Maybe it's time.to.stop being west coast passive. What if we try to retain USC and UCLA with a counterproposal. See if you can get ESPN/ABC plus a streaming network like Amazon, Netflix or Apple to outbid Fox, convince 4 big name programs like Ohio, Michigan to defect to the Pac12 with higher payouts. There's a lot of money on the west coast to play with here. It's bold but to win you have to play their game better. Chasing Boise State or Fresno State isn't how win, you beat them at their own game.
While often alluded to, i believe the University Presidents and ADs aren't receiving enough of the "Larry Scott" blame. They too often stood by and didn't do enough to better manage him. Dave M
I love the Knight's...They have done so much for Oregon, OSU, and Stanford. That said...The history of mankind dictates that Phil will not be around too much longer to keep bailing out Oregon & the Pac 12. This may be the one last thing he can do to help his beloved Oregon Ducks. Yet at this point I'm not so sure there is much he CAN DO. He can't buy Oregon's way into the big 10, he can't make the big 12 more attractive or powerful...I guess he could fund expansion of Autzen to the point that game attendance would be similar to big 10 sized crowds. But then adding 20,000 more seats and 10,000 more cars on the road would require more infrastructure in and around Eugene...who pays for that? Larry Scott screwed the Pac 12 over in so many ways it's ridiculous! He's been gone a full year and is still screwing it over. Thomas Hansen was a do nothing commissioner, but he did not go out of his way to hurt the conference. Larry Scott went out of his way to hurt the conference...he lavishly spent money on himself year after year, he spent millions on his pet Pac 12 TV studios & productions...yet when it came to actually doing what he promised to the schools who funded all that he was silent...he never came through...The revenue promised, the exposure promised was never delivered, which is why USC/UCLA are now gone, and the Pac 12 is no more. There is a ton of blame to place on Scott, but also the Schools themselves are complicit in this...They could have reigned in Scott, they heard the rumors, they could have fired him for cause, or made him sell the studios, or forced him to allow Fox or ESPN (as they asked to do for big money) to produce the Pac 12 channel...Instead Scott refused and yet the School's chancellors and presidents refused to act. This situation could have been avoided with responsible proactive people in charge...instead we have a disaster on our hands, and the potential for a catastrophe...The problem is...I'm not so sure the knights guidance, money, & influence can fix this one.
Sometimes the best defense is to go on the offensive. What the ACC, Pac-12, and Big 12 should consider is forming their own alliance and championship seasons. They completely spit from the Big 10 and SEC.
When I mean split, I mean split. No interconference games with Big 10 or SEC teams’ period in any sports. They create their own playoff system for football. Have their own March madness tournament for basketball. Then create the college world series for baseball and softball.
Basically, you’re creating the AFL-NFL rivalry. The new Alliance would clearly own basketball and they could demand significant revenue from their own March Madness. Then you can leverage this in terms of TV with CBS/Paramount, NBC/Peacock, Amazon, and Apple TV.
Clearly UCLA and USC will want to compete against Pac 12 schools in all the minor sports because of traveling costs. However, if you implement, a ban to include them in any games in any sports, it will drive their profit down.
Additionally, this model would de-value the Big 10 and SEC in terms of ESPN and & Fox. Rating will drop because you have significant rival competing against you. Since the ACC and ESPN already have a TV deal, give them the first shot? They are financially invested and do you think they want to see their SEC deal devalue?
Without reading ALL the comments, it seems very simple. Without the LA market, the PAC 12 is doomed. Poaching a couple of Big12 members is not going to make us attractive enough, and even a merge would not make up the loss. I’m afraid that it’s every university for itself now. So sad.
Jul 2, 2022·edited Jul 2, 2022Liked by John Canzano
One solution:
Make a West Coast Super Conference by joining with ALL of Mountain West.
I know people will say: but we will be weaker... but that is not true. Here is how it flips the narrative:
1. It stops the attrition. Big12 can;t poach us, and will need to do the same with a Group5 conference to stay alive. It gives a solution to ACC as well. Big10 and SEC can no longer poach any teams, and now are the smaller conferences
2. MW has been beating up PAC12 teams like crazy... PAC12 teams have been hanging with SEC and Big10 teams... which means that MW teams are really better than ESPN and those that vote top 25.. they have been subduing Group5 teams for sometime (just ask UCF and others).
3. We regain the SoCal audience
4. We send the message that Big10 and SEC are about have's/have nots... whereas PAC12 is about college athletes and the alumni, to sustain tradition... there is market for both
5. Focus on the travel expenses...and dare I say, excite the woke climate change crowd on how all of this traveling will increase global warming
Flip the narrative... don;t play the game that Big10 and SEC are playing, we will lose everytime... hit them where they are weak... and its easy to see what that is, just go to the comment section of USC and UCLA
Now we see what GK can do. Unless I missed it The Commish hasn't said boo since the LA schools dropped this turd in the pool. I reckon he and Lord Knight have been talking. I sure hope so.
There simply are no viable solutions for the PAC12 to continue to exist and stay relevant. I can't imagine what PK could do, or would even want to do. Merging with the Big 12 is the only viable option. Even if Oregon and Washington are part of that, it will be viewed as an FCS-like, lower tier conference by the super conferences and will be locked out of national relevance.
So many questions... so many scenarios. The NIL issue was the key rock that set in emotion in this avalanche of college football destruction. Would like to think Uncle Phil will step in...
Scott ran the conference into the ground for years with nary a peep from the ADs, presidents, and press. Only Canzano finally lowered the boom on him, although to be fair it was a few years later than it should have been.
Just not sure what the recommendation is here. Knight calling Kevin Warren will have no impact. If UW and Oregon remain in the PAC, there are no other schools out there to court except Notre Dame who would result in the necessary markets and prestige to get increased TV money. Any other schools like Fresno St, SDSU, etc and they’re getting less money than today, at a time when the SEC and B1G teams are about to get massive increases.
John, we know Larry Scott didn’t do the conference any favors, but how does the PAC12 CEO group escape blame here? Wasn’t Scott just doing their bidding or they at least allowed it to continue far too long. Seems like too many in the CEO group were too happy with status quo feeling no need to play defense or offense until now.
It feels as if we are asking A LOT of Phil Knight: to save the Blazers from moving elsewhere, now to save the Pac-12 from extinction.
With that said, if anyone can, Uncle Phil (and I address him as such respectfully) can, if he is interested. And I can't imagine he wants his two favorite universities to fall by the wayside in this ever-changing landscape of college athletics. Let's hope he is up for this challenge.
Phil Knight is an interesting cat…but, before we bestow sainthood upon him, shouldn’t we be honest about how sincere or benevolent he actually is???…he’s made a fortune producing obscenely overpriced sneakers…products that have been manufactured on the backs child slave labor in Chinese sweatshops…he’s endorsed and promoted the likes of Colin Kapernick and LeBron throughout their careers…even while they were calling for violent protests against law enforcement… he’s the worst kept secret in college athletics when it comes to providing “incentives” for high school athletes to pick Oregon over other suitors while being recruited…I suppose lots of people will say Uncle Phil is no different than the rest of corporate America in selling out to China and the cultural headwinds…but it doesn’t make it right…and just because he passes out $$$$ to get what he wants, doesn’t make him a benevolent savior of anything…what ever decision he makes, you can rest assured that it will be based upon himself and what’s in his best interest…
Jul 2, 2022·edited Jul 2, 2022Liked by John Canzano
Solutions:
Phil Knight enters as a formal partner and persuades two way better teams than SC and UCLA to join the Pac. I am thinking Baylor and Oklahoma State as the most preferred. Nike money helps negotiate a massive media deal with Apple TV or Prime. No need for ESecPN or B1GFox to concern themselves.
Let's use our ingenuity and smarts out here on the west coast to solve this problem = Nike + Apple (or Amazon)
Adds SDSU, Boise, Fresno, San Jose, Air Force, SMU, UNLV, Reno, Colorado State and one more for a 32 team Super Conference with 4 eight team divisions, with 4 division champs in playoff for conference. You now dominate western half of country and have TV markets in Seattle, Portland, Bay Area, Fresno and San Diego. Plus Boise, Salt Lake, Denver, DFW, Houston…go big or go home
Phil Knight and ESPN probably won’t save the Pac10, Apple or Amazon have to with competitive payouts to keep Oregon and Washington. They are now Kliavkoff’s lifeboat.
Maybe it's time.to.stop being west coast passive. What if we try to retain USC and UCLA with a counterproposal. See if you can get ESPN/ABC plus a streaming network like Amazon, Netflix or Apple to outbid Fox, convince 4 big name programs like Ohio, Michigan to defect to the Pac12 with higher payouts. There's a lot of money on the west coast to play with here. It's bold but to win you have to play their game better. Chasing Boise State or Fresno State isn't how win, you beat them at their own game.
While often alluded to, i believe the University Presidents and ADs aren't receiving enough of the "Larry Scott" blame. They too often stood by and didn't do enough to better manage him. Dave M
I love the Knight's...They have done so much for Oregon, OSU, and Stanford. That said...The history of mankind dictates that Phil will not be around too much longer to keep bailing out Oregon & the Pac 12. This may be the one last thing he can do to help his beloved Oregon Ducks. Yet at this point I'm not so sure there is much he CAN DO. He can't buy Oregon's way into the big 10, he can't make the big 12 more attractive or powerful...I guess he could fund expansion of Autzen to the point that game attendance would be similar to big 10 sized crowds. But then adding 20,000 more seats and 10,000 more cars on the road would require more infrastructure in and around Eugene...who pays for that? Larry Scott screwed the Pac 12 over in so many ways it's ridiculous! He's been gone a full year and is still screwing it over. Thomas Hansen was a do nothing commissioner, but he did not go out of his way to hurt the conference. Larry Scott went out of his way to hurt the conference...he lavishly spent money on himself year after year, he spent millions on his pet Pac 12 TV studios & productions...yet when it came to actually doing what he promised to the schools who funded all that he was silent...he never came through...The revenue promised, the exposure promised was never delivered, which is why USC/UCLA are now gone, and the Pac 12 is no more. There is a ton of blame to place on Scott, but also the Schools themselves are complicit in this...They could have reigned in Scott, they heard the rumors, they could have fired him for cause, or made him sell the studios, or forced him to allow Fox or ESPN (as they asked to do for big money) to produce the Pac 12 channel...Instead Scott refused and yet the School's chancellors and presidents refused to act. This situation could have been avoided with responsible proactive people in charge...instead we have a disaster on our hands, and the potential for a catastrophe...The problem is...I'm not so sure the knights guidance, money, & influence can fix this one.
Sometimes the best defense is to go on the offensive. What the ACC, Pac-12, and Big 12 should consider is forming their own alliance and championship seasons. They completely spit from the Big 10 and SEC.
When I mean split, I mean split. No interconference games with Big 10 or SEC teams’ period in any sports. They create their own playoff system for football. Have their own March madness tournament for basketball. Then create the college world series for baseball and softball.
Basically, you’re creating the AFL-NFL rivalry. The new Alliance would clearly own basketball and they could demand significant revenue from their own March Madness. Then you can leverage this in terms of TV with CBS/Paramount, NBC/Peacock, Amazon, and Apple TV.
Clearly UCLA and USC will want to compete against Pac 12 schools in all the minor sports because of traveling costs. However, if you implement, a ban to include them in any games in any sports, it will drive their profit down.
Additionally, this model would de-value the Big 10 and SEC in terms of ESPN and & Fox. Rating will drop because you have significant rival competing against you. Since the ACC and ESPN already have a TV deal, give them the first shot? They are financially invested and do you think they want to see their SEC deal devalue?
Without reading ALL the comments, it seems very simple. Without the LA market, the PAC 12 is doomed. Poaching a couple of Big12 members is not going to make us attractive enough, and even a merge would not make up the loss. I’m afraid that it’s every university for itself now. So sad.
One solution:
Make a West Coast Super Conference by joining with ALL of Mountain West.
I know people will say: but we will be weaker... but that is not true. Here is how it flips the narrative:
1. It stops the attrition. Big12 can;t poach us, and will need to do the same with a Group5 conference to stay alive. It gives a solution to ACC as well. Big10 and SEC can no longer poach any teams, and now are the smaller conferences
2. MW has been beating up PAC12 teams like crazy... PAC12 teams have been hanging with SEC and Big10 teams... which means that MW teams are really better than ESPN and those that vote top 25.. they have been subduing Group5 teams for sometime (just ask UCF and others).
3. We regain the SoCal audience
4. We send the message that Big10 and SEC are about have's/have nots... whereas PAC12 is about college athletes and the alumni, to sustain tradition... there is market for both
5. Focus on the travel expenses...and dare I say, excite the woke climate change crowd on how all of this traveling will increase global warming
Flip the narrative... don;t play the game that Big10 and SEC are playing, we will lose everytime... hit them where they are weak... and its easy to see what that is, just go to the comment section of USC and UCLA
Now we see what GK can do. Unless I missed it The Commish hasn't said boo since the LA schools dropped this turd in the pool. I reckon he and Lord Knight have been talking. I sure hope so.
There simply are no viable solutions for the PAC12 to continue to exist and stay relevant. I can't imagine what PK could do, or would even want to do. Merging with the Big 12 is the only viable option. Even if Oregon and Washington are part of that, it will be viewed as an FCS-like, lower tier conference by the super conferences and will be locked out of national relevance.
So many questions... so many scenarios. The NIL issue was the key rock that set in emotion in this avalanche of college football destruction. Would like to think Uncle Phil will step in...
Scott ran the conference into the ground for years with nary a peep from the ADs, presidents, and press. Only Canzano finally lowered the boom on him, although to be fair it was a few years later than it should have been.
Just not sure what the recommendation is here. Knight calling Kevin Warren will have no impact. If UW and Oregon remain in the PAC, there are no other schools out there to court except Notre Dame who would result in the necessary markets and prestige to get increased TV money. Any other schools like Fresno St, SDSU, etc and they’re getting less money than today, at a time when the SEC and B1G teams are about to get massive increases.
Btw, how about that Carol Folt…what a snake!
John, we know Larry Scott didn’t do the conference any favors, but how does the PAC12 CEO group escape blame here? Wasn’t Scott just doing their bidding or they at least allowed it to continue far too long. Seems like too many in the CEO group were too happy with status quo feeling no need to play defense or offense until now.
It feels as if we are asking A LOT of Phil Knight: to save the Blazers from moving elsewhere, now to save the Pac-12 from extinction.
With that said, if anyone can, Uncle Phil (and I address him as such respectfully) can, if he is interested. And I can't imagine he wants his two favorite universities to fall by the wayside in this ever-changing landscape of college athletics. Let's hope he is up for this challenge.
Phil Knight is an interesting cat…but, before we bestow sainthood upon him, shouldn’t we be honest about how sincere or benevolent he actually is???…he’s made a fortune producing obscenely overpriced sneakers…products that have been manufactured on the backs child slave labor in Chinese sweatshops…he’s endorsed and promoted the likes of Colin Kapernick and LeBron throughout their careers…even while they were calling for violent protests against law enforcement… he’s the worst kept secret in college athletics when it comes to providing “incentives” for high school athletes to pick Oregon over other suitors while being recruited…I suppose lots of people will say Uncle Phil is no different than the rest of corporate America in selling out to China and the cultural headwinds…but it doesn’t make it right…and just because he passes out $$$$ to get what he wants, doesn’t make him a benevolent savior of anything…what ever decision he makes, you can rest assured that it will be based upon himself and what’s in his best interest…
Solutions:
Phil Knight enters as a formal partner and persuades two way better teams than SC and UCLA to join the Pac. I am thinking Baylor and Oklahoma State as the most preferred. Nike money helps negotiate a massive media deal with Apple TV or Prime. No need for ESecPN or B1GFox to concern themselves.
Let's use our ingenuity and smarts out here on the west coast to solve this problem = Nike + Apple (or Amazon)
PAC merges with BIG12!
Adds SDSU, Boise, Fresno, San Jose, Air Force, SMU, UNLV, Reno, Colorado State and one more for a 32 team Super Conference with 4 eight team divisions, with 4 division champs in playoff for conference. You now dominate western half of country and have TV markets in Seattle, Portland, Bay Area, Fresno and San Diego. Plus Boise, Salt Lake, Denver, DFW, Houston…go big or go home
Phil Knight and ESPN probably won’t save the Pac10, Apple or Amazon have to with competitive payouts to keep Oregon and Washington. They are now Kliavkoff’s lifeboat.