It’s very sad times for the Pac 12 & collegiate sports as a whole. Both are much less interesting! Super conferences are like what Lebron did to start the trend of super teams in the NBA, blah. Unless you’re a fan of the Lakers or another one of the super teams.
I get how money is the driver for the defections. But it doesn’t make it right. To me, it’s one step closer to the end of collegiate sports as we’ve known it. The “haves” get bigger, stronger & richer. And the “have nots” (i.e. Oregon State, Washington State, Etal) get smaller, weaker & poorer. I’m laughing out loud (sarcastically) at the fact that we’re now relying on a rich guy to save the Pac 12. Is this really happening?
The divide happening in our country coincides with the divide in college sports. Not a good thing for the long term, for balance & sustainability. Not a good thing for the integrity & purity of college sports. Unless you’re Ohio State, Michigan..
One of my favorite business mantras is “You win in transition”. To do so, you stop lamenting why the transition happened, you embrace it and look for opportunities. I hope the PAC 10 is doing so. There are lots of great things about the PAC 10 schools including academics, and their locations. Build a PAC 10 brand around that and more. Focus on making the next media deal the PAC 10 signs lucrative. And you know who is really good at branding? Nike.
The NFL exists and I don't care about the nfl-lite with the new big 10 on FOX. There's nothing amateur or collegiate in the way the NCAA chases television revenue.
It's rather interesting to consider it - but - UW/UO have been hooked at the hip for 107 YEARS now. I don't KNOW what is going to happen but, whether we both stay, go to the B1G, the Big-12(?), Independent(?) - it seems pretty obvious, at least to me, that we are going together.
I honestly don't have a clue IF or WHEN we might see the B1G expand again. But until then (even if they don't), and we (UO and UW) stay, and EVERYONE else stays (BIG "IF"), there is STILL a rather nice attraction to the PAC-10.
UW, WSU, Oregon, Oregon State, Cal, Stanford, Arizona, ASU, Utah and Colorado are NO SLOUCHES. Yes, UW HAS to get better at football again (anywhere from 7 to 10/10+ wins/year), but if Utah and Oregon stay up, and the bigger schools of UW/Arizona/ASU/Colorado/Cal/Stanford can rebound some too - we can compete with a LOT of programs out there.
Point is, I don't think we DIE if the B1G doesn't come calling for several years. Just want to clarify that I'm a UW Husky fan :-)
If Oregon had the opportunity to join the SEC conference, I would rather see them go in that direction and tell the people at Big, we don’t want you. However, let’s get back into reality. We are in this position because of Larry Scott and the lack of University President asking the key and tough questions to UCLA and USC. If you’re sitting in meetings after meetings, you can not tell relationships are not born? 12 Universities created and formed a league. It is business. It is malpractice of everyone in the Pac 12 not to have sense this was happening.
So the question we need to ask ourselves here is what is the end goal? Is it the goal of the Pac 12 to compete with the super conference and attempt to win playing their game? Simply, Fox and ESPN are paying money to show the top college football programs in America that will play for a national championship.
Would it be best for the landscape of college football to say to the Super Conferences, you may not think you do not need us, however for you to have legitimate national champion, our schools must participate in the process. So, guess what we are going to do, screw you and we form our own alliance. Create our own championship process and refuse to play any Big 10 or SEC school. How much is Fox and ESPN going to pay to watch these two leagues play for a title between two conferences?
Maybe an alternative is to take look at how the SEC built it’s brand that made them a national powerhouse? In terms of pure TV markets, I think it would be fair the PAC 12 has better TV markets than the SEC. What the SEC has created is a league that the nation craves to see Alabama, Auburn, LSU, and Texas A & M. They decided they wanted to be the official minor league of the National Football League and they have achieved their objective.
Basically this is going to come down to what Phil Knight wants to do. If he is going to open his checkbook and get Oregon is a league, I hope he writes the check the SEC. However if he ticked off and wants to go to war, the answer may come in merging the ACC, Big 12, and Pac 12 to go up against Big and the SEC.
The Pac 12 will not survive if they think adding San Diego State to the conference will get them where they want. There is not one school on the west coast that help the Pac 12. It is either merger of the three or Oregon and Washington become independents to secure their own TV deals.
Oregon and Washington need to take a long look in the mirror and ask themselves who they really are in the grand scheme. IMO, it's short-sighted to go to the Big-10, especially under these conditions. Why go in as anything but a full partner? Taking little brother status is just asking to get treated like little brothers.
It does set-up a whole new bunch of excuses for Duck and Husky fans though. So that'll be nice.
The move is to go it alone and set up something new and innovative. Center it around Vegas and go it alone. By 2030, The Caesar's PAC-20 will be a force.
Oregon has been an innovative force in NCAA sports for 25 + years. Now is not the time to blindly follow USC. Fight for the PAC-12, we’re original members from 110 years ago. Now is the time for big moves. We have to merge with the Big12 or ACC. We lost LA, but we can lock down Vegas. Move the HQ there. Our commish has Vegas/gaming roots - use them! The NFL, NHL, and soon MLB invested in Vegas for a reason. Pac12 has to go big there. Sell the PAC-12 Networks to Uncle Phil, deal in Amazon Prime, DirecTV, appleTV, etc. cut a branding deal with Caesar’s or MGM. Adding MW teams to replace USC/UCLA is not competing with the SEC/ESPN or B1G/Fox. Have to form a third rail to disrupt their monopoly. Come on Ducks, save the PAC-12!
Jul 3, 2022·edited Jul 3, 2022Liked by John Canzano
Assuming they resolve the matter of "profit sharing" by UW & UO getting reduced shares for a while, those reduced shares would almost certainly still be higher than what they've been getting in the Pac12 - I don't see this is as much of a negotiating obstacle.
However, I'm concerned that Oregon will not be seen by Big10 members as having sufficient gravitas in the areas of academics and research - it's a good school mind you, but doesn't stack up in the rankings, and I worry that this will be an issue. OTOH, this is the new arms race and perhaps such things don't carry so much sway anymore.
Cal has had great success in Olympic sports. They have a football stadium to pay for. Basketball has seen a big drop-off, but all of college basketball has been hurt by transfers and one and done. The faculty probably hates sports, but the alums support major athletics. Cal doesn't run the whole state like Ohio State and Alabama do.
I really did look forward, excitedly, when the Pac 12 Network started. It was the biggest disappointment ever. Larry Scott could not have made poorer decisions. My context was the SEC Network which is awesome if you're an SEC fan and they've made a point of having really good exposure to the non paying tv customer. So, after the SoCal departure, what do we have? Outside of UO and UW, not much as the rest of the schools are not national competitors. Pragmatically, UO and UW should depart, follow SoCal to the Big 10. (I'm not interested in watching SD State or even Boise State) The remaining schools will be like the Mountain West.
UNLV can't win in the MWC. They don't draw support from Las Vegas. The Pac-10 doesn't need a 1-11 team with 15,000 fans. They must merge with the Big 12
One wonders why the PAC 12 presidents followed Larry Scott into the abyss. He became their pied piper after he lured Utah and Colorado into the conference at the beginning of his tenure.
Great article! But why would Knigjt subsidize Washington an Adidas school over Stanford a.Nike school and why doesn’t he factor Portland into the equation similar to San Diego and for that matter the Bay Ares with Stanford - use those variables and there is now upside - separately, Oregon traditionally pulls some of the largest national ratings of Any team in college football which would be attractive meaning iOregon has appeal beyond the Portland, Medford, and Eugene DMAs
It’s very sad times for the Pac 12 & collegiate sports as a whole. Both are much less interesting! Super conferences are like what Lebron did to start the trend of super teams in the NBA, blah. Unless you’re a fan of the Lakers or another one of the super teams.
I get how money is the driver for the defections. But it doesn’t make it right. To me, it’s one step closer to the end of collegiate sports as we’ve known it. The “haves” get bigger, stronger & richer. And the “have nots” (i.e. Oregon State, Washington State, Etal) get smaller, weaker & poorer. I’m laughing out loud (sarcastically) at the fact that we’re now relying on a rich guy to save the Pac 12. Is this really happening?
The divide happening in our country coincides with the divide in college sports. Not a good thing for the long term, for balance & sustainability. Not a good thing for the integrity & purity of college sports. Unless you’re Ohio State, Michigan..
One of my favorite business mantras is “You win in transition”. To do so, you stop lamenting why the transition happened, you embrace it and look for opportunities. I hope the PAC 10 is doing so. There are lots of great things about the PAC 10 schools including academics, and their locations. Build a PAC 10 brand around that and more. Focus on making the next media deal the PAC 10 signs lucrative. And you know who is really good at branding? Nike.
The NFL exists and I don't care about the nfl-lite with the new big 10 on FOX. There's nothing amateur or collegiate in the way the NCAA chases television revenue.
It's rather interesting to consider it - but - UW/UO have been hooked at the hip for 107 YEARS now. I don't KNOW what is going to happen but, whether we both stay, go to the B1G, the Big-12(?), Independent(?) - it seems pretty obvious, at least to me, that we are going together.
I honestly don't have a clue IF or WHEN we might see the B1G expand again. But until then (even if they don't), and we (UO and UW) stay, and EVERYONE else stays (BIG "IF"), there is STILL a rather nice attraction to the PAC-10.
UW, WSU, Oregon, Oregon State, Cal, Stanford, Arizona, ASU, Utah and Colorado are NO SLOUCHES. Yes, UW HAS to get better at football again (anywhere from 7 to 10/10+ wins/year), but if Utah and Oregon stay up, and the bigger schools of UW/Arizona/ASU/Colorado/Cal/Stanford can rebound some too - we can compete with a LOT of programs out there.
Point is, I don't think we DIE if the B1G doesn't come calling for several years. Just want to clarify that I'm a UW Husky fan :-)
I would like to see Oregon and Washington stay in the Pac 12 where they belong.
If Oregon had the opportunity to join the SEC conference, I would rather see them go in that direction and tell the people at Big, we don’t want you. However, let’s get back into reality. We are in this position because of Larry Scott and the lack of University President asking the key and tough questions to UCLA and USC. If you’re sitting in meetings after meetings, you can not tell relationships are not born? 12 Universities created and formed a league. It is business. It is malpractice of everyone in the Pac 12 not to have sense this was happening.
So the question we need to ask ourselves here is what is the end goal? Is it the goal of the Pac 12 to compete with the super conference and attempt to win playing their game? Simply, Fox and ESPN are paying money to show the top college football programs in America that will play for a national championship.
Would it be best for the landscape of college football to say to the Super Conferences, you may not think you do not need us, however for you to have legitimate national champion, our schools must participate in the process. So, guess what we are going to do, screw you and we form our own alliance. Create our own championship process and refuse to play any Big 10 or SEC school. How much is Fox and ESPN going to pay to watch these two leagues play for a title between two conferences?
Maybe an alternative is to take look at how the SEC built it’s brand that made them a national powerhouse? In terms of pure TV markets, I think it would be fair the PAC 12 has better TV markets than the SEC. What the SEC has created is a league that the nation craves to see Alabama, Auburn, LSU, and Texas A & M. They decided they wanted to be the official minor league of the National Football League and they have achieved their objective.
Basically this is going to come down to what Phil Knight wants to do. If he is going to open his checkbook and get Oregon is a league, I hope he writes the check the SEC. However if he ticked off and wants to go to war, the answer may come in merging the ACC, Big 12, and Pac 12 to go up against Big and the SEC.
The Pac 12 will not survive if they think adding San Diego State to the conference will get them where they want. There is not one school on the west coast that help the Pac 12. It is either merger of the three or Oregon and Washington become independents to secure their own TV deals.
Oregon and Washington need to take a long look in the mirror and ask themselves who they really are in the grand scheme. IMO, it's short-sighted to go to the Big-10, especially under these conditions. Why go in as anything but a full partner? Taking little brother status is just asking to get treated like little brothers.
It does set-up a whole new bunch of excuses for Duck and Husky fans though. So that'll be nice.
The move is to go it alone and set up something new and innovative. Center it around Vegas and go it alone. By 2030, The Caesar's PAC-20 will be a force.
How sad for the Northwest with solid traditions. When money gets their foothold nothing is ever the same.
Thanks for the thorough reporting as always.
Oregon has been an innovative force in NCAA sports for 25 + years. Now is not the time to blindly follow USC. Fight for the PAC-12, we’re original members from 110 years ago. Now is the time for big moves. We have to merge with the Big12 or ACC. We lost LA, but we can lock down Vegas. Move the HQ there. Our commish has Vegas/gaming roots - use them! The NFL, NHL, and soon MLB invested in Vegas for a reason. Pac12 has to go big there. Sell the PAC-12 Networks to Uncle Phil, deal in Amazon Prime, DirecTV, appleTV, etc. cut a branding deal with Caesar’s or MGM. Adding MW teams to replace USC/UCLA is not competing with the SEC/ESPN or B1G/Fox. Have to form a third rail to disrupt their monopoly. Come on Ducks, save the PAC-12!
Assuming they resolve the matter of "profit sharing" by UW & UO getting reduced shares for a while, those reduced shares would almost certainly still be higher than what they've been getting in the Pac12 - I don't see this is as much of a negotiating obstacle.
However, I'm concerned that Oregon will not be seen by Big10 members as having sufficient gravitas in the areas of academics and research - it's a good school mind you, but doesn't stack up in the rankings, and I worry that this will be an issue. OTOH, this is the new arms race and perhaps such things don't carry so much sway anymore.
Cal has had great success in Olympic sports. They have a football stadium to pay for. Basketball has seen a big drop-off, but all of college basketball has been hurt by transfers and one and done. The faculty probably hates sports, but the alums support major athletics. Cal doesn't run the whole state like Ohio State and Alabama do.
I really did look forward, excitedly, when the Pac 12 Network started. It was the biggest disappointment ever. Larry Scott could not have made poorer decisions. My context was the SEC Network which is awesome if you're an SEC fan and they've made a point of having really good exposure to the non paying tv customer. So, after the SoCal departure, what do we have? Outside of UO and UW, not much as the rest of the schools are not national competitors. Pragmatically, UO and UW should depart, follow SoCal to the Big 10. (I'm not interested in watching SD State or even Boise State) The remaining schools will be like the Mountain West.
UNLV can't win in the MWC. They don't draw support from Las Vegas. The Pac-10 doesn't need a 1-11 team with 15,000 fans. They must merge with the Big 12
One wonders why the PAC 12 presidents followed Larry Scott into the abyss. He became their pied piper after he lured Utah and Colorado into the conference at the beginning of his tenure.
Thanks alot Larry for your non-progressive thinking but you got paid so what do you care.......
Great article! But why would Knigjt subsidize Washington an Adidas school over Stanford a.Nike school and why doesn’t he factor Portland into the equation similar to San Diego and for that matter the Bay Ares with Stanford - use those variables and there is now upside - separately, Oregon traditionally pulls some of the largest national ratings of Any team in college football which would be attractive meaning iOregon has appeal beyond the Portland, Medford, and Eugene DMAs