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PAC-12 Flirting with SMU?

You make an interesting point, Doug.
Right before the apocalypse nobody cares if someone dipped their chocolate in my whiskey.

Except if you left it in long enough to get melty...

Then I don't care if the worlds coming to an end, we're going out fighting.

End like it started, BANG.
 
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Assume this means SMU has also accepted ?

Who knows. He visited UNLV too on the down low. He was totally out maneuvered by the Big 12, who pegged the market value of the PAC below what they need to survive. UW and Oregon want to leave but canā€™t because thereā€™s no appetite for them in the Big 10. The four corners donā€™t want to leave but may have to if they donā€™t get guarantees. And any media deal will surely be two years at most if that happens. I canā€™t imagine a non streaming deal that includes SMU unless they are actually buying their way in, which could actually happen.
 
Regardless of whatever happens to smu, theyā€™ve played the PR game really well over the last month or so. Their name has been mentioned more by large media outlets than it has since their death penalty. Theyā€™ve talked their way into the big boy circles and it looks like theyā€™ll eventually find a way to leave the have nots of this conference behind.

Tulane has actually been getting a fair amount of mentions lately as well (both big12 and pac12). Will that happen? Probably not, but just being mentioned in all this adds major value in the eyes of both casual sports fans (who buy tickets) and donors (who write big checks).

I know weā€™re emerging from a dark age where we had an admin that didnā€™t know their head from their butt holes when it came to ncaa D1 athletics, but Iā€™m hoping weā€™ve done enough damage control with our new leadership that we can be considered an asset and ultimately stick with our long time rivals/peers: SMU, Tulane, Memphis, Houston, etc. instead of falling down in the perception ladder to be aligned with Florida Atlantics and UNC Charlottes of the world.
 
Maybe SMU should bring in Craig James and Eric Dickerson to help lobby for them!!!
 
Talks occurring in the last few days regarding the Big12 acquiring up to 8 Pac12 schools. Still a long shot imo but not near as long as it was a month ago. SMU would obviously be left out under this scenario.
 
Talks occurring in the last few days regarding the Big12 acquiring up to 8 Pac12 schools. Still a long shot imo but not near as long as it was a month ago. SMU would obviously be left out under this scenario.
Whatever the plan, SMU needs a unanimous vote and my sources say there is interest but itā€™s far from unanimous at this point. The merger is not a long shot. The Big 12 pegged the value of both conferences. Cherry picking the most valuable with a guarantee is very plausible. The problem with that is that it will leave Fox with a break even at best PAC 12 contract or the league folds. There isnā€™t appetite in the sport for that and too much heart ache will result if they try it.
 
Whatever the plan, SMU needs a unanimous vote and my sources say there is interest but itā€™s far from unanimous at this point. The merger is not a long shot. The Big 12 pegged the value of both conferences. Cherry picking the most valuable with a guarantee is very plausible. The problem with that is that it will leave Fox with a break even at best PAC 12 contract or the league folds. There isnā€™t appetite in the sport for that and too much heart ache will result if they try it.
Fox Pac12 media deal ends next year. No chance the league folds before then. If the Pac-12 does somehow hold together, I donā€™t see Fox as a significant player with the league going forward. The Pac12 best bet is a partnership between ESPN and streaming via Amazon or Apple.

At the end of the day if ESPN and Fox prefer a Big12 super conference it will likely occur. We will know very soon.
 
The Big 10 and SEC have separated themselves so much that the leftover conference names are somewhat subjective.

Big 10/SEC - Royalty
Big 12/PAC 12/ACC - Middle Class
Everyone else - Wellā€¦you know.

Whether the Big 12/PAC 12/ACC merge or not, the financial answer is the same. No Big Ten/SEC money.

Clemson, Florida State, North Carolina, Washington, and Oregon are begging for a lifeline.
 
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Maybe but including Eric Dickerson in there seems like something SMU would do to lobby on their behalf.
The recruitment of Craig James and Eric Dickerson was what earned SMU the death penalty in football many years ago!!!
 
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The recruitment of Craig James and Eric Dickerson was what earned SMU the death penalty in football many years ago!!!
I knew Dickerson's recruitment was sort of the final nail after he showed up on campus in some crazy sports car that everyone knew the booster bought for him.

I didn't know much about James until he got to New England where he was a good serviceable back in tandem with Tony Collins.
 
The recruitment of Craig James and Eric Dickerson was what earned SMU the death penalty in football many years ago!!!
Don't disagree. However, had each gone to other schools mainly Texas or OU nothing happens.

This is what pisses people off about the old NCAA. Cheat but only at the power schools.

GO TU!!!
 
Don't disagree. However, had each gone to other schools mainly Texas or OU nothing happens.

This is what pisses people off about the old NCAA. Cheat but only at the power schools.

GO TU!!!
Now everybody can cheat!
 
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The backstory on this presentation is that the regents were discussing the financial feasibility of buying out the grant of rights and the costs associated with that. Its been estimated to be between $120 million (doable) or over $300 million (not doable).

The ACC is going to have renegotiate. Putting programs $100 million or more behind the competition after just 5 years isn't competitive balance in the sport. Or its going to get political quick. Telling FSU they have to leave $20 million or more on the table every year to keep the basketball teams happy isn't going to work and the Governor is seven blocks away.
 
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Fox Pac12 media deal ends next year. No chance the league folds before then. If the Pac-12 does somehow hold together, I donā€™t see Fox as a significant player with the league going forward. The Pac12 best bet is a partnership between ESPN and streaming via Amazon or Apple.

At the end of the day if ESPN and Fox prefer a Big12 super conference it will likely occur. We will know very soon.
So Fox has basically said to the PAC, you are on your own. And they mean it. There was conjecture that they were simply letting the market devalue the product, then they would offer a bargain price for the inventory. That appears to be out. They simply dont have a need to fill.

So the Big 12 is secure because none of the remaining teams have value in the present landscape. Anyone with the value to leave has left. The market isn't interested in any of the others. And they got a good price for their value.

The Pac 12 is insecure because they have several schools with value and no long term future ties to the conference when this deal ends. Which skews the market downward. Networks are unwilling to sign short term deals and the unanimous vote requirement means schools that could get a better offer tomorrow are only considering short term deals.

So Fox has passed and ESPN is offering next to nothing for lower tiered games that will likely involve schools that will remain in the conference.

The Amazon offer, which would have included SMU, is apparently only one football game per week, that they choose and schedule in exchange for the rights to basketball and the non-revenue sports. So apparently, that's a non starter and SMU isn't going anywhere. At least under that proposal. The payout would have been in the realm of a G5 payout and SMU would not have a deal with legacy network since its unlikely Amazon would choose them with UW and Oregon games available. And ESPN, Fox and CBS aren't going to sign a deal where they pay primary money and get second pick.

Apple doesn't want to pay for the premier games, only the second tier games.

They have now approached the ION network, the cable company with all the cop shows, about making a bid. LOL.

Its 1:57 a.m. and they dont have a ride home.

So the moral of the story appears to be the same as BYU. The PAC 10 had an unequal payout. USC protested the equal payout of the PAC12, but said they would exit if it didn't change. It didn't change, and it took a decade, but USC left as soon as a viable deal came along. Which is pretty much BYU and the WAC/MWC. They wanted what they were worth, an uneven payout, didn't get it, called the bluff and went independent, invested the higher payouts and now are in a much better place. USC too. The PAC 10 is going to have to get what it can, do an unequal payout, and hope it survives past the exit of UW and Oregon, who both will immediately start positioning themselves into the Big 10 during the next round.

It just goes to show none of this stuff happens over night. Its cracks that form a decade or longer.
 
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Yormark (Big12) understood thereā€™s a finite amount of money the networks are willing to pay for sports content. Yormark rushed to strike a media deal prior to the Pac-12 thus ensuring the Big12 locked in content and revenue. The Pac-12 is in a tough spot. College sports is a tough sell on the west coach (especially minus USC and UCLA) and their media rights offers reflect the same. Oregon and Washington have reportedly told the Big10 they would accept unequal revenue sharing in exchange for a lifeline. I expect a resolution with the Pac-12 in the next month. No clue how it turns out at this point. It will only take one more domino to fall for the conference to dissolve as we know it.

The ACC is also in a tough spot. As it currently stands the revenue really isnā€™t there for unequal distributions. The have-nots know the conference has an expiration date whether itā€™s today or at the end of the current awful contract which they all approved. I fully expect the ACC to be in the same position 12 months from now. Same media revenue. Same GORs. Same schools bitching and wanting out or more money.
 
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So they were saying on PTI that the big12 is looking at adding Arizona, Arizona state, Colorado and Utah. Colorado turning tale and going back to the big 12. Interesting
 
So they were saying on PTI that the big12 is looking at adding Arizona, Arizona state, Colorado and Utah. Colorado turning tale and going back to the big 12. Interesting
Maybe. Lots of moving parts. If you believe the hype, Washington and Oregon want out but will stay a few years before going to the Big 10, if the money number is right. To date, the conference cannot hit that number. Meanwhile the Big 10 is in no rush to add anyone. They just got paid. AZ, ASU, UT and CO, the so called 4 corners schools, want out if that same number is not higher than what the Big 12 might offer ā€” otherwise they will stay. Meanwhile the Big 12 would take them, but as the time goes by, the incentive to buy them cheap with a UCF sized unequal share or perhaps even lower makes sense to them. The problem is none of the schools has any real value. Oregon is the only school left in the conference in the Top 50 in terms of revenue generated from TV ratings. Streaming value for the 4 corners is in the toilet and none of the 4 is playing in prime time any time soon - pun intended.
So basically, the whole conference might splinter into a downgrade to an almost high G5 level and could be on a death watch. Should know more in about a week or so. It will probably work out - for now.
 
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Rumor is Wash and Oregon have told the Big10 they will accept an invite at a 50% share. Big10 seems receptive. The amount of streaming content is as much of a problem as the revenue number right now with many of the Pac12 schools. This should be settled rather quickly
 
I wonder how all of this movement combined with playoff expansion will affect the Rose bowl? Will they get top playoff teams? Will they be relegated some years to matching a third place Iowa against an at-large?
 
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I wonder how all of this movement combined with playoff expansion will affect the Rose bowl? Will they get top playoff teams? Will they be relegated some years to matching a third place Iowa against an at-large?
That's the only bowl matchup whose participants matter to the majority of older football fans in my opinion. It's got so much tradition.
 
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