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Brian M's avatar

I don't think people from Portland south to Corvallis have thought through how damaging this will be to the state of Oregon. I would not want to be a business owner in Corvallis who depends on the big weekends from football, baseball and basketball games. They are goners. Corvallis will likely loise residents and shrink in size as businesses related to the campus fail and even students take Corvallis off their list of places to attend. But even as far as Portland, this implosion of the PAC12 will cast a giant shadow. There will be no more intrastate rivalry between the Ducks and Beavers, or the Huskies and Cougars, any more than there is between the Ducks and Willamette University, Western Oregon in Monmouth or Portland State. Without the power of the rivalry, the Ducks will get hit, too. This is NOT a win for the Ducks. It is a disaster for west coast college sports hollowing out west coast sports and all the tag along benefits of 12 rivalries up and down the coast. So Ducks can stop grinning now.

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EA Flash's avatar

OSU is the largest public school in the state. It will remain so. OSU is the preferred choice by in-state students. It will remain so.

Its research budget dwarfs that of UO's. It won't be impacted by UO changing conferences.

The College of Engineering is far and away the biggest academic major at OSU, with about 10K undergraduates. Prospective engineers are not going to look at UO, which doesn't have an engineering program, to attend college.

I think athletics has a much smaller impact on where a student decides to go to school than you think. And all that Big 10 money won't stop Eugene from being a haven to the homeless.

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Gary Surgeon's avatar

Flash - You don't need to list all the amenities of Corvallis to take a shot at U of O. They are both great schools - different yes, but both great - and I believe the vast majority are not happy about today's news. It certainly is not most wanted.

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Kent Crawford's avatar

well said Gary! The state of Oregon is pretty amazing in that it has 2 strong public universities with excellent national reputations with the overall population size we have.

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John Luttrell's avatar

It’s most wanted by Oregon. Don’t kid yourself. Recruits were saved, new recruits see the credibility. All is good.

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John Luttrell's avatar

Remember, The University of Oregon has an athletic budget that is self sustaining and not a part of the academic side at all. One of a handful in the nation that can say that.

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The Miami Ute's avatar

LOL... that's the funniest thing I've read this year. The only reason why Oregon's athletic budget is "self-sustaining" is because it receives massive infusions of outside cash from the "Sneaker Don" Phil Knight. The bad news is that he's 85 years old and not long for this world. If you think that Nike will continue to financially dope Oregon athletics after his passing then you're wrong. I hope that Oregon has contingency plans regarding this because it's bound to cause a massive hole in its athletics budget.

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Maverick's avatar

That assertion about the source of U of Os budget is massively incorrect. The Knights have been generous with donations for capital projects indeed (as have alumni at every top 50 university in the country). As to the apparel deal with Nike... not in the top ten nationally. With an average annual value of about $9 million, Notre Dame’s apparel deal ranks in the top 10 nationally along with Texas (Nike), Louisville (Adidas), Kansas (Adidas), Washington (Adidas), Ohio State (Nike), Nebraska (Adidas), Michigan (Nike), Auburn (UA) and Wisconsin (UA).

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The Miami Ute's avatar

So, the Knights have donated well over $1B in the last decade plus to Oregon Athletics. Boone Pickens is far behind with around a $500M donation to Oklahoma State. If that's not financial doping, I don't know what is.

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Maverick's avatar

Infrastructure personal donations are not annual revenue. I assume you know the difference. Check out the total Alumni donations at Alabama and Texas and get back to us. What school again?

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Kent Crawford's avatar

EA Flash coming in strong!!!

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Brian M's avatar

All of what you say is in the context of OSU as a 100+ year PAC12 (or predecessors) participant. You don't think sports matter to a university's status with students? Why is OSU in Corvallis a bigger school than Portland State? Besides an early start, the difference is PAC12 participation. It sure is not the local population.

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Jeff McNamee's avatar

Not THAT much, no.

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Bob B's avatar

PSU is an urban pseudo university with no campus life

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Brian M's avatar

Maybe so today. But what would it be if were in the PAC12 the past 100+ years? U of MN is right in downtown Minneapolis (where I lived for 30 years). Here in Phoenix, ASU is in the city. So don't tell me a major university can't be in an urban environment. You are sure giving tradition a lot of credit at OSU on a day when tradition died.

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EA Flash's avatar

You can play the "what if?" game all day long, it doesn't change a thing.

ASU wasn't in the city when it started. Tempe was a little dusty town. It's obviously been a long, long time since you lived in Oregon.

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Bob B's avatar

Have you ever been to Portland? PSU has a campus very uninviting for residential students. It is built as a commuter college. I attended several classes over a period of years and did not feel a part of the college life. Maybe those who live in a few of the student apartments which exist have a different feeling? ...And remember Portland is home of Anarchy at its worst. Who would want to send a teenager to college in a war zone?

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Bruce Herbert's avatar

ASU isn't "in the city." Even in the 1980s, when I went there, it wasn't all that attached to Phoenix. You didn't have to drive far to get completely into very rural territory. It's part of a metropolitan area that largely grew up around it as the population in that are exploded.

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Brian M's avatar

I live here, dude. ASU is in the city and was when I went there in the early 80s. Tempe is an urban suburb of Phoenix with almost as many office towers now as downtown Phoenix. Why are you trying to split hairs?

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Bruce Herbert's avatar

Yes, it's a suburb. ASU isn't in the middle of downtown Phoenix. It's like PSU might be if it had originally been located in Tigard or Gresham. Stanford and Cal are both located in suburbs of SF. Portland State isn't going to become an athletic power. It's a commuter school with a different purpose and focus. (Not to mention that there's nowhere up there on the hill where any kind of stadium could be built.)

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Brian M's avatar

Well, the Univ of MN is not RIGHT in downtown Minneapolis either. It is a good mile and a half from the downtown. So what? Again, why are you bothering to split hairs? And in the case of ASU, they DO have a downtown campus as well. The Walter Cronkite Journalism School relocated to the downtown campus. This is a ridiculous argument since the point is about the attractiveness of the Phoenix MSA (population) to the Media companies. Where do you live anyway? Do you live here in the Valley like I do?

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Bruce Herbert's avatar

Your earlier comment suggested that Portland State could rise to the level of an ASU if only it had been (or were) in the Pac-12.. In short -- NO.

That's kind of debate pops up every once in a while here in Oregon, usually started by those in and around PSU who have elevated athletic hopes for it. The changes in its mission and operations that would put it at the level of even an OSU would require it to relocate from the Park Blocks.

PSU plays its football games in Hillsboro, in a stadium built for the Hillsboro Hops, a single A baseball team. There isn't any way to develop the facilities that would allow it to be part of a Power 5 conference. It has a way to go to be truly competitive in the Big Sky Conference.

PSU and ASU may both be in metro areas, but they're nothing alike. and they're never going to be. ASU (which started out as a "normal school" (teacher's college)) has full blown facilities and a strong residential component. It came into the Pac-12 in the 1978 because of its diverse and successful program, not because it was in an urban area.

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John Luttrell's avatar

The football facility is seperate from the baseball field.

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Grant's dad's avatar

you are taking this a little too personal...Oregon was invited....UW was invited...they both saw the writing on the wall...and had to do what they had to do to stay relevant. yes it's a tragedy for the conference over all IMO...it really will suck for all the shop owners, bar owners, pizza joints, restaurants, who have invested their life savings into local businesses who rely on gameday income.

I'm a Duck through and through...But I'm not happy about all this. Grinning??? oh hell no. I'm pissed off. But Fox sports doesn't care. They're still going to rake in their billions in ad revenue, even after the payouts.

YOU...EA flash and few other OSU fans/Alums need to stop the hate...it's childish and immature...I don't blame you for being angry. YOU SHOULD BE!! But your blame and hatred is misplaced and misdirected.

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Brian M's avatar

It is not personal for me. I have the Gophers who are safely ensconced in the B1G in a major market like Minneapolis. They will be there at the end of the day. Personally, I think all markets that do not have an NFL team are at risk. The same media types who are driving the college sports bus basically want to match the financial return of pro sports. That means a lot fewer teams so lower costs to cover the games with smaller conference / team payouts. 32 NFL teams = 32 college teams in the largest markets. That is what major media wants. Apparently, what they want they get. This is totally impersonal, just realistic. I wonder if the Ducks make the cut. I doubt it, to be honest, once Phil is gone to protect them

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Todd Dombrow's avatar

The gophers will definitely not make the final 32 either

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Brian M's avatar

You do not understand my basic theory which is that the Media companies are running NCAA major sports using their money and programming. The NCAA is apparently willing to do whatever the Media companies tell them to do. They sure have not pushed back at all on these realignments, which they should have the power to do. The Media companies have the NFL in mind as a profit model which works. The Media companies want Saturdays to be as profitable as Sundays and so are orchestrating a two conference league from the largest and best programs. They want a team in each major market, where they make their big ad $$, and those markets have been defined over 100 years of pro football. So, look for the top tier college football league, the one that gets all the media coverage, to be in roughly the same market areas as the NFL. The Gophers are closest to the Minneapolis-St Paul metro market of the Vikings and so they will be a survivor even if not a Top 10 program. Wisconsin is in Madison, not Green Bay, but will also be a survivor representing the state, and so on. I was in Minnesota when the B1G seemingly without explanation, suddenly expanded east and picked up Rutgers (no sports powerhouse) and Maryland. That seemed such a stretch and there was a lot of writing on that at the time. Now we see the big plan was to create a national conference, in all the biggest northern markets, to compete with the SEC. This realignment (not done yet) has been in the works for decades.

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Gary Surgeon's avatar

Sure sounds like it personal to you as you can't stop taking potshots at U of O. I expect it will be a tough road for Ducks to win big and consistently in the Big 10. Again, not happy with the move. Very happy you live in AZ though. Please stay there.

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Brian M's avatar

Trust me, I will never live in California North, which is Oregon, ever again.

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Terry Cook's avatar

you're not alone...

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John Luttrell's avatar

Lol stay away.

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Andrew Blazier's avatar

I don't think the rivalries are necessarily gone. Other schools have split conferences and remained rivals. Clemson-South Carolina and Florida-Florida State come to mind. I'm not saying the rivalry games will remain, but they certainly could. And I certainly hope they do.

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The Real Rich's avatar

I'm confident they will remain...but they won't be the same. For starters, the Civil War won't be played at the end of the regular season - they'll cram it in the schedule where they can...if they can.

Times change. Rivalry games will change. It's not going to be the same for a lot of people. Sadly.

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Chuck's avatar

As a dedicated Beaver fan of over 50 years, in the wake of UO's action, I'd prefer we no longer schedule UO. Move on. Time for new rivalries.

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The Real Rich's avatar

I completely understand your feelings...terrible day for college sports. Just terrible. And completely avoidable.

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Timothy Moran's avatar

Chuck, its not Oregon's fault that no network was interested in the pac 12 after usc left. None of the schools would have survived in p5 on 20 million when everyone else was getting 32 to 70 million. When the Trojans bailed the conference was dead. You can blame them, or Larry, or George or all of the sleep walking university presidents for this, but not the ducks. If the shoe were on the other foot , OSU would have done the same thing.

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Brian M's avatar

Exactly! Western Oregon University, only 20 miles away.

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Chuck's avatar

Enjoy getting motorboated in the BIG1X.

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John Luttrell's avatar

Lol. Ok.

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Brian M's avatar

Dude, in case you haven't noticed, U of MN is on the ascendancy with all of these realignments. I don't like that is how they got there, but they are. U of MN and OSU have a lot of tradition in common. Going back 80 years, the Gophs (team of legendary Bronco Nagurski) were a dominant football program as were the Beavers. They fell on hard times, athletically because of university leadership, but are still in a very large metro area with a lot of wealthy donors. They will do very well as the B1G and the SEC are developed into the two super-conferences by Big Media and its money.

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chris's avatar

We're not playing the Civil War anymore.

Yeah, the rich kids with their billion dollar coaching staff, and then the poor kids from the other side will get walloped. No thanks. We do not want this game to continue.

Keep in mind it was Oregon's President who, at the last minute, blew this up. Let this POS remember what he just did.

No, we are not playing Oregon anymore.

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The Real Rich's avatar

Agree that Scholz is a jerk. And the guy just took over a couple of weeks ago. Nice start to his tenure.

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Brian M's avatar

I asked before, a couple days ago, and again today... can that jerk be fired almost before he gets started? What a shitty way to kick off your new career move, by f-cking the state you represent. Well done, Scholz, if that is your name.

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The Real Rich's avatar

John Karl Scholz, previously a provost at Wisconsin and previous to that dean of one of the liberal arts departments at Wisconsin...long tenure there. Interesting, Oregon's previous president left for the same job at Northwestern about a year ago. Last time I looked Northwestern and Wisconsin are in the Big Ten.

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Brian M's avatar

And so it goes in the Marxist state of Oregon: a liberal dominated Board of Regents hires a liberal arts professor from the very liberal U of Wisconsin to run the socialist U of O who then makes a very capitalist call to go for the money and abandon his fellow Oregonians, apparently encouraged by the very progressive, yet very capitalist Phil Knight. You see the hypocrisy? What happened to equity and kumbaya? Only when it helps Scholz get a top job and Knight get the brass ring.

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The Real Rich's avatar

You laid it out precisely correct.

You'll be attacked, canceled and reviled for telling the truth, but Orwell was right - telling the truth is now an act of revolution.

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Brian M's avatar

And I am a happy revolutionary who will always embrace the Truth, even if others don't like it

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The Real Rich's avatar

That's becoming rare...and progressives know it.

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Maverick's avatar

Yes you will play that game. And why do you hold Oregon's president solely responsible? Surely you know all five teams that left within 24 hours had been discussing this contingency plan well ahead of the ludicrous Apple+ deal offered. C'mon now.

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chris's avatar

We are not playing the game. It's not happening. That's consensus

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Maverick's avatar

chris, one person does not a consensus make. That game will go on.

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Richard S's avatar

Hey Maverick, go check some of the Beaver boards. There is unified fan support not to continue the rivalry. To say there is, is complete tone deft on your part

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Maverick's avatar

I don't follow any Beaver boards or Oregon boards for that matter. I'll take you at your word that those who follow those boards don't want the rivalry to continue. If OSU decides not to play OU after this year, wouldn't they be the ones to kill the tradition? In the heat of the moment people say a lot of things they might wish to rethink later. I think continuing it with a rival just an hour up the road would be very cool. Who is to say OSU wouldn't have a chance to win? One thing for sure is that game will generate a huge amount of interest in Oregon. Just sayin'.

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Richard S's avatar

So you're saying the person who pushed back after getting punch in the nose would be at fault? Agree feelings are especially tender at the moment given Jonathan Smith and OSU athletic personnel have spent the last challenging 5 years rebuilding the football program to its current top P5 caliber. If OSU can't orchestrate another P5 invite soon the likelihood of Group of 5 relegation will immediately translate into coaches like Smith and his staff forced to leave, the majority of the roster headed to the transfer portal, athletic sports dropped for many student athletes and many university people losing their jobs. That will all happen in the next 12 months. I sense you just don't understand the severity of this situation to Oregon State

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Maverick's avatar

No, I am not saying that. I don't agree that Oregon's move was a direct attack on OSU, it was a move to protect their own interests in the face of mismanagement of the PAC12. I see no reason coach Smith and his staff will be 'forced' to leave, they all have contracts. I see no reason the players should stampede to the transfer portal... I have confidence in their team spirit. I'll be cheering for OSU to win this last PAC12 season and defeat Oregon in the Civil War. What a story that would be eh? It's also notable that the PAC12 currently have five teams ranked in the top eighteen in the coaches poll. More than any conference except the SEC. How in the world did everything implode so quickly? Rhetorical question - we all know the answer is money.

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chris's avatar

Look we are not playing this game, at this point

You can't take a shit on your partner, by failing to even show for the Presidents meeting, and expect it to be okay

And , in time the earning differential will likely be so great that the haves dominate the have nots.

New President Scholz screwed tradition, rivalries, and a whole lot more.

I'm certainly not alone in this.

After this year, its dead, for a long time.

You can't take a shit on your friends and hope all is not.

There's no desire on this side.

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John Luttrell's avatar

Nice. Eat my dust.

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chris's avatar

I don't subscribe to your sexual fantasies

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Brian M's avatar

Scott Barnes said in his Oregonian interview that he is thinking now there will be no rivalry games in any sport between Oregon State and Oregon. That tradition is now dead and so is the rivalry. They won't be in the same conference nor in the same money or recruiting league. Why would OSU, which will obviously be handicapped by the massive reduction of income to its sports program, ever book games against the much better paid Oregon, with its ability to attract the best athletes with the most NIL and program money? Does OSU try to book competitions with Linfield, Wester Oregon Univ or Willamette? Not for a long time. If money doesn't matter for competitiveness, then why did Oregon jump at the money? This is all obvious and no platitudes make it any better.

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The Real Rich's avatar

I don't blame Barnes one bit for reacting the way he has. It makes me sick and it's a travesty for Oregon State, Washington State, Cal and Stanford. Lots of "little people", like that church group Canzano wrote about, going to get badly hurt by this...there must be hundreds, maybe thousands, of examples like that.

Good post - you bring up a lot of good points. I wonder if Oregon and Washington thought it through strategically and thoroughly. I never have felt USC and UCLA did, it appears to me that emotions ran high at the last minute, people were bailing (Colorado) and reported to be bailing imminently (Arizona) and it became every man for himself. I'm a Ducks fan but I hope this burns Oregon, Washington, USC and UCLA - burns them badly.

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Maverick's avatar

I'm sort of confused. You acknowledge that OSU will be weaker because they decided to stay in the PAC4 and then you fault U of O for going after a deal that allows them to stay competitive. Can't have it both ways.

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Brian M's avatar

Not at all confusing. If the Conference had stayed together, which was totally the Ducks' (Phil Knights) call, then they would have got their Apple deal which might have proved to be better than the cable deals of others over time since I think the entire media landscape is moving towards streaming. The sum was greater than the parts. You have probably have heard that expression. It is 50/50, but there is a path to the Beavers coming out all right on this if they can recreate the PAC12 without Oregon and Washington (won't miss them a bit, to be honest). John commented earlier that the PAC12 has a $420M war chest which now belongs to the remaining 4 schools. I had not been aware of that. There is also likely state action that will award more to the four schools from those who left. So, all is not lost if there is some leadership. I have been impressed with Scott Barnes and hope he will take the lead, kicking Kliavkoff to the curb where he belongs, and add (4) MWC and maybe (4) ACC schools and build an even better conference. We will see how leadership does with their opportunity. But no more Ducks. And I am happy about that.d

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The Real Rich's avatar

OSU will be weaker because Oregon, Washington, ASU, Arizona, and Utah are all leaving. Why is that hard to understand?

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Maverick's avatar

I think had Oregon opted to stay, given the weakness of the Apple+ deal, they also would be weaker. They chose to make a move that all Pac12 teams were considering... but not all had invitations. OSU and the three others in the Pac4 were left holding the bag. It will be interesting how this all ends up. I'm rooting for OSU, underdogs often come out on top.

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The Real Rich's avatar

O.K., I now understand your point.

Here's a couple of my own. Now that I understand the potential of the Apple deal, it wasn't a "weak deal". Apple raised the gauranteed flat amount from $20MM to $23MM and finally to $25MM. Apple also asked the Pac-12 to bet on themself in future years...in other words, If the Pac achieved 1.7MM subscriptions, the payout to each school would be $30MM. If the conference reached 5MM subscriptions, the payout would be $50MM. Streaming is the future. Apple is a today and tomorrow company and wanted the Pac to be the same. Scholz and Colorado didn't understand the deal, because they don't understand streaming and/or technology and/or didn't have the vision to bet on their conference and school. It's a shame. It wasn't a bad deal...in fact, just the opposite, it had tremendous upside potential for all schools in the Pac. The majority had the right vision, including ASU, Arizona, Utah, OSU, Washington State, Cal and Stanford. Those presidents/chancellors agreed to accept it and stay. They thought they had Oregon and Washington in agreement. They set-up a conference call with all school presidents Friday morning to ratify it. Everyone agreed to participate. Scholz didn't bother showing up and didn't have the courtesy to tell anyone. He accepted, on Oregon's behalf, a reduced payment of $30MM for ten years. Think about that. Think about just how weak that agreement is for Oregon. When he didn't show - no one from Oregon did - the trust evaporated, and it was every man for himself. Scholz singlehandedly pulled the pin on this final grenade. It's a frickin' shame. And, yes, I'm a huge Ducks fan and I'm rooting for Oregon State to run the table this year.

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Maverick's avatar

I follow your thinking. It would be great to see how the whole agreement is structured rather than three 'people familiar with the negotiations' filtered through multiple media sources. But for now let's go with what was reported. The deal on the table was $23 million from Apple (PAC12 had countered with $25 million for each of 9 teams). No word if when Oregon bolted Apple had agreed to that $25 million. Let's assume they did, the guarantee per year was total $225 million to the PAC12. If we accept Apple also offered another $5 million per team if they reached the 1.7MM subscriptions that's another $45 million. so total $275 million. The cost for a seasons pass was reported to be $99/customer for potential revenue to Apple of $170 million. I assume Apple would be footing all the production costs for every game for all teams (I'm out of touch with what that would be... would be good to know). We also don't know how much commercial time would be sold on each broadcast, streaming is a different model of course, but we know Apple would have to generate about $150 million each year from advertisers to break even on the deal. Finally, how big a recruiting tool will it be to promise recruits that about 200,000 viewers will be watching them play? Not exactly up there with Notre Dame, Alabama or Michigan. Am I missing something that has been reported? The math doesn't look solid to me. 😎 From reporting in The Atlantic, "There were no guarantees whether Apple would simulcast certain games on a linear network, as it does with Fox for MLS, in which case conference games would reach a much smaller universe than other major conferences. ESPN currently has 75 million subscribers, far more than the most optimistic projections for a Pac-12 product on Apple+."

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Richard S's avatar

It took Jonathan Smith 5 years to finish 2022 in the top 25 after crushing SEC Florida in their bowl game. This year they start again ranked as a top 25 team. How can anyone not say this represent a P5 caliber college football team? If Oregon State doesn't end up in a P5 conference shortly and respectfully is thus relegated to the MWC or some sort of Pac 4/MWC hybrid conference their entire coaching staff and roster will be poached during this season. Why in the world would you ever want to play UO after that with the clear disparity there will be in staff and roster caused by their greed and ego? They want UW to be their rival - have at it. As a Pro Beavers, Then State of Oregon (Ducks), then Pac12 (Huskies and others) fan, I will never root for the Ducks or Huskies again

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The Real Rich's avatar

Believe me, I get it. It's a travesty and disgrace. Jonathan Karl Scholz, the new Oregon president, put the final dagger in the heart. He just came from Wisconsin, where he had a long liberal arts tenure. He overruled everyone else in the Oregon administration (I have no idea Knight's thoughts, but Scholz is not afraid of Knight...yet...). Scholz didn't even have the courtesy to show up at Friday's 7 a.m. conference call where ASU, Arizona and Utah had agreed with Oregon's and Washington's AD's to confirm all these schools staying in the Pac. When Scholz didn't show - and didn't have the courtesy to tell others he would be a no-show - the trust in the room was obliterated. This jackwagon came with a condescending and arrogant Big Ten bias, believing in the overwhelming academic superiority of the Big Ten to the Pac, and particularly Oregon, where he now has the baton. He has no idea if a football is pumped or stuffed. He has no vision regarding Apple or the future of streaming. He actually settled for a 10-year agreement where the Ducks will not get a full media rights distribution in the Big Ten. Atrocious. Just so much damage this man was allowed to do.

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Andrew Blazier's avatar

Maybe. Clemson-South Carolina is still the last game of the regular season.

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Grant's dad's avatar

I'm going to beg to differ...after much tossing this around with my best friend...we both think the rivalries just might go to the way side.

The thinking is, is that the big 10 is going to be a rough ride...usc, ucla, uw, tosu, mich, msu, psu, wisc, Iowa, Neb, Indiana, Perdue, minn, nw, Ill, RU, maryland, very few "breathers" or cupcakes there...the point is, if you have THAT tough a schedule, why add tough non conf games (OSU) that may keep you out of the playoff picture??? why not use them for directional or local schools like san jose state, or eastern wa, or Northern AZ...tune ups for a difficult regular season that may help you to a national playoff invite.

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Jim T's avatar

What a tool.

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Brian M's avatar

Yes, he is. Never a positive thing from this guy. And he apparently hides behind his son, Grant, which is sad

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Grant's dad's avatar

that's what she said.

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Todd Dombrow's avatar

Good luck with that invite 🤣🤣🤣

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Gary Surgeon's avatar

Who says we are grinning Mr. Doomsday???? I am really in disbelief and disappointed in what has transpired in college football particularly the demise of the Pac 12. The vast majority of Duck fans I expect are not happy about this change either. Most of your post I totally agree with but don't assume or tell Duck fans how they feel.

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Todd Dombrow's avatar

I find it interesting that so many are disappointed with this outcome. Perhaps the contracts will be less than profitable for the ESPNs of the world. I for one will find better things to do than watch college football on a Saturday from now on. Perhaps I am not alone

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Jeff McNamee's avatar

I don’t think it’ll be that bad for the schools. For their athletic departments? Maybe. But not for the schools.

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Matt McNelly's avatar

In communities like Corvallis and Pullman, and schools like WSU & OSU, the athletic departments are not siloed off from the rest of campus and community. Shop keepers, hotel owners, restaurants, typically break even financially and rely on special event weekends to be profitable for the year.

I know in Pullman, COVID definitely revealed how important those home football weekends were to the economy. Many restaurants and businesses went under because of the disruption in the athletic department.

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Jeff McNamee's avatar

And if this, in the end, means that either no one or very few people show up to these games, I'd agree with you. I just don't think that'll be the case.

COVID-19 isn't a good analog here because, in that case, people were literally *banned* from attending the game. That's not the case here at all. What you'd be looking at, at worst, is a reduction in attendance. While not great, it's not likely the end of the world.

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Matt McNelly's avatar

What I tried to convey, is that if WSU is truly relegated to a G5 or lesser conference. They will have to schedule payday games in place of home games to make up revenue for the Athletics Department. When they do that, the massive cash influx for home games will not happen.

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Brian M's avatar

These people who say "nothing will change; people will still fill the stadiums on Saturdays" are living in la-la land. I have been a part of the worst years of the Beavers history. No One showed up on Saturdays. No one cared. I have been to early September games against 2nd tier competitors. The stadium is empty and no excitement. Playing a bunch of 2nd tier teams is like glorified high school football. Expect HS type crowds of a less than 10,000. If this were not so, then why was the league just realigned. Obviously money and competitive quality matter. A LOT

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Jeff McNamee's avatar

We'll see. I don't see this as being as big of a hit to gameday attendance.

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Brian M's avatar

Were you around and attending Beavers games in the 1970s and 1980s like me? Attendance was terrible and the Beavers still had the PAC12 gloss. Without it, and team quality like then, attendance is going to be low. How many people attend games at Willamette?

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Jeff McNamee's avatar

At the 1980 Census, there were only 2.6M people in Oregon, which is only about 55% of today's 4.2M people. Corvallis had 15,000 fewer residents and OSU had 10,000 fewer students. So, on pure numbers alone, this is just a larger market now. Plus, it was an ag school (almost exclusively) at the time.

Additionally, the USA - as well as Oregon - was a much poorer place at the time, and college sports weren't as ubiquitously marketed and on TV. So, the demographic profile of college sports was just...different.

Long story short, this ain't 40-50 years ago anymore. Everything is incredibly different now.

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Brian M's avatar

Nailed it...Oregon State will NOT be on TV in the new alignment and so will be of much less national and regional interest. Real income (inflation adjusted) has not changed all that much in 50 years. Getting knocked down a couple levels will be devastating. Some people have a hard time grasping reality. They call it cognitive dissonance.

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Dave M's avatar

Businesses priced themselves out of market too often in Corvallis. I know of Bowl personnel, who when visiting Corvallis to watch the Beavs' opponent late in the season, would stay in PDX, due to the outrageous pricing structure of hotels.

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chris's avatar

Like any small college town the rooms sell out months before. Just reality everywhere.

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Maverick's avatar

Why do you say the Ducks are grinning? Oregon never wanted this chaos. UCLA and USC opened the door, Colorado went through it, the PAC12 fumbled the media negotiations, there is zero chance that the two Arizona teams, Utah, Washington and Oregon were having what if? conversations before the Apple+ offer was presented. After that is was simply a game of dominoes. Suddenly the PAC12 is the PAC4... soon to be who knows what?

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Richard S's avatar

Last posted details on the Apple deal was that they raised the minimum offer to 25M per year per team, that's more than what the ACC gets. There was a spattering of linear games from the networks included for another $40M+ per year so call it $3M per team. The combined media deal was a minimum of $28M per team per year. Apple would have had the rights to also add other games to linear partners (most likely ABC/ESPN) - there would have been more games on linear TV than people realized. Needless to say the Apple deal was misrepresented by people that didn't want to really understand how it work so they had a reason to leave - UO/UW. The MLS has a similar deal with Apple, $250M a year minimum. They are forecasted to do $50M more in the first year - $300M. They have 70% of the subscriptions needed already sold (over 1M subscribers added). Had the Pac12 rolled the dice they would have likely made more than the B12 offer or what UO/UW are getting from the B10. The media landscape was more challenging for sure but from a money perspective it was as good or better than the offers the departing schools got. The Arizona schools and Utah had committed to stay but it was conditional that everyone stay. UO and UW didn't show up for the call. UO later notified the group they were leaving for the B10, UW immediately followed. Later that evening after a lot of passionate discussion led by ASU's President to stay together, the last 3 corner schools decided to go. Sure USC orchestrated the first domino but UO delivered the death blow.

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