Athletic Article on Pac-10 Play for Pac-16

[RonBurgundy]

Good article on the history of the Pac-10 trying to poach the Big 12 and form a Pac-16 Superconference. Written by our old friend Ubben.

https://theathletic.com/1083080/2019/07/22/pac-16-conference-realignment-2010-big-12/

For those that don't have Athletic, bottom line, Texas was really not that interested in the Pac-10 pitch and committed back to the Big 12 once Tier 3 rights were allowed to be owned by the school. Funny in hindsight that it is now the Pac-12 that is a dumpster fire.

But....Athletic also says they are going to do a four-story update on future conference realignment. Sigh.

 

[jdoggivjc]

Good article on the history of the Pac-10 trying to poach the Big 12 and form a Pac-16 Superconference. Written by our old friend Ubben.

https://theathletic.com/1083080/2019/07/22/pac-16-conference-realignment-2010-big-12/

For those that don't have Athletic, bottom line, Texas was really not that interested in the Pac-10 pitch and committed back to the Big 12 once Tier 3 rights were allowed to be owned by the school. Funny in hindsight that it is now the Pac-12 that is a dumpster fire.

But....Athletic also says they are going to do a four-story update on future conference realignment. Sigh.

I don’t know how Cal and Stanford have all the political stroke in that conference, but they do and they’re absolutely destroying it in the process. Having offices in downtown San Francisco has to be their idea alone and it’s eating through what could be schools’ payouts.

 

[weR138]

I just don't see UT ever leaving the Big 12...especially if they win the conference this season like Chris Williams predicted. The competition is good and they can schedule marquee matchups OOC which they are doing.

During the next round of realignment if there's a way to make it financially feasible the big 12 should make a run at Methzoo and Arkansas or the AZ schools; something to get us back to 12 teams and 2 divisions.

 

[Dandy]

10 teams is the right number. Round robin basketball and football. Home/away cycle. Perfect.

 

[Gunnerclone]

Conference realignment is SO 2009.

 

[BillBrasky4Cy]

People need to realize that their isn't going to be another round of conference realignment as we know it. In a few years when the grant of rights all expire things will either stay as they are or the entire thing will get blown up and regional models get formed.

 

[CloneGuy8]

I just don't see UT ever leaving the Big 12...especially if they win the conference this season like Chris Williams predicted. The competition is good and they can schedule marquee matchups OOC which they are doing.

During the next round of realignment if there's a way to make it financially feasible the big 12 should make a run at Methzoo and Arkansas or the AZ schools; something to get us back to 12 teams and 2 divisions.

Texas runs this conference. If they leave for another, it won't be that way and I think they know that.

 

[Die4Cy]

People need to realize that their isn't going to be another round of conference realignment as we know it. In a few years when the grant of rights all expire things will either stay as they are or the entire thing will get blown up and regional models get formed.

I think a regional approach to the game would be best, but there is literally no incentive for it to happen, so it won't.

I think there might be a little energy behind shrinking conferences of 16 down to 10 or 12 if the TV model/playoff design were to change in a way that points toward that, i.e. a requirement that only a conference champion can earn an (expanded) playoff spot, for example. But honestly I don't see conferences allowing that kind of disruption.

 

[RonBurgundy]

Texas runs this conference. If they leave for another, it won't be that way and I think they know that.

Yep, that conclusion resonated in the article. The arrogance of Larry Scott thinking the Pac-10 was going to be a leader was outmatched by the arrogance of Texas. They will never go the SEC or B1G and relinquish their hold as top dog.

And we at ISU should be fine with UT being our standard bearer. Great school.

 

[isu81]

That's a great article. I think your take that Texas was really not that interested isn't exactly right. Their interest in launching and keeping all revenue from the Longhorn Network was a big driver. PAC commissioner Larry Scott indicates in the article that they may have been able to make that work with the PAC12 TV launch. According to the article, political pressure put on the Texas regents to stay was a big part of them staying, as was their interest in keeping the TAM rivalry.

In any event, the B12's demise was really close to happening and the instability was strong enough that the conference lost TAM, Nebraska and Missouri. Good news for TCU and West Virginia, who have now cemented themselves as power conference teams if/when the next round of change happens. Expect that talk to start in about two years, as the various TV deals start being renegotiated a couple years out from their end dates.

 

[clonedude]

10 teams is the right number. Round robin basketball and football. Home/away cycle. Perfect.

As it all turned out... the Big 12 has by far the best set up of any conference basically by being patient and doing nothing instead of panicking.

And we're still getting teams in the playoff, unlike the B1G. All these years the B1G was for a 4 team playoff, but now that they've been left out for a few years, I see in their media days they now want an 8 team playoff. How interesting it is that their views have changed. They also probably wish they never invited Maryland and Rutgers too.

 

[weR138]

Yep, that conclusion resonated in the article. The arrogance of Larry Scott thinking the Pac-10 was going to be a leader was outmatched by the arrogance of Texas. They will never go the SEC or B1G and relinquish their hold as top dog.

And we at ISU should be fine with UT being our standard bearer. Great school.

Totally agree. UT doesn't "keep us down" any more than UM or tOSU keep Iowa down. And conversely ISU provides a quality opponent for UT in conference.

The same can be said for OU. This is a good conference and our members performance vs. P5 competition outside of it bears that out.

 

[Sigmapolis]

Some speculation on what could have happened if Texas decided to go to the Pac-16...

https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2015/6/17/8767533/conference-realignment-texas-pac-12

The Big 12 somehow stays afloat, but ends up the American of the new order.

Air Force
Baylor
Boise State
Brigham Young
Central Florida
Houston
Iowa State
Kansas State
Memphis
South Florida
Southern Methodist
Texas Christian

That is basically a junk drawer of every other team/school that did not end up in one of the remaining "power" conferences but too good for Conference USA... I hope.

Something like...

East = Baylor, Houston, ISU, Memphis, UCF, USF
West = AFA, BSU, BYU, KSU, SMU, TCU

 

[ArgentCy]

I don’t know how Cal and Stanford have all the political stroke in that conference, but they do and they’re absolutely destroying it in the process. Having offices in downtown San Francisco has to be their idea alone and it’s eating through what could be schools’ payouts.

Because that conference is run by politics and not athletics and it is really starting to show.

 

[RonBurgundy]

As it all turned out... the Big 12 has by far the best set up of any conference basically by being patient and doing nothing instead of panicking.

And we're still getting teams in the playoff, unlike the B1G. All these years the B1G was for a 4 team playoff, but now that they've been left out for a few years, I see in their media days they now want an 8 team playoff. How interesting it is that their views have changed. They also probably wish they never invited Maryland and Rutgers too.

Yep, the only reason the 10 team league was problematic was lack of a championship game and inability to reach CFP. Now that we have the CCG, OU has achieved CFP twice in a row, and the B1G has been shut out, CFP will expand in near future which makes a 10 team league even more viable.

 

[Sigmapolis]

Because that conference is run by politics and not athletics and it is really starting to show.

The fact the Big 12 really was about money-grubbing really saved our butts.

 

[clonedude]

Yep, the only reason the 10 team league was problematic was lack of a championship game and inability to reach CFP. Now that we have the CCG, OU has achieved CFP twice in a row, and the B1G has been shut out, CFP will expand in near future which makes a 10 team league even more viable.

And our championship game actually pits the two best teams in the conference against one another every year too.

Not like the B1G where you can have the best team in the conference face like the 4th or 5th best team in the conference for the championship game like last year.

 

[SEIOWA CLONE]

Put me in the category that conference expansion is over. With cord cutting the old thought of adding a new state and being able to charge everyone with cable or satellite tv a dollar a month is coming to an end. Teams like Rutgers and Maryland made sense under the old system. But with it going away and turning to streaming as the future. Size of the fan base becomes more important. How many fans will be willing and able to put up $10 bucks a month to stream the games. The days of the Big 10 squeezing $1.00 a month off grandma in CR, that could care less, is coming to an end.

A couple of years ago the Big 10 was talking about 70 to 80 million per team, those numbers are no longer mentioned.
Texas will never leave to join a conference that they have to share power with, and they have the LHN, which runs until 2031, ESPN will not allow them to move that programing to the Big 10, and they will never move to the SEC with aTm.
Why would OU move when they can get to the playoffs through the big 12?
The money is there, the power teams are happy, expansion is over unless something really changes in the future.

 

[Cyched]

Air Force
Baylor
Boise State
Brigham Young
Central Florida
Houston
Iowa State
Kansas State
Memphis
South Florida
Southern Methodist
Texas Christian

Kill it with fire

 

[Acylum]

As it all turned out... the Big 12 has by far the best set up of any conference basically by being patient and doing nothing instead of panicking.

And we're still getting teams in the playoff, unlike the B1G. All these years the B1G was for a 4 team playoff, but now that they've been left out for a few years, I see in their media days they now want an 8 team playoff. How interesting it is that their views have changed. They also probably wish they never invited Maryland and Rutgers too.

I can easily see the b1g missing the playoffs again this season.