It would be a cultural shift for sports fans in the USA.
I get that the networks pay big money (or, in this case, at least some money) to telecast these games and have to find times when viewers will want to watch. But the networks and the schools also need to be considerate of the fans attending the games by settling on days and times that make sense to home fans well in advance. Especially when more than a few fans have to travel many hours to get there and back home.
The network has no incentive at all to set convenient kickoff times for any games other than its top attractions. The more inconvenient they make it, the few fans attend and the more watch the games on TV. Which is exactly what they want.
I like her. I really would like to see a rebuild of the PAC and show everyone we can do this regardless of the situation and the media pushing against us.
If we should get into the BIG-12, then I see two divisions and we would have back the schools that left to the BIG-12.
I believe she will do a great job in keeping the A D’s on board and hopefully both Presidents and it will be a great future for OSU and WSU.