The PAC 10 expansion groundswell

[Jeff Lebowski]

They would have added SDSU irrespective of the Final Four bid, but the tourny success makes a bitter pill easier for the PAC to swallow.

All in all, pretty darn good month for SDSU. Good for them.

Yeah, I have been cheering for them.

SDSU is only joining the P12 if the P12 can get a media deal done. And I don't see SDSU adding any meaningful value to that media deal.

[Uncle Ted]

Yeah, I have been cheering for them.

SDSU is only joining the P12 if the P12 can get a media deal done. And I don't see SDSU adding any meaningful value to that media deal.

This Jon Wilner article is a fun read... "The university presidents who run the conference have no choice --- but to invite the Aztecs"

With trip to Final Four, San Diego State stamps its credential for Pac-12 membership

San Diego State edged Creighton on Sunday to qualify for the first Final Four in school history and, in the process, did the Pac-12 a gigantic favor.

The Aztecs removed any lingering doubt about their credentials for Pac-12 membership. The university presidents who run the conference have no choice — none, zero, zip — but to invite the Aztecs.
[...]
The Aztecs would join the conference as one of its two or three best programs, a tick below Arizona, perhaps, but alongside Oregon. And it’s not like they would lower the caliber of the Pac-12 football product, either.
[...]
Just imagine the optics if the Pac-12 were to pass on the Aztecs.

The Big 12 would gobble them up in a nanosecond, gain a vital recruiting foothold in the greater Southern California region and deal the Pac-12 a crushing strategic blow the conference would regret for decades.

And it would add more evidence to the notion, developed and refined after years of blunders, that the Pac-12 presidents don’t understand college athletics. That they cannot see the future from their ivory towers.
[...]

https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/...12-membership/

In other news, the ACC has no choice but to invite Florida Atlantic to the conference.

[All-American]

But it's true, JL... The Pac 12-2 has no choice but to add SDSU now:

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The Pac 12-2 fans are celebrating!

There is one very obvious chance for the PAC to screw up: with the next addition.

[Moliere]

Yeah, I have been cheering for them.

SDSU is only joining the P12 if the P12 can get a media deal done. And I don't see SDSU adding any meaningful value to that media deal.

But they bring the entire Southern California market. LA is just three hours away, which isn’t really that far and I’m sure there are a ton of SDSU fans in LA that will watch games. I mean, if SMU brings in the entire Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex (and maybe all of Texas north of I20) and SDSU brings in the lower half of California, the PAC12 is gonna be making Big10 money.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Dennis Dodd with another column.

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Same old, same old. Nothing on the horizon. The longer this goes on, the worse it is for the P12.

[Uncle Ted]

Dennis Dodd with another column.


Same old, same old. Nothing on the horizon. The longer this goes on, the worse it is for the P12.

Yeah, I am afraid the PAC 12-2 is going to need to extend the deadline on April 15th... Of course, I extend every year on April 15th. Not a big deal, man.

[Uncle Ted]

Hey, did I miss the Pac 12 announcement?... Someone needs to go over to UteBan.com and see what's up.

Forbes reported “a deal is expected before the end of March,” and streaming giants Apple and Amazon are expected to be in the mix.

https://www.outkick.com/pac-12-new-m...-march-report/

[Jeff Lebowski]

Uh-oh.

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[Uncle Ted]

Uh-oh.

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JL, you are comparing apples to oranges here. MLS is not the “Conference of Champions”! Besides Apple’s deal with MLS is most likely just a loss leader to bring in more subscribers to watch Apple’s hit show about a soccer team which clearly shows their customer based cares about sports, unlike the so called fans that don’t show up to their team’s sporting events in person.

[SteelBlue]

Uh-oh.

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I watch a ton of soccer. I don't love MLS, but when it was on ESPN+ I still watched, especially when Europe's season was over. When I saw they thought they could get $15/month I was shocked. ESPN+ costs me like a penny a month because I have a bundle deal but let's say it was the $7 or $9 that people pay for it. You get so many games across so many sports that it's well worth it. $15/month just to watch MLS on apple tv? There aren't nearly enough fans willing to do that. I can't believe anyone thought there were. That's double what it costs to watch the Premier League in America. Insane.

[Uncle Ted]

I watch a ton of soccer. I don't love MLS, but when it was on ESPN+ I still watched, especially when Europe's season was over. When I saw they thought they could get $15/month I was shocked. ESPN+ costs me like a penny a month because I have a bundle deal but let's say it was the $7 or $9 that people pay for it. You get so many games across so many sports that it's well worth it. $15/month just to watch MLS on apple tv? There aren't nearly enough fans willing to do that. I can't believe anyone thought there were. That's double what it costs to watch the Premier League in America. Insane.

I may go to a couple of FC Dallas games a year... The tickets are cheap and the fans are a lot more entertaining to watch than the soccer game. I think I like the FC Dallas drum line more than the players.

[BigFatMeanie]

Wilner's latest: https://www.ksl.com/article/50614930...-but-to-expand

Given Kliavkoff's stated desire for rings in the revenue sports — and everything else in the Aztecs' favor (more on that in a moment) — a formal invitation for Pac-12 membership seemingly will be delivered to SDSU president Adela de la Torre in a matter of days or weeks.

The Aztecs already had a strong case for membership, what with the quality of their football and basketball programs, their improving academic profile and their proximity to the crater left behind by USC and UCLA.

SDSU's run to the championship game is less about cementing its basketball bona fides than about giving Pac-12 schools and fans something to feel good about after all these years of stumbles, bumbles and defeatism.

The Aztecs aren't any more qualified for Pac-12 membership having reached the title game than if they had lost in the Sweet 16 or Elite Eight. They were already qualified.

But the optics around expansion have changed with their charge to the finale.

The momentum and the mood have changed.

Here are the Aztecs, a gift horse on a silver platter carried down a gilded chimney on Christmas Eve.

Not even the Pac-12 presidents can turn down that present, right?

He's also cheerleading for SMU in the article. It's kind of sad. If the PAC thinks SDSU and SMU are the answer, bless their hearts.

[Uncle Ted]

Wilner's latest: https://www.ksl.com/article/50614930...-but-to-expand





He's also cheerleading for SMU in the article. It's kind of sad. If the PAC thinks SDSU and SMU are the answer, bless their hearts.

Oh, my SMU friends are going to be so happy. I look forward to sitting with them when the Utes come into town.

[YOhio]

Wilner's latest: https://www.ksl.com/article/50614930...-but-to-expand





He's also cheerleading for SMU in the article. It's kind of sad. If the PAC thinks SDSU and SMU are the answer, bless their hearts.

Hey inviting SMU and STDSU worked out great for the Big East!

[Jeff Lebowski]

Wilner's latest: https://www.ksl.com/article/50614930...-but-to-expand

He's also cheerleading for SMU in the article. It's kind of sad. If the PAC thinks SDSU and SMU are the answer, bless their hearts.

I read that SDSU football games have averaged 187K TV viewers in recent years. Looks like they have been averaging around 30K football fans at home games.

Yeah, watching P12 folks gush over the likes of San Diego State is something to behold.