2023 NCAA conference realignment (12/20: the PAC-2 join the WCC)

[Storr]

I just want to say that I feel absolutely horrible for the fans of Oregon State and Washington State. It's not right what's happening to them.

Both Oregon State and Washington State fit in nicely in the Mountain West or American, so it's not like they don't have somewhere to go if the PAC-12 really does collapse.

Well yeah they'll go to the Mountain West, but it really sucks that they have been kicked out of the "power conferences" through no fault of their own.

Even if they hold on to the Pac name and invite the better MWC/AAC teams to join, that's still not going to be considered a power conference.

I'm mostly with you for once, but Wazzu is a better fit in the Mountain West with 24k students in a micropolitan area and limited legacy. I don't buy that these mythical "power" conference that we pine for, with a history of, like, 25 years are anything special that all constituents deserve a seat by obscure historical association. I don't feel any less bad than VMI getting stuck in the Southern Conference which remains a reasonable fit to this day, whereas all other members became national powers. I wish for the rivalries, but in lieu of that, entities that fail to grow must be left behind.

Teams only should play teams that they have special or logical ties to. Washington State's chances of national success should be no higher than San Diego State or Boise State (and truly the best peers may even be Utah State and Colorado State).


I'm holding out hope that it will just be Arizona for now and the Pac-8 makes the necessary invites to last a couple more years.

I'm hoping for the same thing. Lose Arizona, they're gone. But keep everyone else that's left, add San Diego St., Colorado St., and whoever else would add value to/shore up the conference the most.

[Storr]

https://twitter.com/ChrisKarpman/status/1687292041922048000?s=20

[Storr]

https://twitter.com/jasonscheer/status/1687309684292894720?s=20

[Storr]

https://twitter.com/NicoleAuerbach/status/1687455518208516097?s=20

https://twitter.com/RossDellenger/status/1687453545266638848?s=20

[GeorgiaModerate]

With all the reshuffling going on, I thought I'd bring back an old post of mine, except I can't find it.   To show how much things have changed, these were the major conferences that existed at the time I started following college football in the late 1960s.

SEC:

Alabama
Auburn
Florida
Georgia
Kentucky
LSU
Mississippi State
Ole Miss
Tennessee
Tulane (I seem to barely remember Tulane leaving the conference in 1966.  I definitely don't remember Georgia Tech, which left in 1964.)
Vanderbilt

ACC:

Clemson
Duke
Maryland
North Carolina
NC State
South Carolina
Virginia
Wake Forest

Big 10 (before they forgot how to count):

Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Michigan
Michigan State
Minnesota
Northwestern
Ohio State
Purdue
Wisconsin

Big 8:

Colorado
Iowa State
Kansas
Kansas State
Missouri
Nebraska
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State

Pac 8:

California
Oregon
Oregon State
Stanford
UCLA
USC
Washington
Washington State

Southwest Conference (now defunct):

Arkansas
Baylor
Rice
SMU
Texas
Texas A&M
TCU
Texas Tech
(Houston joined in 1972.)

Western Athletic Conference (then a respectable football league):

Arizona
Arizona State
BYU
Colorado State
New Mexico
UTEP
Utah
Wyoming

[MasterJedi]

Absolutely stupid decision for any team to stay with the Pac 12 on a streaming only deal.

[Storr]

Absolutely stupid decision for any team to stay with the Pac 12 on a streaming only deal.

I can see some logic in it for Oregon and/or Washington in the short to medium term. Dominate the new Pac-whatever and repeatedly get into the expanded 12 team CFB playoff with "the top six conference champions in the CFP rankings" getting bids rule. Then join the B1G whenever you get an offer high enough to convince you to jump ship.

https://twitter.com/slmandel/status/1687487472849346560?s=20

[7,052,770]

Did state politicians shut it down because Oregon State and Washington State were getting left behind? Do they have powerful alumni in the legislatures?

I don't think there's any way the Big 10 takes all 4 of those, nor the Big 12.

[Storr]

Get your popcorn.

https://twitter.com/Brett_McMurphy/status/1687503777392205824?s=20

[7,052,770]

Did state politicians shut it down because Oregon State and Washington State were getting left behind? Do they have powerful alumni in the legislatures?

Guess not

[MasterJedi]

Grant of rights unsigned. Oregon and Washington, even if they only get half rights for a few years in the B1G, get more then they would out of the Pac12, there’s no reason to stay unless nobody wants you.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

Oregon in the Big Ten is sickening. And I though Nebraska was bad.

At least Cal did not get in, even if they are a better fit. They are going to have to really have a hard look at their future as an athletic program and if they want to be a part of a conference. Will be interesting how the four rejects respond.

At 18+ teams, are we going to an A-League/B-League by 2030 so that we don't have to endure through Washington-Indiana 11AM kickoffs [when Washington is good enough to be in the A-League]?

[Storr]

Mega Conferences be damned. This kind of thing is why I love college football, not TV contracts:

"Zack Conti has been a walk-on with the team for four years. Without an extra scholarship for the team to hand out, EMU's team captain decides to share his."

After Four Years, Zack Conti Gifted Captain's Scholarship


 

[Storr]

knife: twisted

https://twitter.com/RossDellenger/status/1687514781475860480?s=20

[Dereich]

That's that then. The Pac-12 as a power conference is no more. Now all that's left is to see who catches a lifeboat and who drowns. I'd bet good money that Cal, Stanford, Wazzu, and Oregon State will be left outside; none of them bring much value to the big new SuperConferences.

The Big 10 in the past 10 years has taken teams from the Big 12 (Nebraska), Pac 12 (USC, UCLA and now Oregon, Washington) and the ACC (Maryland). Plus the dying husk of the Big East but I'm not even counting that. They are definitely the conference to watch in terms of predatory conference smashing.

[Greedo punched first]

Is the Apple Pac 12 deal guaranteed to happen?

[Dereich]

Is the Apple Pac 12 deal guaranteed to happen?

It expires at the end of the week if they don't agree to it, though I'm not sure at the moment the conference even has the ability to agree to it. They might not be able to provide enough content to fulfill their end of the agreement as things currently stand

[Storr]

That's that then. The Pac-12 as a power conference is no more. Now all that's left is to see who catches a lifeboat and who drowns. I'd bet good money that Cal, Stanford, Wazzu, and Oregon State will be left outside; none of them bring much value to the big new SuperConferences.

The Big 10 in the past 10 years has taken teams from the Big 12 (Nebraska), Pac 12 (USC, UCLA and now Oregon, Washington) and the ACC (Maryland). Plus the dying husk of the Big East but I'm not even counting that. They are definitely the conference to watch in terms of predatory conference smashing.

I get the feeling the "top" teams of the ACC will bolt to the SEC when the revenue gap between ACC TV revenue and the P2 becomes too large to ignore. Yes the GoR will cost a ton break. But by that time schools would rather suffer in the short term than fall further and further behind P2 schools.

Clemson and Florida State will be two. I'd think a third would be North Carolina. The fourth is harder to guess. I'd say it'll be either Miami or Virginia. Yes they've both sucked for a long time at football. But as we saw with Colorado, this isn't about how successful a team has been. It's about expanding into new markets. Virginia brings the SEC into a new state, while Miami would bring the SEC in one of the country's largest metro areas.

I'd rather the ACC survive intact. But at least in an SEC scenario UNC would stay in a more or less regional conference. The farthest away games would be in Texas or Missouri. It's pretty far away. But at least it's still in the South (culturally for Missouri), not all the way in California like if UNC joined the B1G.

[Storr]

"He's dead, Jim."

https://twitter.com/InsideTheBig12/status/1687537085056483341?s=20

[Dereich]

That's that then. The Pac-12 as a power conference is no more. Now all that's left is to see who catches a lifeboat and who drowns. I'd bet good money that Cal, Stanford, Wazzu, and Oregon State will be left outside; none of them bring much value to the big new SuperConferences.

The Big 10 in the past 10 years has taken teams from the Big 12 (Nebraska), Pac 12 (USC, UCLA and now Oregon, Washington) and the ACC (Maryland). Plus the dying husk of the Big East but I'm not even counting that. They are definitely the conference to watch in terms of predatory conference smashing.

I get the feeling the "top" teams of the ACC will bolt to the SEC when the revenue gap between ACC TV revenue and the P2 becomes too large to ignore. Yes the GoR will cost a ton break. But by that time schools would rather suffer in the short term than fall further and further behind P2 schools.

Clemson and Florida State will be two. I'd think a third would be North Carolina. The fourth is harder to guess. I'd say it'll be either Miami or Virginia. Yes they've both sucked for a long time at football. But as we saw with Colorado, this isn't about how successful a team has been. It's about expanding into new markets. Virginia brings the SEC into a new state, while Miami would bring the SEC in one of the country's largest metro areas.

I'd rather the ACC survive intact. But at least in an SEC scenario UNC would stay in a more or less regional conference. The farthest away games would be in Texas or Missouri. It's pretty far away. But at least it's still in the South (culturally for Missouri), not all the way in California like if UNC joined the B1G.

Every one of the "Magnificent Seven" (UNC, NC State, Miami, Florida State, Clemson, Virginia and Virginia Tech) have reasons to believe that they would end up with a chair if/when the ACC collapses. I do agree that UNC is #3 but that 4-7 are a matter of debate.

The next big question will be about the playoffs; under the new 12 team playoff starting in 2024, the top 6 conference champs get auto-bids. If we're talking about a P4 (at most) instead of P5 I'm sure there will be talk about re-opening that to cut down on the number of auto-bids. The SEC and Big10 especially will want to open up more slots for their people.

[Greedo punched first]

Larry Scott is a bozo who killed the Pac 12.

[Storr]

That's that then. The Pac-12 as a power conference is no more. Now all that's left is to see who catches a lifeboat and who drowns. I'd bet good money that Cal, Stanford, Wazzu, and Oregon State will be left outside; none of them bring much value to the big new SuperConferences.

The Big 10 in the past 10 years has taken teams from the Big 12 (Nebraska), Pac 12 (USC, UCLA and now Oregon, Washington) and the ACC (Maryland). Plus the dying husk of the Big East but I'm not even counting that. They are definitely the conference to watch in terms of predatory conference smashing.

I get the feeling the "top" teams of the ACC will bolt to the SEC when the revenue gap between ACC TV revenue and the P2 becomes too large to ignore. Yes the GoR will cost a ton break. But by that time schools would rather suffer in the short term than fall further and further behind P2 schools.

Clemson and Florida State will be two. I'd think a third would be North Carolina. The fourth is harder to guess. I'd say it'll be either Miami or Virginia. Yes they've both sucked for a long time at football. But as we saw with Colorado, this isn't about how successful a team has been. It's about expanding into new markets. Virginia brings the SEC into a new state, while Miami would bring the SEC in one of the country's largest metro areas.

I'd rather the ACC survive intact. But at least in an SEC scenario UNC would stay in a more or less regional conference. The farthest away games would be in Texas or Missouri. It's pretty far away. But at least it's still in the South (culturally for Missouri), not all the way in California like if UNC joined the B1G.

Every one of the "Magnificent Seven" (UNC, NC State, Miami, Florida State, Clemson, Virginia and Virginia Tech) have reasons to believe that they would end up with a chair if/when the ACC collapses. I do agree that UNC is #3 but that 4-7 are a matter of debate.

The next big question will be about the playoffs; under the new 12 team playoff starting in 2024, the top 6 conference champs get auto-bids. If we're talking about a P4 (at most) instead of P5 I'm sure there will be talk about re-opening that to cut down on the number of auto-bids. The SEC and Big10 especially will want to open up more slots for their people.

Yep. No school wants to end up being left out in the cold like Houston, SMU, Rice, and TCU were when the Southwest Conference imploded...or like Oregon State and Washington State right now.

https://twitter.com/ADavidHaleJoint/status/1687553228739592192?s=20

[Storr]

https://twitter.com/KLCCOregon/status/1687582612322402306?s=20

https://twitter.com/skhanjr/status/1687583963517239297?s=20

[Storr]

The ACC needs to do something. Add UConn, SMU, Cal, USF, freaking Appalachian State....I don't care who. Just do something!

https://twitter.com/ADavidHaleJoint/status/1687588048278548480?s=20

[MasterJedi]

The ACC needs to do something. Add UConn, SMU, Cal, USF, freaking Appalachian State....I don't care who. Just do something!

https://twitter.com/ADavidHaleJoint/status/1687588048278548480?s=20

Clemson and FSU are gone, book it, either now or later they will leave. If smart UNC, Duke, Miami, Virginia and VT will leave. Then the reset can merge with the corpse of the big east and be the little kids of the east.