Let's play a game where the PAC-4 doesn't evaporate over the weekend or get reverse merged and worn like a skin suit by the MWC. Who do they invite? Who will go? Do they pull more money than the AAC or MWC? Gotta at least try for 10, right?
Cal, Stanford, Wazzu, Beavs...
SDSU?
SMU?
Boise State?
Tulane?
Rice?
USF?
Solid academics, non-laughable football... hell of a travel itinerary for a lower-income conference though.
They literally have to make it to 10. SDSU, Air Force, Wyoming, Colorado St, Boise St, and one or both NM schools?
The big challenge is that all of these teams are leaving after the 2023-2024 school year. So, they need these teams next season. The MWC arrangement is that if you want to leave at the end of the current school year, you owe two years of league distributions. With SDSU’s run to the championship game in basketball, the distributions are code the $19 million, so if these schools want to leave, they’d owe close to $40 million to leave to a league with no television deal.
In theory, they could disband the MWC, but I believe that takes 9 votes. So, this league would have to invite everyone but San Jose State, Wyoming and Utah State? (Or maybe no Hawaii?)
Needless to say, that’s not super realistic. (Granted, nothing that happened this week seemed realistic last week)
(Granted, nothing that happened this week seemed realistic last week)
Really? Seems like this result has been obvious for months to me. (That's easy to say now, I know) The timing, no, but money is undefeated vs college football, and it was clear where the money is.
Cal will finally be the PAC-?? Champions if we are the last ones left. GO BEARS
They and Stanford will be 2-Pac.
The Bears finally gonna get that sweet, sweet Rose Bowl bid.
(Written with full acknowledgement that I have no idea if the Rose Bowl even works that way anymore)
I think it does, unless it's acting as a cfp playoff game?
Stanford and Cal to the Big...then what?
With B1G at 20, the B12 may feel more comfortable taking WSU and OSU on partial shares for 18. Still gives wiggle room to take 2 more than the B1G does if FSU figures out how to break the ACC GoR.
Either FSU, or UNC and Duke. The latter two would be a massive coup for basketball. Another school I'd watch for that really isn't a geographic fit anywhere anymore is Boston College.
At this point I would prefer UConn to BC if they’re determined to get into the northeast. I know you go farther culturally in fewer miles up there, but getting the state that’s literally connecting New York and Massachusetts is probably good enough, and they’re a basketball power.
Who’s next?