The PAC 10 expansion groundswell

[Eddie]

GBU on utefans.net not talking about BYU or the XII

The guy really gets Cougar Fans.

I think my favorite part of this whole post is his statement that Yormark saying he wants all 4 time zones means that he's looking at Fresno St. and Boise St.

Has anyone seen anything ANYWHERE else indicating that the Big12 is looking at Fresno St. and Boise St.?

[Moliere]

GBU on utefans.net not talking about BYU or the XII

The guy really gets Cougar Fans.

That is a masterful post. Truly exquisite in every way.

[Jeff Lebowski]

That is a masterful post. Truly exquisite in every way.

"They never talk about BYU on utefans.net"



Starting to think that SU was just being funny with that post. Because it was funny.

[Uncle Ted]

Pony Nation is taking the Rice announcement as a sign...

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[Uncle Ted]

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SMU and SDSU... This is going to get the PAC 12-2+0.2 a huge media contract:

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[myboynoah]

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MHver3 confirms. I'm ready to believe.

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[Jeff Lebowski]

ESPN's Pete Thammel with a whole series of truth bombs about the P12.

Spoiler alert: Things don't look good for the conference of champions.

https://www.espn.com/college-footbal...-pac-12-beyond

On the SMU bid:

he biggest signs of panic have come from the league itself. First, commissioner George Kliavkoff and two other conference officials visited SMU earlier this month in a 48-hour advertisement of the league's weakness and lack of self-awareness.

By exploring SMU, the Pac-12 is acknowledging that what it's attempting to sell networks isn't good enough with 10 schools. And SMU, a fine school with modest tradition, isn't a significant value add to drive up a league's overall value the way, for example, that USC and UCLA did for the Big Ten. It's really inventory filler in a nice market, a move that was expected but didn't need to be advertised with an administrative parade.

We all said the same thing about that dumb statement:

Then the league issued the dreaded "vote of confidence" statement that its schools are "united in our commitment to one another." By doing it, the league reminded everyone that it could, indeed, fall apart. Tough stretch.

The issue with Oregon and Washington and the Pac-12's future is that the long-term path appears fraught. If there's a decent deal available to the Pac-12 in the upcoming weeks and if Oregon and Washington want to sign a grant of rights to be part of that deal, it will be a short-term deal. (Think five years.) This means in another three years, the same issues of whether the Big Ten has the appetite to consume them will remain.

Do schools with options, like Colorado, Arizona State, Arizona and Utah -- the so-called corner schools -- want to be part of a bandage? Or do they slide to the Big 12 and start over there?

With the future of Oregon and Washington in the Pac-12 so uncertain, is it worth it for the corner schools to wait for an inevitable disruption or just control their fate and set their own course?

No mention of AAU status or world university rankings anywhere in the article. Weird!

[Uncle Ted]

MHver3 confirms. I'm ready to believe.

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Even the Mtn West Wire is saying it is pretty much a done deal...

Pac-12 University Presidents Approve Next Steps In SDSU and SMU Expansion Process
[...]
For today, San Diego State and Southern Methodist University have managed to make the grade, and are increasingly garnering the support they require by current Pac-12 university members, and expansion appears to be certain.

https://mwwire.com/2023/02/18/pac-12...n-process/amp/

Take it to the bank!

[Jeff Lebowski]

Even the Mtn West Wire is saying it is pretty much a done deal...


https://mwwire.com/2023/02/18/pac-12...n-process/amp/

Take it to the bank!

Not so fast. SU says that will NEVER happen.

[Uncle Ted]

A good article on how much SMU commands the Dallas market...

https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/sm...al-media-deal/

How valuable is the SMU really to Pac-12’s pursuit of a digital media business?
[...]
But how valuable is a top 5 TV market to a potential digital media rights deal? And how much of the Dallas market does SMU — a school with below-average Division I enrollments but above-average wallet sizes — bring to the table?

The answers are based on forecasts, much like the future of live sports streaming.

“We’re at a point where we need to find a smart way to convert the somewhat guaranteed cable revenue into a new model: subscription-based digital streaming,” said David Hollander, professor of sports management at NYU and author of How Basketball Can save the world “Of course one of the great metrics would be who watches games, period. How big is the market, period.

“From there you become more strategic.”

The need to be strategic led to the Pac-12’s interest in SMU. Kliavkoff and the Pac-12 are struggling to find a media rights deal, and the figure on the table is far below what the conference or its members were hoping for. No wonder considering the Big 12 leapt ahead and signed a $2.3 billion deal with Fox and ESPN ahead of Halloween.

This week, almost four months after the Big 12’s deal, the Pac-12 issued a statement that a deal would be coming in the “very near future.”

Later that week, Action Network’s Brett McMurphy reported that CBS and Turner were out of possible Pac-12 negotiations.

With the conference running out of options, officials are likely pointing to a digital deal and considering the inclusion of SMU and San Diego State.

The combo can’t replace USC and UCLA, who join the Big Ten next year. According to Sports Media Watch’s Jon Lewis, there are nearly 5.5 million television households in the Los Angeles area — about 1.7 million more than San Diego and Dallas-Fort Worth combined.
[....]

But SMU can have some more than a million TV households games too...*

When USC and UCLA played on FOX last year, 4.53 million tuned in. SMU’s most-watched game, and the only time it broke the million mark, was the New Mexico Bowl vs. BYU on ESPN (2.04 million).

*When they are playing BYU.

Speaking of ponies, how valuable is SMU to the Pac-12 and a potential media rights deal? Hollander said SMU has potential in the digital landscape, despite its enrollment numbers and average attendance at football games — which at 24,971 would be last in the Pac-12, about 1,000 behind Washington State.

“There was 30 for 30 at SMU,” Hollander said, referring to the ESPN documentary series.

“SMU is a well-known brand in a town with a celebrity cache. So if you’re collecting live sports property and waiting for media delivery to unravel, I think SMU is a pretty safe bet.”

And maybe it’s the best bet the Pac-12 has at this point.

Yeah, this is going to make their media contract worth something less than $20m/school according to MHver3...

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Dennis Dodd may be on the high side guessing $21m/team...

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[Jeff Lebowski]

Please stop quoting MHVer3!

[Uncle Ted]

Merging with the ACC?

The Pac 12’s Leadership Needs To Ink A New Media Deal Then Start ACC Merger Talks.
[...]
Now Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff goal is to work with Amazon, ESPN, and a few potential mystery partners in the hopes of beating the Big 12 deal done with Fox and ESPN that pays about $31.7 million per school for the next six years. At the moment new Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark has not hidden his plans to expand west and look at the possibility of adding some Pac 12 members.

Meanwhile, it is expected that sometime perhaps no later than April San Diego and SMU will be invited to join the Pac-12 For now two seems to be where the Pac-12 will stop and then take time to consider other potential members.
[...]
Last summer, the ACC and Pac-12 had detailed conversations about a partnership, involving a championship football game between the two conferences, as well as other basketball and Olympic sports events that could land both leagues a better media rights deal as UCLA and USC left for the Big Ten. At the time there were too many moving parts to go further plus the ACC rights deal that pays each school 36 million dollars through 2036 seemed a massive obstacle.

It was actually the ACC and more to the point the University of North Carolina that brought up the idea. Andrew Carter of The News & Observer, last summer reported that university leadership at North Carolina floated the idea of a “super conference” between the ACC and Pac-12

“Should we explore a partnership with the Big 12 or Pac 12[?]” UNC athletic director Bubba Cunningham texted university chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz.
[...]
This is a very ambitious plan, and many things have to go right a Pac 12 and ACC merger, but key people on both sides think that it is worth exploring. So, Pac-12 needs to sign a new media deal and start being creative with the ACC to see what comes next for both leagues.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/zengern...h=51fd2ecb6973

The Pac 12-2 is in a bad place right now... They need to expand so they can offer a larger inventory to get a better contract but adding SDSU and SMU is not going to get them to that $31.7m/school goal so they can even entertain a possible ACC merger. If UW and Oregon want $32m/year they can just join the Big 12 and then the Big 12 and the ACC can talk about a partnership with a championship game at Jerry World.

[Moliere]

Merging with the ACC?


https://www.forbes.com/sites/zengern...h=51fd2ecb6973

The Pac 12-2 is in a bad place right now... They need to expand so they can offer a larger inventory to get a better contract but adding SDSU and SMU is not going to get them to that $31.7m/school goal so they can even entertain a possible ACC merger. If UW and Oregon want $32m/year they can just join the Big 12 and then the Big 12 and the ACC can talk about a partnership with a championship game at Jerry World.

What happened to the alliance they had with the ACC? Surely that counts for something, right?

[Uncle Ted]

What happened to the alliance they had with the ACC? Surely that counts for something, right?

Yeah, just like the alliance the had with the B1G!

[YOhio]

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